What Rajasthan is, and what it was
For travellers, the princely past is not a museum. When you stay in a family's fort or palace you are their guest, not just a customer, and that is one of the great pleasures of travelling here.
Why it matters: that change, within one lifetime, explains much of what you will see.
Before 1947: this land was Rajputana, a patchwork of princely states, each with its own ruling family, capital, coins, colours and version of history.
- Old name
- Rajputana
- Princely states
- Around two dozen, plus smaller estates
- Present shape
- 1956
- Rajasthan Day
- 30 March, union of 1949
- Size
- India's largest state by area
- Greeting
- Khamma ghani, a respectful hello
- The great houses: the Kachwahas ruled Amber and later Jaipur. The Rathores held Jodhpur and Bikaner. The Sisodias held Mewar from Chittorgarh and then Udaipur. The Bhatis ruled Jaisalmer, and the Hadas ruled Bundi and Kota.
- Joining India: after independence the states joined in stages, and Rajasthan took its present shape in 1956.
- The land today: the Thar desert, the old Aravalli hills, tiger forests, salt lakes, marble quarries and painted towns.
- Languages: most people speak Hindi and a Rajasthani dialect: Marwari in the west, Mewari in the south, Dhundhari around Jaipur and Hadoti in the south-east.
- Royals at home: many royal families still live in parts of their palaces and run the rest as hotels.
- Forts and country houses: many noble families have turned their village forts, called garhs, and country houses, called rawlas, into small heritage hotels.
- Read deeper: our short history of Rajasthan and our guide to the Rajput dynasties.
The old kingdoms, region by region
Dhundhar: Jaipur and Amer
Who ruled: the Kachwahas, and this heartland around Jaipur is where most journeys begin.
- What it holds: the planned Pink City, the hill palace of Amer, the stepwell at Abhaneri and the old town of Samode.
- Why first: it is close to Delhi and Agra. Read our guide to Dhundhar.
Marwar: Jodhpur and the edge of the desert
Rathore country: drier and harder, and its people are famous traders.
- Jodhpur: the blue city lies under Mehrangarh, with village forts and Bishnoi hamlets all around.
- Bikaner: founded by a Rathore prince in 1488, home to the red fort of Junagarh.
Maad: Jaisalmer and the Thar
The desert west: Jaisalmer's golden fort still has families living inside its walls.
- The dunes: Sam and Khuri are a short drive away.
- Music and stars: the land of the Manganiyar singers, and of nights under more stars than you knew existed.
Mewar: Udaipur and the Aravallis
- The Sisodia south: the greenest part of Rajasthan, with lakes, hills and marble temples.
- Where: Udaipur on its lakes, Chittorgarh and Kumbhalgarh on the old frontiers, and the Jain temple of Ranakpur in a forested valley.
Hadoti: Bundi and Kota
The quietest kingdom: the Hada Chauhan lands of the south-east.
- Bundi and Kota: Bundi has painted palaces, stepwells and blue lanes, and Kota sits on the broad Chambal river.
- Why we love it: few travellers come.
Shekhawati: the painted towns
Where: north of Jaipur, merchant towns covered in frescoes.
- Who built them: Marwari trading families who made fortunes in Calcutta and Bombay built grand havelis at home.
- What's painted: gods, kings, trains and motor cars.
Wild Rajasthan
- The animals: tigers at Ranthambore and Sariska, leopards at Jawai, birds at Bharatpur, blackbuck at Tal Chhapar and the great Indian bustard in the Desert National Park.
- Closer than you think: Rajasthan's wild places sit nearer its palaces than most people expect.
The great cities, and what each is for
- Jaisalmer
- 1156, by Rawal Jaisal
- Jodhpur
- 1459, by Rao Jodha
- Bikaner
- 1488, by a Rathore prince
- Udaipur
- 1559, by Maharana Udai Singh II
- Jaipur
- 1727, by Sawai Jai Singh II
Jaipur, for history and craft
India's first planned city: Jaipur was founded in 1727 by Sawai Jai Singh II on a grid of nine blocks.
- Come for: Amber Fort at opening time, the City Palace, the Jantar Mantar observatory and the walled-city bazaars, still sorted by trade.
- Shopping: the best city in India for gemstones, block prints and blue pottery.
- Allow: three nights.
Udaipur, for romance and rest
A city of lakes: founded by Maharana Udai Singh II in 1559, Udaipur is all lakes, palaces and boats.
- The view: the City Palace on the shore of Lake Pichola, and the Lake Palace seeming to float on it.
- Why we send guests: to slow down.
- Allow: three nights, or four with Kumbhalgarh and Ranakpur.
Jodhpur, for drama
The fort: Rao Jodha founded Jodhpur in 1459, and Mehrangarh is the most commanding fort in Rajasthan.
- Below it: the blue lanes of the old city tumble down to the Clock Tower and Sardar Market.
- Allow: two or three nights, with a night in a village fort nearby.
Jaisalmer, for the desert
A living fort: Rawal Jaisal founded Jaisalmer in 1156, and its yellow sandstone fort is one of the last in India where people still live inside the walls.
- Havelis: carved like lace.
- Allow: two nights in town and one in a desert camp.
Bikaner, for the curious
Less visited: Bikaner sees fewer travellers than the other desert cities, and is all the better for it.
- Junagarh Fort: some of the finest painted interiors in the state.
- Taste and nearby: the city's bhujia is famous across India, and the camel breeding farm and Karni Mata temple are close by.
How many nights you need
Rajasthan is big: Jaipur to Jaisalmer is a long day's drive, and Udaipur to Jaisalmer is longer still.
Two nights minimum: at least two nights in every main base gives you one full day without a suitcase.
Breaking the drives: we stop for a temple, a stepwell or a long lunch in a village fort.
- Five to seven nights
- One region
- Ten to twelve nights
- The classic circuit
- Fifteen nights or more
- Add the desert, Bundi or Shekhawati
- Our rule
- Two nights or more in every base
- Typical drive
- Four to six hours between great cities
- Five to seven nights: Jaipur and Udaipur with a flight between them, or Jaipur and Ranthambore, or the desert cities alone.
- Ten to twelve nights: Jaipur, Jodhpur, Udaipur and either Jaisalmer or Ranthambore, without rushing.
- Fifteen nights or more: add the desert and a village fort, or Bundi and Shekhawati, at a pace that leaves room for afternoons by a pool.
- Sample lengths: our journeys from one week to two weeks and three weeks show how we balance each one.
- Adding the Taj: most international guests arrive through Delhi, and Agra fits between Delhi and Jaipur on the Golden Triangle. The Taj Mahal is closed to visitors on Fridays.
- Our most popular first trip: the Golden Triangle and Udaipur journey. The Royal Rajputana is our grand fifteen-night circuit.
Beyond the cities
Stepwells and small towns
What they are: baoris and kunds, stepwells dug to hold monsoon water through the dry months, and some of the most beautiful structures in India.
- Chand Baori: at Abhaneri it descends in thousands of steps on three sides, and it sits neatly on the road between Agra and Jaipur.
- Bundi: in Bundi, Raniji ki Baori and the town's other wells sit among blue lanes and painted palaces that see a fraction of Jaipur's visitors.
- Our favourites: listed on our stepwells page.
Village Rajasthan
Where most people live: most Rajasthanis still live in villages, and a morning in one shows a side the cities cannot.
- The Bishnoi: around Jodhpur, this community has protected trees and animals for more than five centuries, and blackbuck and chinkara graze near their fields without fear.
- The Rabari: in the south, herders in red turbans move their flocks across the hills of Jawai.
- How we arrange it: with families we know, always as guests and never as a show. See the Bishnoi villages.
Sacred places
Ranakpur: the marble Jain temple of Ranakpur stands on a forest of carved pillars, each one different.
- Nathdwara: Nathdwara is the home of Shrinathji, a child form of Krishna, and pilgrims plan their days around the temple's darshan, the sight of the deity.
- Mount Abu: the Dilwara temples, with marble carved as finely as lace.
- Visiting with respect: our temples and pilgrim towns page explains how.
The wild side
Ranthambore: one of the best places in the world to see a wild tiger, about three and a half hours from Jaipur by road.
- Jawai: leopards among granite hills and Rabari villages.
- Bharatpur: Keoladeo is one of Asia's great bird reserves.
- Fitting them in: each sits naturally between the cities, and our Palaces and Tigers journey is built around them.
Where to stay: palaces, havelis, forts and camps
Palace hotels
What they are: great royal residences that became hotels in the second half of the twentieth century.
- The most famous: Rambagh Palace in Jaipur, Umaid Bhawan Palace in Jodhpur and the Taj Lake Palace in Udaipur.
- Still a home: Umaid Bhawan is still partly the home of Jodhpur's royal family.
- Choosing: the right suite matters. Our palace hotels guide explains how to choose.
New palaces in the old style
- Built for guests: The Oberoi Udaivilas on Lake Pichola and The Oberoi Rajvilas outside Jaipur were built recently in the manner of a palace.
- What they offer: space, gardens, superb service and the calm of a building designed for guests rather than courtiers.
Heritage havelis
What a haveli is: a townhouse built around courtyards, often painted, sometimes still owned by the family who built it.
- Why stay in one: it puts you inside the old city rather than above it.
- An example: Samode Haveli in Jaipur. See our guide to heritage havelis.
Village forts and rawlas
Between the cities: noble families of the old states open their country forts to guests.
- Names we love: Rohet Garh, Deogarh Mahal and Rawla Narlai.
- Why guests remember them: a village walk, a family dinner and a quiet you cannot find in a city.
Desert camps and wildlife lodges
- In the Thar: a luxury tented camp gives you dunes and stars with a hot shower and a good bed.
- Near the parks: small lodges such as SUJAN Sher Bagh at Ranthambore and SUJAN JAWAI combine safaris with fine food and naturalists who know each animal.
What to eat
Dal baati churma: hard wheat rolls baked in embers, broken into spiced lentils, soaked in ghee and followed by sweet crumbled wheat.
Ker sangri: wild berries and dried beans from the khejri tree, which keep for months and taste of the Thar.
Gatte ki sabzi: gram-flour dumplings in a yoghurt curry, created where green vegetables were rare.
- Dal baati churma
- Baked wheat rolls, lentils, sweet crumble
- Ker sangri
- Desert berries and khejri beans
- Gatte ki sabzi
- Gram-flour dumplings in yoghurt curry
- Laal maas
- Mutton with red Mathania chillies
- Ghevar
- The Teej-season sweet
- Bajra roti: the millet flatbread, eaten with white butter and jaggery in winter.
- Royal kitchens: they added game and meat, now mostly mutton. Laal maas is fiery with red Mathania chillies, and safed maas is its gentle twin, cooked with cream and nuts.
- Vegetarians eat superbly: many Rajasthani families are strictly vegetarian, and Pushkar is a vegetarian town.
- Breakfast: pyaaz kachori in Jodhpur and Jaipur, mirchi bada in Jodhpur and a clay cup of lassi.
- Sweets by season: ghevar in the Teej season, sesame sweets around Makar Sankranti, and milk sweets with champions in every town.
- Read on: our Rajasthani food guide goes dish by dish, and food and royal kitchens explains our cooking classes and private dinners.
Crafts and shopping
Jaipur: the centre for gemstones, enamelled meenakari jewellery, blue pottery and hand-block printing, still practised in Sanganer and Bagru.
Jodhpur: antiques and furniture, and cotton dhurries woven in the villages around it.
- Jaipur
- Gems, meenakari, blue pottery, block prints
- Jodhpur
- Antiques, furniture, dhurries
- Bikaner
- Camel leather, gold-leaf painting
- Barmer
- Applique and embroidery
- Kota
- Kota doria weaving
- Nathdwara
- Pichwai paintings
- Bikaner: camel-leather work and fine painted gold-leaf decoration.
- Barmer, Kota and Nathdwara: applique and embroidery in Barmer, light woven Kota doria in Kota, and pichwai paintings of Krishna in Nathdwara.
- Tie-dye everywhere: leheriya and bandhani, worn across the state, are made across the state too.
- Commission shopping: many drivers and guides are paid a percentage to bring visitors to particular showrooms, and prices there rise to pay for it.
- Our way: our guides are paid never to do this. We take you to workshops and family shops we know, or tell you where to browse alone. See our shopping guide.
Getting around
A private chauffeur: most of our guests travel with their own driver for the whole journey, the most flexible and comfortable way to see the state.
Stop where you like: the countryside between the cities is part of the experience.
- Best way
- Private car and chauffeur
- Airports
- Jaipur, Udaipur, Jodhpur
- Jaisalmer flights
- Seasonal, in winter
- Jaipur to Agra
- About four hours by road
- Jaipur to Ranthambore
- About three and a half hours
- Flights: for long legs we often add a domestic flight. Jaipur, Udaipur and Jodhpur have airports with regular flights.
- Fast trains: they link Delhi with Jaipur, Ajmer and other cities, and are a pleasant alternative to the road for some legs.
- Luxury trains: the Palace on Wheels and the Maharajas' Express offer a different way to see Rajasthan altogether.
- In the old cities: your car will often stop at a gate, and you walk, take a cycle rickshaw or an auto-rickshaw, or cross a lake by boat.
- More detail: our guide to getting around Rajasthan, and our road distances guide for drive times between every main city.
When to come
October to March: warm days and cool nights, and most of the great festivals: Diwali, the Pushkar fair, the kite festival, the Desert Festival and Holi.
December and January: cold at night, especially in the desert.
- Classic season
- October to March
- Cold nights
- December and January
- Hot season
- April to June, often above 40°C
- Monsoon
- July to September
- April to June: very hot, but the best season for tigers at Ranthambore and the quietest for palaces.
- July to September: the monsoon, when Udaipur and the south turn green and the hotels are calm.
- Month by month: our guide to the best time to visit Rajasthan has the detail.
The practical things, briefly
Visas: most visitors need one, and many nationalities can apply online for an e-Visa. Always use the official portal. Our visa guide explains the process in general terms.
Money: the Indian rupee. Cards work in good hotels and shops, phone payments are everywhere, and small notes still matter for tips and temples. See money and tipping.
Health: see your own doctor or a travel clinic well before you travel, drink bottled or filtered water and respect the sun. Our health and safety guide has general advice.
- Keoladeo, Bharatpur
- Inscribed 1985
- Jantar Mantar, Jaipur
- Inscribed 2010
- Six hill forts
- Inscribed 2013
- Jaipur walled city
- Inscribed 2019
- Safety: one of India's most visited and welcoming states. Watch your bag in crowded bazaars and use trusted transport.
- Dress: conservative outside the hotels. Cover shoulders and knees in temples and villages, and carry a scarf. Read our etiquette and dress guide.
- Packing: layers in winter, light cotton in summer and slip-on shoes for temples. Our packing guide has a full list.
- Alcohol: available in good hotels and licensed restaurants, but not in some holy towns such as Pushkar. Gujarat, next door, has prohibition. See alcohol and dry days.
- Phones: a local SIM or eSIM makes life easier, and good hotels have reliable wifi. See SIM cards and internet.
- Insurance: travel with a good policy that covers medical care and evacuation. See travel insurance for India.
- The six hill forts: Amber, Chittorgarh, Kumbhalgarh, Jaisalmer, Ranthambore and Gagron, listed together by UNESCO.
Travelling well in Rajasthan
Luxury here is not about gold taps. It is about time, access and calm: a chauffeur who knows when to stop for chai and when to keep driving, and a planner who answers on WhatsApp when your flight is delayed.
Reach Amber early: arrive before the crowds, at opening time.
- Private access: a private tour of the royal apartments, or tea with the family whose fort you are staying in.
- The right guide: someone who grew up in the lanes you are walking. We use licensed guides matched to your interests, from architecture to food.
- No elephant rides: we don't book them or captive animal shows. Our ethical animal encounters page explains what we offer instead.
- Fair and respectful: we pay artisans and hosts fairly, ask before photographing people and respect the rules of every temple.
- How we work: read our page on travelling responsibly.