India
Rajasthan
The land of the Rajput kings: hilltop forts, lake palaces, painted merchant towns and the Thar desert, with some of the best heritage hotels in the world.
Rajasthan is India at its most theatrical. Each of its old kingdoms built a capital to outshine the others, and many of the palaces are now hotels where you can sleep under painted ceilings.
The distances are long and the roads slow, so the art is choosing. Three or four places, with two nights or more in each, beat a dash across the state. Jaipur, the capital, is usually combined with Delhi and Agra; this guide covers the rest of Rajasthan.
Written by the TravelZeg team in New Delhi.
In short
- Best for
- Palaces and forts, heritage hotels, craft, photography, a first trip to India
- Less suited to
- Beach time, cool weather between April and September
- Best time
- October to March. The Pushkar fair is in October or November.
- Ideal length
- 8 to 14 nights for Rajasthan alone; more with Delhi and Agra.
Where to go
Where to go in Rajasthan
- Udaipur
- A city of lakes and white palaces, the most relaxed stop in Rajasthan. Boat on Lake Pichola at sunset, then spend a day in the Aravalli hills around it.
- Jodhpur
- The blue city under the walls of Mehrangarh, one of the finest forts in India. Walk the old town with a guide, and eat in the stepwell quarter.
- Jaisalmer
- A golden sandstone fort that is still lived in, at the edge of the Thar desert. Spend a night at a desert camp away from the crowded dunes.
- Shekhawati and Bikaner
- Merchant towns whose havelis are painted inside and out, and Bikaner's red sandstone mansions. Few visitors, and a good first stop from Delhi.
- Ranthambore
- Rajasthan's best-known tiger reserve, with a ruined fort inside the park. Two or three safaris give you a fair chance of a sighting.
- Bundi and the smaller towns
- Bundi's stepwells and murals, the lakeside temples of Pushkar, the village fort hotels of Rohet and Deogarh: quiet stops between the big cities.
Our view
What we rate, and what we would skip
What we rate
Staying in a palace or a fort
Some are grand, some simple and family-run; both are often better value than a modern hotel.
Walking the old towns with a guide
The best of Jodhpur, Bundi and Jaisalmer is in the lanes, not the monuments.
Two nights or more in each place
It is the difference between seeing Rajasthan and driving through it.
What we would skip
Elephant rides at Amber Fort
We do not book them. Walk up, or take a jeep.
Crowded sunset dunes near Jaisalmer
A camp further out gives you the desert to yourself.
Seven cities in ten days
You will spend most of it in the car.
Practical
Getting there and around
- Getting there
- Fly to Delhi, or to Udaipur or Jodhpur from Delhi or Mumbai. Then by car, with a train for some stretches.
- Combine with
- Delhi and Agra; Varanasi; a few days on the beach in Goa or Kerala.
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