Why winter is Rajasthan's golden season
The one thing winter asks of you is planning. It is the busiest season, and the best rooms in Jaisalmer, the best camps in the Thar and every palace hotel at Christmas and New Year are booked months ahead. Tell us your dates early, and we will hold the rooms that matter.
A land of extremes: in May the Thar passes 45°C, and in the monsoon Mewar turns green and wet. Winter sits between them.
The season Rajasthanis love best: for travel, for weddings and for being outdoors.
- Nights
- Thirteen
- Pace
- Steady, two or three nights in most places
- Best months
- November to February
- Good for
- First-timers and festival lovers
- Starts
- Jaipur
- Ends
- Udaipur
- Warm days, cold nights: often in the twenties by day, and close to freezing in the desert in December and January. Mornings start in shawls and end in shirtsleeves.
- The whole state is open: the desert camps have reopened after the summer and the tiger reserves after the monsoon.
- Birds on every lake: migrants from Central Asia arrive for the season.
- Easy roads: the long drives across the Thar are a pleasure rather than an endurance test.
- The festivals: kites over Jaipur on 14 January, Bikaner's camel festival, and the Desert Festival in Jaisalmer under the full moon of Magh.
- Weddings in every town: with brass bands and grooms on white horses.
- The route: the Pink City, then across the desert to Bikaner and Jaisalmer, a night by a fire in the dunes, Mehrangarh in Jodhpur, and three slow nights on the lakes of Udaipur.
- On the way: the demoiselle cranes of Khichan, which fly in from Central Asia each winter to be fed by the villagers.
Day by day across a winter Rajasthan
- Jaipur to Mandawa
- About four hours
- Mandawa to Bikaner
- Three and a half to four hours
- Bikaner to Jaisalmer
- Five to six hours, plus Khichan
- Jaisalmer to Sam
- About an hour
- Manvar to Jodhpur
- About two hours
- Jodhpur to Udaipur
- Five to six hours, via Ranakpur
Days 1 to 3: Jaipur in shawls
Arrival: your planner meets you at Jaipur's airport. Rest.
Late afternoon: walk into the walled city and finish with chai on a rooftop opposite Hawa Mahal as the walls turn rose.
- Day two, as the gates open: Amber Fort, with a shawl for the ramparts.
- On the way: Jal Mahal, where in winter the lake fills with migrant ducks.
- The warm afternoon: a private tour of the City Palace.
- Day three, near midday: the Jantar Mantar, when the sun is high and the instruments are at their most legible.
- Sunset: at Nahargarh, over the city.
- Makar Sankranti, 14 January: we put you on a haveli roof for the whole day of kites. Our kite festival page explains the rules of the sky.
Days 4 and 5: Bikaner, camels and the red fort
North-west towards the desert: with lunch in the painted town of Mandawa, where in winter the fields around the havelis are green with wheat and mustard.
Arrival: in Bikaner by late afternoon.
- Day five, Junagarh Fort: built between 1589 and 1594, with painted and gilded rooms among the richest in Rajasthan.
- Afternoon: the National Research Centre on Camel, to meet the animals Bikaner is famous for.
- Late light: the old city lanes past the carved red Rampuria havelis.
- For birders: an early morning at Jorbeer, where vultures and wintering steppe eagles gather.
- In January: if your dates fall on the Bikaner Camel Festival, we plan the day around its parades.
Days 6 and 7: Khichan's cranes and the golden fort
Leave early: south-west via Phalodi.
Khichan: for generations its families have fed the demoiselle cranes that arrive each winter from Central Asia.
On a good morning: thousands of grey birds fill the feeding ground with their calling. Stand back quietly with your guide and binoculars.
- Their story: our journal piece on the demoiselle cranes of Khichan.
- Jaisalmer by late afternoon: just as the fort turns gold.
- Day seven, before the sun warms the lanes: walk up into Jaisalmer Fort, founded in 1156 and still home to thousands of people.
- Inside and below: the Jain temples, and the carved merchant houses of the old town, including Patwon ki Haveli.
- Afternoon: Gadisar Lake, busy with winter birds, then sunset from the cenotaphs of Bada Bagh.
- Evening: Manganiyar musicians on a haveli roof, paid properly and directly.
Day 8: Dawn on the dunes, a night by the fire
Leave in the dark: with blankets and a flask of masala chai, an hour west to the dunes of Sam, and walk up a crest for sunrise.
The single best hour in the Thar: the sand is cold, the ripples glow and the only sound is a lark.
- After breakfast: the abandoned Paliwal village of Kuldhara.
- About three hours east to Manvar: a family-run camp among the dunes off the Jodhpur road.
- Afternoon: a slow camel walk onto the sand, or a jeep drive to the villages.
- After sunset: the desert cools fast. Dinner is by the fire, with folk music and hot rotis.
- On a moonless night: the Milky Way runs overhead like a band of smoke.
- Warm bedding: the tents are ready for the cold, and you will be glad of every layer you packed.
Days 9 and 10: Jodhpur, the blue city in the sun
About two hours to Jodhpur: in the morning, arriving for lunch.
Late afternoon: the blue lanes below the fort to the clock tower and Sardar Market, and Toorji ka Jhalra, the restored stepwell.
- Day ten, at opening: Mehrangarh, when the winter air is clear enough to see the whole city from the ramparts.
- After lunch: the Bishnoi villages, where blackbuck and chinkara graze close to farms protected by a community that has guarded trees and animals for centuries.
- A winter afternoon: at the cenotaphs of Mandore, nine kilometres north of the city.
- How we visit: our page on the Bishnoi villages.
Days 11 to 13: Udaipur via Ranakpur, and the lakes
The most beautiful drive: over the Aravallis rather than around them.
Ranakpur, as it opens to visitors: the fifteenth-century Jain temple of 1,444 carved marble pillars. Leave all leather in the car.
- Arrival: in Udaipur for the evening light.
- Days twelve and thirteen, slow down: the City Palace of Udaipur as it opens, and a private boat on Pichola in the last hour of light.
- Sunset: the Monsoon Palace.
- One morning: Eklingji and Nathdwara.
- Late December: the Shilpgram crafts fair west of Fateh Sagar gathers artisans and performers from across western India.
- One afternoon empty: for a spa, or a book on a terrace. You will have earned it.
Day 14: Onward
- After breakfast by the lake: your chauffeur drives you to Udaipur's airport for a flight to Delhi or Mumbai and home.
Where you'll stay
Jaipur
Rambagh Palace: once the home of Maharaja Sawai Man Singh II and Maharani Gayatri Devi, with lawns made for winter breakfasts in the sun.
- The Oberoi Rajvilas: calm and space outside the city.
- Samode Haveli: inside the walled city for the kite festival.
Bikaner
Laxmi Niwas Palace: part of the red sandstone Lalgarh complex, the grandest stay in town.
- Narendra Bhawan: a stylish boutique hotel with a rooftop pool.
- Bhanwar Niwas: sleep inside a carved Rampuria haveli in the old city.
Jaisalmer
Suryagarh: about thirteen kilometres out on the Sam road, a modern fort built in the old Jaisalmer manner, with courtyards and long dinners by the fire.
- The Serai: SUJAN's camp on private desert scrub off the Jodhpur road, the choice for romance and firelit dinners.
- Why not inside the fort: we stay outside and visit it every day, because the hill cannot take more water.
The desert night
- Manvar Desert Camp: open only in the cool months, with proper beds, private bathrooms with hot water and a smaller, quieter camp for couples.
- Other options: our guide to luxury desert camps explains what we look for.
Jodhpur
Umaid Bhawan Palace: finished in 1943, one of the great Art Deco palaces of the world, with the former royal family still in one wing.
- RAAS Jodhpur: in the old city directly beneath the floodlit fort.
- Ajit Bhawan: like staying with an old Jodhpur family.
Udaipur
- The Taj Lake Palace: floats on Pichola and is reached only by boat.
- Across the lake: The Oberoi Udaivilas and The Leela Palace look over the water to the City Palace.
The winter calendar, month by month
- November
- Pushkar fair, sometimes Diwali
- December
- Kumbhalgarh Festival, Shilpgram, Christmas
- January
- Kites on 14 January, camel festival
- February
- Desert Festival, Nagaur fair
- March
- Holi and Gangaur
November, the season opens
The weather: days still warm, and soft light after the rains.
- The Pushkar Camel Fair: builds to the full moon of Kartik, in October or November.
- Diwali: sometimes falls early in the month.
- The desert camps: freshly open and quiet. Read more in Rajasthan in November.
December, palaces and parties
Early December: the Kumbhalgarh Festival at Rana Kumbha's fort.
- Late in the month: Udaipur's Shilpgram fair and the Mount Abu Winter Festival.
- Christmas and New Year: the busiest week of the year in the palaces and desert camps. Our Christmas and New Year in a palace journey is built for it.
January, kites and camels
The coldest month: crisp mornings and bright afternoons.
- Makar Sankranti, 14 January: the sky over Jaipur fills with kites.
- Late in the month: the Jaipur Literature Festival fills the city.
- The Bikaner Camel Festival: celebrates the animals of the desert. See Rajasthan in January.
February, our favourite
The best light of the year: warm days and softer nights.
- The Jaisalmer Desert Festival: around the full moon of Magh, with camel races, turban-tying and a final evening on the dunes at Sam.
- Shekhawati: the mustard fields turn yellow.
- The Nagaur Cattle Fair: gathers herders and Marwari horses. Read Rajasthan in February.
March, the warm farewell
Warming quickly: and the desert nights soften.
- Holi and Gangaur: Holi arrives with the spring full moon, and Gangaur begins the morning after.
- Best for: Udaipur and Jaipur, though by late March the midday sun in the Thar is fierce. Read about Holi in Rajasthan.
The winter visitors
Not only the cranes: the lakes of Jaipur, Jaisalmer and Udaipur fill with wintering ducks.
On the open plains: of Marwar and Bikaner, harriers quarter the grass and larks rise from the stubble.
Jorbeer: in the old carcass ground near Bikaner, vultures gather with steppe eagles that have flown in for the season, one of the strangest and most impressive sights of the Rajasthan winter.
- Cranes
- Khichan, near Phalodi
- Vultures and eagles
- Jorbeer, near Bikaner
- Great Indian bustard
- Desert National Park
- Blackbuck
- Bishnoi villages, Tal Chhapar
- Tigers
- Ranthambore, basking on cold mornings
- Bring: binoculars and a strong stomach.
- The Desert National Park: grasslands near Jaisalmer, one of the last refuges of the great Indian bustard, a critically endangered bird that once walked across much of India.
- Never certain: we visit only with naturalists who keep a respectful distance.
- Bishnoi villages around Jodhpur: blackbuck and chinkara graze within sight of the farmhouses, protected by a community whose faith forbids harming them.
- Tal Chhapar: a grassland on the edge of the Thar, famous for its blackbuck and its winter raptors.
- Tigers in Ranthambore: they lie out on the tracks to soak up the morning sun, and the dry forest is open enough to see them.
- How we watch: our page on ethical animal encounters explains why we never chase wildlife.
What Rajasthan eats in winter
Desert winters are millet food: bajre ki roti, flatbread of pearl millet, smeared with ghee and eaten with fiery garlic chutney.
In Jaisalmer: farming families drink raabdi, a warming mix of millet and buttermilk they have lived on for centuries.
With almost every meal: ker sangri, the dried desert berries and beans.
- In Mewar, maize: makki ki roti with jaggery, white butter and greens, cooked over wood.
- Around Makar Sankranti: every sweet shop in Jaipur sells sesame sweets, because sesame is believed to warm the body.
- Bikaner's bhujia: the crisp gram-flour snack, made fresh through the season. Keep a box for the drive.
- Jodhpur's breakfast: mirchi bada, a fat chilli stuffed with potato and fried, and pyaaz kachori, a flaky pastry of spiced onion.
- Evenings in the palace kitchens: laal maas, mutton in a fierce red sauce of Mathania chillies, and safed maas, cooked in cream and ground nuts.
- Vegetarians: eat just as well.
- Eating outdoors: breakfasts on palace lawns in the sun, picnic lunches under a khejri tree in the dunes, and dinners by a fire in a courtyard.
- Read more: our Rajasthani food guide, and our food lover's Rajasthan, which builds a whole journey around the dishes.
Winter, practically
Pack in layers: a T-shirt at noon, and a warm jacket, hat and scarf at dawn and after dark, especially in the desert.
Dry air, strong sun: bring a good moisturiser, lip balm and sunglasses.
- Days
- Often in the twenties
- Jaipur mornings
- Around 8°C
- Desert nights
- Close to freezing
- Fog
- Delhi and the plains, December and January
- Book early
- Christmas, New Year, festivals
- Fog: in December and January it often settles over Delhi and the northern plains in the mornings and can delay flights and trains.
- Our answer to fog: buffer time on the first and last days, and flights straight into Jaipur where possible.
- Book early: Christmas and New Year, the Desert Festival and the kite festival weekend sell out months ahead, and Jaisalmer's best rooms are few.
- Socks for temples: marble floors are icy on winter mornings, and shoes come off at every shrine.
- Wedding season: if a family invites you in, say yes. If a wedding band blocks the road, enjoy the music.
- More detail: our guides to what to pack and weather and climate.
Make it yours
A shorter version, nine nights
The shape: two nights in Jaipur, two in Jaisalmer with a night in the dunes, two in Jodhpur and two in Udaipur.
- Fly to the desert: from Jaipur to Jaisalmer in the winter season, when flights run.
- The trade: you lose Bikaner and the cranes, and keep the desert.
Add tigers or birds
- Ranthambore: three to four hours from Jaipur, where tigers lie out in the sun on cold mornings.
- For birders: add Bharatpur and Keoladeo for its wintering waterbirds, or our birding journey through Bharatpur and Tal Chhapar.
Add Delhi and the Taj Mahal
- Two nights in Delhi and one in Agra: for the Taj at sunrise, when winter mist sometimes lies across the Yamuna.
- The full shape: our Rajasthan with the Taj Mahal journey.
For families and couples
Children love: the kites, the camels and a night in the dunes, and winter days are comfortable for long walks around forts.
- Couples: can trade Bikaner for an extra night at The Serai and on Lake Pichola.
- The romantic version: our Rajasthan for Two journey.
How we look after you
A private chauffeur: for the whole journey, in a warm, comfortable car, with blankets and a flask of tea for the dawn starts.
A local guide in every city: someone who grew up there and knows the hour when each fort is at its emptiest.
- Driver
- Private chauffeur, blankets and tea aboard
- Guides
- Local, and know the emptiest hour
- Planner
- Watching fog and festival dates
- Rooms
- Held early in the busy weeks
- Prices
- Quoted after one conversation
- Flights and trains: used where they save a long drive.
- Met at the airport: and your planner on WhatsApp throughout, watching fog reports and festival dates with you.
- Rooms held early: the right room at Rambagh for the kite festival, a lake-facing room on Pichola, the quiet tents at the desert camps.
- No commission: our guides will never steer you to a shop, and we pay musicians and village hosts directly.
- No published prices: winter rates vary week by week, especially around Christmas, New Year and the festivals, so we quote after one conversation.
Who will love it, and who might prefer another season
The whole of Rajasthan in its kindest weather: the cities, the desert, the forts and the lakes.
It suits: first-time visitors, families, photographers and anyone who enjoys a festival.
- Your season if: you love a fire under the stars and a cold, clear morning on a rampart.
- It may not suit you: if you dislike cold nights, crowds at the famous sights or booking months ahead.
- The busiest time: the big monuments are crowded at midday.
- Green hills, empty palaces and gentler rates: choose Monsoon in Mewar.
- Or March: ask us about it, when the days warm up and Holi fills the streets with colour.
