Although our work is never-ending, now is the time that when we can slow down just a tiny bit. Briefly. As the “tourist season” draws to a close, we've got a whole host of things lined up for the summer (including more tours!) but, essentially we'll also have a little bit of time to take stock and reflect on what has been a fantastic first season for Wire.

It's official - I've added leopard spotting to my rather odd list of talents. Not so strange you might think - given that we're living in Rajasthan, the land where big cats surely just roam the streets. We all know that tiger numbers are alarmingly low in India - somewhere around the 1400 mark, which may sound a lot - but it isn't. We've heard stories of Sariska with its failing breeding programme, tourists disappointed with a lack of tiger on their tiger safari and perhaps most bizarrely, importing cheetahs from Syria to live in Jaisalmer. Of all places. But the humble leopard seems to have slipped off the radar, perhaps because it's so shy and retiring - or simply that their PR company isn't up to the job. Well, at Wire we've completely fallen in love with this underrated and under-represented species and have decided to do something about it. With a little help our course.

The settlement of Ranakpur has its origins in some rather unlikely roots. Legend has it that a local hermit had a dream of building a magnificent temple, unparallelled in its beauty and at a very particular location. The hermit went to the Rana of Mewar, upon who's land he planned the temple. The Rana agreed, but on condition that the place be named after him in some way...and hence Ranak-pur.

Ranakpur is without a doubt one of our favorite places in Rajasthan. Or should I say our favourite areas, as Ranakpur itself is not even really a village or a town – just a stop off point along the main road running between Jodhpur and Udaipur. It's a blink and you've missed it sort of place, and apart from the world-famous Jain temple complex (which is an important pilgrimage site) you might be forgiven for thinking it wasn't up to much.

We happened to mention to Mr Singh, the owner of Deogarh Mahal our mission to explore the region further, heading in the direction of Kumbhalgarh and Ranakpur. By the time we left, we had in our possession a detailed hand-drawn map of all the places that we simply should not miss along the way. It turned out to be one very important piece of paper!