Kota, the river city of the Hadas

The younger son who got the river

• Mughal campaigns: the Hada Maharaos spent much of the seventeenth century fighting for the Mughals across India.
• Then the Marathas: as Mughal power faded in the eighteenth century, Kota had to deal with them instead.
• Zalim Singh Jhala: the most remarkable figure of that age was not a king but the regent and chief minister of Kota for decades from the late 1700s.
• A shrewd minister: he reorganised the state's revenue, kept the Marathas at bay and later made Kota a close ally of the British.
• A state for his heirs: his power was so great that in 1838 the British carved a third of Kota's territory into Jhalawar for his descendants.
• Until 1948: Kota continued under its Maharaos, then joined the Rajasthan Union and later the new state of Rajasthan.
• Fast change: after independence Kota changed faster than any other old capital in the region.
• Dams and industry: Chambal dams brought irrigation and power, and the city grew into a centre for chemicals, fertilisers and Kota stone.
• Kota stone: the grey-green limestone you may have walked on in homes across India.
• A new identity: when some of that industry declined, the coaching institutes arrived.

The coaching city, honestly

• Whole districts: Talwandi and Rajeev Gandhi Nagar exist to serve them.
• What you'll see: tea stalls full of students quizzing each other on physics, mess halls feeding thousands, stationery shops open late.
• Real pressure: the stress on young students has been a serious public concern in India.
• The response: the state government and the institutes have introduced student-welfare rules and support services.
• Why we mention it: not to be gloomy, but because you will notice it, and it is part of the honest picture.
• For a traveller: modern traffic, good cheap cafes and a lot of new building.
• The other Kota: the palace, the river, the gardens and the weaving villages, a different world and the one we'll show you.
• Set expectations: a working Indian city, not a heritage town like Bundi, and you'll enjoy it.

The Garh Palace and the painters of the hunt

• Monsoon and Krishna, or the hunt: Bundi painted the first. Kota painted the hunt.
• Umed Singh's painters: large, thrilling pictures of tiger and boar hunts in the rocky forests along the Chambal, the animals drawn in a fluid, calligraphic line.
• Ram Singh II's painters: they recorded nearly everything he did: processions, festivals, durbars and more hunts, including scenes on the water.
• The painted rooms: look for the Bada Mahal, where murals and mirror work cover walls and ceilings.
• Access varies: the palace is large and parts are still in the family's care.
• Take a guide: one who knows the collection turns a pleasant hour into one of the best afternoons of Kota painting anywhere.
• Read first: our page on miniature painting.

The Chambal, Kota's other ruler

• Four dams: upstream of Kota, at Gandhi Sagar in Madhya Pradesh, Rana Pratap Sagar at Rawatbhata, Jawahar Sagar and the Kota Barrage in the city.
• A green region: those dams made Hadoti one of the greenest farming regions in Rajasthan.
• Downstream: the National Chambal Sanctuary protects the rare gharial, the long-snouted fish-eating crocodile, with river dolphins, turtles and birds.

Lakes, gardens and the old quarter

Kota Doria, the cloth you can see through

• Made for summer: cool and light, first used for turbans and later for saris and dupattas.
• Kaithoon: the craft is centred on this village and the villages around it.
• The Mysore story: weavers are usually said to have been brought from Mysore by a Kota ruler or general in the late seventeenth century, hence the old name Masuria.
• Accounts differ: on exactly who brought them, so we simply say the craft has been at home in Kaithoon for more than three centuries.
• Copies everywhere: the GI tag protects the name, but power-loom copies abound.
• How to tell: a real handloom piece has slightly irregular checks, a softer feel and a price that reflects weeks of work.
• Buy from the loom: we take guests to weaving families in Kaithoon to watch and buy directly.
• Read more: our journal piece on Kota Doria weaving and our guide to textile shopping in Rajasthan.

What Kota eats

• Favourite shops: our guides each have one in the old city, and will argue about it for as long as you let them.
• Namkeen: dry savoury snacks of gram flour, lentils and spice, eaten with tea. Buy a few packets for the road.
• A Hadoti thali: dal baati, gatte in yoghurt gravy, and seasonal vegetables with plenty of fresh coriander.
• Winter: maize rotis with jaggery and white butter.
• Coriander country: Hadoti is one of India's great coriander-growing regions, and you'll taste it in almost everything.
• Student food: cheap, clean cafes everywhere, many serving the food of the students' home states, from dosa to Bihari litti.
• For a special evening: dinner at your palace hotel, on a lawn or terrace above the river, cooked by the house kitchen.
• Across the state: our Rajasthani food guide.

The great Dussehra fair

• The National Dussehra Fair: one of the largest fairs in Rajasthan, with a huge market, rides, cultural evenings, and poets and singers from across India.
• Vijayadashami: the day of victory, when giant effigies of Ravan, his brother Kumbhkaran and his son Meghnad are set alight at the fairground.
• Vast crowds: we arrange a good viewing place and a quick way out.
• Read more: our guides to the Kota Dussehra and Dussehra in Rajasthan.

When to come to Kota

• December and January: cold mornings and sometimes fog on the river. Carry a light jacket for an early start at Garadia Mahadev.
• April to June: fiercely hot. Only for travellers happy to sightsee at dawn and stay indoors the rest of the day.
• The monsoon: Hadoti turns green, the Chambal runs high and the gorges fill with waterfalls, though some forest areas close and roads can be slow.
• For landscape lovers: a wonderful time to come.
• Nearby dates: Kajli Teej in Bundi in August, the Bundi Utsav in October or November, and the Chandrabhaga fair at Jhalrapatan on Kartik Purnima.
• Plan around the seasons: our guide to the best time to visit Rajasthan.

Where to stay in Kota

Day trips from Kota

Getting to Kota and getting around

• Nearby by road: Bundi forty minutes, Ranthambore about two hours, Jhalawar about an hour and a half.
• City traffic: heavy around the coaching districts at the start and end of classes. Your driver plans around it.
• Arriving by rail: read our guide to trains in Rajasthan.
• Distances across the state: our road distances and drive times page.

A day and a half in Kota

What we tell friends about Kota

• Buy Kota Doria carefully: from weavers or shops we trust. Ask to see the selvedge, feel the cloth, and be wary of prices that seem too good.
• Dussehra night: arrive early and leave before the very end, because the crowds are enormous.
• Forest rules: respect them at Garadia Mahadev and Mukundra. Don't feed the monkeys or approach crocodiles on the riverbank.
• Be kind to the students: many are a long way from home, and a few minutes of conversation with a curious visitor often brightens their day.