Three kingdoms in seven nights
We put the slowest part of the week at the end, on purpose. By the time you reach Lake Pichola you'll have climbed two forts and walked two old cities, and the lake asks nothing of you but a boat, a book and a sunset.
Never one kingdom: before 1947 Rajasthan was a patchwork of princely states, each ruled by its own Rajput clan with its own gods, its own colours and its own pride.
Jaipur: the seat of the Kachwahas, who laid out their pink grid on the plain in 1727.
- Jaipur
- Kachwahas, laid out in 1727
- Jodhpur
- Rathores, founded by Rao Jodha in 1459
- Udaipur
- Sisodias, begun in 1559
- Before 1947
- A patchwork of princely states
- Jodhpur: founded by Rao Jodha of the Rathores in 1459, on a rock at the edge of the Thar.
- Udaipur: begun in 1559 by Maharana Udai Singh II of the Sisodias of Mewar, after the old capital at Chittorgarh had become too exposed.
- A city of the plain: Jaipur is wide and orderly, ringed by the Aravalli hills and the forts on its ridges.
- A desert city: Jodhpur's houses are washed blue below a fort that seems to grow out of the cliff.
- A city of water: Udaipur's palaces are reflected in lakes its kings dammed and enlarged over centuries.
- Three materials in a week: you move from pink sandstone to blue lime to white marble.
- Two nights is enough: in Jaipur and Jodhpur, to see the great sights at the right hour, if the days are well planned.
- Three nights to stop: in Udaipur, at the end of the week.
- It makes sense on the map: Jaipur has good flights from Delhi and Mumbai and fast trains from Delhi, and Udaipur's airport has direct flights to Delhi, Mumbai and other cities.
- No doubling back: you arrive at one end and leave from the other.
- The one long drive: Jaipur to Jodhpur falls in the first half of the week, while you are still fresh.
Seven nights, day by day
- Nights
- Seven nights, eight days
- Pace
- Two nights, two nights, three by the lakes
- Best months
- October to March
- Good for
- First-timers, three kingdoms in a week
- Starts
- Jaipur, or Delhi by road or train
- Ends
- Udaipur airport at Dabok
Day 1: Arrive in Jaipur, and the City Palace by evening light
Arrival: we meet you at Jaipur's airport at Sanganer or, if you have flown into Delhi, drive you down in about four to five hours or put you on a fast train.
Arrive by lunch: rest, and go out at about four.
- The City Palace: the private tour of the royal apartments at the City Palace is the best introduction to the Kachwahas there is, and the late sun falls full on the painted gates of Pritam Niwas Chowk.
- Jantar Mantar: cross the road to the Jantar Mantar while the shadows are still sharp.
- The bazaars: walk them as they light up.
- Evening: end on a rooftop facing Hawa Mahal with masala chai, watching the walls turn from pink to rose.
Day 2: Amber at opening, the old city and Nahargarh
Leave at about seven: stopping for a few minutes at Jal Mahal on the lakeside.
Amber at opening: reach Amber Fort as its gates open and give it two hours with your guide, ending in the Sheesh Mahal before the crowds.
- No elephant rides: we walk or drive guests up to the fort, and never book them.
- The stepwell: then the Panna Meena ka Kund in old Amer.
- The craft lanes: back in the city, walk Johari Bazaar and the lanes behind Tripolia, where families still shape lac bangles over charcoal.
- Lunch and a rest: then, in the late afternoon, drive along the ridge to Nahargarh for sunset over the whole grid of the city.
- Dinner: in a haveli courtyard with folk musicians.
Day 3: Into Marwar, Jaipur to Jodhpur
Hawa Mahal at sunrise: from inside, when the morning light falls on its 953 small windows and the street below is still asleep.
The drive: about five to six hours, so we breakfast slowly, leave mid-morning and stop for lunch on the way.
- Going west: the fields thin, the khejri trees appear, and the turbans by the roadside grow brighter and bigger.
- Late afternoon arrival: in time to see Mehrangarh glowing on its cliff above the blue city.
- A quiet evening: if you're staying under the fort walls, the floodlit ramparts will fill your window.
Day 4: Mehrangarh, the blue lanes and the clock tower
Mehrangarh at opening: be at Mehrangarh as the gates open and give it the whole morning.
Its collections: some of the finest in Rajasthan, from howdahs and palanquins to miniature paintings and the gilded Phool Mahal.
- Jaswant Thada: walk down past the Rao Jodha Desert Rock Park to Jaswant Thada, the white marble memorial to Maharaja Jaswant Singh II, which glows in the late morning sun.
- Brahmpuri: after lunch and a rest, walk the blue quarter below the fort with a local guide.
- The clock tower: finish at the clock tower and Sardar Market for mirchi bada, a fat green chilli fried in batter, and a glass of lassi as the lights come on.
Day 5: Through the Aravallis to Ranakpur and Udaipur
The most beautiful drive of the week: leave Jodhpur after an early breakfast, south into the hills of Godwar, about three and a half hours to Ranakpur.
The Chaumukha temple: a fifteenth-century marble hall dedicated to Adinath. By tradition no two of its 1,444 carved pillars are alike.
- Temple timing: it keeps the early part of the day for worship and opens to other visitors later, so we time the drive around it and check the hours on the day.
- On to Udaipur: a simple lunch near the temple, then about two and a half hours through the hills.
- Evening arrival: as the lights of the City Palace come on across the lake.
Day 6: The City Palace and Lake Pichola
The palace at opening: enter the City Palace, Rajasthan's largest palace complex, and climb to the upper courtyards before the crowds.
The old lanes: walk down to the Jagdish Temple and through the lanes to Gangaur Ghat.
- Late afternoon on the water: after lunch and a long rest, a private boat on Lake Pichola, stopping at the island palace of Jag Mandir.
- Evening: the folk dance at Bagore ki Haveli, then dinner by the water.
- From here: the week slows down.
Day 7: Gardens, a painter's studio and the Monsoon Palace
Start late: walk the fountains of Saheliyon ki Bari, the garden of the maids of honour.
A painter's studio: artists here still use squirrel-hair brushes and stone pigments.
- The afternoon: a long lunch and time at your hotel's pool or spa.
- Sunset: drive up to the Sajjangarh Monsoon Palace, when the lakes and hills of Mewar spread out below.
- Last dinner: on a rooftop facing the lit City Palace.
- Or go north: spend this day at the temples of Eklingji and Nathdwara instead.
Day 8: Depart from Udaipur
- A last boat at dawn: when the lake is still and the washermen are at the ghats, or simply breakfast on your terrace.
- The airport: Maharana Pratap Airport at Dabok is about 22 kilometres east of the city, with direct flights to Delhi and Mumbai for your connection home.
The two drives, and what you'll see from the car
Jaipur to Jodhpur: about five to six hours west across the dry heart of the state.
What you see: farming country, then Marwar, where fields are fenced with thorn, khejri trees shade the wells and camels still pull carts.
Clean stops: our drivers know where the clean washrooms are and which roadside kitchens make a decent thali.
- Delhi to Jaipur
- 4 to 5 hours, or a fast train
- Jaipur to Jodhpur
- 5 to 6 hours
- Jodhpur to Ranakpur
- About 3.5 hours
- Ranakpur to Udaipur
- About 2.5 hours
- Agra to Jaipur
- About 4 hours
- Break the day: at Ajmer for the Sufi shrine of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti, or turn off for an hour at the sacred lake of Pushkar. Our Jaipur to Jodhpur route guide has the details.
- Jodhpur to Udaipur: shorter and far more beautiful. The flat land gives way to the Aravalli hills, and the road climbs through forest and past village shrines.
- On the verges: Rabari herders in white clothes and red turbans move their flocks.
- Ranakpur: sits in a fold of these hills, and it is one of the great buildings of India.
- Inside the temple: cover shoulders and knees, leave all leather at the gate, including belts and watch straps, and speak softly.
- Both directions: our Udaipur to Jodhpur via Ranakpur note explains the route.
- Your own car: both drives are with a chauffeur who stays with you all week, so you can stop for photographs, for a stepwell glimpsed from the road, or for tea at a dhaba.
- Daylight only: we plan the long stretches so you arrive in daylight, and never spend the best light of the day on the highway.
- Every leg: our guide to road distances and drive times.
Where you'll stay
Jaipur: Rambagh, Rajvilas or a haveli in the walls
Rambagh Palace: once the home of Maharaja Sawai Man Singh II and Maharani Gayatri Devi, the grandest address in Jaipur, with peacocks on its lawns and the polo ground next door.
- The Oberoi Rajvilas: calmer, a walled village of courtyards, pools and a superb spa on the edge of the city.
- Inside the old city: Samode Haveli, a short walk from Hawa Mahal.
Jodhpur: a palace on the hill, or a haveli under the fort
Umaid Bhawan Palace: completed in 1943, partly as famine relief, with Art Deco interiors that are some of the finest in Asia. The former royal family still lives in one wing.
- RAAS Jodhpur: right below Mehrangarh in the old city, with the floodlit fort in your window at night.
- Ajit Bhawan: built for a younger brother of Maharaja Umaid Singh, it feels like staying with an old Jodhpur family.
Udaipur: on the lake, or across it
Taj Lake Palace: floats on its own island in Pichola, reached only by the hotel's boats.
- The Oberoi Udaivilas: spreads across gardens on the western shore, with many rooms opening onto semi-private pools.
- The Leela Palace Udaipur: beside it, with grand lake-view rooms.
- Inside the City Palace complex: Shiv Niwas Palace curves around a courtyard pool.
A night in a village fort instead
The countryside too: swap one Jodhpur night for Rohet Garh, a family fort by a lake, under an hour south.
- A bonus: it also shortens the next day's drive to Ranakpur.
- How each style feels: our pages on palace hotels and heritage havelis.
Other ways to spend a week
Delhi, Jaipur and Udaipur
- Flying into Delhi: start with a night there to recover, then three in Jaipur and three in Udaipur, with a short flight between them.
- The trade: it swaps Jodhpur for India's capital and keeps the drives very short.
The desert week
The shape: Mehrangarh at dusk, a luxury camp at Manvar beyond the last village, two nights inside the golden world of Jaisalmer and a finale at Bikaner's red fort.
- The feel: our signature Under the Thar Sky journey is a week of silence, music and stars.
- When: best from October to March.
A week in Mewar
- Stay south and go deep: Udaipur's lakes, the great wall of Kumbhalgarh, the marble of Ranakpur and the stories of Chittorgarh, all within a few hours of each other.
- Who it suits: a favourite for second visits and for lovers of architecture.
The Golden Triangle
- For a first visit to India: Delhi, Agra and Jaipur in six nights, with the Taj Mahal at sunrise and Abhaneri's stepwell on the road to Jaipur.
- Add a night: and extend it to Ranthambore or Samode.
Mewar and Marwar
- The two southern kingdoms: Udaipur and Jodhpur, with Kumbhalgarh, Ranakpur and a village fort between them.
- The difference: less ground than our sample week, and more time in the hills.
Palaces and tigers in a week
- Swap Jodhpur for tigers: three nights in Jaipur, two at Ranthambore for four safaris, and a flight from Jaipur to Udaipur for the last two nights.
- When: October to June, because the park's core zones close for the monsoon.
When to go
October to March: warm, bright days and cool nights, perfect for climbing forts and walking old cities.
December and January mornings: cold enough for a jacket on Mehrangarh's ramparts and a shawl on an early boat on Pichola.
- Best
- October to March
- Our favourite
- February
- Busiest
- Late December, early January
- Hot
- April to June, often above 40°C
- Monsoon
- July to September, Udaipur at its loveliest
- February: our favourite month, with soft light and comfortable days.
- Book ahead: late December and early January are the busiest weeks, and the best rooms go months ahead.
- April to June: hot, often above 40°C. It still works if you start at dawn, rest through the afternoon by a pool and go out again from about five. The hotels are quieter and kinder on price.
- July to September: the monsoon brings short storms and a rare green to the hills. Udaipur is at its loveliest, and the drive through the Aravallis to Ranakpur is lush.
- Month by month: our best time to visit Rajasthan guide.
Rajasthan International Folk Festival, October
When: close to the full moon in October.
- What happens: Mehrangarh becomes a stage for folk musicians from Rajasthan and around the world, with Manganiyar singers at dawn on the ramparts.
- If your week falls then: we'd add a third night in Jodhpur.
Diwali, in October or November
- What you see: Jaipur's bazaars lit end to end, and Udaipur's lake reflecting every lamp on the ghats.
- The catch: the most beautiful week of the year on this route, and one of the busiest, so we plan it well ahead.
Makar Sankranti, 14 January
- The kite festival: time your Jaipur nights for it and spend the day on a haveli rooftop in the walled city, with the whole sky full of paper.
- Plan around it: move the monuments to the day before.
Gangaur and the Mewar Festival, March or April
- Processions: women carry images of the goddess Gauri in both Jaipur and Udaipur.
- In Udaipur: the celebrations centre on Gangaur Ghat, with music and boats on Pichola.
Make it yours
Six nights or eight
- Six nights: drop Jodhpur, give Jaipur three nights and fly to Udaipur for three.
- Eight nights: give Jaipur a third night for a morning with block printers in Bagru, as in our Jaipur, Jodhpur and Udaipur journey.
Add the Taj Mahal
Start in Agra: if this is your first time in India and you want the Taj, spend one night there to enter at sunrise.
- Then to Jaipur: about four hours by road, stopping at the Abhaneri stepwell.
- The trade: it takes a night from Udaipur, which is a fair trade for many first-timers.
For families
Children love: Mehrangarh's cannons and armour, the zipline over the fort walls for older ones, and boats on Pichola.
- Hotels with room: we choose ones with space and pools, such as Rajvilas and Udaivilas.
- Gentle drive days: with stops. Our family journeys show more.
For couples
The Lake Palace: book it for at least one night.
- Add: a private dinner on a palace terrace in Jaipur and a sunset boat with nobody else aboard.
- Built for this: our honeymoon journeys and Rajasthan for Two.
For repeat visitors
Seen these three cities: go to Bundi for its murals and stepwells, Chittorgarh for its fort and Dungarpur in the far south.
- Or the great wall: Kumbhalgarh.
- For the most curious: our offbeat Rajasthan journey.
How we look after you
One planner: from the first call to the last departure, on WhatsApp throughout, who knows your guides, your driver and your hotels personally.
Quiet changes: if a temple changes its hours or a road is closed for a wedding procession, your planner rearranges the day.
- Met in person: inside the airport or on the platform.
- Your private chauffeur: for the whole week, in a comfortable car, waiting outside every sight and knowing the clean stops on every road.
- Guides who grew up there: a licensed local guide in each city, which is why our Jodhpur guide can show you his grandmother's lane in Brahmpuri.
- Flights and trains: booked where they save real time.
- No published prices: a week can be built around a haveli room or a palace suite, and the difference is large. We quote after one conversation.
- Next step: read about our private chauffeur journeys or plan my journey with us.
Who will love it, and who should choose a different journey
First visit to Rajasthan: you'll love it if you want to see how different its kingdoms really are.
Architecture and old cities: you'll love it if you enjoy walking them, love palace hotels and don't mind one long drive.
- A slow ending: you'll love it if you want to end a trip by a lake, rather than in a rush to the airport.
- Heart set on the desert: Under the Thar Sky gives you dunes, camps and Jaisalmer instead.
- Tigers or the Taj as well: our two weeks in Rajasthan has room for both.
- Only four nights: our short escapes keep you to one or two places.
