Located a 100 kms into the Aravallis surrounding Udaipur is the magnificent Jain temple at Ranakpur. It is the largest Jain temple in India, and like so many temples in the country, looks a little unassuming at first sight, only to reveal its magnificent expanse and vast stretches of artwork when one enters the temple.

Constructed over the course of 66 years in the fifteenth century, and employing over 2500 artisans for the purpose, the temple comprises 1444 pillars each with its own unique carvings and story to tell. Akbar, enraptured by the temple's maginificence, it is said, spared this temple alone from decimation upon his conquer of the surrounding regions.