The month of fires and clear skies
December evenings in Rajasthan end around a fire. In the courtyards of the old forts and rawlas, the lodges of the nobles, staff build a fire of desert wood at dusk, chairs are set around it, shawls appear and dinner is served under the stars.
The night sky: the air is dry and still, and the sky in the desert is so clear that you can see the Milky Way from a hotel garden. It is the image many of our guests carry home.
Mornings: cold, sometimes properly cold.
- Weather
- Sunny, mild days, often the low to mid 20s °C; cold nights, close to freezing in the desert by late December
- Rain
- Dry air and clear skies; morning fog on the northern plains
- Crowds
- Highest of the year at Christmas and New Year
- Festivals
- Kumbhalgarh Festival, polo, Shilpgram, the Mount Abu Winter Festival
- Best for
- Families, couples, honeymooners and multi-generation groups
- Pack
- Layers, one proper warm jacket, a shawl, something smart
- By ten: the sun has warmed the stone and the day is bright, mild and perfect for walking.
- The light: low and soft all day, which photographers love.
- Long evenings: dusk comes early.
- Outdoors: the best month of the year for lunches in the sun and long drives across a landscape of green wheat and yellow mustard.
- The height of the season: polo is under way in Jaipur, the wedding season is in full swing, and Udaipur holds its great crafts fair.
- The holidays: Christmas and New Year bring gala dinners to every palace hotel.
- The last ten days: festive, beautiful and very busy.
What December weather is really like
- Cool, not cold, by day: but the nights are the coldest you will have met in India, unless you have been to the Himalaya.
- The whole year: our weather and climate guide has it.
Sunny days, cold nights
Days: usually sunny and mild, often in the low to mid 20s °C in Jaipur, Jodhpur and Udaipur.
- Nights: cold, and mornings in single figures are common by the end of the month.
- The desert: around Jaisalmer and Bikaner, nights can fall close to freezing in late December, so pack properly for a camp.
Fog on the northern plains
From mid-month: morning fog often settles over Delhi and the plains of Uttar Pradesh.
Delays: it can delay flights and trains and slow the road between Delhi and Agra.
- The Taj at sunrise: it may be hidden, or magical.
- Rajasthan's cities: usually clearer.
- Our habit: we build buffer time into the first and last days of a December journey.
Short days
Early sunset: a little after half past five in Jaipur.
- Our rhythm: start sightseeing once the sun has warmed the stone, and keep the big sights for the late morning and early afternoon.
- Before dark: we plan the drive back to your hotel on country roads before nightfall.
The hills
Mount Abu: at Mount Abu, nights can drop close to freezing, with frost on the grass on the coldest mornings.
- Kumbhalgarh: dawn on the wall is chilly, and mist often fills the valleys at sunrise.
- By day: both are beautiful and bright.
Festivals, fairs and events in December
- Fixed or announced dates: unlike the lunar festivals of the autumn, several of December's events are set by the state, the hotels or the clubs.
- The exceptions: a few, such as the Urs at Ajmer, follow the Islamic calendar and move earlier each year.
The Kumbhalgarh Festival, early December
When: over a few days, usually in early December. The dates are set each year by Rajasthan Tourism.
- What: the Kumbhalgarh Festival brings classical and folk dancers, musicians and craft stalls to Kumbhalgarh.
- At night: the walls are lit.
The polo season in Jaipur
A great home of Indian polo: the royal family's teams have played since the days of Maharaja Man Singh II.
In winter: the season is under way, with matches at the grounds near Rambagh Palace on many afternoons.
- Very Jaipur: watching from the lawn with a cup of tea.
- Schedules: they change each season, so we check them for your dates.
- Read more: the Jaipur polo season and our polo experience.
The Urs at Ajmer
Whose Urs: that of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti.
A moving date: it follows the Islamic calendar and moves about eleven days earlier each year. In 2026 it falls in December, and in 2027 around the turn of November and December.
- Six days: the lanes around the Ajmer Sharif Dargah become a slow river of pilgrims, and qawwali goes on through the night.
- Extraordinary and overwhelming: if you want a calm visit, avoid that week.
- Read more: our page on the Urs.
Shilpgram, Udaipur, late December
When and where: in the last days of the month, at the crafts village of Shilpgram on the edge of Udaipur.
- Who comes: artisans and folk performers from across western India.
- Why go: busy and cheerful, and one of the best places in the state to buy directly from makers.
Christmas and New Year
Palace hotels dress up: with trees, carols and gala dinners.
- New Year's Eve: music, fireworks and dancing in courtyards and on lawns across the state.
- In full: our Christmas and New Year in Rajasthan page.
The Mount Abu Winter Festival
- When: the last days of December, timed for the holidays, when the hill station is at its busiest.
- What: the Winter Festival brings folk music and dance, processions, a fair on Nakki Lake and fireworks.
Early December and the holiday weeks
- First three weeks
- Clear, calm, rooms often available
- From about the 20th
- Holiday crowds and the year's highest rates
- Book the holidays
- Nine to twelve months ahead
- Book early December
- Three to six months ahead
- Same weather: it barely changes through the month, apart from colder nights at the end. What changes is everything else.
The first three weeks
One of our favourite times of the year: clear, crisp and comfortable.
Between the crowds: the Pushkar fair crowds have gone home and the holiday crowds have not yet arrived.
- Calm: monuments are quiet in the morning, and hotels are busy but relaxed.
- Rooms: the best are often still available a few months ahead.
- If you are free to choose: choose these weeks.
Christmas to New Year
From about the twentieth: Indian families and international travellers arrive together for the holidays.
Full: palace hotels, desert camps and safari lodges, with rates at their highest of the year.
- Minimum stays: many hotels set them, along with festive dinners over New Year's Eve.
- Wonderful, and crowded: at Amber, the City Palace in Udaipur and the dunes at sunset.
- If this is your only window: book nine to twelve months ahead and let us plan the big sights for the quietest hours.
Where we send guests in December
- Everywhere is open: every part of Rajasthan is comfortable in December.
- Our picks: the places below are the most memorable now, and the ones we steer guests towards when the holiday crowds gather elsewhere.
Jaisalmer and the desert camps
The days: bright and comfortable, with golden light on the fort.
The nights: cold and starry in the dunes.
- How to split it: two nights near town, at Suryagarh for instance, and one in a good camp, with dinner by the fire and the clearest skies of the year.
- Stargazing: our stargazing experience is at its best now.
- Pack warm: for the camp.
Jaipur, for polo and festive palaces
At their most festive: Jaipur's palace hotels, with gala dinners and lit gardens, and polo on winter afternoons.
- The sights: Amber once the sun has warmed the stone, and the old city in the soft afternoon light.
- Where to stay: Rambagh Palace, the Oberoi Rajvilas or, outside the city, Alila Fort Bishangarh.
The village forts of Marwar
December at its best: the family-run forts and lodges around Jodhpur, at Rohet Garh, Mihir Garh and Chandelao Garh.
- The days: sunny lunches outdoors and village walks in the warm afternoon.
- The nights: fires.
- Calmer: than the cities over the holidays.
Udaipur, for the holidays
The busiest and most expensive city: at Christmas and New Year, with hotels full and gala dinners everywhere, and very beautiful.
- For calm: come in early December.
- For the party: book the holidays a year ahead.
- Late December: Shilpgram's crafts fair is a lovely outing.
Ranthambore, for basking tigers
Cold mornings: they bring the tigers out to bask on the tracks and rocks, and sightings are often good as the forest dries.
- Dawn drives: they need serious warm clothing.
- Evenings: fireside evenings at the lodge become the heart of the stay.
- Book months ahead: the holiday fortnight is the peak of the year for lodges and drives.
Bundi, Chittorgarh and Shekhawati, for quiet
December without the crowds: the smaller places are the answer.
- Bundi: Bundi has misty dawns on its lakes.
- Chittorgarh: Chittorgarh has the ramparts almost to itself.
- Shekhawati: the painted havelis of Shekhawati glow in the low winter light, although Castle Mandawa itself is busy around Christmas.
Wildlife in the winter sun
Bharatpur at its peak: Keoladeo National Park at Bharatpur fills with winter ducks, geese and pelicans alongside the resident storks and herons.
Misty mornings: so we often start a little later, when the birds are active in the sun.
- Ranthambore: tigers bask in the open on cold mornings, and the crocodiles do the same on the lake banks.
- Jawai: at Jawai, the birds are at their peak on the reservoir, the leopards sit on their warm granite at dusk, and the evenings around the fire are long and memorable.
- Khichan: the demoiselle cranes number in the thousands.
- Tal Chhapar: the grasslands of Tal Chhapar hold blackbuck and wintering harriers.
- The Desert National Park: in the Desert National Park beyond Jaisalmer, chinkara, desert foxes and wintering raptors are out on the open land.
- Planned for these months: our birding journey.
Winter food, from gond laddoos to hot jalebi
The richest food: winter is when Rajasthani kitchens bring it out.
Gond ke laddoo: made with edible gum, wheat flour, nuts and plenty of ghee, said to keep you warm through the cold months. Every family has its recipe.
On every table: hot jalebi fried fresh in the morning, gajar ka halwa made from red winter carrots, and bajra rotis with jaggery and white butter.
- Raab: in the villages, a warm, thick drink of millet flour and buttermilk.
- Bajra khichdi: cooked with ghee.
- Winter kachoris: in Jaipur, filled with fresh green peas.
- The markets: piled with fenugreek, mustard greens and tiny sweet tomatoes.
- A cold morning in the old city: nothing is better than a glass of masala chai and a hot kachori from a stall.
- Dinner outdoors: often in a courtyard or on a lawn by the fire.
- A royal dinner: ask for laal maas, safed maas, ker sangri and dal baati churma, with a Manganiyar or Langa musician to play.
- The evenings we arrange: our private palace dinner and rooftop dining pages describe them.
Christmas and New Year in a palace
A long tradition: the palace hotels of Rajasthan host the holidays in style.
Christmas: courtyards hung with lamps, carols and Christmas trees, and chefs who cook both a European Christmas dinner and a Rajasthani feast.
New Year's Eve: many hotels hold gala dinners with folk musicians, fire dancers and fireworks over a lake or a fort.
- For families from several countries: glamorous and cheerful, it can be the trip of a lifetime.
- The catch is demand: the best palace suites in Jaipur, Udaipur and Jodhpur, the finest desert tents and the Ranthambore lodges are often booked nine to twelve months ahead.
- Hotel rules: many require minimum stays over New Year, and festive dinners are often compulsory.
- How we plan: a year in advance, holding rooms as soon as dates are confirmed.
- For calm: we suggest a village fort or a smaller heritage palace.
- The shape of it: our Christmas and New Year in a palace journey.
Beyond Rajasthan in December
- Shared winter: Rajasthan's neighbours share its season, and a few are at their very best in December.
- A week more? These are the extensions we suggest most often this month.
Kutch and the White Rann
The salt desert: across the border in Gujarat, the Great Rann of Kutch is dry and white.
- Rann Utsav: the tent city of the Rann Utsav is open, and the nights are cold and clear.
- Busy there too: especially over the holidays, so choose the quieter nights before Christmas.
- Linking the two: our Rajasthan and Kutch journey.
Orchha and Rama's wedding
Vivah Panchami: the wedding of Rama and Sita falls in late November or December in many years. It follows the moon, so we confirm the date each year.
- A royal wedding: Orchha stages it with a procession through the town and the whole community as guests.
- All month: mist on the Betwa at dawn and sunny afternoons make the town lovely.
Agra, in the fog or out of it
Hidden at dawn: the Taj Mahal can be hidden, then appear slowly as the mist lifts, which some of our guests think is the most beautiful way to see it.
- A sunset visit too: in case the morning stays grey.
- Where to stay: the Oberoi Amarvilas, where every room looks towards the Taj.
- On the road: allow extra time from Delhi.
Crowds, rates and how far ahead to book
High season: across Rajasthan, and the holiday fortnight is the most expensive period of the year.
The first three weeks: rates are high but more flexible, and availability is far better.
- No published prices: they depend on dates, hotels, room categories and minimum stays. Our guide to what a luxury Rajasthan journey costs explains what drives the price, and we quote after one conversation.
- Rule of thumb: book the holiday weeks nine to twelve months ahead, and early December three to six months ahead.
- Flights: into Jaipur and Udaipur they are full over the holidays too, so book them early, and allow for fog delays through Delhi.
What to pack for December
The month most visitors under-pack: December.
A warm jacket or down layer: for dawn safaris, desert nights and evenings by the fire.
For open jeeps: sweaters or fleeces, a warm hat and gloves at Ranthambore and Jawai.
- Light layers: for the warm middle of the day, when the sun is strong.
- A shawl: locals wear one everywhere, and you can buy a beautiful one in Jaipur.
- Something smart: for Christmas and New Year gala dinners.
- Moisturiser and lip balm: the desert air is very dry.
- Warm socks: for cold temple floors.
- Every month: our packing guide covers them.
A sample week in December
Built for early December: the cool, clear first half of the month.
- Over the holidays: we keep the same shape but add a night, book a year ahead and schedule the big sights for the quietest hours.
- A longer winter route: see our Winter in Rajasthan journey.
Days 1 and 2: Jaipur
Late morning: Amber in the sun.
- Afternoon: the City Palace and the old city.
- Polo: if a match is on, an afternoon at the ground with tea on the lawn.
- Dinner: in your palace's garden by the fire.
Days 3 and 4: Jodhpur and a village fort
Getting there: fly or drive to Jodhpur.
- Mehrangarh: walk Mehrangarh once the sun is on the ramparts.
- Village fort: drive out to a family fort such as Rohet Garh for a night of village walks, fireside music and a cold, starry sky.
Days 5 to 7: Jaisalmer and the dunes
The drive: west to Jaisalmer, about five hours, through the open desert.
- Two nights near town: walking the living fort and the havelis in the warm afternoons.
- One night in a desert camp: sunset on the dunes, dinner by the fire and the Milky Way overhead.
- Onward: return to Jodhpur to fly home, or fly from Jaisalmer if a seasonal flight runs.
Our advice for December
Who will adore it: families, couples, honeymooners, multi-generation groups and anyone who loves festive evenings.
If you dislike crowds and high rates: come in the first three weeks, or choose November instead.
Kites and books: for the kite festival and the literature festival, read Rajasthan in January. Our best time to visit guide compares every month.
- Book ahead: the holidays nine to twelve months, and early December three to six months.
- Start when the stone is warm: around nine or ten, not at dawn.
- Pack properly: for desert nights and dawn safaris. It is colder than you think.
- Allow for fog delays: on flights and trains through Delhi, especially late in the month.
- New Year's Eve dinners: check whether your hotel's is compulsory before you book.
- The Urs week at Ajmer: avoid it unless you want to witness it with a guide.