Two roads to the Pink City
The old highway: NH48, the road through Gurugram, Manesar and Neemrana that Delhi has driven to Jaipur for generations.
The new expressway: the Delhi to Mumbai Expressway, which runs south from near Delhi into eastern Rajasthan, with a spur that brings it into Jaipur via Bandikui.
- Distance
- About 280 km either way, roughly
- Our planning time
- Four to five hours door to door
- Slowest part
- Leaving Delhi and Gurugram
- Best departure
- Early, or after the morning rush
- Never
- Long drives after dark
- The honest times: we still plan four to five hours door to door. On a clear day the expressway can make it noticeably quicker.
- What decides it: where you're starting in Delhi, the time of day, roadworks, and whether you want to stop at Neemrana or Abhaneri.
- Your chauffeur chooses on the day: traffic changes daily, and our drivers check before you set off.
The old highway, NH48
The route: out through Gurugram and Manesar, past Neemrana and Behror, then on through Kotputli and Shahpura towards Jaipur.
The traffic: heavy around Gurugram at peak hours and busy with trucks all day. Our chauffeurs know where it slows.
- The great stop: Neemrana Fort Palace, a fifteenth-century fort on a hill, now a heritage hotel. A lunch on its terraces breaks the drive well.
- The fort near the end: Alila Fort Bishangarh, a warrior fort on a granite hill about an hour and a half north of Jaipur, for a first night in the hills.
- Into the city: depending on the road your chauffeur takes, the last stretch can pass below the hills of Amer, with the fort above Maota Lake.
- Who it suits: travellers who want a lunch stop at a fort and don't mind a busier road.
The new expressway via Bandikui
How it works: you join the expressway on Delhi's southern side, drive south through Haryana into eastern Rajasthan, then turn off at Bandikui onto the spur to Jaipur.
The spur: a four-lane road of about 67 kilometres from Bandikui to the eastern edge of Jaipur. It opened in July 2025, first on a trial basis.
- Main road
- Delhi to Mumbai Expressway
- Delhi to Dausa section
- Opened in 2023
- Jaipur spur
- Bandikui to Jaipur, opened 2025
- Spur length
- About 67 km
- Joins Jaipur
- Near Bagrana, on the eastern outskirts
- The difference: fewer trucks, fewer villages and long smooth stretches. Officials have spoken of Delhi to Jaipur in about three hours. We plan more.
- The trade-off: an expressway is built for speed, not charm. There are fewer places to stop and very little to see from the road.
- Arriving from the east: you reach Jaipur on the Agra road side of the city, rather than from the north past Amer.
- Still changing: new interchanges and links are still being added around the expressway, so routes and times will keep improving.
Which road we choose, and when
Choose the expressway if
You want the quickest drive: on a clear day it is usually the faster option once you're out of the city.
- You're starting from south or east Delhi: the expressway is often easier to reach.
- You'd like to see Abhaneri: the stepwell lies near Bandikui, where the spur turns off for Jaipur.
Choose the old highway if
You want lunch at a fort: Neemrana sits close to it.
- You're staying at Alila Fort Bishangarh: it lies north of Jaipur on the Delhi side.
- You're starting from Gurugram: NH48 runs straight through it.
Choose the train if
- You want to skip the Delhi traffic entirely: fast trains, including Shatabdi and Vande Bharat services, take a little over four hours.
- You'd like to sightsee in Delhi first: an afternoon train after a morning at Humayun's Tomb loses no daylight. Our train or car post explains.
Choose the plane if
- You're connecting straight from an international flight: an hour's flight to Jaipur is gentler than five hours in a car. See airports and flights.
Abhaneri, the stepwell worth the detour
The stepwell: Chand Baori drops roughly 30 metres through 13 storeys and some 3,500 steps.
The temple beside it: the ruined Harshat Mata temple, with fine carved stone figures.
- What
- Chand Baori, one of India's deepest stepwells
- Built
- Eighth or ninth century
- Depth
- About 30 metres, 13 storeys
- Allow
- Ninety minutes
- From Jaipur
- About 95 km east
- Why it was built: to hold water through the dry months, and as a cool place to gather in summer.
- Fitting it in: on the expressway route, Abhaneri lies near Bandikui. It adds an hour or so of detour plus the visit.
- More stepwells: our post on the stepwells of Rajasthan tells the wider story.
- Also on the Agra road: many guests see it instead on the Agra to Jaipur drive. Our Agra to Jaipur via Abhaneri post explains.
Leaving Delhi, the slowest hour of the day
Leave early: on the road by seven, before the office traffic. Your hotel will pack breakfast.
Or leave late: after the morning rush, around ten, after a calm breakfast.
- Avoid Friday evenings: weekend traffic out of Delhi is heavy, especially before long weekends and festivals.
- Winter fog: in December and January, dense morning fog can slow the roads around Delhi. On those days we leave later, when it lifts.
- From the airport: Aerocity hotels beside the airport sit close to the Gurugram road, which can save time.
- Delhi first: if you have a day, see the city before you go. Our Delhi guide suggests where to start.
Why we don't drive on arrival day
Sleep first: a night in Delhi, at a calm hotel, after a long flight. You will see Jaipur with fresh eyes.
Or fly on: a short flight to Jaipur, about an hour, means bed by evening.
- The night flight problem: many long-haul flights land late at night. Driving on in the dark is exactly what we avoid.
- Where to rest: The Leela Palace, New Delhi, The Imperial or The Oberoi, New Delhi, or an airport hotel for a very early start.
- Then a gentle drive: after breakfast the next day, with a lunch stop, arriving in Jaipur for tea.
What you see on the way
Glass towers, then fields: Gurugram's office blocks give way within an hour to wheat and mustard, brick kilns and village ponds.
The first Aravallis: low, rocky ridges appear on the horizon as you cross into Rajasthan, the same hills that wrap around Jaipur.
- Painted trucks: on NH48, lorries decorated with flowers, eyes, tassels and the words Horn Please on the back.
- Wayside shrines: small temples under pipal trees, with red flags and a bell.
- Turbans: watch them turn from the white caps of Haryana to the bright safas of Rajasthan. It is the clearest border on the road.
- Camels: the first camel cart, usually somewhere past the state border, makes every child in the car sit up.
Eating on the way
Parathas and chai: the classic highway breakfast, stuffed flatbreads with butter, pickle and curd. We stop only where the kitchens are clean.
Lunch at Neemrana: on the old road, the fort's terraces give you a long lunch with a view.
- A picnic from your hotel: sandwiches and fruit, eaten at a stop of your choosing. Often the most relaxed lunch of all.
- On the expressway: wayside facilities are spaced along the road. We plan which to use in advance.
- First taste of Jaipur: keep room for pyaaz kachori or a lassi in the walled city. Our food of Jaipur guide names the old shops.
- Water: sealed bottles only. The car carries plenty.
What most travellers miss on this road
Abhaneri in the morning light: the stepwell's steps cast sharp zigzag shadows early in the day. It is one of the most photographed sights in Rajasthan, and rarely crowded.
The Harshat Mata carvings: beside the stepwell, carved figures of musicians and lovers that most visitors walk past.
- Neemrana's terraces: even if you only stop for tea, the view over the plain from the upper floors is worth the climb.
- The first view of the walls: if you enter Jaipur by the old road, ask to drive past Jal Mahal and in through one of the gates of the walled city.
- A rest before Amber: arriving tired and rushing to Amber the same afternoon is a waste. Keep it for opening time. Our post on sunrise at Amber Fort explains why.
Arriving in Jaipur
The first evening: a walk in the walled city as the light softens, or tea on a terrace. Keep Amber for the next morning at opening.
The garden palace: Rambagh Palace, once the Maharaja's residence, with lawns and peacocks.
- The calm retreat: The Oberoi Rajvilas, on the edge of the city, in gardens of its own.
- Inside the walls: Samode Haveli, a nobleman's townhouse in the old city.
- Outside the city: Samode Palace, about an hour north of Jaipur, for a night of painted halls before the city.
- More choice: our Jaipur luxury hotels guide compares them all.
Before you set out
Tell us your Delhi address: so your chauffeur can plan the best road out of the city for that morning.
Breakfast to go: ask your hotel for a packed breakfast if you're leaving at seven.
- Keep a day bag in the cabin of the car: water, a shawl, sunglasses, medicines and your passport.
- Check the fog: in December and January, we message you the night before if a later start looks wiser.
- Decide on the stop: Neemrana, Abhaneri or straight through. It decides the road, so we agree it in advance.
How we plan the drive day
Clean stops: on the old road, heritage hotels and restaurants we know. On the expressway, the wayside facilities we trust.
Your chauffeur stops whenever you ask: for a stretch, a photograph or a cup of chai.
- Leave
- Early, or after the rush
- Stops
- Every two hours or so
- Lunch
- Neemrana, a trusted restaurant, or a picnic
- Arrive
- By late afternoon
- Carry
- Water, a shawl, your passport
- The car carries: cold water, tissues and sanitiser. Bring a shawl for the air-conditioning.
- Seat belts: wear them in the back as well as the front.
- Every route time: our road distances guide and getting around guide have the rest.
The road through the year
October to March: the best months, with clear days. Mustard fields turn the country yellow in winter.
December and January: dense morning fog around Delhi. We leave later and drive more slowly until it lifts.
- April to June: very hot on the plains. Leave early and rest in Jaipur through the afternoon.
- The monsoon: heavy showers can slow traffic, and the Aravallis around Jaipur turn green. Our month guide to Rajasthan in July explains the season.
- Festival weekends: around Diwali, Holi and long weekends, both roads fill with Delhi families heading to Jaipur. We plan around them.
Detours worth a night
Neemrana: a night in the fort-palace, about halfway, instead of a lunch.
Alwar and Sariska: Delhi to Alwar is about 150 kilometres, three hours or a little more, and Sariska about four. A tiger reserve and a palace city.
- Bhangarh: the ruined town of Bhangarh, roughly 85 to 90 kilometres from Jaipur, famous for its legends. Our post on Bhangarh, the haunted fort separates story from history.
- Bishangarh: a night at the Alila fort on its granite hill north of Jaipur.
- Samode: painted halls in a hill palace about an hour from Jaipur. See Samode.
Families and the Delhi road
With young children
- One stop, not three: a fort at Neemrana or the stepwell at Abhaneri, not both. Children tire faster than adults expect.
- Child seats: not standard in Indian touring cars. Tell us ages in advance and we bring them.
With teenagers
- The train: many teenagers prefer the fast train, with the platforms, the vendors and phone signal all the way. Our guide to travelling with children has more ideas.
Journeys that start on this road
The Golden Triangle: Delhi, Agra and Jaipur. See the Golden Triangle classic.
Delhi, Jaipur and Agra in luxury: see Delhi, Jaipur and Agra.
- Delhi, Jaipur and Udaipur: then south to the lakes. See Delhi, Jaipur and Udaipur.
- Royal Rajputana: our signature journey across Rajasthan. See Royal Rajputana.
- Jaipur in three nights: the short escape. See Jaipur in three nights.
Drive, train or fly, and who should do which
Drive if: you want a stop at Neemrana or Abhaneri, door-to-door ease and no luggage to handle.
Take the train if: you want to skip Delhi's traffic, rest on the way and arrive at a central station.
- Fly if: you're connecting from a long-haul flight and want to be in Jaipur by evening.
- Families: the drive with a fort stop is easier with children than a station. Keep it to one stop.
- Older travellers: the train or a short flight is often kindest. Stations have stairs, so tell us if that is hard.