Why Rajasthan shops in the evening
That is when families come out together. Fathers buy the week's spices. Mothers and daughters hold lengths of bandhani up to the light for a wedding. Young men gather at the tea stalls, children are bribed with kulfi, the temples ring for the evening aarti, and in festival weeks thousands of fairy lights hang across the streets.
Built for the climate: the arcades of Jaipur, laid out from 1727 in Sawai Jai Singh II's grid, throw shade over the shopfronts.
- Best hour
- About five until eight or nine
- Best months
- October to March
- Hot months
- April to June, bazaars wake from about seven
- Food-only squares
- Masala Chowk, Jaipur, and Manek Chowk, Ahmedabad
- Our rule
- A guide who never takes commission
- Narrow on purpose: the lanes of Jodhpur and Jaisalmer are tight so that the walls shade each other.
- The afternoon lull: from April until the monsoon the afternoon heat closes the city down, and even in winter the middle of the day is for work, not wandering.
- When it wakes: the bazaar's real life begins in the late afternoon, when the heat goes out of the stone, and peaks in the first hours of darkness.
- Not a car park of stalls: this is not a night market in the South-East Asian sense. It is the ordinary bazaar at its busiest, happiest hour, with food stalls added at the edges.
- Where food takes over: in a few places, such as Jaipur's Masala Chowk or Ahmedabad's Manek Chowk, the food takes over entirely after dark. Everywhere else, the trick is to shop and eat slowly, side by side.
How we plan an evening in the bazaar
A guide from the old city: someone who grew up in the lanes walks with you, knows which to take and which to avoid, and stops you at the stalls where the food is fresh.
Shopkeepers we trust: your guide introduces you to the family jewellers and cloth merchants we have known for decades. If you do not want to buy, you simply watch.
- No commission, ever: our guides are paid to guide and never to sell, so nobody marches you into a showroom that pays them.
- The car close by: your car waits at an agreed point at the edge of the old city, and the driver waits for you after dark.
- The right pace: we start at about five, as the heat goes, and finish by eight or nine, before the streets empty.
- Bazaar sounds: expect a cheerful roar, lit by bare bulbs and strip lights, as the frying begins again at the snack stalls and the sweet shops fill their trays.
The bazaars we love after dark, city by city
Jaipur, the pink arcades lit for the evening
When: the bazaars of Jaipur are at their best from late afternoon into the evening, when the heat has gone, the lights come on and the whole city is out.
Start at Badi Chaupar: the great square beside Hawa Mahal fills with pigeons, flower sellers and families out for kulfi as the light softens.
- Johari Bazaar: the jewellers' street, where the shops glitter under the arcades.
- Bapu Bazaar: block-printed cotton, embroidered mojari slippers and bandhani dupattas.
- Maniharon ka Rasta: in the lanes behind Tripolia Bazaar, bangle makers keep working by lamplight, shaping lac over small charcoal fires.
- Getting about: a cycle rickshaw carries you over the long stretches.
Jaipur, Masala Chowk beside the Albert Hall
What it is: an open-air food court in the Ram Niwas gardens, just outside the walls, gathering some of the walled city's best-known street-food stalls in one clean courtyard.
- Our ritual: see the floodlit facade of the Albert Hall Museum, one of the most beautiful night views in Jaipur, then walk across to eat.
- What to order: pani puri, dal kachori, chilla and kulfi.
- Why we like it: it is the safest and pleasantest place in the city to try street food, and children love it.
Jodhpur, the Clock Tower and Sardar Market
The last hour of light: the market around Jodhpur's Clock Tower is the liveliest place in the city, as the fort above turns gold, then red, and the tower's lights come on.
- What stays busy: the spice sellers, bandhani shops and bangle stalls trade well into the evening.
- Eat this: a mirchi bada, the city's fat green chilli fritter, straight from the pan.
- Then this: an omelette or egg sandwich from the stalls around the square that cook on a big griddle. Several claim to be the original, and arguing about which is half the fun.
Udaipur, the old city and the lake shore
Gentler than Jaipur: in the bazaars around Bada Bazaar and the clock tower area, snack stalls fry kachori, samosas and fresh jalebis coiled straight into hot oil.
- Below the Jagdish temple: the lanes fill with shops selling miniature paintings, silver and textiles.
- Fateh Sagar: at Fateh Sagar, the lake that belongs to the people of Udaipur, the embankment is lined with carts selling roasted corn, ice cream and chaat.
- Why we love it: half the city walks along the water. It is not a market at all, and it is one of our favourite evenings in Rajasthan.
Jaisalmer, below the fort gate
Where: Manak Chowk and the lanes around it, below the gate of Jaisalmer Fort.
- What they sell: mirrorwork embroidery, appliqué bedspreads, woollen shawls, silver jewellery, leather and puppets.
- When: the early evening, when the light is soft, shopkeepers are relaxed and the fort above glows in its floodlights.
- Take home: a small box of ghotua laddoo, Jaisalmer's own sweet of gram flour, ghee, cardamom and saffron, to share later on your terrace.
Bikaner, the old city's sweet shops
A town at home: after dark, the lanes around Kote Gate in Bikaner fill with families, and the snack shops do their busiest trade.
- The sweet shops: rasgulla, milk sweets and the city's famous bhujia, crisp, spiced gram-flour noodles that Bikaner sends all over India.
- A perfect end to the day: a mirchi bada, a glass of hot saffron milk and a walk past the lit havelis of the Rampuria lanes.
Bundi, jalebi in Sadar Bazaar
A market town: Bundi serves the farms of Hadoti, and its Sadar Bazaar sells what local people need: steel pots, bridal bangles, turban cloth, seeds, spices and sweets.
- Turban cloth: our journal on the turbans of Rajasthan explains what the lengths of cloth on the shelves become.
- The liveliest hour: the evening, when the sweet shops start frying jalebi.
- Then: buy a few bangles for the joy of it, and walk around Nawal Sagar as the palace lights come on up the hill.
Pushkar and Ajmer, the holy towns at night
Pushkar is quiet by design: after the evening aarti on the ghats of Pushkar, the main bazaar stays open for a while, then the shutters come down and the town sleeps.
- Pushkar's sweet: a hot malpua, the fried, syrup-soaked pancake that is the town's signature, with rabri.
- Ajmer is the opposite: over the hill in Ajmer, the lanes around the Sufi shrine of the Ajmer Sharif Dargah come alive after dark, with qawwali, rose sellers and food stalls.
- Ramadan: during the holy month, the dargah quarter stays awake late into the night.
The great evening bazaars beyond Rajasthan
Delhi, Chandni Chowk and the lanes of the Jama Masjid
History: Shah Jahan's daughter Jahanara laid out Chandni Chowk around 1650 as a broad bazaar with a canal down its centre.
Winter only: from roughly November to February, look for daulat ki chaat, a cloud of sweetened milk foam whipped by hand in the cold night air.
- Towards the Jama Masjid: the lanes south of the avenue turn to slow-cooked nihari, kebabs and kormas, and during Ramzan they fill with food stalls after sunset.
- Before Diwali: the trimmings and sweet shops are at their most dazzling.
- After dark: we always travel by car, with a driver who waits for you.
Ahmedabad, Manek Chowk
By day: near the Jama Masjid of Ahmedabad, Manek Chowk is a jewellery and vegetable market.
- After dark: the jewellers close and the square fills with food stalls, frying and grilling until long past midnight. It is the most dramatic transformation of any square we know.
- What to try: the sandwiches, the pav bhaji and the kulfi. Go with a guide and a good appetite.
Agra, Kinari Bazaar at dusk
Where: behind the Jama Masjid opposite Agra Fort, in a tight maze of lanes.
- What they sell: wedding trimmings, tinsel, silver anklets, spices, kites and sweets.
- How: go with a guide in the early evening, when the shops are lit and busy, keep your bag in front of you and stop for hot jalebi.
- Finish early: Agra is not a city for wandering late, so we finish by the time it is fully dark. Our things to do in Agra guide has more.
Varanasi, the lanes after the aarti
After the ghats: in Varanasi, the evening aarti is followed by a walk back through the old lanes.
- What you find: sweet shops selling malaiyyo in winter, and paan sellers folding betel leaves for the evening crowd.
- How we walk it: it is crowded, narrow and wonderful, and we go with a guide who knows every turn.
What to eat in the bazaar after dark
- Freshest
- Evening, when the oil is fresh
- Safest spot
- Masala Chowk, Jaipur
- Riskiest dish
- Pani puri at a careless stall
- Winter treats
- Hot saffron milk, gajar ka halwa
- Water
- Bottled or filtered only
Kachori and mirchi bada
Cooked twice a day: Rajasthan's fried snacks are made through the day and again in the evening, when the oil is fresh and the queue is long.
- Kachori: Jaipur and Jodhpur are both famous for pyaaz kachori, a flaky pastry filled with spiced onion, and dal kachori, filled with lentils.
- Mirchi bada: Jodhpur's large, mild green chilli stuffed with spiced potato and fried in gram-flour batter.
- How to eat them: hot from the pan.
Chaat and pani puri
Chaat: the family of sharp, sweet, spicy street snacks built on crisp fried dough, potatoes, chickpeas, yoghurt and chutneys.
- Pani puri: called golgappa in the north, hollow puffs filled with spiced water and eaten in one bite.
- Where we eat them: they are delicious and, at a careless stall, the riskiest thing on the street, so we eat them only where we know the water is safe, such as Masala Chowk.
Jalebi, malpua and kulfi
Jalebi: spirals of batter fried and dropped into syrup, made fresh in the evenings everywhere from Bikaner to Bundi.
- Malpua: with rabri, in Pushkar and around Holi.
- Kulfi: dense frozen milk flavoured with saffron, pistachio or cardamom, sold from carts and shops all year.
- In winter: look for gajar ka halwa, carrots slow-cooked with milk and ghee.
Hot milk and chai
The winter drink: a tall glass of hot milk with saffron, cardamom and a skin of cream, poured from a height to cool it.
- Masala chai: sweet and spiced, poured at every corner.
- Order like a local: ask for cutting chai and you get half a glass, the local way to drink it.
What to buy in the evening bazaars
Lac bangles
Where: Jaipur's Maniharon ka Rasta and the bazaars of Jodhpur.
- How they are made: families shape bangles of lac, a natural resin, over small charcoal fires and press glass and stones into it while it is warm.
- Why buy: a set costs little, makes a lovely present and is a craft you can watch being made in front of you.
- Sizing: bangles are bought in sets, and the shopkeeper measures your hand by squeezing it gently.
Bandhani and leheriya
How it is sold: Rajasthan's tie-dyed cloth comes by the length and as dupattas, saris and turbans.
- Bandhani: dotted, each dot made by tying a tiny knot of cloth before dyeing.
- Leheriya: the wave pattern, the cloth of the monsoon and of Teej.
- Where to look: Jodhpur's Sardar Market and Jaipur's Bapu Bazaar. Our page on leheriya and bandhani explains how they are made.
Mojari slippers
What they are: embroidered leather slippers with a curled toe, made in Jaipur and Jodhpur.
- Expect: they are stiff at first and soften with wear, and the left and right are often identical until your feet shape them.
- How to buy: try several pairs, walk up and down the shop, and choose a size that feels snug.
Spices and tea
Jodhpur's spice sellers: around the clock tower, red chilli from Mathania, garam masala mixes and saffron, and many will pack them for travel.
- Whole, not powder: whole spices keep their flavour longer.
- Where: only from busy shops with a quick turnover.
Silver and puppets
Silver: in Jaisalmer and Udaipur, the evening lanes are full of old and new tribal silver, anklets and earrings, sold by weight. Ask how much is silver and how much is the setting.
- Puppets: painted wooden kathputli, the string puppets of Rajasthan, are sold everywhere and are a joy for children.
- Read more: our page on kathputli puppet theatre tells you who makes them, and our journal on kathputli puppets tells their story.
An evening in Jaipur's bazaars, hour by hour
- Start
- Five o'clock at Badi Chaupar
- Finish
- By nine, back at your hotel
- Allow
- About three and a half hours
- Transport
- On foot, cycle rickshaw, car at the gate
Five o'clock, tea at Badi Chaupar
Meet: your guide meets you at the edge of the walled city.
- Sit: take a rooftop seat facing Hawa Mahal with a cup of masala chai. Our journal on the best rooftop restaurants in Jaipur has more seats like it.
- Watch: the facade turns from pink to rose as the square below fills with the evening.
Six o'clock, Johari Bazaar and the lanes
Walk: down Johari Bazaar as the lights come on in the jewellers' shops.
- Turn off: into the side lanes for the bangle makers and the textile shops.
- Buy or watch: if you want to buy, we take you to family jewellers and cloth merchants we have known for decades. If not, we simply watch.
Seven o'clock, a cycle rickshaw to the Albert Hall
- Ride: a cycle rickshaw carries you through the bazaar and out through the gate.
- Pause: ten minutes to admire the Albert Hall, floodlit in the gardens, then across to Masala Chowk.
Half past seven, dinner from five stalls
- Share: choose a few dishes from different stalls, share everything and finish with kulfi.
- Your guide orders: and explains what each dish is and where it comes from.
Half past eight, home
- The car is waiting: at the gate, and by nine you are back at your hotel.
- A nightcap: perhaps on the verandah at Rambagh Palace, with your bangles in your pocket and the smell of the bazaar in your clothes.
The best season and the best hour
October to March: the most comfortable season, with warm evenings in October and November and cold ones in December and January, when hot milk and fresh jalebi taste best.
The weeks before Diwali: in October or November, the most spectacular of the year. We plan these crowded, joyful evenings with extra care.
Diwali in Jaipur: Johari Bazaar, Bapu Bazaar and MI Road are lit end to end, and families crowd the shops for new clothes, gold, sweets and clay lamps.
- October-November
- Warm evenings, Diwali lights
- December-January
- Cold nights, hot milk and jalebi
- Makar Sankranti
- 14 January, kite sellers in Jaipur
- April-June
- Hot, bazaars busy from about seven
- Monsoon
- Short downpours can flood the lanes
- Diwali in Jodhpur: Sardar Market fills with lamps and marigolds and stays open late into the night.
- Makar Sankranti: in the days before 14 January, kite sellers spring up across the old city of Jaipur.
- Teej: in the monsoon weeks before it, the bazaars fill with leheriya cloth and ghevar.
- The winter wedding season: brides and their families come in search of jewellery and saris, and the bazaars are at their busiest and happiest.
- The Pushkar Camel Fair: in the month of Kartik, a whole temporary town of stalls and fairground rides grows up around the dunes.
- April to June: evenings are hot, and the bazaars come alive later, from about seven until well after dark.
- The monsoon: short downpours can flood the lanes for an hour, so we keep plans flexible.
- Every month: we start at about five, as the heat goes, and finish by eight or nine. Our best time to visit Rajasthan guide has every month in detail.
Safety, shopping and good sense
Go with a guide the first time: and keep your car close. In the old cities, our drivers wait at an agreed point at the edge of the walls.
Guard your things: keep your bag in front of you, your phone in a zipped pocket and only small notes in your wallet. Crowds attract pickpockets everywhere in the world.
- Eat where it is busy: choose stalls where food is cooked in front of you and served hot, avoid anything raw that has been sitting out, and drink bottled or filtered water. Our health and safety guide has more.
- Bargain gently: with a smile. Prices are fixed in some shops and negotiable in most, and walking away politely usually finds the right number.
- Know handwork from machine work: learn the difference before you buy. Our shopping guide and textile shopping page explain how.
- Ignore the touts: anyone who offers a factory, a cousin's shop or a special price. Our guides never take commission, and we never take you to shops that pay one.
- Women travelling alone: the evening bazaars are busy and mostly friendly. Dress modestly, go with a guide and leave before the streets empty. Our page for women travellers has more.
- Ask before photographing people: especially women and anyone at prayer. Most shopkeepers are happy to be photographed if you have bought something or simply asked.
Who will love it, and who should take it gently
Food lovers
- The best classroom: the evening bazaar is the best street-food classroom in India.
- Build it in: our food lover's Rajasthan journey includes several of these evenings, alongside a cooking class in a haveli and the royal kitchens of the palaces.
Families
- What children love: the colour, the noise, the cycle rickshaws and the kulfi.
- How to do it: keep the evening short, hold hands in the crowds and finish at Masala Chowk in Jaipur or on the Fateh Sagar embankment in Udaipur.
Shoppers
- The best time to shop: the evening, and a guide who knows the honest merchants is worth more than any discount.
- Our route for you: the textile and craft trail is built for people who want to buy well.
Those who prefer calm
- Gentle towns: choose Bundi, Bikaner or Pushkar, whose evenings are quiet.
- Watch from above: see Jodhpur's clock tower from a rooftop with a cup of chai and let the market come to you. Our rooftop dining page has the best seats.