A route drawn in colour
We designed this journey after years of watching photographers on our ordinary trips. They always asked the same questions. Where is the light best at seven? Which rooftop looks down on the lane? When does the fort turn gold? So we built a route where the answers are already in the plan.
Room to return: enough nights in each place to go back to a scene if the first attempt fails.
Jaipur: the terracotta-pink walled city laid out in 1727, best at dawn when the facades glow coral.
- Jaipur
- Terracotta pink, best at dawn
- Bundi
- Blue lanes, turquoise murals
- Pushkar
- White temples and ghats
- Jodhpur
- The blue city under Mehrangarh
- Jaisalmer and Sam
- Golden fort, rippled dunes
- Bundi: the small Hada kingdom in a gorge, with blue lanes, deep stepwells and the turquoise murals of the Chitrashala.
- Pushkar: white temples and ghats around a sacred lake, and in the month of Kartik the greatest camel fair in India.
- Jodhpur: the blue city under the cliff of Mehrangarh.
- Jaisalmer: the golden fort of the Bhatis.
- Sam: the dunes beyond, where the ripples hold the night's tracks until the sun comes up.
- A journey of faces: Rabari herders in white and red turbans, women in mirrored skirts and heavy silver, priests on the ghats, Manganiyar musicians with their bowed kamaicha.
- With respect: in practice that means talking first, asking, waiting and often coming back the next day.
- Better than a stolen frame: the pictures that result are better, and the people in them will have enjoyed the exchange too.
- Paced for heavy bags: we never schedule a long drive at golden hour.
- Hotels by the old cities: so you can walk out at dawn without waiting for a car.
- A free middle of the day: for the rest that keeps your eye fresh for the evening.
Day by day, sunrise to sunset
- Nights
- Twelve nights, thirteen days
- Pace
- Early mornings, late evenings, free middays
- Best months
- November to March
- Good for
- Photographers and visual travellers
- Starts
- Jaipur International Airport
- Ends
- Jodhpur, or Jaisalmer's winter flights
Days 1 to 3: Jaipur, pink at dawn
Arrival: at Jaipur International Airport, and rest.
First evening: up to Nahargarh Fort for the classic view over the city's grid as the light turns gold and the kites circle.
Day two starts in the dark: at Hawa Mahal as the first sun falls full on its east-facing facade and 953 small windows, with the street still empty.
- The frame: a rooftop opposite gives the clean, straight-on view.
- The bazaars as shutters lift: the bangle-makers of Maniharon ka Rasta shaping lac over charcoal, flower sellers at Badi Chaupar, milk boiling in wide iron pans.
- Afternoon: a private tour of the City Palace to the painted Peacock Gate of Pritam Niwas Chowk while the courtyard is in soft shade.
- Day three, Amber at opening: shoot the fort's reflection in Maota Lake on the way up to Amber Fort, then work inside the Sheesh Mahal before the crowds.
- Panna Meena ka Kund: the nearby stepwell's criss-cross stairs are a gift for anyone who loves geometry, and early in the morning its shadows are sharp.
- Near midday: the giant instruments of the Jantar Mantar, when hard shadows show how they work.
- Patrika Gate: the painted gateway at Jawahar Circle, busy but extraordinary in colour.
- After dark: a lit Albert Hall.
Days 4 and 5: Bundi, the blue town and the painted palace
The drive: about four hours south of Jaipur on a good highway, arriving for lunch at a heritage haveli under the palace walls.
Late afternoon: around Nawal Sagar, where the Garh Palace and Taragarh reflect in the lake as the light warms.
- Day five at first light: walk up to Taragarh, when mist often lies in the valley and the blue town is still waking below.
- The murals: the Garh Palace and the Chitrashala, whose murals of Krishna, monsoon clouds and royal processions glow turquoise and green.
- No flash, ever: never use it on the painted walls, and ask our guide before you set up.
- Afternoon: Raniji ki Baori, the queen's stepwell of 1699, catches light slanting down its carved arches.
- Sunset: at Sukh Mahal on Jait Sagar, where Kipling stayed in 1887 and egrets stand in the lotus shallows.
Days 6 and 7: Pushkar, pilgrims and the lake
The drive: about three and a half hours from Bundi, past Ajmer and over the Nag Pahar ridge.
Evening aarti: the worship with lamps, conch shells and bells, when the whole lake glows.
- Fifty-two ghats: from a quiet step you can photograph the spires and lamps reflected in the water without pointing a lens at anyone bathing.
- Day seven before dawn: climb Ratnagiri hill to the Savitri temple with torches and a flask of tea.
- The town waking: the lake like a mirror, smoke from breakfast fires, the first bells. Sunrise here is quieter than the famous sunset.
- Late morning: the main bazaar, and malpua frying in huge iron pans.
- Afternoon: into the dunes west of town for sunset with camel herders.
- During the fair: we add a night and spend the dawns among the camels, as herders wash, feed and decorate their animals and cooking smoke drifts across the sand.
Days 8 and 9: Jodhpur, the blue city from above
The drive: about four hours from Pushkar, for a late lunch at a hotel under the walls of Mehrangarh.
Dusk: walk to the clock tower market, when the tower is lit, the stalls fill and the smell of frying chillies hangs in the air.
- Day nine, the big one: start on a rooftop in Brahmpuri in the soft light after sunrise, when the blue city looks best from above.
- Mehrangarh at opening: the ramparts and the cannon of Mehrangarh, with the blue houses spread below.
- Inside: the gold-leafed Phool Mahal and the mirrored Sheesha Mahal reward a slow lens.
- After lunch: Brahmpuri's lanes with a guide who grew up there, to the deep sandstone stepwell of Toorji ka Jhalra.
- Late afternoon: Jaswant Thada, whose thin Makrana marble glows when the low sun comes through it, with the fort behind.
Days 10 and 11: Jaisalmer, the golden fort
The drive: about five hours through Marwar's farming villages and the scrub country around Pokaran. We leave early, stop for chai in a village and arrive by lunch.
Sunset at Vyas Chhatri: the cenotaphs on the ridge facing the fort. Stay the half hour after sunset as the fort's lights come on one by one.
- Day eleven at sunrise: Gadisar Lake, when the pavilions are perfectly reflected and a rowing boat can take you out among them.
- The living fort: walk up as it wakes, with women sweeping doorsteps and the Jain temples at morning worship.
- Late afternoon havelis: Patwon ki Haveli, five houses for five sons, and the peacock brackets of Salim Singh ki Haveli, at their warmest.
- Sunset at Bada Bagh: among the sandstone cenotaphs of the Bhati rulers at Bada Bagh, one of the most photographed scenes in the Thar, and for good reason.
Day 12: Sam, untrodden sand at sunrise
After lunch: leave Jaisalmer, stopping at the abandoned Paliwal village of Kuldhara on the way west.
Footprints are the enemy: walk away from the crowds and find a crest with clean, untouched sand in front of it.
- Face east at sunset: for part of it, when the dunes behind you turn rose and their shadows go long and blue.
- After dinner: Manganiyar songs by the fire, then walk away from the camp lights for the stars. On a moonless winter night the Milky Way rises over the sand.
- The best hour comes next morning: very few visitors see Sam at sunrise. We walk up a dune in the dark with blankets and chai.
- Night tracks: as the light comes the ripples glow, and the tracks of beetles, gerbils and foxes appear across the sand.
- Day thirteen: back to Jodhpur for your flight, or fly from Jaisalmer when its winter flights are running.
The right hour for each scene
Hawa Mahal, Jaipur: the first half hour after sunrise, from a rooftop opposite, before traffic fills the street.
Amber Fort and Maota Lake: early morning from the lakeside road, when the water is still and the fort is lit from the east.
Nahargarh, Jaipur: the last hour before sunset, looking down over the walled city as the light turns gold.
- Jaipur to Bundi
- About 4 hours
- Bundi to Pushkar
- About 3.5 hours
- Pushkar to Jodhpur
- About 4 hours
- Jodhpur to Jaisalmer
- About 5 hours
- Jaisalmer to Sam
- About an hour
- Taragarh, Bundi: first light, when the valley holds mist and the palace terraces step down into the blue town.
- Raniji ki Baori, Bundi: late afternoon, when the sun slants down the steps through the carved toranas.
- Pushkar's ghats: the evening aarti for lamps on the water, and the Savitri hill at dawn for the whole town.
- Mehrangarh and the blue city: soft morning light from a Brahmpuri rooftop or the ramparts, the bluer the earlier.
- Jaswant Thada, Jodhpur: late afternoon, when low sun glows through the thin marble.
- Gadisar, Jaisalmer: sunrise, for reflections of the pavilions and the Tilon ki Pol gateway.
- Jaisalmer Fort: from Vyas Chhatri in the half hour after sunset, when the fort lights come on.
- Sam dunes: the first hour after sunrise for clean ripples, and facing east at sunset for the rose-coloured dunes.
Photographing people with respect
Generous, on the whole: Rajasthanis are. Many will say yes with a smile if you ask first, and some will insist on a picture with their grandchildren or their camel.
What upsets people: the long lens from across the street, the camera pushed into a face, or a photograph of a woman taken without a word.
Our guides: make the introductions, explain what you'd like and translate the conversation.
- Never photograph: people bathing on the ghats at Pushkar, worship inside the sanctum of a living temple, funerals, or women who have turned away or covered their faces.
- Temples: many ban photography inside, and some priests will ask you to put your camera away during rituals.
- The rules in full: our temple etiquette guide and our guide to etiquette and dress.
- No paid poses: we don't pay people to pose in costume, and we steer you away from the professional subjects who wait at monuments for tips.
- Real lives instead: block printers in Bagru, potters in Bishnoi villages, a Manganiyar family in a desert village, herders at the camel fair.
- Give back: if someone gives you their time, tip them directly or buy what they make.
- Send the print: if you promise one, send it. Our guides will make sure it arrives.
- Music evenings: we arrange paid evenings with Manganiyar musicians in village courtyards, where performers are properly paid and choose their own songs.
- Children: they will crowd your camera everywhere. Please don't hand out sweets or money, because it changes how children treat the next visitor.
Where you'll stay, close to the light
Jaipur: inside or beside the walled city
Samode Haveli: a painted nobleman's townhouse inside the walls, a short walk from Hawa Mahal, which makes dawn shoots easy.
- Palace grandeur: Rambagh Palace is a short drive from the old city, for a quiet return.
- Compare the rest: our guide to luxury hotels in Jaipur.
Bundi: a heritage haveli under the palace
No big palace hotels: and that is part of Bundi's charm.
- Family-run havelis: such as Haveli Braj Bhushanjee just below the Garh Palace, with rooftops looking up to the palace and Taragarh, perfect for the blue hour.
- Read more: our guide to Bundi's heritage havelis.
Pushkar: a resort at the edge of town, or a fair camp
Outside the busy lanes: The Westin Pushkar Resort and Spa and Ananta Spa and Resort, with calm gardens and views of the Aravallis.
- During the fair: luxury tented camps open near the fairground, so you wake to camel bells and walk straight into the dawn.
- Book early: we book fair dates many months ahead. See our page on luxury stays in Pushkar.
Jodhpur: RAAS, under the walls of Mehrangarh
RAAS Jodhpur: in the old city directly below the fort, so the floodlit walls fill your window at night.
- On foot: Toorji ka Jhalra and the clock tower are minutes away.
- A palace with a fort view: Umaid Bhawan Palace, across the city.
Jaisalmer and the dunes: Suryagarh, The Serai or a chosen camp
Suryagarh: on the Sam road, a modern fort built in the old Jaisalmer manner in the same yellow stone, with space and calm the town lacks.
- The Serai: SUJAN's camp in private desert scrub, wonderful for dawn walks.
- The night at Sam: one of the few camps we trust, set back from the road, with acoustic music that ends at a civilised hour.
- How we choose: our guide to luxury desert camps.
When to go, and which festival to time it for
November to March: dry air, mostly clear skies and a sun low enough for long, warm golden hours.
December and January: haze and morning fog in the north, especially near Delhi and Jaipur, soften the light and sometimes delay flights.
February and March: often the clearest months, and the desert nights are milder.
- Best
- November to March
- Clearest
- Often February and March
- Hazy
- December and January mornings
- Avoid
- April to June, often above 40°C
- Monsoon
- Dramatic skies, humid
- October: warm and bright, with the dust of summer settling.
- April to June: hot, often above 40°C, with harsh light and dust storms in the west.
- July to September: dramatic skies, green hills in Bundi and full stepwells, but humidity and rain.
- The Pushkar Camel Fair: the great photographic festival of Rajasthan, through the month of Kartik and building to the full moon, usually in late October or November.
- The trading days: early in the fair, when herders arrive with camels, horses and cattle, are the ones photographers dream of. The pilgrim days at the full moon are the spiritual climax.
- For the fair: we add a night in Pushkar and book camps many months ahead. Our Pushkar Camel Fair journey builds a whole trip around it.
- February: the Desert Festival brings music, camels and costume to Jaisalmer and ends on the dunes at Sam.
- January: Makar Sankranti fills Jaipur's sky with kites.
- Holi: in February or March, wild and colourful. We arrange it from a safe rooftop or courtyard so your camera survives.
- Lunar dates: they move every year, so we confirm them when we plan.
Kit, drones and the practical details
Lenses: a wide lens for palaces, stepwells and dune landscapes, and a short telephoto for faces and fort details. A long lens is only needed if you add Jawai or Ranthambore.
Dust: it gets everywhere in the desert. Change lenses inside the car or a tent, carry a blower and cloths, and seal spare kit in bags on the dunes.
- Tripods and video: some monuments restrict tripods, professional equipment or video, and rules change. We check before each visit, and a small travel tripod is easier to clear.
- No flash: never on murals, miniatures or textiles in museums and palaces, including Bundi's Chitrashala and the Mehrangarh galleries.
- Drones: flying one in India needs registration and permissions, and many monuments, cities and areas near airports and the border are restricted. Jaisalmer is a border district, so talk to us before you pack one.
- Shoes with grip: fort ramps, stepwell steps and ghats are polished smooth by centuries of feet, and it is easy to slip while looking through a viewfinder.
- Batteries and cards: carry spares. Winter cold on the dunes drains batteries fast, so keep spares warm in an inside pocket.
- More tips: our photography tips page.
Make it yours: shorter, longer and wilder
Eight nights
The shape: drop Bundi and the night at Sam, and travel from Jaipur to Pushkar, Jodhpur and Jaisalmer.
- The dunes: take them as an evening and a dawn from your hotel.
- An alternative shape: our desert triangle.
Sixteen nights with wildlife
Leopards: two or three nights at Jawai for leopards on the granite at golden hour.
- Tigers: or Ranthambore for tigers among the ruins.
- Kit: both reward a 400mm lens and a beanbag on the jeep rail.
Udaipur and Mewar
Swap Bundi: for Udaipur, its lakes and palaces at sunset from Ambrai Ghat.
- Sunrise: on the great wall of Kumbhalgarh.
- The result: a more classic and more romantic set of pictures.
The painted towns
- Frescoes rather than forts: add two nights in Shekhawati, where merchants' havelis are covered in paintings of gods, trains and Englishmen.
- The region explained: our painted towns of Shekhawati journey.
With a professional photographer
- A working photographer: some guests ask for one to travel with them for a few days, to teach or to shoot the family.
- How we arrange it: with photographers we know, at the dates they are free. Tell us what you want to learn.
How we look after you
A private chauffeur: for the whole journey, ready before dawn and after dusk, with space for camera bags and tripods.
Guides chosen for this journey: they know the rooftops, the light and the people, and make introductions in the local language.
- Quiet hours: early access arranged where possible, and visits planned around the crowds at every major sight.
- Your kit: meetings at the airport, help with heavy bags at every hotel, and safe storage.
- Flights: where they save time, including Jaisalmer's winter flights when they run, so the long drive back is optional.
- Your planner on WhatsApp: throughout, able to move a shoot by a day when clouds roll in.
- No prices here: we quote after one conversation about what you shoot, what you hope to come home with and how you like to work.
Who will love this journey, and who should choose another
Photographers of every level: keen amateurs and professionals, filmmakers, painters and anyone who travels with a visual eye.
Couples who shoot differently: one partner shoots and the other is happy to sleep late and join for breakfast.
- Lovers of old cities: of faces and festivals more than spas, content with heritage havelis and camps as well as palaces.
- Less suited: to travellers who want long lie-ins, palace hotels every night or plenty of time for shopping.
- The classic sights, gently: choose our Royal Rajputana.
- Silence and stars: our Under the Thar Sky journey spends more time in the desert.
- Wildlife first: ask us about big cats and birds.
