The temple outfit in one minute
Cover shoulders and knees: this applies to men and women alike, in every temple, mosque, dargah and gurdwara.
Loose and opaque: tight, short or see-through clothes are out of place, even if they technically cover you.
- Top
- Sleeves to the elbow or longer, modest neckline
- Bottom
- Loose trousers or a skirt below the knee
- Scarf
- Large enough for head and shoulders
- Feet
- Slip-on shoes, socks in your bag
- Leave in the car
- Leather, food, cigarettes and alcohol
- One big scarf: it covers your head at a dargah, your shoulders in a temple and your face from dust on the road.
- Shoes that slip off: you may take them off five times in one morning.
- Nothing made of leather on a Jain temple day: belts, bags, wallets, watch straps and shoes all stay outside.
- The deeper guide: our temple etiquette guide explains how to behave once you are inside.
Why temples ask you to cover up
The temple is a house, not a museum: most of Rajasthan's temples are in daily use, with priests who rise before dawn and families who come every morning.
Modesty keeps the focus on prayer: covering up is about not drawing attention to the body in a sacred place, not about looking smart.
- Purity matters: shoes, leather and certain foods are left outside because they are thought to bring impurity into a holy place.
- Everyone follows them: the grandmother beside you has covered her head and left her sandals on the step too.
- Visitors of all faiths are welcome: almost every temple in Rajasthan opens its doors to you, as long as you follow the same customs. Our page on faith and temples explains the traditions.
A temple outfit for women
A kurta over loose trousers: the long tunic of north India is cool, modest and flattering. Many guests buy two in Jaipur on their first day.
A long skirt or maxi dress: full enough to sit on a temple floor, with sleeves or a light shirt over it.
- A modest neckline: a high or round neck, or a scarf draped across the chest as local women do.
- A dupatta or odhni: the long scarf, worn over the shoulders and drawn over the head when needed.
- Simple jewellery: crowded temples attract pickpockets like any busy place.
- Hair tied back: practical in a crowd, and many women cover their hair in temples by choice.
- More ideas: our journal on packing for women has a full capsule wardrobe.
A temple outfit for men
Long trousers: chinos or light cotton trousers. Shorts are fine at the hotel and on safari, not in temples.
A shirt with sleeves: short sleeves are fine almost everywhere, but no vests or sleeveless tops.
- A cap or scarf for the head: at the Ajmer Sharif Dargah and in gurdwaras men cover their heads too. Sellers outside the dargah gate sell simple caps.
- A cotton kurta: cool, comfortable and always appreciated, with loose trousers or a simple dhoti if you are brave.
- No leather belt on Jain days: a cloth belt or a drawstring does the job.
- Smart for a darshan: at the great temples on festival days, local men wear crisp white kurtas or their best shirts. A clean, pressed outfit is a quiet compliment to your hosts.
The temple bag
A large scarf or stole: for your head and shoulders.
Socks: temple floors are often marble or stone, burning hot in summer and very cold on a winter morning.
- Scarf
- Large cotton or silk stole
- Socks
- For marble floors where allowed
- Small notes
- For shoe stands and donation boxes
- Phone
- On silent, or left in the car
- Small notes: for the shoe-stand attendant and the donation box. The amount is yours to choose.
- A cloth bag instead of a leather one: essential at Jain temples, and welcome in many Hindu ones.
- Water and a snack for afterwards: left in the car, not carried inside.
- Your phone on silent: or left with your chauffeur where cameras and phones are not allowed.
Shoes, socks and bare feet
Off where everyone else takes them off: often at the foot of the steps or at the edge of a ghat, not just at the inner door.
Use the shoe stand or the car: an attendant minds them for a small tip, or leave them with your chauffeur. Never carry shoes inside in a bag.
- Socks are allowed in some temples: Karni Mata at Deshnoke is easier with them. Others, or their inner shrines, ask for bare feet.
- Plan for hot marble: from April to June, marble courtyards in the afternoon sun can be too hot to cross barefoot. Go early.
- Wash if you like: many worshippers wash their hands and feet at a tap near the entrance, and you are welcome to do the same.
- Ghats count too: take your shoes off before stepping onto any ghat at Pushkar Lake.
Jain temples and the no-leather rule
Leave all leather outside: shoes, belts, wallets, handbags, camera straps and watch straps. Lockers or your car will keep them.
Check the small things: a leather watch strap or the leather trim on a bag are the items guests most often forget.
- Dress very modestly: shoulders, arms to the elbow and legs fully covered.
- No food or drink inside: leave it in the car.
- Visiting hours: many Jain temples keep the early part of the day for worship and admit visitors later. We plan Ranakpur and the Dilwara temples around them.
- Many Hindu temples prefer no leather too: if in doubt, leave it behind.
When to cover your head
Dargahs and mosques: cover your head, men and women alike. A scarf for women, a cap or scarf for men.
Gurdwaras: everyone covers their head. Gurdwaras usually provide head coverings at the entrance.
- Hindu and Jain temples: not usually required, though many local women do. Follow what you see around you.
- Conservative villages and family shrines: covering your head is a respectful gesture, especially before older men.
- How to tie it: drape the scarf over your hair, with the ends over each shoulder. It does not need to be tight or perfect.
Different faiths, slightly different clothes
Hindu temples
- Wear: shoulders and knees covered, shoes off, and leather best left outside.
- Expect: bells, flowers and prasad, the blessed food. Accept it with your right hand.
Jain temples
- Wear: the most modest version of your temple outfit, with no leather anywhere on you.
- Expect: silence, worshippers sometimes with a cloth over their mouths, and set hours for visitors.
Dargahs and mosques
- Wear: arms and legs fully covered, head covered for men and women, shoes off.
- Expect: bag checks at the larger shrines and, at mosques, certain areas where women may be asked not to go.
Gurdwaras
- Wear: head covered, shoes off, hands and feet washed. No tobacco or alcohol anywhere near.
- Expect: a warm welcome and often langar, a free communal meal eaten sitting on the floor, so loose clothes help.
Shrines of folk deities
- Wear: the same modest outfit, shoes off.
- Expect: small painted shrines to hero-gods such as Ramdevji and Pabuji, some cared for by one family. Ask your guide before entering.
Rajasthan's great temples, and what each asks of you
Ranakpur
Wear: shoulders and knees covered, no leather at all.
- Note: the temple sets its own rules on cameras and phones, and posts rules about entry for women during menstruation.
- Plan: the temple opens to visitors after the morning worship, so we drive from Udaipur or Kumbhalgarh to arrive at the right hour.
Dilwara, Mount Abu
- Wear: modest dress, bare feet and no leather.
- Note: no photography inside, and limited visiting hours that we confirm for the week you travel.
Shrinathji, Nathdwara
Wear: something you can move in, because the crowd presses forward hard at darshan.
- Note: phones, cameras and bags are not allowed inside. Leave them in the car.
- Plan: Shrinathji gives short darshans called jhankis through the day, following the routine of a child. Your guide times the visit to one.
Brahma Temple and the ghats, Pushkar
- Wear: modest clothes at the sacred lake, and shoes off before any ghat.
- Note: never photograph bathers, and politely decline anyone who presses flowers on you for a paid blessing.
Ajmer Sharif Dargah
- Wear: head covered, arms and legs covered, shoes off at a stall outside the gate.
- Note: bags are searched at the entrance. A basket of roses makes a fitting offering.
Karni Mata, Deshnoke
- Wear: socks. You enter barefoot, and the temple is home to thousands of protected rats called kabas.
- Note: move slowly so you never step on one. It is thought lucky if one runs over your foot.
Galtaji, Jaipur
- Wear: temple clothes and a bag that closes, because of the macaques.
- Note: the sacred tanks are used for ritual bathing, so keep your camera down near them.
Jagdish Temple and Eklingji, Udaipur
- Wear: shoulders and knees covered, shoes and leather left outside.
- Note: the marigold sellers at the Jagdish steps will kindly point at your knees if they are showing.
Dressing for heat and cold at the temple
In summer: the lightest, palest cotton you own. Long sleeves shade your skin and keep you cooler than short ones.
In winter: a shawl or warm layer over your temple clothes. Dawn aarti in December is cold, and stone floors are colder.
- In the monsoon: quick-drying clothes, sandals and a small towel for wet feet after the ghats.
- At any season: socks in your bag, for floors that are too hot or too cold.
- Early is easier: a temple at seven in the morning is cooler, quieter and closer to the hour that matters to worshippers.
- After the temple: keep a change of clothes in the car if you are going straight on to lunch at a palace, where the pool and a sundress may be calling.
Festival days at the temple
Wear something new, or your best: at Diwali and Janmashtami local families dress up, and a bright kurta or a silk stole fits right in.
Choose comfort for the queue: flat shoes you can slip off, and clothes you can stand in for an hour.
- Keep valuables to a minimum: dense crowds attract pickpockets. A cross-body bag in front of you is best.
- At Holi: wear old clothes that cover you well, and keep temple visits for another day unless your guide says otherwise.
- Our festival pages: Janmashtami in Nathdwara, Navratri and the Urs at Ajmer Sharif.
Buying temple clothes in Rajasthan
Kurtas and loose trousers: block-printed cotton sets are sold in every Jaipur bazaar, and a tailor can shorten them the same day.
Scarves by the dozen: leheriya and bandhani dupattas cover your head at a dargah and look lovely at dinner. Our page on textile shopping explains how to tell the handmade from the printed.
- Caps at the dargah gate: simple cotton caps are sold outside Ajmer Sharif for men who forgot a scarf.
- Cloth bags: a cotton shoulder bag replaces a leather one on Jain temple days.
- Mojaris, but not for Jain temples: the embroidered slippers are leather, so they stay outside with your other shoes.
Dressing children for the temple
The same rules, gently applied: older children should cover shoulders and knees. Nobody minds a toddler in shorts.
Slip-on sandals: small feet come out of shoes faster than laces can be undone.
- Explain beforehand: tell them about the bells, the bare feet and the quiet. Children who know what to expect enjoy it far more.
- Socks for hot floors: children feel burning marble faster than adults.
- Keep them close: crowds can be strong at the big temples. Our guide to travelling with children has more ideas.
Temple days on our journeys
Sacred Rajasthan: our Sacred Rajasthan journey visits Pushkar, Ajmer, Nathdwara and Ranakpur, so we send a temple checklist with your itinerary.
The right order: we put Jain temples on days with no leather-heavy plans, and dargah visits on days when a scarf is already in your bag.
- Changing in the car: your chauffeur keeps a spare shawl, and you can swap a palace-dinner outfit for temple clothes in the car between stops.
- A guide who knows the priests: our guides explain each custom quietly and arrange any blessing you would like, with no pressure to pay.
- Ask us anything: if a custom troubles you, tell us. We can visit the courtyard only, choose another temple or skip the day.
Small mistakes we see, kindly
The forgotten watch strap: at a Jain temple, it counts as leather.
The scarf in the suitcase: it is no use at the temple you pass on the drive from the airport.
- Shorts under a long shirt: knees still show when you sit down.
- A thin white dress in bright sun: it can become see-through in a sunny courtyard.
- Pointing your feet at the shrine: when you sit, tuck your feet to the side.
- Carrying shoes in a bag: leave them at the stand or in the car instead.
- Not asking: if you are unsure, ask your guide or watch what the worshippers do. It is always welcome.