If you are passionate about archaeology in general and cave painting in particular, the elegant 10,000 year old cave paintings that Kukki will show you to are worth the time and effort to get to. Kukki is, however, a real character, and an acquired taste. He is entirely self-taught on the subject of cave painting. You get serenaded, bullied, cajoled, embraced and reenacted at, and have to listen to a great deal of unscientific speculation based on viewings of the Discovery Channel and the like. If you can go with it, recognizing that this is his defining passion and greatest love that he is sharing with you, a unique world treasure in its own right, and an opportunity to interact with someone whose life experiences are entirely unfamiliar to you, you will find it rewarding. He knows the back country like the back of his hand, is the only tour guide we met who picked up trash as he went along, and he has lots of pleasant and interesting ‘surprises’ up his sleeve for visitors, like a stop by a lovely step well, a breath-taking waterfall or a crumbling old ruin of a royal hunting lodge. He can take you to the location of many old stepwells - baoris and kunds (the latter in particular are amazing). If you are interested in old coins, he says he has an extensive collection of those too, which he’s picked up at the various sites along with tools and other artifacts. You get the idea. We are glad we visited kukkiworld - but we know it would not be everyone’s cup of tea. (And don’t forget a hat and lots of sun-screen. No bathrooms either - or rather, the great outdoors awaits you, so bring wipes and a plastic bag.)
