Neelkantheshwar Temple Eastern Rajasthan

Around 35km from Sariska is an 8th-century temple complex, up a dramatically winding road that allows fantastic views. It sits on a small plateau ringed by low hills where the old defensive wall is still visible. It’s said that the temples remained preserved because bees chased Aurangzeb away when he tried to attack the buildings. The main temple is dedicated to Shiva; photography is prohibited. The small pod-like shrines outside the temple are priests’ graves. A little bit further away, through a tangle of vegetation (ask locals to point out the right path), is a Jain temple built from orange-red sandstone, with a huge stone statue of the 23rd tirthankar (great Jain teacher), known locally as Nogaza.