Kuldhara Village is one of the mysterious places you can visit in India. It is located around 15 Km. west of Jaisalmer The village was established in 13th century and was a prosperous village full of Paliwal Brahmins. But it was abandoned overnight by people of the village and no one could ever know the exact reason of this. Over the years, the village acquired reputation as a haunted site. In 2010, Government of Rajasthan decided to developer it as a tourist spot.
Kuldhara was a planned city with proper drainage systems, wide streets, tempers, vacant homes, starts in homes and abandoned carts.
Possible reason for abandoning the city could be the water crisis. There are few other stories. One o the stories says that the ruler of the state Salim Singh (or Zalim Singh) was very cruel and looked like a devil. He once demanded to marry the daughter of the village's chief and asked villagers to make all preparations for the wedding. People of the village didn't want a girl of their village to marry to someone from a lower caste.
The chief of the village knew if he only flees away with his family, he would be found and killed. SO, every Paliwal Brahmin in Kuldhara as well as the nearby villages left the place and decided to settle in other part of the state.
History of the Kuldhara Village, Jaisalmer
It is believed that the Kuldhara village was founded atop the Trikuta Hill in the city of Jaisalmer in Rajasthan by Jaisel Bhati in the year 1156. They decided to build a settlement in the place because their original capital, Lodarya was under the threat of attacks by the enemies. Moreover, the region around the Trikuta Hill has a smooth trade route with Persia, Arabia in the middle east by land and even through the ports of Gujarat.
As a result, people living here used to earn great revenues owing to the levied taxes from the caravans who used to travel from the place to the state of Rajasthan. Once a flourishing village of the North Western region of India with a history dating back to the 13th century was abandoned suddenly overnight in the year 1825 for some unknown cause. Though the cause is unknown but there are several rumours associated behind it.
One rumour suggests that subsequently the invaders travelled from Afghanistan and used this route for plundering the wealth of Gujarat and the Somnath temple specifically. They were also keeping men, women and even children captive and turned them into slaves later. Hence, in order to protect themselves from the attacks of the invaders, the people of the village and the adjacent villages abandoned the place. Though there is no supernatural element behind this myth, but can feel the veil of sadness narrating the unfortunate incidents of the past which forced the people to leave their ancestral place under the cover of darkness.