The story of a Chundawat stronghold
Some six hundred years ago Chunda, the eldest son of Rana Lakha of Mewar, gave up his right to the throne so that his younger half-brother Mokal could rule. Our grandmother told it as a story about keeping a promise to a father. Chunda's descendants became the Chundawats, and Deogarh became one of their great seats.
The vanguard: the Chundawats held the right to ride in the harawal, the front line of the Maharana's army, and became some of the most powerful nobles in Mewar.
- Clan
- Chundawat Sisodias, the Sangawat branch
- Title
- Rawat, not Raja or Rana
- Rank
- One of Mewar's sixteen first-rank nobles
- Palace built
- 1670, credited to Rawat Dwarka Das
- The sixteen: the Rawat of Deogarh was one of the solah umrao, the sixteen first-rank nobles who attended the Maharana at court in Udaipur.
- A frontier estate: Deogarh sits on high ground on the eastern side of the Aravallis, where Mewar met Marwar and the old Ajmer country. Its lords guarded a border.
- A thikana: the estate was a thikana, a noble's holding granted for service and loyalty, with its own court, temples, artists and soldiers. At its height it held around two hundred villages.
- The builder: sources credit Rawat Dwarka Das with the palace, and the family gives 1670 as its year. Later Rawats added wings, terraces, painted rooms and towers.
- After 1947: the family lived on through the end of the princely order. After years of slow decline, they restored the palace themselves and opened it to guests.
- Learn the words: our short piece on rawlas and thikanas untangles the old system of estates.
Inside a palace that grew upwards
The Mewar way of building: the palace grew upward and outward over generations rather than to one plan. Thick lower walls and a fortified gate face the town.
Jharokhas: look for the projecting, screened balconies that let the women of the household watch the town without being seen.
- Courtyards and terraces: above the walls rise courts, domed pavilions and long terraces looking over lakes, fields and low granite hills.
- Stairs and corridors: rooms are reached by narrow stairs and sudden passages, which were a defence long before they were a charm.
- Painted and glass-inlaid rooms: the palace is known for mirror work and wall paintings in the local manner. Some guest rooms keep old murals around their doors.
- Family furniture: carved doors, swing seats and window seats deep enough to read in. Much of it has been in the house for generations.
- The pool: it sits on a terrace with the town spread below. The sounds that drift up are temple bells, school bells and someone selling vegetables.
The Deogarh school of painting
What they painted: portraits, hunts, festivals, processions and court scenes, often with the Rawat himself on horseback, at a shrine or watching dancers.
Bagta: the elder of the family, who worked at Udaipur before Deogarh.
- Flourished
- 18th and early 19th centuries
- Golden age
- Rawat Gokul Das, 1786 to 1821
- Key painters
- Bagta, his son Chokha, grandson Baijnath
- Look for
- Strong yellows and greens, wide landscapes
- Chokha: trained at the Udaipur court under Maharana Bhim Singh and moved to Deogarh around 1811. His work here became freer and more personal.
- Baijnath: Chokha's son, who carried the style into the later nineteenth century with touches of Nathdwara and Jaipur.
- How to recognise it: large formats, big skies, bold elegant lines and a small court placed in a big world of hills and water. Hunting scenes are especially lively.
- Where the paintings are now: most left the town long ago for museums and collections, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
- What stays in Deogarh: the palace wall paintings, and local artists who still paint in the old manner. Our miniature painting page explains how we arrange time with them.
What staying at Deogarh Mahal is like
A household, not a chain: staff have often worked here for many years, and the rhythm of the day follows the house rather than a manual.
Conversation: dinner can turn from cricket to the price of maize to the Rawat who commissioned a particular painting.
- Rooms vary: older suites with painted walls and window seats have the most character. Others are simpler. We ask for the one that fits you.
- Our usual ask: an older room with murals and a view across the lakes, if the stairs are no trouble.
- Expect stairs: this is a seventeenth-century building and it shows. Tell us early about any mobility needs.
- Expect a few creaks: an old door, an uneven floor, a slow geyser on a cold morning. Guests who love Deogarh love it for its honesty.
- Meeting the family: where they host guests, an evening with a member of the family is one of the quiet privileges of the house. Our royal families page explains how this works.
The Deogarh table
Dinner under the stars: meals are often served on a roof or terrace, with the lights of the town below.
Winter bread: makki ki roti, maize flatbread from the griddle, with white butter and jaggery, or with sarson ka saag when the mustard greens are in.
- Everyday Mewar dishes: gatte ki sabzi, gram-flour dumplings in spiced yoghurt, and kadhi, a sour yoghurt curry, are on every family table.
- Rajput meat dishes: ask for laal maas, mutton in a fierce red sauce, or the gentle safed maas, cooked with cream, cashews and cardamom.
- Vegetarians eat very well: the kitchen cooks the full range of Mewar vegetarian food, and will adapt for Jain diets without onion and garlic if you ask ahead.
- Breakfast from the bazaar: poha with peanuts and lime, mirchi vada, or jalebis hot from the pan.
- A meal away from the dining room: we like to arrange breakfast by a village tank or a dinner on the roof with folk musicians. Our private palace dinner page has ideas.
Rest, the Deogarh way
The pool terrace: the obvious afternoon, especially from March onwards when the days warm up.
Wellness, honestly: this is a family palace, not a spa resort. If massage or yoga matters to you, tell us and we check what the house can arrange on your dates.
- A window seat: many guests spend an hour with a book in a painted alcove, watching the town go about its day.
- Siesta hours: from about noon to four, the light is harsh and the villages rest. We plan nothing then.
- For a full spa: pair Deogarh with a night at RAAS Devigarh, the restored hill palace at Delwara on the road to Udaipur.
Beyond the palace gate
The slow train through the Aravallis
What it is: a ride on the old metre-gauge line between Mavli and Marwar Junction, through cuttings, tunnels and forested ghats.
- The best stretch: around Goram Ghat, with waterfalls and green cliffs in the monsoon.
- How we do it: we drive you to the station, ride with you and have the car waiting at the end. We confirm the line is running before each season.
Lakes and winter birds
The water: the palace looks over Raghosagar lake, and every village keeps its own tank.
- What to look for: from November to February, ruddy shelducks, bar-headed geese and pintails, with painted storks and spoonbills among the residents.
- When: early, with binoculars and a flask of tea.
Anjaneshwar Mahadev
- What it is: a Shiva shrine in a hillside cave, a few kilometres from town.
- When to go: early, when villagers come to pray before work. Shoes off at the steps and voices low.
The town and its bazaar
What you see: a clock tower, cloth merchants, sweet shops frying jalebis and brass pots stacked outside the utensil sellers.
- Kunjbihari temple: in the centre of town, known for the bats in its roof.
- When: around five in the evening, when the light turns gold on the palace walls.
Village drives and Gokal Garh
- The villages: Persian wheels beside modern pumps, maize and wheat fields, goats coming home in a cloud of dust.
- Gokal Garh: a small hill fort near town for a sunset with a wide view across the Aravallis, when access allows.
Two days at Deogarh, the way we plan them
Day one, the town and the palace
Arrive by lunch: eat, then rest through the heat of the afternoon.
- Late afternoon: walk down into the bazaar with a guide from the town, past the clock tower and the Kunjbihari temple, and back up as the lamps come on.
- Before dinner: a tour of the painted rooms, then dinner on the roof.
Day two, the train and the villages
Early: the metre-gauge train through the ghats, with a picnic breakfast and the car waiting at the end.
- Midday: a long lunch and a swim.
- Evening: the villages and lakes, and a sundowner on a hill if access allows.
With a third night
- Add: a morning with a painter in the Deogarh tradition, a visit to Anjaneshwar Mahadev and an afternoon of doing nothing at all.
- Then: continue south towards Kumbhalgarh and Udaipur.
Pairing Deogarh with the rest of Mewar
Nathdwara, about 90 km
- Why go: the great shrine of Shrinathji and the home of pichwai painting.
- How: on the way south to Udaipur, timed around the temple's darshan hours.
Kumbhalgarh, two and a half to three hours
- Why go: Rana Kumbha's fortress, with its immense walls running for kilometres along the ridge.
- How: a night there between Deogarh and Udaipur, with the walls at sunset.
Udaipur, about three hours
- Why go: the lake city and the court that the Rawats of Deogarh once attended.
- How: Deogarh makes a gentle first or last stop before the city.
Pushkar and Ajmer, about three hours
Castle Bijaipur, in eastern Mewar
- Why go: another family-run noble house near Chittorgarh, a fine next stop for repeat visitors.
- How: our Castle Bijaipur page explains the drive and the fort.
When to stay at Deogarh Mahal
October and November: clear skies and harvest in the fields.
December and January: crisp mornings, bright afternoons and nights that call for a shawl on the terrace.
- Best months
- October to March
- Coolest
- December and January
- Hottest
- April to June
- Monsoon
- July to September, green and lush
- Festivals
- Holi, Gangaur, Teej, Diwali
- February and March: warm, dry and perfect for long drives.
- April to June: fierce heat. Only a short stay, with afternoons by the pool.
- The monsoon: the tanks fill, the Aravallis turn emerald and the train ride through the ghats is at its finest.
- Holi: a neighbourhood affair in a small town. The Holi page explains the bonfire and the colours.
- Gangaur and Teej: the women's festivals, when women carry images of Gauri to the water. Read about Gangaur before you come.
Who will love Deogarh Mahal, and who won't
History lovers: a palace still in the family that built it, in the town that gave its name to a school of painting.
Repeat visitors: if you have done Rambagh and the Lake Palace, this is where Rajasthan still feels like a set of small kingdoms.
- Art lovers: read a little about Chokha before you come. Standing in the hills he painted brings his pictures alive.
- Couples: dinner on a terrace under the stars and a quiet town at dawn.
- Curious families: the train, the jeep drives and the pool usually win children over. Watch younger ones on the stairs and terraces.
- You may not love it if: you want a large spa, several restaurants or modern rooms. Expect a family home, generous hosts and a few creaking doors.
- Limited mobility: the palace is all stairs, ramps and polished stone. Tell us early so we can advise honestly.
How Deogarh Mahal fits our journeys
Village Rajasthan: Deogarh is a key stop on our village Rajasthan journey of country palaces, rawlas and farms.
Mewar lakes and temples: it fits beautifully into Mewar Lakes and Temples before or after Udaipur.
- Jaipur to Udaipur: at five to six hours from Jaipur, Deogarh is the natural overnight on the way south.
- Small celebrations: the palace suits intimate gatherings. Our destination weddings page covers how we plan them.
- Compare the styles: our palace hotels guide sets Deogarh beside the grand city palaces.
Getting to Deogarh Mahal
From Udaipur: about 140 km north, roughly three hours by road, with a stop at Nathdwara on the way if you wish.
From Jaipur: five to six hours. We often break it at Pushkar or Ajmer.
- Nearest airport
- Udaipur, about three hours
- From Ajmer
- About 150 km, around three hours
- From Jaipur
- Five to six hours
- From Jodhpur
- Four to five hours over the Aravallis
- From Jodhpur: four to five hours across the hills, past villages and temples.
- In town: the bazaar is a walk downhill from the palace. The car waits for the villages and the station.
- Plan the roads: our road distances guide shows how Deogarh fits a longer route.
What we tell friends before they stay
Pack soft shoes with grip: the palace is all stairs and polished stone, and the town lanes are steep.
Leave space in your plans: the best moments are unplanned, a wedding procession in the lane or an invitation into a courtyard.
- Ask before photographing people: especially women and anyone at a shrine, and accept a no at once.
- Carry small notes: for temple offerings and tea, given directly rather than through a middleman.
- Learn the greeting: khamma ghani, the respectful Mewari hello. Older villagers light up when you use it.
- Buy from makers: we introduce you to a painter or silversmith we know. Nobody in our team takes a commission.
- Read before you come: our piece on staying with a royal family explains how a home differs from a hotel.