Why the old cities must be walked
In a car you see a city. On foot you are greeted by shopkeepers, offered tea, shown into a temple courtyard and stopped by children who want to practise their English. The old cities are crowded and occasionally chaotic, but friendly, and a walk with someone who knows the families turns a sight into a neighbourhood.
Walls and gates: every great city of Rajasthan grew around a fort or a palace and was ringed by walls, with gates named for the roads they faced.
A map of society: inside, the lanes were laid out by trade, caste and community. Jewellers lived together, potters together, Brahmins near the temples, merchants near the market squares.
- Best walks
- Jaipur, Jodhpur, Jaisalmer, Udaipur, Bundi, Bikaner
- Best hour
- Sunrise to about ten, or the last two hours of light
- Length
- Two to three hours, two to four kilometres
- Best months
- October to March
- Guides
- Private, local and commission-free
- Much of it survives: walk through a city and you walk through its history, its religion and its daily routine all at once.
- Shade: tall houses shade the lanes below, so the street stays cool through a summer afternoon.
- Air: courtyards pull the air through each house.
- Jharokhas: the carved projecting balconies with stone screens let the household watch the street without being seen.
- Water: stepwells and tanks stored the monsoon rain for the dry months.
- A new eye: our guides point out these details as you go, and by the end of a walk most guests look at a Rajasthani building quite differently.
- Read first: our journal piece on what a haveli is is good reading before your first walk.
Jaipur, the pink grid at dawn
- Founded
- 1727, by Sawai Jai Singh II
- Painted pink
- 1876, for the Prince of Wales
- Classic route
- Chandpole Gate to Badi Chaupar
- Distance
- About two and a half kilometres
- Start
- Six in the morning
The spine of the city, Chandpole to Badi Chaupar
The grid: Jaipur was laid out on great avenues, with three large squares, the chaupars, where the main streets cross.
- The colour: the city was washed in pink in 1876 to welcome the Prince of Wales, and it has stayed.
- The route: from Chandpole Gate along Chandpole Bazaar to Choti Chaupar, then Tripolia Bazaar past the triple-arched Tripolia Gate to Badi Chaupar, beside Hawa Mahal.
- Why this walk: it shows you the logic of the whole plan.
The lanes of the craftsmen
The rastas: the real treasures are off the main streets, in the lanes given to particular trades.
Maniharon ka Rasta: families shape lac bangles over small charcoal fires and press glass and stones into the soft lac while it is warm.
- Chaura Rasta: the street of books.
- Behind Johari Bazaar: gem cutters at their wheels, and near the City Palace, kite makers, brass workers and printers.
- Which lane sells what: our guide to the bazaars of Jaipur explains.
Hawa Mahal and the temples
Just after sunrise: we time the walk to reach Hawa Mahal when the light falls full on its pink facade of small windows and the street below is still quiet.
- The pause: chai on a rooftop opposite.
- Govind Dev Ji: the temple of Krishna in the palace grounds, where the morning aarti draws crowds of devotees.
- The finish: the gates of the City Palace as it opens.
A taste of the walled city
Breakfast on the move: a hot pyaaz kachori, a flaky pastry filled with spiced onion, and a glass of lassi in a clay cup.
- In the Teej season: a round of ghevar.
- Trusted stalls: our guides know the ones families have trusted for generations, and choose the cleanest. Our Jaipur food guide explains the dishes.
Jodhpur, down through the blue lanes
- Founded
- 1459, by Rao Jodha
- Bluest quarter
- Brahmpuri, below Mehrangarh
- Route
- Brahmpuri, Navchokiya, Toorji ka Jhalra, clock tower
- When
- After the fort, or late afternoon
- The reward
- A mirchi bada at Sardar Market
Brahmpuri and Navchokiya
Founded: in 1459 by Rao Jodha, below the rock where Mehrangarh stands.
- The bluest quarter: Brahmpuri climbs the slope directly below the fort and was traditionally home to Brahmin families.
- Why blue: you will get several answers, often in the same lane: to mark Brahmin homes, or because lime mixed with indigo kept termites out and the rooms cooler.
- The route: from below the fort down through Brahmpuri and Navchokiya, past small shrines and carved doorways.
The stepwell and the clock tower
Toorji ka Jhalra: Toorji ka Jhalra is an eighteenth-century stepwell built by a queen, its sandstone steps falling in zigzags to the water.
- The market: at the clock tower and Sardar Market, spice sellers, cloth merchants and tea stalls crowd around the tower.
- The reward: a mirchi bada, a green chilli stuffed with spiced potato and fried in batter.
Craftsmen at home
- Working at home: tie-dyers with stained fingers, a family making brass utensils, tailors stitching bandhgala jackets and kitchens where women roll the day's bajra rotis.
- Which doors: our guides know which are open to visitors and which are not.
Jaisalmer, a fort that is still a town
- Inside the fort
- Early morning, during Jain temple worship
- Haveli lanes
- Late afternoon
- Gadisar Lake
- Sunrise, through Tilon ki Pol
- Patwon ki Haveli
- Begun 1805, for five sons
- Where to sleep
- Outside the fort
Inside the walls
A living fort: Jaisalmer Fort is one of the few great forts of India where people still live, in honey-coloured stone houses along lanes that twist between the bastions.
- The route: in early through its four gates, across Dussehra Chowk below the royal palace, and through the lanes to the Jain temples.
- Morning worship: the priests ring bells and the carved stone glows in the low light.
- Tea in a courtyard: our guides grew up visiting families in the fort, and a cup of tea is often part of the walk.
The haveli lanes below the fort
When: in the late afternoon, through the lanes of merchants' mansions between the fort and Gadisar.
- Patwon ki Haveli: Patwon ki Haveli, begun in 1805 by the merchant Guman Chand Patwa for his five sons, is a wall of carved jharokhas and screens.
- Salim Singh ki Haveli: Salim Singh ki Haveli, the house of a powerful prime minister, swells outwards at the top like the prow of a ship.
- Nathmal ki Haveli: carved by two brothers, each working on one half.
Gadisar at first light
At sunrise: begin at Gadisar Lake, through the carved Tilon ki Pol gateway.
- The ghats: along small temples where water-carriers and pilgrims once came every morning.
- Into town: a short walk up into the old town as the shops open.
Udaipur, Bundi and Bikaner on foot
- Udaipur
- Before six, from Gangaur Ghat
- Bundi
- Late afternoon, ending at dusk
- Bikaner
- Behind Kote Gate, to the Rampuria havelis
- Pushkar
- Early morning, round the lake
- Pushkar rules
- No meat, alcohol or photos of bathers
Udaipur, the ghats and the old city
Before six: start at Gangaur Ghat while the women are washing and the bells ring in the shrines.
- Sunrise: cross the Chandpole bridge to Hanuman Ghat as the sun comes up behind the City Palace.
- Jagdish Temple: climb through the old city lanes for the morning prayers. The lanes around it are full of silversmiths, puppet sellers and miniature painters' studios.
- Read more: our guide to Lake Pichola describes the ghats, and our Udaipur guide the rest of the city.
Bundi, stepwells and blue lanes
The most walkable town: Bundi is the most walkable town in Rajasthan, and one of the quietest.
- The route: in the late afternoon from the palace through blue-washed lanes to Raniji ki Baori, the queen's stepwell with its carved arches, then Nagar Sagar Kund.
- Jalebi hour: through the Sadar Bazaar as the sweet shops start frying jalebi, ending at Nawal Sagar at dusk. Our Bundi guide has the rest.
Bikaner, the Rampuria havelis
Behind Kote Gate: in Bikaner the city changes colour, from the red of the fort to the deeper red of carved sandstone mansions built by merchant families.
- The Rampuria havelis: the most famous, but the lanes around them are full of carved facades that are not signposted at all.
- The finish: the Bhandasar Jain temple, and a stall frying bhujia, the city's famous savoury snack.
Pushkar, around the sacred lake
The circuit: in Pushkar, a slow early-morning walk round the lake and its fifty-odd ghats, when pilgrims bathe and priests chant.
- Then: the main bazaar and the lanes leading to the Brahma Temple.
- A holy town: no meat, no alcohol and no photography of bathers, and shoes come off well before the water's edge.
- The mood: quieter than the cities, and deeply atmospheric.
Shekhawati, a gallery in the open air
Where: the towns of Shekhawati lie north-west of Jaipur.
The money: they grew rich on trade in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, and merchant families spent fortunes covering their havelis with frescoes inside and out.
- On the walls: gods and heroes beside European ladies, steam trains, motorcars and portraits of the merchants themselves.
- Half empty: many families later moved to Kolkata and Mumbai, so a walk through Mandawa or Nawalgarh with a good guide is like walking through a forgotten art gallery.
- Soft light: we walk in the early morning or late afternoon, when the light is gentle on the walls.
- Both kinds of haveli: restored houses opened as museums, and ones still lived in, where the family is happy to let you see the courtyard.
- Read the frescoes: our page on painted havelis explains how, and our painted towns of Shekhawati journey gives the region four unhurried nights.
Old Delhi, Ahmedabad and Varanasi
Old Delhi and Chandni Chowk
Shah Jahan's city: it still runs on trade. We walk Chandni Chowk and its lanes in the morning.
- The lanes: the silver of Dariba Kalan, the wedding trimmings of Kinari Bazaar and the spice warehouses of Khari Baoli.
- Breakfast: the fried breads of Paranthe Wali Gali.
- Why a guide: go with one who knows the families, because a closed shutter often hides the best shop.
The pols of Ahmedabad
UNESCO: the old walled city of Ahmedabad was named a World Heritage City in 2017.
- The pols: gated neighbourhoods of carved wooden houses around shared courtyards and bird feeders, one of India's finest walks.
- Early morning: past temples, mosques and stepwells, the best introduction to Gujarat before Kutch.
The ghats of Varanasi
- Along the river: in Varanasi, ghat to ghat at dawn through bathers, priests, boatmen and pilgrims, then into the lanes behind.
- The most intense: the most intense walk of all, and one of the most moving.
What to look for as you walk
Haveli: a townhouse built around one or more courtyards, closed to the street and open to the sky. Look for the grand entrance gate and the small door cut into it for everyday use.
Jharokha: a projecting balcony with carved stone screens, for watching the street without being seen. Our journal on what a jharokha is explains more.
- Chhatri: a small domed pavilion on slender pillars, crowning rooflines and marking memorials. You see them on roofs, gates and cremation grounds.
- Baori or kund: a stepwell or stepped tank, built to reach the water as it rose and fell through the year.
- Pol: a gate. In Jaipur and Jodhpur the city gates are called pols, and in Ahmedabad the word means a whole gated neighbourhood.
- Chowk and chaupar: a square or crossing where streets meet, the city's meeting place, market and festival ground.
- Doorways: look for painted Ganesh figures over doors, auspicious symbols drawn for weddings and the brass-studded wooden doors of the merchant houses.
- Go deeper: our guide on reading Rajasthani architecture covers every style you will meet on the road.
How we arrange a walk
Your guide: speaks your language and knows the families, shopkeepers and priests along the route.
Planned with you: around what you love, whether architecture, food, crafts, temples, photography or simply people.
- Format
- Private, with a local guide
- Allow
- Two to three hours
- Distance
- Two to four kilometres, easy pace
- Getting there
- Your chauffeur drops you at a city gate
- Shops
- Never commission shops
- The stops: tea, a snack and a look inside a temple, a courtyard or a workshop. Your chauffeur waits at the end.
- Buying: your guide takes you to a maker or trader we trust, and you buy directly.
- Not shopping: say so, and the walk will contain none. Our shopping guide explains why we work this way.
- Less walking: we use a cycle rickshaw or an auto-rickshaw for some stretches, and our cycling tours offer the old cities at dawn on two wheels.
- Themed walks: a food walk through the snack stalls of Jaipur or Jodhpur, a temple walk through the old city's shrines, a photography walk at the best light, or a craft walk through the workshops of the walled city.
The best season and the right hour
- Walking season
- October to March
- Our favourite month
- February
- Hot months
- First light to eight, and after five
- Monsoon picks
- Udaipur and Bundi
- Festival walks
- Diwali, Makar Sankranti, Gangaur
October to March, the walking season
Perfect months: fresh mornings, soft clear light, and lanes pleasant until late morning.
- December and January: dawns can be chilly, so start a little later and bring a shawl.
- Our favourite: February, for walking almost everywhere.
April to June, very early only
- First light until about eight: and again after five in the evening, when the heat breaks and families come out onto their doorsteps.
- Midday: is for the hotel pool. Carry water and wear a hat.
July to September, between the showers
- Fresh and green: the monsoon makes the old cities beautiful, and the light after rain is lovely, but lanes can be wet and slippery.
- Short and flexible: we choose cities such as Udaipur and Bundi, which are at their loveliest in the rains.
Festival walks
The best days: the lamps of Diwali in Jaipur's bazaars, the kites over the walled city on Makar Sankranti, the Gangaur procession through the old city in spring.
- Crowds: they are huge, so we plan the route and the meeting points carefully.
- Built around one: our Diwali in Jaipur journey.
Who will love it
First-timers: a walk is the best introduction to any old city, so we suggest one on the first morning in Jaipur, Jodhpur or Jaisalmer.
Photographers: the early light in the lanes and the faces in the doorways, always with permission. Our photography tips explain how to ask.
- Food lovers: breakfast on the move.
- Couples: the intimacy of a quiet lane at dawn.
- Families: children who like to explore do well, especially with a guide who turns the walk into a treasure hunt for carved elephants and painted gods.
- Limited mobility: the old cities are crowded and uneven, with steps, open drains, motorbikes and the occasional cow. We adapt the route, use a rickshaw for stretches or choose a quieter town such as Bundi.
- If crowds overwhelm you: choose the earliest hour, or a smaller town, and you will still have a wonderful walk. Our guide to accessible travel has more advice.
What we tell our guests before a walk
Soft shoes: closed ones that slip off easily, because you take them off at every temple and some homes.
Dress modestly: women may want a scarf for temples.
- Shoes
- Soft, closed, easy to slip off
- Clothes
- Shoulders and knees covered
- Carry
- Small change, refillable water bottle
- Leave behind
- Valuables, at the hotel
- Greeting
- Khamma ghani or ram ram
- Ask before photographs: especially of women. Never photograph people bathing at the ghats.
- Keep to the side: step aside for motorbikes, handcarts and cows. Everyone else does.
- Small change: for temple donations.
- Eat and drink safely: only where your guide suggests, and only bottled or filtered water.
- In crowded bazaars: keep your bag in front of you.