Three kingdoms that kept their quiet
The families of these kingdoms are related. They quarrelled and they married, and our guides like to say you can follow the whole history of southern Rajasthan by following its cousins.
The well-worn line: most first journeys run from Jaipur to Jodhpur, Jaisalmer and Udaipur, and each of those cities deserves its fame.
South and east of it: lie older kingdoms that never became tourist capitals, and they hold some of the finest art in the state.
- Hadoti
- Hada Chauhans, Bundi at its heart
- Mewar
- Sisodias, first great capital Chittorgarh
- Vagad
- Elder Mewar branch, ruled from Dungarpur
- What ties them
- Painting, and family history
- Hadoti: the land of the Hada Chauhans, with Bundi at its heart.
- Mewar: the kingdom of the Sisodias, whose first great capital was Chittorgarh.
- Vagad: the green, hilly south where the elder branch of the Mewar house ruled from Dungarpur.
- Bundi: gave its name to a school of Rajput miniature painting that loved the monsoon more than any other, and the walls of its Chitrashala are covered in it.
- Dungarpur: has Juna Mahal, a seven-storey palace whose murals and glass inlay survived almost untouched because the royal family moved out and nobody turned it into a hotel.
- Chittorgarh: between them, with very little paint left on it, but with the stories every Rajput child grows up with.
- Rao Surjan Hada of Bundi: held Ranthambore for Mewar before he surrendered it to Akbar.
- Rawal Udai Singh of Vagad: rode north in 1527 to fight beside Rana Sanga of Chittor at Khanwa, and died there.
- What you give up: a little polish. The roads are smaller, the hotels are family homes rather than resorts, and the restaurants are simple.
- What you get: murals you can stand a hand's breadth from, forts with nobody on the ramparts, and hosts whose grandfathers built the rooms you sleep in.
- Why we come back: our journal piece on the hidden places of Rajasthan explains.
Day by day, from the Hada hills to the Gujarat border
- Nights
- Eleven nights, twelve days
- Pace
- Slow, two or three nights in most places
- Best months
- October to March, monsoon for Bundi
- Good for
- Second-timers who love art and forts
- Starts
- Jaipur airport
- Ends
- Udaipur airport or Ahmedabad
Day 1: Jaipur, arrival
Met at the airport: your planner meets you at Jaipur's airport.
- Late afternoon: after a rest, walk into the walled city with your guide, when the pink turns rose, and have dinner in your hotel garden.
- New to Jaipur: we would add two nights here, but this journey is designed for people who have seen it.
Days 2 to 4: Bundi, the painted palace and the town of stepwells
The drive: leave Jaipur after breakfast for about four hours south through farmland. Check into your haveli below the palace and take tea on the roof.
Nawal Sagar: in the late afternoon, walk around the square lake in the middle of town and watch the palace turn gold in the water.
Day three, the palace at opening: climb to the Garh Palace through the Hathi Pol with its stone elephants.
- The Chitrashala: spend an unhurried hour in the Chitrashala, the picture gallery built for Rao Umed Singh in the mid-eighteenth century. Look for the monsoon scenes, with dark clouds, lightning and women running for shelter.
- Down to the stepwell: through the blue lanes to Raniji ki Baori, the queen's stepwell of 1699, its carved arches framing each stage of the descent. Rest through the heat.
- Evening: drive to Sukh Mahal on Jait Sagar, where Kipling stayed in 1887, and walk through the royal cenotaphs of Kshar Bagh as the light goes.
- Day four at first light: take the path up to Taragarh, the star fort, while the valley is still in mist and the macaques are sleepy.
- After breakfast: Dabhai Kund and the cenotaph of eighty-four pillars.
- Afternoon choice: a day trip to Kota, forty minutes away, for its palace and the Chambal, or a painter who still grinds mineral colours and makes his own brushes.
- More ideas: our Bundi itinerary.
Days 5 and 6: Menal, Castle Bijaipur and Chittorgarh
The drive: south-west from Bundi, about three hours with stops.
Menal, halfway: a group of medieval Shiva temples beside a gorge whose waterfall runs in the monsoon. You will very likely have them to yourself.
Castle Bijaipur: continue through farmland to Castle Bijaipur, a sixteenth-century castle in a village in the Vindhyan hills, for a late lunch, a swim and a lazy evening in the courtyard garden.
- Day six, the fort at opening: leave early for Chittorgarh Fort, about an hour away.
- The seven gates: drive up through them, stopping at the memorials to the defenders of the last siege.
- Kumbha and Meera: walk the ruined palace of Rana Kumbha, then the Kumbha Shyam temple and the small temple associated with Meera Bai, the princess who sang to Krishna.
- The two towers: the late morning at the Vijay Stambha, Rana Kumbha's nine-storey tower of victory, and at the older Kirti Stambha, the slender Jain tower of the twelfth century.
- Afternoon: a picnic lunch in the shade, then Gaumukh Kund and Padmini's palace, finishing on the western ramparts as the sun drops over the plains.
- Told with care: your guide tells the stories of the three sieges gently, because for many Indians this is a place of real grief as well as pride.
Days 7 and 8: Udaipur, the lake city between
Bassi on the way: families of carpenters here make kavad, painted wooden shrines whose doors a storyteller opens one by one as he tells an epic.
On to Udaipur: about two hours from Chittorgarh to Udaipur. Arrive for a late lunch by the water.
- First evening: a private boat on Pichola in the last hour of light.
- Day eight, yours to fill: we suggest the City Palace as it opens.
- Compare the schools: a morning with a miniature painter in the old city, so you can set the Mewar style beside Bundi's.
- Ahar: an evening at the royal cenotaphs, which very few visitors find.
- Seen Udaipur before: spend the day at the carved Sas-Bahu temples of Nagda and at Eklingji instead.
Days 9 to 11: Dungarpur and the green south
The drive: about two to two and a half hours south, through hills that grow greener and fields that turn from wheat to maize.
Arrival: at Udai Bilas Palace on the shore of Gaib Sagar by lunch.
Ek Thambiya Mahal: in the late afternoon, the carved pavilion of a single pillar at the heart of the palace.
- Evening: walk the lake shore as the lamps come on at the Shrinathji temples, and have dinner on the terrace above the water.
- Day ten, Juna Mahal: the whole morning in the old palace on the hill, with a guide who knows its rooms.
- Its murals: much of them painted by an artist named Devji between 1864 and 1875, showing court life, festivals, hunts and the love stories of Krishna.
- The room of glass: the Shish ka Kamra catches the light from a single window.
- Golden hour: drive in the late afternoon to the old Shiva temple of Deo Somnath on the Som river.
- Day eleven, Vagad itself: drive east to Banswara, Dungarpur's sister town, for the islands of the Mahi dam and the Tripura Sundari temple.
- Or Galiakot: the great shrine of the Dawoodi Bohra community.
- A village haat: the weekly rural market where Bhil families buy and sell grain, silver and cloth. Treat it as the market it is, and buy something.
Where you'll stay
Jaipur: Samode Haveli or Rambagh Palace
- For one night: Samode Haveli, a painted nobleman's house inside the walled city, so the evening walk starts at your door.
- For grandeur: Rambagh Palace is the classic choice.
Bundi: a heritage haveli under the palace
No big palace hotel: and we think that is a blessing. The best rooms are in family havelis below the Garh Palace.
Haveli Braj Bhushanjee: the most established, with murals and miniatures in its rooms and a vegetarian kitchen.
- Which room: ask for one that looks up to the palace.
- For a pool and more space: we can base you in Kota instead.
- Compare them: our guide to Bundi's heritage havelis.
Chittorgarh: Castle Bijaipur
What it is: a sixteenth-century castle about an hour from the fort, run by the family who own it.
- The setting: a courtyard garden, a pool and rooms looking out over the Vindhyan hills.
- Why we choose it: it turns Chittorgarh from a long day trip into an unhurried visit, and it is our favourite base in this part of Mewar.
Udaipur: a palace inside the palace
Two nights of grandeur: on a route of country houses, we like to give guests this contrast.
- Inside the City Palace: Fateh Prakash Palace and Shiv Niwas Palace.
- On the water: the Taj Lake Palace floats on Pichola.
- Either way: any of them is a fine contrast to the havelis on either side.
Dungarpur: Udai Bilas Palace
What it is: the home of the former royal family on Gaib Sagar, run as a heritage hotel.
- The house: a pool, long verandas and a dining room full of family portraits.
- Which room: a lake-facing room in the old wing.
- Next door: the family's classic cars live in the Mews.
A journey through painted walls
Bundi, the painters of the monsoon
Famous for landscapes: skies heavy with monsoon clouds, dense green trees, and women with round faces and almond eyes.
- Full size in the Chitrashala: on walls and ceilings rather than on paper, in turquoise and green with touches of gold.
- What to look for: Krishna with the gopis, royal processions and the city of Bundi itself, drawn by men who could see it from the window.
Mewar, bolder and flatter
The style: bolder and flatter, with saturated reds and yellows. You meet it in Udaipur.
- Early works: Krishna among the cowherds and scenes from the Ramayana.
- Later court artists: painted the Maharanas at festivals, hunts and boat parties on the lakes, often in great panoramas.
- In a working studio: a painter in the old city will show you how a squirrel-hair brush is made, and let you try a line or two yourself.
Juna Mahal, a whole palace of painted rooms
Something else again: painted rooms, glass inlay and mirror work, with small witty details hidden in the corners, such as a monkey in a tree or a servant half asleep in a doorway.
- The Chini Gokhada: a balcony decorated with English blue-and-white Willow Pattern plates, a reminder that Rajput palaces were never sealed off from the world.
- On the Watch list: the World Monuments Fund placed Juna Mahal on its 2014 Watch list.
- A privilege: seeing it in quiet morning light is one of the great privileges of travel in Rajasthan.
What you'll eat along the way
Breakfast in Bundi: kachori, the deep-fried pastry of the region, filled with spiced lentils and eaten hot with a tangy chutney and a glass of sweet tea.
Kota's kachori: the more famous one. On the day trip you can decide for yourself.
A Hadoti thali: ask your haveli for a home-style one at lunch: dal baati, gatte ki sabzi of gram-flour dumplings in yoghurt gravy, seasonal greens and buttermilk.
- Vegetarian and very good: most haveli kitchens in Bundi are vegetarian.
- Coriander country: Hadoti grows it, and you will taste it everywhere, fresh in chutney and roasted in spice blends.
- The Rajput table: at Castle Bijaipur and in Udaipur, look for safed maas, mutton cooked in cream and ground nuts, and maas ke soole, smoked skewers.
- Makki ki roti: the maize bread of the Mewar hills, with ghee and jaggery in winter.
- Dungarpur: the palace kitchen cooks old family recipes, and the town's Jain and Brahmin traditions mean vegetarians eat extremely well.
- A Bohra meal: if you are invited to one near Galiakot, you eat from a large shared platter called a thaal, starting with something sweet.
- Dietary needs: tell us before you travel. Small kitchens cook to order and are used to Jain food without onion or garlic, but they need a little warning.
- The dishes explained: our Rajasthani food guide.
When to go
October to March: warm, clear days and cool nights, perfect for climbing Taragarh, crossing the Chittorgarh plateau and walking the lanes of Dungarpur.
December and January: mornings can be cold, so bring a shawl.
- Best
- October to March
- Our favourite
- February, coriander in flower
- Monsoon
- July to September, for Bundi
- Avoid
- April to June, very hot
- Winter birds
- Gaib Sagar, Dungarpur
- Winter on Gaib Sagar: waterbirds fill it, cormorants, egrets, herons and ducks, sometimes with painted storks on the shallows.
- February: our favourite month, when the coriander fields around Bundi flower white.
- April to June: very hot, and the Chittorgarh plateau has almost no shade, so we would not plan this journey then.
- July to September: the monsoon turns Hadoti and Vagad astonishingly green. Bundi's lakes fill, waterfalls appear in the gorges and the falls at Menal run.
- The trade-off: it is humid, some days are wet and some rural roads in Vagad become difficult, but you will have every palace to yourself.
- Built for the rains: our Monsoon in Mewar journey.
Kajli Teej in Bundi, usually August
When: in the month of Bhadrapad.
- What happens: a procession through town, women in green leheriya, swings in the trees and a fair in the evenings.
- Why we love it: it is a local festival rather than a show. Read about Teej.
Bundi Utsav, in Kartik
- When: a few days in October or November. Dates follow the lunar calendar.
- What happens: folk music, crafts, turban-tying contests and fireworks. See the Bundi Utsav page.
Baneshwar fair, in Magh
When: January or February.
- What happens: Bhil families gather at the confluence of the Som and Mahi rivers in Dungarpur district for one of the great tribal fairs of India.
- If your dates allow: add a day for the Baneshwar Fair.
Navratri, in September or October
- Chittorgarh: the Kalika Mata temple on the plateau fills with worshippers.
- Dungarpur: nine nights of garba dancing show how close Vagad is to Gujarat.
Make it yours
A shorter version, seven nights
The shape: two nights in Bundi, one at Castle Bijaipur for Chittorgarh, one in Udaipur and two in Dungarpur.
- Flights: in to Jaipur and out of Udaipur.
- What changes: you keep the art and the fort, and lose only the slow days.
Add tigers at Ranthambore
Where: Ranthambore is about three hours north-east of Bundi.
- How long: two or three nights before Bundi, for four to six safaris.
- When: between October and June, when the core zones are open.
Go deeper into Hadoti
- Jhalawar and Gagron: add a night for Jhalawar and the water fort of Gagron, a UNESCO-listed hill fort on the Kali Sindh and Ahu rivers.
- A new tiger reserve: or a drive through the Ramgarh Vishdhari Tiger Reserve north of Bundi with a local naturalist.
Continue into Gujarat
- Halfway: Dungarpur breaks the drive between Rajasthan and Gujarat almost exactly in half.
- Onward: we often continue to Ahmedabad's old pols and on to Kutch. Our Rajasthan and Kutch journey shows how.
For families and photographers
Children: love the gates and tanks of Chittorgarh and the stepwells of Bundi.
- Keep little ones close: the stepwells are deep and many have no railings.
- Photographers: allow an extra night in Bundi, for the dawn mist from Taragarh and the late light slanting down Raniji ki Baori.
- More: our photography tips.
How we look after you
A private chauffeur: for the whole journey, in a comfortable car that waits at every palace gate and drops you where the lanes become too narrow.
Guides who grew up there: one in each town.
In Bundi: someone who knows who keeps the keys to the Badal Mahal and the stepwells.
- Jaipur to Bundi
- About 4 hours
- Bundi to Chittorgarh
- About 3 hours, via Menal
- Chittorgarh to Udaipur
- About 2 hours
- Udaipur to Dungarpur
- 2 to 2.5 hours
- Dungarpur to Ahmedabad
- 3.5 to 4 hours
- At Chittorgarh: a historian who can tell the story of the sieges with tact.
- In Dungarpur: visits to Juna Mahal are arranged through Udai Bilas Palace, and we book yours for the soft morning light.
- No retracing your steps: we meet you at Jaipur's airport and plan your departure from Udaipur or Ahmedabad.
- Your planner on WhatsApp: for the whole journey, and honest when a road is rough or a room is simple.
- No commission: our guides take none, so nobody will steer you to a showroom. We pay village musicians and craftsmen directly.
- No published prices: every journey is shaped around you, so we quote after one conversation. Read about how we plan private chauffeur journeys.
Who will love it, and who should choose another journey
You will love it: if painted walls make your heart beat faster.
Lived-in houses: if you enjoy staying where the portraits are of the people who live upstairs.
- Your idea of luxury: an empty rampart at sunrise.
- A revelation for: art historians, architects, photographers, birders and repeat visitors.
- Indian travellers: often find Chittorgarh the most emotional day of any journey, because its names are the names of their school textbooks.
- Not for a first visit: it may not suit you if this is your first time in India and you want the famous names.
- Not for spa lovers: or if you need a spa, a long wine list and polished service every night. Bundi and Dungarpur are small provincial towns with simple restaurants and modest roads.
- Start here instead: if that sounds like hard work, begin with Golden Triangle and Udaipur, and come back for this one next time. Most of our guests do.
