The month the season turns
Rajasthanis do not stop living in the heat. They change their hours. Shops open early and close after lunch. People sleep through the afternoon and come out again in the evening, when the old cities wake up and the bazaars fill.
Endings and beginnings: in the lunar calendar April is mostly Chaitra, the first month of the Hindu year in the north, and Vaishakh, the month of the harvest.
The spring festivals close: with Gangaur and the nine nights of Chaitra Navratri.
- Weather
- Hot days from the mid thirties, passing 40°C on the plains by the end; warm nights
- Rain
- Dry; the land stays bare and dusty until the rains
- Crowds
- Quiet after the first week, with rates falling
- Festivals
- The Gangaur finale, Chaitra Navratri, Ram Navami, Mahavir Jayanti
- Best for
- Wildlife lovers, photographers and lovers of quiet palaces
- Pack
- Loose, light, covering cotton, a wide-brimmed hat, swimwear
- Harvest: the wheat that was green in February is cut, threshed and stacked, and families sit beside the road in the evenings winnowing grain in the wind.
- By the end of the month: the land is bare, gold and dusty, and it will stay that way until the rains.
- The first week: mornings and evenings are still beautiful almost everywhere.
- The last week: afternoons on the plains and in the desert pass 40°C, and a dry haze settles over the hills.
- The loo: the hot wind begins to blow in the early afternoon.
- An honest month: it is not the comfortable Rajasthan of February, and we tell everyone so.
- Space and calm: the palace hotels feel spacious, their staff have time to talk, and the monuments are quiet at opening time.
- Tigers: in Ranthambore they come to the last of the water.
- Plan like a local: if you plan the days the way locals do, it is a lovely month.
Gangaur, the goddess goes home
From the day after Holi, women and girls make little images of Gauri and Isar, as Shiva is called in these songs, from clay or wood. They dress them in tiny clothes and jewellery, and worship them each morning with water, flowers and grass.
The most beloved women's festival: its name joins Gan, a name of Shiva, and Gauri, his wife Parvati, and it honours their marriage.
The prayers: married women pray for their husbands' long life, and unmarried girls pray for a husband as good as Shiva.
- Length
- Eighteen days after Holi
- Ends
- Third day of the bright half of Chaitra
- 2027 finale
- 9 April; we confirm each year
- Honours
- The marriage of Shiva and Gauri
- Best seen
- Jaipur and Udaipur
- The lanes: the songs are old and teasing, and it is one of the few times in the year when the women of a neighbourhood fill its lanes.
- The date: the festival ends on the third day of the bright half of Chaitra. In 2027 that falls on 9 April, though we confirm the dates each year, because local calendars sometimes differ.
- Jaipur's procession: in Jaipur, the goddess leaves the Zenani Deorhi of the City Palace in the late afternoon and passes through Tripolia Gate.
- Who walks with her: decorated camels and horses, brass bands, folk dancers and the women of the city in their finest leheriya.
- A second evening: a smaller procession follows the next day.
- Where we put you: the crowds are huge and joyful, so we find guests a balcony or a rooftop along the route, with tea and a clear view.
- Udaipur: in Udaipur, women bring their images of the goddess to the water at Gangaur Ghat on Lake Pichola, and boats carry processions across the lake.
- The Mewar Festival: the state's Mewar Festival is held at the same time, with music, dance and fireworks over the lake.
- Small towns: from Shekhawati to Bundi, girls carry their clay goddesses through the lanes, singing.
- Read more: our Gangaur page and the journal piece on Gangaur in Jaipur.
Navratri, Rama's birthday and the other days of April
Chaitra Navratri and the Karni Mata fair
When: the nine nights of the goddess in spring begin on the first day of Chaitra, in late March or April. In 2027 they fall in the first half of April.
In the temples: Durga's temples are crowded each evening, and many families fast.
- Deshnoke: near Bikaner, the larger of the two Karni Mata fairs draws thousands of pilgrims, many walking through the night to the famous temple.
- How we visit: with respect, early in the morning.
- Read more: about the Karni Mata Fair and the Karni Mata temple.
Ram Navami
Rama's birthday: the ninth day of Navratri, with prayers, readings of the Ramayana and processions.
- When: in 2027 it falls in mid-April.
- What you see: temples across the state are decorated, and in the old cities you may hear the story recited in the evening.
Mahavir Jayanti
Whose birthday: Mahavira, the last Jain tirthankara.
When: the bright half of Chaitra, in March or April.
- What happens: Jain temples are decorated and processions carry his image through the streets.
- Busy temples: Ranakpur, the Dilwara temples at Mount Abu and the temples inside Jaisalmer Fort fill with pilgrims.
- How we visit: it is beautiful to see, and we keep our visits quiet and brief that day.
Hanuman Jayanti and Baisakhi
- Hanuman Jayanti: the full moon of Chaitra is his birthday, with sweets and prayers at his many temples.
- Baisakhi: the Punjabi harvest festival falls in mid-April and is marked in the gurdwaras of Delhi and in the farming towns of the north.
Dhinga Gavar in Jodhpur
When: about two weeks after Gangaur, the women of Jodhpur keep their own festival of Gauri.
- The final night: they walk the old city in costume, many dressed as gods, soldiers or policemen, carrying sticks.
- The tradition: an unmarried man who crosses their path may get a playful tap.
- How we see it: it is joyful and very local, and we watch from the side with a Jodhpuri guide.
Akha Teej, in April or May
When: the third day of the bright half of Vaishakh. It falls in late April in some years, but in 2027 it falls in early May.
- Why it matters: one of the most auspicious days of the year for weddings.
- Bikaner: the city celebrates its foundation day with kites.
- The story: our May guide tells it.
The last waterholes of Ranthambore
Wide open: by April the dhok forest has dropped its leaves, the grass has turned gold, and you can see further between the trunks than at any time since the monsoon.
The last water: the seasonal pools have dried up, so the animals depend on the three great lakes, Padam Talao, Rajbagh and Malik Talao, and on waterholes kept full by the forest department.
Tigers in the water: they spend long, hot hours lying in or beside it.
- The famous pictures: many of the best-known photographs of Ranthambore, of tigers against the ruins and the lakes, are taken in these months.
- Mornings are best: you leave the lodge in the cool before dawn, and the first two hours in the jeep are pleasant.
- By ten: it is hot, and the afternoon drive is warm until the last hour of light, when the forest wakes up again.
- Who comes out: sambar and spotted deer come down to drink, and sloth bears shuffle out in the evening.
- Listen: the alarm calls of langurs and deer tell your naturalist where to wait.
- Choosing a lodge: deep shade, good pools and air conditioning matter now.
- Lodges: Aman-i-Khas and SUJAN Sher Bagh are open until about the middle of May, and The Oberoi Vanyavilas is the most polished choice for families.
- Check dates: seasons shift a little from year to year, so we confirm which lodges are open on your dates.
- Jawai: in Jawai, leopards stay close to water and shade, and rest on the rocks in the evening as the heat breaks.
- Kumbhalgarh: in the Kumbhalgarh sanctuary the forest is dry and thin, and animals gather near water.
- Sariska: at Sariska, the dry season makes sightings easier too.
- How we plan drives: our tiger and leopard safaris page explains them, and what to expect from the forest rules.
How we plan an April day
Six in the morning, the best hours
Start early: the forts open, the air is fresh, and the light is soft.
- What to see: Amber, Mehrangarh, the ramparts of Kumbhalgarh or the first game drive.
- Take: water, a hat and a light scarf.
- Finish: by about half past ten.
Late morning, a museum or a cool room
- Still full of energy? Spend an hour in a cool interior: the painted rooms of a palace, a museum, a temple with thick stone walls or a craft workshop in the shade.
- Then: head back.
Midday to four, the afternoon belongs to the palace
The plan: lunch, a swim and a long rest.
- Where a palace hotel earns its place: shade, a deep pool, thick walls and a spa.
- Do as locals do: they sleep through these hours, and so should you.
- Our rule: we never plan sightseeing or long drives into the hottest part of an April afternoon if we can avoid it.
Five o'clock, the city wakes up
As the heat eases: the old cities come alive.
- What to do: walk the bazaars, take a boat on the lake, drive up to a sunset point or visit a stepwell in the late light.
- Jaipur: the bazaars of the walled city are at their busiest after six.
After dark, on the roof
- Dinner: on a rooftop or in a courtyard, when the hot wind drops and the stone gives back the day's warmth.
- The best part: in April, the evening is the best part of the day.
Where to go in April
Jaipur for the Gangaur finale
Be there for it: if your dates include the end of Gangaur.
- Where to stay: Rambagh Palace or The Oberoi Rajvilas, whose gardens and pools make an April afternoon a pleasure.
- Morning: see Amber at opening time.
Ranthambore for tigers
Photographers arrive: this is when serious wildlife photographers begin to come.
- How many drives: book four or more, and plan the middle of the day indoors.
- Bring: a hat, a wet scarf for your neck and plenty of water.
Udaipur, the lake city
Early April: it can still be pleasant, especially in the mornings and evenings.
- Fateh Sagar: the evenings stay pleasant long after dark.
- Your boat on Pichola: keep it for the last hour of light, when a breeze comes off the water.
- Where to stay: on the lake at The Leela Palace, Udaipur or The Oberoi Udaivilas.
Mount Abu before the school holidays
- Cooler: Mount Abu is several degrees cooler than the plains.
- Early April: before the summer holidays fill the town, it can be a very good time to come, with long days, pleasant evenings and manageable crowds.
Bundi and its stepwells
Quiet: Bundi is calm in April, and the havelis are sometimes gentler on rates.
The stepwells revealed: as the water falls, you see how deep they really go, flight after flight of carved steps down to a last green pool.
- The day: Taragarh at first light, the palace and the Chitrashala as they open, and a rest through the heat in a cool haveli room.
- Raniji ki Baori: in the late afternoon, when the shadows fill the shaft and the stone is cooler underfoot.
- On the route: a good stop between Ranthambore and Udaipur that breaks a long drive in two.
Kumbhalgarh and Ranakpur
Kumbhalgarh: the fort is quiet in the early mornings, and the hill is a little gentler than the plains.
- Ranakpur: the marble stays cool inside the halls.
- Where to stay: a heritage hotel such as Rawla Narlai.
Keep short: Jaisalmer, Bikaner and Kutch
Already hot: the deep desert in April, and a night in a dune camp may be too warm for comfort by the end of the month.
- If you come: keep it to one or two nights built around the dawn.
- Where to stay: a hotel with courtyards and a pool rather than a tent.
- Kutch: we no longer recommend it after early April for most travellers.
Mangoes, buttermilk and the cooling kitchen
Chhach: thin buttermilk spiced with roasted cumin, mint and salt, at every corner and on every lunch table.
Aam panna: made from roasted raw mangoes, sour, sweet and salty at once, and said to protect you from the hot wind.
Bel sherbet: ask for it, made from the pulp of the wood apple.
- Khus sherbet: a green syrup made from vetiver root, which smells of a summer evening in a Rajasthani garden.
- The matka: water is kept in clay pots that cool it by evaporation, and many families still prefer it to the fridge.
- Lighter meals: kadhi of yoghurt and gram flour, cool raitas and bajre ka khichda.
- Onions: plenty of them, which our grandmothers believed kept the heat away.
- New wheat: the harvest goes into fresh rotis.
- First mangoes: still a little sour, they arrive from Gujarat and the south.
- Kulfi: by the end of April the sellers are out every evening with their earthen pots of frozen milk.
- More: our Rajasthani food guide explains the dishes.
Crowds, rates and booking
Thinning out: international visitors leave sharply after the first week of April, and the domestic summer rush does not begin until the school holidays in May.
Calm palaces: for most of the month, hotels are quiet and rates noticeably gentler than in winter.
- Season
- Start of the quiet season
- Rates
- Noticeably gentler than winter
- Book ahead
- Two to four months
- Busy
- Gangaur week, Ranthambore lodges
- More for your budget: you can often have a better room, and a fort at opening time may feel almost private.
- Still busy: Gangaur week in Jaipur and Udaipur, and Ranthambore's lodges, which are popular with photographers in April.
- When to book: two to four months ahead for most of April, and earlier for Gangaur and for a Ranthambore lodge.
- Closures: some smaller heritage hotels and desert camps begin to close as the heat builds, so we check before we promise anything.
- Season and cost: our page on what a luxury Rajasthan journey costs explains how season changes a quote.
What to pack for April
Loose cotton and linen: in light colours, with long sleeves. Covered skin stays cooler and safer than bare skin in the Rajasthani sun.
Hat and sunglasses: a wide-brimmed hat and good sunglasses.
- A light cotton scarf or dupatta: to cover your head and neck, and to wet in a heatwave.
- Sun care: high-factor sunscreen and lip balm.
- Hydration: electrolyte sachets and a refillable bottle. Your driver will keep cold water in the car.
- Swimwear: the afternoon pool is part of the plan.
- A light layer: for air-conditioned rooms and for dawn in an open jeep.
- The rest: our packing list.
An April week: Gangaur, tigers and the lakes
- The shape: early mornings and long afternoons.
- A longer version: our Palaces and Tigers journey.
Days one and two, Jaipur and Gangaur
Arrive: in Jaipur, and rest through the afternoon.
- Next morning: Amber Fort at opening time.
- Late afternoon: a balcony above the Gangaur procession as the goddess leaves the City Palace, with the women of the city behind her.
Day three, into Ranthambore
- The drive: leave after breakfast, about three and a half hours, arriving for lunch.
- Afternoon: rest, then your first drive in the last hours of light.
Days four and five, the waterholes
- The rhythm: morning and afternoon drives, with the middle of each day at the lodge pool.
- Wait at the water: ask your naturalist to wait there rather than chase sightings.
Day six, to Udaipur
By road: about six hours in a cool car, leaving early after breakfast to arrive for a late lunch.
- By air: a short flight from Jaipur if you prefer.
- Evening: a boat on Lake Pichola in the last light.
Day seven, the City Palace and the lakes
Morning: the City Palace as it opens, before the heat.
- Midday: a long lunch and a rest by the lake.
- Late afternoon: Saheliyon ki Bari with its fountains, and a drive along Fateh Sagar, where families gather in the evening breeze.
- Onward: fly out the next day.
Our advice for April
Drink before you are thirsty: in dry heat you lose water without feeling it.
Cover your head outdoors: Rajasthanis wear turbans and odhnis for a reason.
- No midday drives: never plan a long drive in the middle of the afternoon. Leave early, or after four.
- Choose hotels for shade and pools: not only their history. In April, the afternoon at the hotel is part of the journey.
- Gangaur on your dates? Tell us early, so we can find you a good place to watch the procession.
- Ask for a light dinner: rich food sits heavily in the heat.
- Travelling well in the heat: read our journal piece on summer in Rajasthan.
Who will love April, and who should choose another month
Wildlife lovers and photographers: for the tigers at the water.
Lovers of quiet: travellers who like calm palaces and gentler rates, and are happy to rest through the afternoon.
- Festival lovers: anyone who wants to see Gangaur, the most graceful festival of the Rajasthani year.
- Choose an earlier month: if you feel the heat badly, are travelling with small children or older relatives, or want long days of sightseeing.
- Our suggestions: ideally Rajasthan in February or Rajasthan in March.
- For even emptier palaces: and the most intense wildlife season, read Rajasthan in May.
- Every month compared: our best time to visit Rajasthan guide.