Dungarpur, India

Capital City

Life in Dungarpur is a test of fortitude. The city, home to just 47,706 people, has an average literacy rate of only 59.5%, with the female rate lagging at just 46.2%. The climate is quite dry, with scorching summers reaching up to 43°C. Bureaucracy is a persistent headache, as Dungarpur was successively under Mughal, Maratha, and British Raj control before becoming an independent princely state. This small, remote city in southern Rajasthan is best suited for those seeking an authentic, if challenging, Indian experience, far from the comforts of urban life.