Itinerary · 12 days · 54 places
12 Days in Rajasthan
Twelve days through Rajasthan's three colour cities: first the pink bazaars and hill forts of Jaipur, then the sea of blue houses beneath Mehrangarh, and finally the lake palaces of Udaipur. The stages are timed so that every change of base happens in the morning and the afternoon already belongs to the new place.
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Photo: Abhishek Shekhawat · Pexels
The route on the map
The plan, day by day
Day 1Arrival in the Pink City
Arrival in Jaipur
Hotel check-in
Your base is on MI Road between the new town and the city wall, a fifteen-minute walk from the pink grid of the old city.
Bapu Bazaar
Under the pink arcades of the old city's main axis, traders sell printed cotton, embroidered juttis and lac bangles until late in the evening.
Day 2Old city grid and City Palace
Hawa Mahal
You can go inside this five-storey show façade with its 953 window niches — ramps lead up to the peepholes above the bazaar street.
City Palace, Jaipur
The maharajas' still-inhabited palace holds the Chandra Mahal, the four painted seasonal gates of Pritam Niwas Chowk and two giant silver urns from the Guinness Book of Records.
Jantar Mantar
Jai Singh II's walk-in stone instruments still measure time to within two seconds, among them the 27-metre Samrat Yantra sundial.
Albert Hall Museum
The Indo-Saracenic museum in Ram Niwas Garden displays Rajasthani miniatures, Persian carpets and an Egyptian mummy in the basement.
Johari Bazaar
The old city's jewellers' street is the centre for kundan and meenakari work; in the side lanes the cutters sit hunched over their stones.
Evening: Patrika Gate
The eight-arched gate at Jawahar Circle is painted entirely in fresco colours inside and is floodlit after dark.
Day 3Amber and the forts above the city
Amber Fort
The fortress above Maota Lake brings together a hall of mirrors, a parade ground and the Sila Devi Temple; the ascent ramp starts at the Suraj Pol sun gate.
Panna Meena ka Kund
This octagonal 16th-century stepwell leads down to the water's surface via symmetrically criss-crossing staircases.
Anokhi Museum of Hand Printing
In a restored haveli in Amer, printers and carvers demonstrate live how wooden blocks are cut and lengths of fabric are printed by hand.
Jaigarh Fort
The fortress above Amber holds the Jaivana, with a six-metre barrel one of the largest cannons on wheels in the world, and a water tank you can walk into.
Nahargarh Fort
From the crest of the Aravalli Hills the view takes in the entire chessboard of the old city; the Madhavendra Bhawan contains nine identical apartments for the queens.
Evening: Jal Mahal on Man Sagar
The water palace, half sunk into Man Sagar Lake, is lit up in the evening; from the lakeside promenade you can see the five storeys, four of which lie under water.
Day 4Gardens, ghats and southern Jaipur
Galtaji
The temple complex in a rocky gorge east of the city collects spring water in seven pools, where pilgrims and rhesus monkeys crowd together in the morning.
Sisodia Rani ka Bagh
The terraced pleasure garden of a maharani from Udaipur stacks watercourses and pavilions up the hillside, its walls painted with scenes from the life of Krishna.
Jawahar Kala Kendra
Charles Correa's arts centre is built on the nine-square Vastu mandala; galleries, an amphitheatre and a library are arranged around its nine courtyards.
Birla Mandir
The white marble temple at the foot of Moti Dungri hill is dedicated to Lakshmi and Narayana; its stained-glass windows tell scenes from the Hindu epics.
Central Park Jaipur
The large city park at the Rambagh roundabout has a circular path under old trees and one of the tallest flagpoles in India.
Evening: Bar Palladio
The blue-painted bar in the garden of the Narain Niwas Palace serves cocktails under tented arches in a Venetian-Mughal style.
Day 5Onward to the Blue City
Onward to Jodhpur
Hotel check-in
Toorji ka Jhalra
Endowed in 1740, this red sandstone stepwell cuts deep into the old city and is now surrounded by cafés and workshops.
Sardar Market at Ghanta Ghar
Around the Victorian clock tower, stalls sell spices, chillies, textiles and brassware; the lanes behind lead into the dyers' quarters.
Blue lanes of Navchokiya
In the west of the old city whole rows of houses are washed indigo blue; the narrow stepped lanes keep opening onto views up to the fort.
Evening: Stepwell Square
The illuminated square by the stepwell is Jodhpur's evening meeting place, with terraces above the water and a view of the floodlit flank of the fort.
Day 6Mehrangarh above the blue sea
Mehrangarh Fort
Towering 125 metres above the city, the fortress preserves palanquins, elephant howdahs and the Sheesh Mahal hall of mirrors; at one gate are the handprints of the sati widows.
Jaswant Thada
The cenotaph of wafer-thin white marble for Maharaja Jaswant Singh II stands above a small lake and glows amber from within in the sunlight.
Rao Jodha Desert Rock Park
This restored rocky park below the fort shows the desert flora of the Thar along marked trails between old quarries and water channels.
Mandore Gardens
The former capital of the Marwar rulers is now a park under old trees, with temple-like cenotaphs and the Hall of Heroes carved into the rock.
Evening: Umaid Bhawan by night
The Art Deco palace on Chittar Hill is lit up in the evening and can be seen from the driveway as the only silhouette above the city.
Day 7Palace, museums and lakes at the desert's edge
Umaid Bhawan Palace Museum
The museum wing of the still-inhabited palace displays clocks, coats of arms and the maharajas' vintage cars, along with plans of the sandstone building completed in 1943.
Sardar Government Museum
The colonial museum in Umaid Garden gathers weapons, textiles and sculptures from the Marwar region in display cases that are historic in their own right.
Machia Safari Park
Nilgai, chinkara and desert foxes live in this desert park on the edge of town; a watchtower overlooks the rocky plateaus as far as the fort.
Kaylana Lake
The reservoir west of the city, created by Pratap Singh, lies between red rocky ridges — the classic spot for sunset over Jodhpur.
Evening: Clock Tower bazaar by night
After dark the lamps of the spice and lassi stalls glow around the Ghanta Ghar, with the illuminated fort above.
Day 8Onward to Lake Pichola
Onward to Udaipur
Hotel check-in
Jagdish Temple
Consecrated in 1651, this Vishnu temple stands on a high plinth above the old city; its outer walls are lined with three bands of dancers and elephants.
Gangaur Ghat
The broad flight of steps on Lake Pichola is a place for washing and gathering alike; the small boats to the palace island leave from here.
Bagore ki Haveli
The haveli of a Mewar prime minister displays jewellery, turbans and everyday objects in 138 rooms, including the largest turban collection in Rajasthan.
Evening: Dharohar dance show
In the haveli's courtyard, dancers perform ghoomar in the evening, bhavai with pots stacked on their heads, and kathputli puppetry.
Day 9City Palace and the islands of Pichola
City Palace, Udaipur
Rajasthan's largest palace complex grew together on the lakeshore over 400 years; inside, narrow stairs lead to mirrored courtyards, peacock mosaics and roof terraces.
Crystal Gallery in the Fateh Prakash Palace
Ordered from Osler in Birmingham in 1877 and never unpacked, the crystal collection includes beds, chairs and a fountain of cut glass.
Jagmandir Island
The island palace on Lake Pichola with its eight marble elephants was a refuge for the Mughal prince Khurram and is said to have inspired the Taj Mahal.
Doodh Talai and Karni Mata ropeway
The small cable car over the "Milk Lake" takes you up Machhla Magra hill, where the view takes in all of Pichola with the Lake Palace and City Palace.
Evening: Lal Ghat
The waterfront north of the Jagdish Temple is lined in the evening with rooftop terraces looking out onto the illuminated Lake Palace.
Day 10Gardens, crafts and the Monsoon Palace
Saheliyon ki Bari
The 18th-century Garden of the Maidens is all about lotus ponds, marble elephants and fountains fed by gravity alone from Fateh Sagar.
Fateh Sagar Lake
The artificial lake in the north has a lakeside promenade with a boat landing for Nehru Island and the chain of Aravalli hills behind.
Shilpgram
The crafts village west of the city displays faithful mud houses from Rajasthan, Gujarat, Goa and Maharashtra, with potters and weavers at work.
Sajjangarh Monsoon Palace
The white palace on the Bansdara ridge was built for watching the clouds; from the terrace you can see all four of Udaipur's lakes at once.
Evening: Sukhadia Circle
The marble fountain on the north shore of Fateh Sagar is lit up in the evening, ringed by ice-cream and chaat carts, with the boats lying still at the shore.
Day 11Mewar heritage between cenotaphs and bazaar
Ahar Cenotaphs
Some 250 chhatris stand in rows on the old cremation ground of the Mewar rulers, alongside a small museum with finds from the Ahar culture.
Vintage and Classic Car Collection
The former palace garages house Rolls-Royces and Cadillacs, among them the 1934 Phantom II driven by the villain Kamal Khan in the Bond film Octopussy.
Hathi Pol Bazaar
At the Elephant Gate in the old city wall, shops line up selling miniature paintings, silver jewellery and embroidered wall hangings in the pichwai style.
Badi Lake
The reservoir created by Maharana Raj Singh lies twelve kilometres out of town among wooded hills, with stone steps down to the water.
Evening: Chetak Circle
The roundabout with the monument to Maharana Pratap's horse Chetak is surrounded by Udaipur's evening shopping street, open until around ten.
Day 12Last morning and departure
Sajjan Niwas Garden
Gulab Bagh is Udaipur's largest park, with a rose garden, an old library and a narrow-gauge railway that makes its rounds in the morning.
Bharatiya Lok Kala Mandal
The folk art museum preserves Rajasthan's rod puppets, masks and drums and puts on a short kathputli show every day.
Departure from Udaipur
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