Drive or fly? The honest trade-off
Fly if: you are short of time, your journey is a week or less, or you simply dislike long car days.
Drive in one day if: you want the countryside but not an extra night. Six hours with a good lunch is a fair day.
- By road in one day
- Around six hours of driving
- By road in two days
- Three to four hours each day
- By air
- About an hour, plus airport time
- By train
- Most services slower than the road
- Udaipur airport
- Dabok, about 22 km east of the city
- Drive in two days if: you have the time. It turns a long road into two of the best days of the journey.
- Skip the train: most trains on this line are slower than the road, and there is no stopping on the way. Our train or car post explains why.
- Count the whole day: a flight is an hour, but with transfers, check-in and waiting it fills a morning.
- The landscape changes: you leave Jaipur's dry plain and arrive among the green-folded hills and lakes of Mewar. Watching that happen is half the point.
The direct road, in one day
The distance: about 400 kilometres, around six hours of driving without long stops.
The roads: drivers choose between the highway south-west through the Aravalli country and the eastern road via Bhilwara and Chittorgarh, depending on the season's traffic and roadworks.
- Leave after breakfast: around eight or nine, after an early look at the walled city if you like.
- Stop every two hours: for chai, a stretch and a washroom we know is clean.
- Lunch at the halfway point: at a heritage hotel or a highway restaurant we trust, rather than a random dhaba.
- The hills begin: in the last hours the land rises, the fields turn greener and white temples appear on the ridges.
- Arrive in daylight: we never plan long drives after dark. Slow trucks and animals on the road make it not worth the risk.
Four ways to drive it over two days or more
Via Bundi and Chittorgarh, the painted city and the great fort
Day one: Jaipur to Bundi, about four hours on a good highway through farmland. Afternoon in the Chitrashala murals and the stepwells.
- Day two: Bundi to Chittorgarh, about three hours, for the fort. Stay nearby or drive on.
- Day three, or the same evening: Chittorgarh to Udaipur, about two hours by expressway.
- Who it suits: art lovers, history lovers and anyone who wants Rajasthan's quieter towns.
Via Pushkar, the sacred lake
Day one: Jaipur to Pushkar, about three hours, with Ajmer's dargah on the way if you like.
- Day two: Pushkar to Deogarh, about three hours, or on towards Udaipur.
- Who it suits: travellers who want the ghats at dawn and the evening aarti, and a slower, more spiritual rhythm.
Via Deogarh, the palace still run by its family
Day one: Jaipur to Deogarh, five to six hours, for a night or two at the seventeenth-century Deogarh Mahal.
- Day two: Deogarh to Udaipur, about three hours, with Nathdwara and the Eklingji temples close to the route.
- Who it suits: couples and slow travellers. It is the gentlest arrival into Mewar we know.
Via Ranthambore, with tigers on the way
First: Jaipur to Ranthambore, about three and a half hours, for two or three nights and safaris.
- Then: Ranthambore to Bundi, about three hours, then Chittorgarh and Udaipur as above.
- Who it suits: families and wildlife lovers. Check the season, as the park's core zones close in the monsoon.
Chittorgarh, the stop that justifies the road
Why it matters: this was the seat of the Mewar rulers for centuries, through three great sieges, before the court moved to Udaipur.
What to see: the Vijay Stambha, the tower of victory, the older Kirti Stambha, Padmini's palace and the Meera temple. Our Chittorgarh Fort guide walks it gate by gate.
- What it is
- Mewar's capital until 1568
- Size
- About 280 hectares
- UNESCO
- Since 2013, Hill Forts of Rajasthan
- Allow
- Three hours at least, a full day ideally
- From Udaipur
- About two hours
- Go with a guide: the fort is vast, and its stories of sieges and jauhar need telling well.
- The legend and the history: Padmini's story is told everywhere on the fort. Our post on the story of Padmini separates the poem from the record.
- Time it right: arrive in the morning or late afternoon. Midday on the open plateau is hot even in winter.
- A night nearby: Castle Bijaipur, a sixteenth-century castle about an hour away, lets you see the fort in both lights.
Bundi, the painted town in the hills
The murals: the Chitrashala, in the palace, holds some of the finest wall paintings in Rajasthan, in blues and greens.
The stepwells: Bundi has more than fifty. Raniji ki Baori, of 1699, is the most finely carved.
- The fort above: Taragarh crowns the ridge, overgrown and atmospheric. Go with a guide and watch for the monkeys.
- The old town: blue-washed lanes, small temples and very few tour buses.
- Where to stay: small heritage havelis in the old town. Our guide to the heritage havelis of Bundi explains the choice.
- In the monsoon: Bundi keeps Kajli Teej, and the hills turn green.
Smaller stops worth twenty minutes or an hour
Kishangarh
- Under two hours from Jaipur: a small former kingdom famous for its miniature painting and the lovely Bani Thani. See Kishangarh.
Ajmer
- About two and a half hours from Jaipur: the dargah of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti, one of the great Sufi shrines of South Asia. See Ajmer.
Menal
- Between Bundi and Chittorgarh: a group of carved medieval temples beside a gorge, with a waterfall after the monsoon. Almost nobody stops. You should.
Nathdwara
- About an hour north of Udaipur: the temple town of Shrinathji, and the home of pichwai painting. Temple timings are set by the deity's day, so we check. See Nathdwara.
Eklingji
- About 22 kilometres north of Udaipur: the walled temple complex of Mewar's guardian deity, Shiva as Eklingji. A fitting last stop before the lakes.
Rajsamand Lake
- Near the Deogarh road: a great seventeenth-century reservoir with carved marble ghats and pavilions on its embankment.
Deogarh, a palace night in northern Mewar
The palace: Deogarh Mahal, seat of the Rawats of Deogarh, one of Mewar's leading noble houses. By the family's account it dates to 1670, and they still run it.
The painting: Deogarh gave its name to a distinguished school of miniature painting, with bold colour and hunting scenes.
- The old railway: nearby, a metre-gauge line winds through the Aravallis past Goram Ghat. Services change, so we check before planning it.
- The countryside: lakes, village walks and farmland that turns emerald after the rains.
- Two nights if you can: one night is a pause. Two is a holiday.
Arriving in Udaipur
Arrive by late afternoon: in time for a boat on the lake as the palace turns gold. Our Lake Pichola guide explains the hour.
On the water: the Taj Lake Palace, reached only by boat, is the arrival of a lifetime.
- On the shore: The Oberoi Udaivilas has the gardens and the view of the City Palace across the water.
- Inside the palace: Shiv Niwas Palace and Fateh Prakash Palace are within the City Palace complex itself.
- Or outside the city: RAAS Devigarh, about 28 kilometres north-east, is a quiet first night after the road.
- More choice: our Udaipur luxury hotels guide compares them all.
What you see from the car window
The Jaipur plain: flat farmland, low ridges on the horizon and villages of flat-roofed houses. In winter, the mustard fields turn the country yellow.
Marble country: around Kishangarh and in Rajsamand district you pass marble yards and quarries, with white blocks stacked by the road.
- The first hills: the Aravallis, among the oldest mountains on earth, rise slowly, then close in around you as you enter Mewar.
- Turbans change colour: watch the men's turbans. Styles and colours shift from region to region, and your chauffeur can tell you where a man comes from by his.
- Wayside shrines: small white temples, stone memorials to local heroes and red-painted stones under trees, each with a story your guide will know.
- Camel carts and tractors: loads of fodder, bricks or families, moving at their own pace. Overtaking is an art, and your chauffeur has it.
- Lakes in the folds of hills: in the last stretch, water appears. Mewar's rulers dammed every valley they could, and the land turns green around each lake.
Eating on the way
Heritage hotel lunches: many old forts and havelis on these roads serve lunch to travellers in their courtyards. We book ahead.
Trusted dhabas: roadside eateries for truck drivers serve excellent dal, roti and chai. We stop only at ones with clean kitchens and washrooms.
- Dal baati churma: the dish of Rajasthan's roads, baked wheat balls with lentils and a sweet crumble. Our Rajasthani food guide explains it.
- Chai stops: boiled with ginger and cardamom, in small glasses or clay cups. Every two hours, without fail.
- Eat light at lunch: a heavy meal before three more hours on the road is a mistake most guests make once.
- Water: sealed bottles only. The car carries plenty.
How we plan the drive day
Your chauffeur stops whenever you ask: for a photograph, a stretch or a chai stall where the tea is boiled with ginger.
The car carries: cold water, tissues and sanitiser. Bring a shawl for the air-conditioning and a book.
- Leave
- After an early morning and a good breakfast
- Stops
- Every two hours, clean ones we know
- Lunch
- A heritage hotel or trusted restaurant
- Arrive
- By late afternoon, never after dark
- Carry
- Water, a shawl, a scarf, your passport
- Winter fog: in December and January, mornings can be misty on the plains. We leave a little later on those days.
- Monsoon roads: after heavy rain a few rural stretches flood. We check the route the day before.
- Motion sickness: the last hill sections can wind. Sit in front, and ask for a gentle pace.
- Every drive time: our road distances guide lists the main legs.
The road through the seasons
October to March: the best months. Clear skies, mustard in flower by winter, comfortable driving days.
April to June: hot. We leave very early, rest in the middle of the day and keep stops indoors.
- July to September: the monsoon turns the Aravallis green and fills the lakes. Some days are wet, and Bundi and Udaipur are at their loveliest. Our Monsoon in Mewar journey is built for it.
- Festival weeks: Diwali and the wedding season bring busy roads and full hotels. We book early.
- Month by month: our best time to visit guide explains each season.
Make the road yours
For families
- Short legs: keep each day under about four hours, with a stop every ninety minutes and a pool at the end.
- Forts with cannon: Chittorgarh's ramparts and Bundi's Taragarh are made for children who like to explore. Tell us ages and we bring child seats.
For couples
- A palace night: two nights at Deogarh Mahal, then a slow arrival into Udaipur for a boat at sunset.
- Or the hill palace: finish at RAAS Devigarh above Delwara before moving to the lake.
For repeat visitors
- The quieter road: Menal's temples, the town of Bijolia nearby and a night at Castle Bijaipur, then Chittorgarh at first light.
- Rajasthan's craft towns: Kishangarh's painting and Nathdwara's pichwai make a road of artists rather than forts.
For older travellers
- Split it always: two days of three hours each, with the most comfortable vehicle we have and a long lunch.
- Or fly: there is no prize for driving. An hour in the air is sometimes the kindest choice.
Journeys built on this road
Offbeat Rajasthan: Jaipur, Bundi, Chittorgarh and Udaipur in three short days instead of one long one. See our offbeat Rajasthan journey.
- Golden Triangle and Udaipur: Delhi, Agra and Jaipur, then south to the lakes. See Golden Triangle with Udaipur.
- Jaipur, Jodhpur and Udaipur: the classic three cities, with Udaipur reached from Jodhpur via Ranakpur instead. See the Jaipur, Jodhpur and Udaipur journey.
- Royal Rajputana: our signature journey, with two nights or more in every city. See Royal Rajputana.
Who should drive, and who should fly
Drive if: you have two weeks or more, you love small towns and forts, and you enjoy watching a landscape change.
Drive if: you are travelling with older children who like a fort with cannon at the end of the day.
- Fly if: you have a week or less, you are a nervous passenger on long roads, or you want the most time on the lakes.
- Fly if: it is the hottest weeks of May or June, when a long road day is tiring for everyone.
- Either way: we meet you at the door, on the tarmac or at the hotel porch. Our airports and flights guide has the details.