Why these shrines belong together
We have written this journey with care, because these are not sights to us. They are places our own families visit. You do not need to share any of these faiths to be welcome. You only need to arrive with curiosity and leave your shoes at the door.
Built around asking: most journeys here are built around forts and palaces. This one is built around the places where people go to ask for something: a child, a cure, a good marriage, a peaceful death.
Kept alive by pilgrims: kings built many of these shrines, but pilgrims keep them alive.
- Nights
- Eleven
- Pace
- Gentle, early mornings and long rests
- Best months
- October to March
- Good for
- Curious travellers who want to see faith as it is lived
- Starts
- Jaipur
- Ends
- Ranakpur, then Jodhpur or Udaipur
- The right hour: we arrive when each shrine is most itself, usually dawn, and leave before the tour coaches come.
- Jaipur: the founder of the city brought an image of Krishna from Vrindavan to keep it safe in the reign of Aurangzeb.
- Pushkar: the lake Hindus call tirth raj, the king of pilgrimage places.
- Ajmer: over the Nag Pahar ridge, where the Sufi saint Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti has drawn people of every faith since he died in 1236.
- Nathdwara: in Mewar, where another image of Krishna, also carried out of Braj in those troubled years, came to rest in 1672.
- Ranakpur: the fifteenth-century Jain temple of 1,444 marble pillars in a forested fold of the Aravallis.
- Four ways of approaching the sacred: at Pushkar, Hindu pilgrimage at its most elemental, with water, fire, flowers and priests who keep family registers going back generations.
- At Ajmer: you sit on warm marble while qawwals sing to a saint.
- At Nathdwara: you join the crowd for darshan of a god cared for as a seven-year-old child, woken, dressed, fed and put to bed each day.
- At Ranakpur: you walk in silence through a building made by merchants who believed that harming even an insect was a sin.
- What we teach you: how to behave, when to stay back, what to wear and what not to photograph. Our guides translate the meaning as well as the words.
Day by day, from the Pink City to the marble forest
- Jaipur to Pushkar
- About three hours
- Pushkar to Ajmer
- About fifteen kilometres
- Pushkar to Delwara
- Most of a day, lunch at Deogarh
- Delwara to Udaipur
- Less than an hour
- Udaipur to Ranakpur
- About two and a half hours
- Ranakpur to Jodhpur
- About three and a half hours
Days 1 and 2: Jaipur and the god from Vrindavan
Arrival: your planner meets you at Jaipur's airport and drives you to your hotel.
Late afternoon: walk into the walled city with your guide as the walls turn from coral to rose, and finish with chai on a rooftop opposite Hawa Mahal.
- Early next morning, Govind Dev Ji: the temple in the garden of the City Palace, whose image of Krishna was brought from Vrindavan by Sawai Jai Singh II.
- The jhankis: the temple opens for a series of short darshans through the day. The first are the most moving, when families on their way to work sing and clap as the curtain opens.
- After breakfast: the City Palace itself, then rest through the heat.
- Sunset at Galtaji: the valley of temples and sacred tanks fed by a spring. Climb to the Surya Mandir on the ridge to watch the sun go down over the city.
Days 3 to 5: Pushkar, the lake that fell from a lotus
The drive: about three hours from Jaipur after breakfast. Check in and rest.
Evening aarti on the ghats: your guide finds you a quiet step on the stepped banks of the lake, when lamps, conch shells and bells set the whole lake glowing.
Day four before dawn: climb Ratnagiri hill to the temple of Savitri, Brahma's first wife, with a torch and a flask of tea, reaching the top as the sky turns pink.
- Breakfast in the bazaar: hot malpua.
- The Brahma temple: one of the very few in India dedicated to the creator, with silver coins set into the marble floor.
- The pandas: your guide can introduce you to one of the priestly families who still keep handwritten registers of the pilgrim families they have served for generations.
- At dusk: walk to the Gayatri temple on the lower hill across the lake, so that neither of Brahma's wives is neglected.
- Day five, Ajmer: about fifteen kilometres over the hill. Reach the dargah soon after it opens, when the great iron cauldrons called degs are being prepared for the day's food.
- To the tomb: through the Nizam Gate, with a scarf over your head and rose petals in your hands.
- Adhai Din ka Jhonpra: the mosque begun in 1192, with pillars carved by Hindu and Jain masons.
- Soniji ki Nasiyan: the Jain temple with its hall of gilded Ayodhya.
- Evening: back for the lamp-lighting at the dargah and an hour of qawwali in the courtyard. Our page on Ajmer Sharif Dargah explains each part of the visit.
Days 6 and 7: Nathdwara, Eklingji and the hills of Mewar
The longest drive: south through the Aravallis into Mewar, taking most of the day.
Lunch at Deogarh: where a seventeenth-century hill palace is still run by its noble family.
Evening arrival: at RAAS Devigarh, the hill palace at Delwara, in time for the evening light on the valley.
- Day seven, darshan of Shrinathji: usually Shringar, when he is dressed and adorned, or Rajbhog, his grand midday meal.
- Times shift: with the season and the festival calendar, so we confirm them on the day.
- Leave in the car: phones, bags and leather.
- Chitron ki Gali, the lane of painters: families who have painted pichwai for the temple for generations work on cloths that take weeks to finish.
- On your way out: buy prasad, the blessed food, from the temple counters.
- Afternoon at Rajsamand: the lake built by Maharana Raj Singh, the ruler who gave Shrinathji shelter, with the history of Mewar carved into its embankment.
- Evening prayers at Eklingji: the walled temple of Shiva, held to be the true king of Mewar, when local families arrive straight from work. Photography is not allowed inside, and you will not miss it.
Days 8 and 9: Udaipur, prayers by the lake
Less than an hour to Udaipur: with a stop at the Sas-Bahu temples at Nagda, carved in the tenth and eleventh centuries beside a small lake, where you may be the only visitors.
Arrival: lunch by the water, a rest, then a private boat on Lake Pichola in the last hour of light.
- Day nine, morning aarti: climb the steep stair to the Jagdish temple as bells ring and women arrive with brass plates of flowers.
- Its history: Maharana Jagat Singh I built it in the middle of the seventeenth century, and it has been in worship ever since.
- At opening: the City Palace of Udaipur.
- Afternoon: rest, or a quiet hour at the royal cenotaphs of Ahar.
- Evening, if you like: a private performance of devotional songs in a haveli courtyard, including bhajans of Meera Bai, the Rajput princess who sang to Krishna at Chittor.
Days 10 and 11: Ranakpur, a forest of marble
About two and a half hours north-west: over the Aravallis, through maize terraces and small villages.
Timed to the temple: Ranakpur keeps its mornings for worship and opens to other visitors later in the day, so we arrive as visiting hours begin.
- Two unhurried hours inside: with a guide who knows the carvings. Leave all leather in the car, cover shoulders and knees, and look up at the domes.
- Late afternoon: walk across to the Sun temple by the road, older than the great Jain temple, and watch the sun drop behind the hills.
- That night: the valley goes very quiet.
- Day eleven: walk the forest with a naturalist after breakfast, looking for langurs and parakeets.
- A second visit: the marble is a different colour in different light, and most guests tell us the second visit is the one they remember. Our guide to the Ranakpur temple explains what to look for.
Day 12: Onward
To Jodhpur: about three and a half hours, for a flight home or onward.
- Or back to Udaipur: about two and a half hours.
- With more time: Jodhpur makes a fine extension, and Mehrangarh has its own temple to the goddess Chamunda, where Jodhpur families still go to pray.
Where you'll stay
Jaipur: Rambagh Palace or Samode Haveli
- Rambagh Palace: once the home of Maharaja Sawai Man Singh II and Maharani Gayatri Devi, with gardens and grandeur after the walled city.
- Samode Haveli: a nobleman's painted townhouse inside the walls, close enough for an early walk to the temple.
Pushkar: resorts outside the town
Why outside: Pushkar is a holy town, so the comfortable hotels sit in the countryside around it.
- Two we use: The Westin Pushkar Resort and Spa and Ananta Spa and Resort, both with gardens, pools and views of the hills.
- Close to the ghats: from either you can be at the lake in minutes and back for a long lunch.
- During the fair: we book a luxury tent near the fairground instead. Our guide to luxury stays in Pushkar compares them.
Near Nathdwara: RAAS Devigarh
- An eighteenth-century hill palace at Delwara: reimagined as a calm, modern marble hotel, between Udaipur and Nathdwara and close to Eklingji.
- After a darshan: its white courtyards feel like a long exhale.
Udaipur: on the water
Taj Lake Palace: floats on Pichola and is reached only by boat.
- The Oberoi Udaivilas: spreads along the western shore.
- Shiv Niwas Palace: inside the City Palace complex, a short walk from the Jagdish temple for the morning aarti.
Ranakpur: in the valley or in Narlai
In the valley: a few hotels sit within minutes of the temple, which makes a late visit and an early start easy.
- Rawla Narlai: less than an hour away, a seventeenth-century hunting lodge in a village beneath a granite hill, with dinner by a lamplit stepwell.
- How we choose: according to how much quiet you want.
If you prefer other styles
A palace every night: base yourself in Jaipur and Udaipur with longer day trips, at the cost of missing the dawn hours.
- Closer to the pilgrims: a night in Pushkar town itself, in a simple heritage guest house near the ghats.
- The wider choice: our guide to palace hotels.
Visiting with respect, faith by faith
Shoes come off everywhere: at every temple, ghat and dargah. Wear shoes you can slip on and off, and carry socks for hot or cold marble.
Cover up: shoulders and knees everywhere. At Ajmer Sharif, men and women both cover their heads, so keep a scarf in your bag all journey.
Ranakpur: leave leather in the car, including belts, wallets and watch straps, and do not bring food into the temple.
- Shoes
- Off at every temple, ghat and dargah
- Dress
- Shoulders and knees covered
- Ajmer
- Heads covered, men and women
- Ranakpur
- No leather, no food inside
- Nathdwara
- No phones, cameras or bags
- Pushkar
- No meat, eggs or alcohol
- No photographs of the tirthankaras: photography of their images is not allowed at Ranakpur.
- Nathdwara: phones, cameras and bags cannot go inside. The crowd presses forward when the curtain opens, and our guide stays beside you and finds a calmer place to stand.
- Pushkar: never photograph people bathing, and do not swim in or wash anything in the lake.
- The flower trick: if someone presses a flower into your hand on the way to the ghats and leads you to a blessing, politely decline. Our guide will arrange a genuine puja with a priest the family trusts.
- Donations at the dargah: agree any donation before a ritual, not after, or let our guide handle it. A modest offering of rose petals is enough.
- Posted rules: some temples post rules about entry for women during menstruation, as many traditional Indian temples do. We ask guests to respect them.
- Never argue about religion: and never criticise a ritual. People of many faiths pray side by side on this route, and that is the point.
- Read more: our guides to temple etiquette and faith and temples in Rajasthan.
When to go, and the festivals on the route
October to March: warm days and cool nights, which matters on a journey of early starts and barefoot marble.
December and January: cold mornings, so carry a shawl for the dawn climb at Pushkar and the first darshan at Nathdwara.
- Comfortable months
- October to March
- Our favourite
- February and early March
- Cold mornings
- December and January
- Very hot
- April to June
- Monsoon
- July to September, two great festivals
- February and early March: our favourite weeks, comfortable, clear and between the big festivals.
- April to June: very hot, and we only plan this route then for pilgrims who know what they are taking on.
- The monsoon: July to September turns the Aravallis green around Ranakpur, fills Pushkar's lake and holds two of the most important festivals of the year.
- Festivals change everything: crowds become immense, rooms sell out and the shrines give themselves over to the pilgrims.
- Tell us early: if you want to witness one, we plan the days so you see it from a calm place with a guide who knows the crowd. If you want quiet, we steer around them.
- The whole year: our guide to the best time to visit Rajasthan.
Kartik Purnima and the Pushkar fair, October or November
The holiest day at Pushkar: the full moon of Kartik, when pilgrims arrive in their hundreds of thousands to bathe in the lake.
- The camel fair: fills the days before it. Unforgettable, and very crowded.
- Built around it: our Pushkar Camel Fair journey.
The Urs at Ajmer, moving through the year
When: over six days in the Islamic month of Rajab. The calendar is lunar, so the Urs comes about eleven days earlier each year.
- What happens: qawwali runs through the night, and the Jannati Darwaza, a silver door closed most of the year, is opened.
- Only with a guide: who knows the crowds. See the Urs at Ajmer Sharif.
Janmashtami and Annakut at Nathdwara
Janmashtami: Krishna's birthday, in August or September, the great night of the year at Nathdwara, followed by the joyful Nandotsav.
- Annakut: the day after Diwali, a mountain of food offered to Shrinathji in memory of Krishna lifting Govardhan hill.
- Read more: Janmashtami in Nathdwara.
Mahavir Jayanti and Paryushan at Ranakpur
Mahavir Jayanti: in March or April.
- Paryushan: the Jain season of fasting and reflection, in August or September.
- Both bring many pilgrims: a moving time to visit if you don't mind company, and our guide will explain what you are seeing.
Make it yours
A shorter version, seven nights
- The shape: one night in Jaipur, two in Pushkar with Ajmer, three in Udaipur with a day for Nathdwara and Eklingji, and a last night at Ranakpur.
- The trade: you lose the slow days, but you keep every shrine.
Add the Dilwara temples at Mount Abu
- If Ranakpur moves you: continue to the Dilwara temples at Mount Abu, five Jain temples built between the eleventh and sixteenth centuries, whose carving is even finer.
- Two nights on the hill: in a former princely summer house, completing a Jain circuit through southern Rajasthan.
Follow Krishna home to Braj
- Where both images began: the Krishna images on this route came from the Braj country around Mathura.
- Two nights first: in Mathura and Vrindavan, where Govind Dev Ji and Shrinathji were first worshipped, and the story of their journey to Rajasthan makes complete sense.
For Jain pilgrims
- Planned around practice: morning worship, sunset meals and kitchens that cook without root vegetables.
- More temples: Jaisalmer fort, the Nareli and Soniji temples at Ajmer, and the old shrines of Narlai and Godwar.
For families and repeat visitors
What children enjoy: the bustle of the Pushkar bazaar, the cauldrons at Ajmer and hunting for different pillars at Ranakpur.
- The catch: early starts and crowds are hard on the very young, so we keep their version shorter and add a pool day.
- For repeat visitors: add Chittorgarh for the Meera Bai temple inside the fort, or Varanasi for the evening aarti on the Ganga.
How we look after you
One private chauffeur: in a comfortable car for the whole journey, and part of the household by the second day.
Your things are minded: he looks after your shoes, your phone and your bags at every temple.
A guide who belongs to each place: someone who explains the rituals as a believer would, not as a tour script would.
- Driver
- One private chauffeur throughout
- Guides
- Local to each shrine
- Flights
- Jaipur in, Udaipur or Jodhpur out
- Darshan times
- Checked each morning
- Prices
- Quoted after one conversation
- At Pushkar: that may mean an introduction to a priest whose family has served pilgrims for centuries.
- At Ajmer: a guide who knows the khadims, the hereditary custodians of the dargah, by name.
- No driving back: we meet you at the airport and can plan flights into Jaipur and out of Udaipur or Jodhpur.
- Your planner on WhatsApp: checks darshan and visiting times for you each morning, because they change with the season and the festival calendar.
- No commission: we pay our guides properly and they take none, so nobody will steer you to a shop.
- Offerings and rituals: if you would like to make an offering, perform a puja or tie a thread at the dargah, we arrange it with people we trust.
- No packages, no prices: every sacred journey is shaped around what you hope to find, so we quote after one conversation.
- How we work: read about travelling responsibly with the communities on this route.
Who will love this journey, and who should choose another
Anyone who wants to understand lived faith: how it is practised in India, not just how it is built.
Writers, photographers and students of religion: and travellers on a second or third visit to Rajasthan find it the most rewarding route we plan.
- Indian travellers from abroad: often tell us it reconnected them with stories their grandparents told.
- If you have seen the palaces: this journey shows a quieter, older Rajasthan beneath Jaipur and Udaipur.
- It may not suit you: if crowds make you anxious, if early mornings are a burden, or if you want fine dining with wine every night.
- Why: Pushkar is alcohol-free, Nathdwara's darshans are brief and physical, and the shrines set their own hours, not ours.
- A gentler pace: our Mewar Lakes and Temples journey keeps Ranakpur and adds Kumbhalgarh and Chittorgarh.
- The whole state: The Royal Rajputana, with palaces at its heart.
