Why this road is everyone's favourite
Two kingdoms: you start in Mewar, the land of the Sisodias, and finish in Marwar, the land of the Rathores. The road crosses the hill country of Godwar between them.
The Aravallis: among the oldest mountains on earth, worn into low forested ridges. Here they are at their greenest and most folded.
- Udaipur to Kumbhalgarh
- About 85 km, two and a half hours
- Kumbhalgarh to Ranakpur
- About an hour
- Ranakpur to Narlai or Jawai
- An hour to an hour and a half
- Narlai or Jawai to Jodhpur
- About two and a half to three hours
- Kumbhalgarh to Jodhpur
- About four hours via Ranakpur
- A temple in the forest: Ranakpur, one of the great Jain temples of India, sits in a wooded valley almost exactly halfway.
- A fort on the ridge: Kumbhalgarh, with its wall of about 36 kilometres, is a short detour.
- Leopard country: the granite hills of Jawai lie close to the road.
- Slow, and worth it: hill roads wind and the drive takes longer than the map suggests. That is no hardship at all.
The road in one day
Early morning: leave Udaipur
- Set off after an early breakfast: about two and a half hours into the hills to Ranakpur.
- The climb: fields give way to forest, and the road winds up through the Aravallis. Langurs sit along the walls.
Late morning: Ranakpur
- Time it to the temple: the temple keeps its mornings for worship, and visiting hours for non-Jains are set by the temple. We check them on the day.
- Allow two hours: for the great temple, the smaller Jain temples beside it and the Sun temple nearby.
Lunch: in the valley
- At a hotel nearby: a small number of hotels sit within a few minutes of the temple, and we book lunch ahead.
Afternoon: down to the plains
- About three to three and a half hours on: the hills fall away, the land turns sandier and the turbans brighten as you enter Marwar.
- Arrive in Jodhpur for the evening light: in time to see Mehrangarh glow above the blue city.
Ranakpur, a forest of marble pillars
The temple: the Chaumukha, four-faced, temple, with shrines facing the four directions, built in the fifteenth century in pale marble.
The pillars: 1,444 by tradition, each carved differently. Your guide will show you the ones even regulars miss.
- Built
- Fifteenth century, under Rana Kumbha
- Dedicated to
- Adinath, the first tirthankara
- Pillars
- 1,444, by tradition no two alike
- Allow
- At least two hours
- Rules
- No leather, covered limbs, quiet voices
- The domes: look up. The ceilings hold dancers, garlands and concentric rings of carving that draw the eye to the centre.
- The snakes of Parshvanath: a single marble slab carved with a tangle of serpents around the tirthankara. Find it before you leave.
- The Sun temple: a short walk away, an older temple with chariot wheels and horses carved on its walls.
- The rules: no leather, shoulders and knees covered, no food, and the temple posts entry rules for women, as many traditional temples do. Respect them all.
- More: our Ranakpur guide has the full story.
Kumbhalgarh, a night below the great wall
What it is: a UNESCO World Heritage fort since 2013, one of the Hill Forts of Rajasthan, built in the fifteenth century by Rana Kumbha of Mewar.
Pratap's birthplace: Maharana Pratap was born here. Our post on Maharana Pratap and Haldighati tells his story.
- The evening: a light show at the fort tells its history after dark.
- The morning: walk a stretch of the wall at sunrise, with the hills of Mewar on one side and the plains of Marwar on the other.
- The sanctuary: the fort stands in a wildlife sanctuary of about 610 square kilometres, home to leopards, sloth bears and wolves.
- The road on: Kumbhalgarh to Ranakpur is about an hour, down through the forest of the sanctuary.
- Where to stay: a handful of heritage-style resorts on the slopes below the walls. Our Kumbhalgarh guide compares them.
Narlai, a hunting lodge under a granite hill
Where: in Godwar, Pali district, between Udaipur and Jodhpur, about two and a half hours from each, and less than an hour from Ranakpur.
The lodge: Rawla Narlai, a seventeenth-century hunting lodge of the Jodhpur royal family, now a heritage hotel.
- The village: more than twenty old carved temples, and a walk with a local guide in the late afternoon.
- The dinner: Narlai is famous for candlelit dinners in a stepwell. We arrange it for couples and special occasions.
- The hill: a climb to the elephant at dawn gives you the whole of Godwar laid out below.
- More: our Narlai guide.
Jawai, leopards on the granite
Why stop: leopards rest on the boulders at dawn and dusk, alongside the temples and villages of the Rabari herders.
How: drives at first and last light with expert naturalists, and slow middays.
- What
- Leopards on granite hills, Rabari herders
- Reservoir
- Jawai Bandh, completed 1957
- From Udaipur or Jodhpur
- About three hours
- Nights
- Two to three
- Best months
- October to March
- Where to stay: SUJAN JAWAI, a luxury tented camp among the rocks, with a firm line on ethical safaris.
- Birds: in winter, the reservoir draws flamingos, cranes and bar-headed geese.
- Respect: this is shared land. Our page on the Rabari herders explains how to meet them well.
- More: our Jawai guide and our post Jawai or Ranthambore?.
Rohet and the last hour into Jodhpur
Rohet Garh: Rohet Garh, a hotel since 1990, where Bruce Chatwin worked on The Songlines. See Rohet.
Marwari horses: the family breeds the horses with inward-curving ears. Rides through the countryside are a highlight.
- Bishnoi villages: nearby, families who have protected trees and blackbuck for five centuries. Our Bishnoi villages page explains a respectful visit.
- Or Mihir Garh: Mihir Garh, the same family's fort of the sun, with large private suites in open country.
- Then Jodhpur: under an hour on, for Umaid Bhawan Palace or RAAS Jodhpur under the fort.
From the lakes to the plains, through the window
Mewar's valleys: lakes, mango trees and terraced fields around Udaipur, with white temples on the ridges.
The forest: dry deciduous woods of the sanctuary, flame-of-the-forest trees red in spring, and langurs on every wall.
- Godwar's granite: around Narlai and Jawai, great domes and boulders of pink granite rise out of the fields, some topped with tiny shrines.
- Rabari country: herders in white with red turbans, their women in black with heavy silver, moving sheep and camels across the land.
- Marwar's plain: the hills drop away, the soil turns sandy, and khejri trees and bright turbans tell you you're nearly in Jodhpur.
- Water everywhere in the monsoon: after the rains, streams run beside the road and small waterfalls drop off the ridges.
Eating on the way
Makki ki roti: in winter, the maize bread of the Aravalli villages, with ghee and jaggery or a green vegetable.
Dal baati churma: the dish of Mewar and Marwar alike, baked wheat balls with lentils and a sweet crumble.
- Lunch near Ranakpur: a hotel in the valley, booked ahead. The temple itself forbids food inside.
- A heritage lunch: at Rawla Narlai or Rohet Garh, in a courtyard, if you are passing at midday.
- Mirchi bada at the end: Jodhpur's stuffed fried chilli is the right welcome. Our food of Jodhpur guide names the shops.
- Water: sealed bottles only, and plenty of it. Our food guide explains how we eat safely on the road.
Three ways we build the road
One day: Udaipur, Ranakpur, Jodhpur
- The shape: five to six hours of driving, two hours at Ranakpur, lunch in the valley.
- Who it suits: travellers with a week or ten days who want to see the temple and keep moving.
Two days: via Kumbhalgarh
Day one: Udaipur to Kumbhalgarh, two and a half hours, for the fort, the light show and a sunrise on the wall.
- Day two: Kumbhalgarh to Ranakpur, about an hour, then about three to three and a half hours to Jodhpur.
- Who it suits: history lovers and families with children who like castles.
Three or four days: the Godwar way
- The shape: Kumbhalgarh for a night, Ranakpur in the morning, then two nights at Narlai or Jawai, and Rohet before Jodhpur.
- Who it suits: couples and slow travellers. Our Mewar and Marwar journey follows this road.
Before you set out from Udaipur
Dress for the temple: wear clothes that cover shoulders and knees from the start, so there's no changing in the car park.
Leave leather behind: wear a cloth belt and carry a cloth bag. It saves sorting at the temple gate.
- Pack a day bag: water, socks for the marble, a scarf, sunscreen and any medicine for motion sickness.
- Ask for an early breakfast: most Udaipur hotels will set one up an hour before the restaurant opens if you ask the night before.
- Send heavy bags ahead: if you're staying a night on the way, pack an overnight bag and leave the big cases in the boot.
- Last look at the lake: if you have time, a dawn walk along the ghats of Lake Pichola before you go is the right goodbye to Udaipur.
How we plan the hill road
Gentle bends: tell your chauffeur if you're prone to motion sickness. He'll take the curves slowly and stop when you need.
Temple timing: Ranakpur's visiting hours for non-Jains can change, especially at festivals. We confirm them on the day and plan the drive around them.
- Leave Udaipur
- After an early breakfast
- Temple hours
- Set by the temple, checked on the day
- Pack
- Scarf, socks, a cloth bag, water
- Motion sickness
- Common on the bends, sit in front
- After dark
- Never on hill roads
- Leather: belts, bags, watch straps and shoes stay in the car. Bring socks for hot marble.
- Lunch: booked at a hotel near the temple, or a picnic packed by your Udaipur hotel.
- Daylight only: we never drive hill roads after dark, when cattle rest on the warm tarmac.
- Every distance: our road distances guide lists the legs.
The road through the year
October to March: the best months for driving, with clear skies, cool mornings and the best leopard season at Jawai.
The monsoon: the Aravallis turn emerald, waterfalls run beside the road and Kumbhalgarh sits in cloud. Our Monsoon in Mewar journey uses this road.
- After the rains: September and early October are green and fresh, and the lakes are full.
- April to June: hot, though the hills are a little kinder than the plains. Leave early, rest at midday.
- The Kumbhalgarh Festival: classical and folk dance at the fort, usually in December. See the Kumbhalgarh Festival.
What most travellers miss on this road
The smaller temples at Ranakpur: a few minutes' walk from the great temple, just as rewarding, and almost always empty.
The second visit: with a night nearby, see Ranakpur twice, once at the start of visiting hours and once near closing, in softer light.
- Langurs on the walls: grey langurs sit along the road through the sanctuary. Don't feed them.
- Rabari herders: men in white with red turbans, walking their flocks across the road near Jawai. Wave, and they wave back.
- Village tanks: stone-stepped ponds with shrines on their banks, in nearly every Godwar village.
- The first sight of Mehrangarh: from the plains, the fort appears on its rock long before the city. Watch for it.
Families, older travellers and limited mobility
With children
- Keep days short: split at Kumbhalgarh, where the walls and cannon delight children, and at Jawai, where leopards do the rest.
- Car sickness: pack ginger sweets, keep windows slightly open and stop at the top of each climb.
With older travellers
- Ranakpur's steps: the temple has steps and wide marble halls. Socks protect feet from hot or icy stone.
- Kumbhalgarh's climb: the path to the top of the fort is steep. Enjoy the lower terraces and the view from below if needed.
With limited mobility
- Tell us early: we choose hotels with fewer steps and plan shorter visits. Our accessible travel guide explains how.
Journeys built on this road
Mewar and Marwar: the lakes and the blue city, with Godwar between. See our Mewar and Marwar journey.
Jaipur, Jodhpur and Udaipur: the classic three cities. See the Jaipur, Jodhpur and Udaipur journey.
- Udaipur, Jodhpur and Jaisalmer: continue into the desert. Read our Jodhpur to Jaisalmer route.
- Mewar lakes and temples: Udaipur, Kumbhalgarh and Ranakpur at a slow pace. See Mewar lakes and temples.
- Big cats and birds: Jawai's leopards with Ranthambore's tigers. See big cats and birds.
Who will love this road
Architecture lovers: Ranakpur is one of the masterpieces of Indian temple building.
History lovers: Kumbhalgarh and the story of Maharana Pratap.
- Wildlife lovers: Jawai's leopards and the Kumbhalgarh sanctuary.
- Couples: a stepwell dinner at Narlai, a tent at Jawai, a lakeside fort at Rohet.
- Families: forts, horses and leopards. Keep each day short.
- Think twice if: you suffer badly on winding roads. The hill sections are short, but real.