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Kuldhara – Rajasthan (Ghost Town)


The village of Kuldhara is a ghost village that has been abandoned since 1800s. It is said to carry a curse of the villagers who migrated to other places. Kuldhara lies about 15 Km west of Jaisalmer in western Rajasthan. The village now lies in ruins. The village was established in 1291 by the Paliwal Brahmins, who were a very prosperous clan and were known for their business acumenand agricultural knowledge. But one night in 1825 all the people in Kuldhara and nearby 83 villages vanished in dark. According to folklore, Salim Singh, the minister of the state, once visiting this village fell for the beautiful daughter of chieftain (Paliwal Brahmin) and wanted to marry her. The minister threatened the villagers that if they did not marry the girl to him, he would levy huge taxes. The chief of the village with those of other 83 adjoining villages decided to abandon and migrate elsewhere as against marrying the girl to Salim Singh. Nobody saw them leave nor did anyone figure where they went, they simply vanished.