Must-see attractions in Rajasthan

  • Mehrangarh Fort.

    Mehrangarh

    Jodhpur

    Rising perpendicular and impregnable from a rocky hill that itself stands 120m above Jodhpur’s skyline, Mehrangarh is one of the most magnificent forts in…

  • City Palace architecture

    City Palace

    Jaipur

    A complex of courtyards, gardens and buildings, the impressive City Palace is right in the centre of the Old City. The outer wall was built by Jai Singh…

  • India, Rajasthan, Jaipur, Amber Fort

    Amber Fort

    Eastern Rajasthan

    This magnificent fort comprises an extensive palace complex, built from pale yellow and pink sandstone, and white marble, and is divided into four main…

  • Udaipur, Rajasthan, India

    City Palace Museum

    Udaipur

    The main part of the City Palace is open as the City Palace Museum, with rooms extravagantly decorated with mirrors, tiles and paintings, and housing a…

  • City Palace viewed from Lake Pichola, Udaipur, Rajasthan, India

    City Palace

    Udaipur

    Surmounted by balconies, towers and cupolas towering over the lake, the imposing City Palace is Rajasthan’s largest palace, with a facade 244m long and 30…

  • Hawa Mahal palace, Jaipur

    Hawa Mahal

    Jaipur

    Jaipur’s most-distinctive landmark, the Hawa Mahal is an extraordinary pink-painted, delicately honeycombed hive that rises a dizzying five storeys. It…

  • Mehrangarh Museum

    Jodhpur

    The fort's museum encompasses its former palace, and is a superb example of Rajput architecture. The network of courtyards and halls features stone…

  • Samrat Yantra (Giant sundial), Jantar Mantar, Jaipur, Rajasthan, India

    Jantar Mantar

    Jaipur

    Adjacent to the City Palace is Jantar Mantar, an observatory begun by Jai Singh II in 1728 that resembles a collection of bizarre giant sculptures. Built…

  • Junagarh

    Bikaner

    This most impressive fort was constructed between 1589 and 1593 by Raja Rai Singh, ruler of Bikaner and a general in the army of the Mughal emperor Akbar…

  • 500px Photo ID: 71843661 - Jaisalmer is a unique place, with the majority of the population of the dusty desert town still residing inside the centuries old fort. Making it the Living Fort. Cars, bikes can be driven inside the narrow lanes of the fort. At one point one gets to see an old ruin and  standing tall next to it is a Harley Davidson at the entrance of one of the many Fort restaurants.

    Jaisalmer Fort

    Jaisalmer

    Jaisalmer’s fort is a living urban centre, with about 3000 people residing within its walls. It is honeycombed with narrow winding lanes, lined with…

  • Fort Palace Museum

    Jaisalmer

    Towering over the fort’s main square, and partly built on top of the Hawa Pol (the fourth fort gate), is the former rulers’ elegant seven-storey palace…

  • Lake Pichola

    Udaipur

    Limpid and large, Lake Pichola reflects the grey-blue mountains on its mirror-like surface. It was enlarged by Maharana Udai Singh II, following his…

  • Bhandasar Temple

    Bikaner

    Of Bikaner’s two Jain temples, Bhandasar is particularly beautiful, with yellow-stone carving and vibrant paintings. The interior of the temple is…

  • Patwa-ki-Haveli

    Jaisalmer

    The biggest fish in the haveli (traditional, ornately decorated residence) pond is Patwa-ki-Haveli, which towers over a narrow lane, its intricate…

  • Alwar Museum

    Eastern Rajasthan

    Hidden within the City Palace is the excellent Alwar Museum. Its eclectic exhibits evoke the extravagance of the lifestyle of the maharajas: stunning…

  • Ranthambhore National Park

    Eastern Rajasthan

    This national park contains 1334 sq km of wild jungle scrub hemmed in by rocky ridges, and is the best place to spot wild tigers in Rajasthan. At its…

  • Kothari’s Patwa-ki-Haveli Museum

    Jaisalmer

    The first of the five sections of Patwa-ki-Haveli is opened as the privately owned Kothari’s Patwa Haveli Museum, which richly evokes 19th-century life.

  • Suraj Mahl’s Palace

    Eastern Rajasthan

    At the centre of Deeg – a small, rarely visited, dusty tumult of a town about 35km north of Bharatpur – stands the incongruously glorious Suraj Mahl’s…

  • The Galta Temple (known as Monkey Temple) near Jaipur, Rajasthan, India

    Galta

    Jaipur

    Squeezed between cliffs in a rocky valley, Galta is a desolate, if evocative, place. The temple houses a number of sacred tanks, into which some daring…

  • [UNVERIFIED CONTENT] The grand pillared Durbar Hall of Khilwat Mubarak, Chowmahalla Palace (or Chowmahallat), Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India. The Hall features the marble platform on which the Takht-e-Nishan or the royal seat was laid and 19 spectacular crystal chandeliers. Chowmahalla Palace is a UNESCO World Heritage site.

    Durbar Hall

    Udaipur

    The restored Durbar Hall (royal reception hall) in the City Palace is one of India’s most impressive, with some of the country’s biggest chandeliers. The…

  • India, Rajasthan. The Monsoon Palace, Udaipur.

    Sajjan Garh

    Udaipur

    Perched on top of a distant hill like a fairy-tale castle, this melancholy, neglected late-19th-century palace was constructed by Maharana Sajjan Singh…

  • Jagmandir Island with the palace built by Maharana Karan Singh in 1620. India

    Jagmandir Island

    Udaipur

    The palace on Jagmandir Island, about 800m south of Jagniwas, was built by Maharana Karan Singh II in 1620, added to by his successor Maharana Jagat Singh…

  • India, Rajasthan State, surroundings of Udaipur, Ahar site contains more than 250 cenotaphs of the maharanas of Mewar that were built over approximately 350 years. There are 19 chhatris that commemorate the 19 maharajas who were cremated here

    Royal Cremation Ground

    Udaipur

    About 3km east of the old city, at Ahar, is Udaipur’s royal cremation ground, with 372 cenotaphs of maharanas and queens of Mewar forming a spectacular…

  • Shri Lakshmi Narayan Temple (Birla Mandir), Jaipur, India

    Birla Lakshmi Narayan Temple

    Jaipur

    This splendid modern marble edifice lies at the foot of Moti Dungri fort. The wealthy industrialist Birla family, from Pilani, Rajasthan, bought the land…

  • Jain Temples

    Jaisalmer

    Within the fort walls is a maze-like, interconnecting treasure trove of seven beautiful yellow sandstone Jain temples, dating from the 15th and 16th…

  • Shilpgram, Udaipur, Rajasthan, India. (Photo by: IndiaPictures/UIG via Getty Images)

    Shilpgram

    Udaipur

    A crafts village west of Fateh Sagar, Shilpgram was inaugurated by Rajiv Gandhi in 1989. Set in dusty, rolling countryside, it’s contrived, but remains…

  • Jaigarh

    Eastern Rajasthan

    A scrubby green hill rises above Amber and is topped by the imposing Jaigarh, built in 1726 by Jai Singh. The stern fort, punctuated by whimsical-hatted…

  • The view from Iswari Minar Swarga Sal Minaret in Jaipur, India; Shutterstock ID 293086646; Your name (First / Last): Josh Vogel; GL account no.: 56530; Netsuite department name: Online Design; Full Product or Project name including edition: Digital Content/Sights

    Isarlat

    Jaipur

    Piercing the skyline near the City Palace is this unusual minaret, erected in the 1740s by Jai Singh II’s son and successor Iswari. The entrance is around…

  • Roof top of Nahargarh Fort, Jaipur, Rajasthan, India. (Photo by: IndiaPictures/UIG via Getty Images)

    Nahargarh

    Jaipur

    Built in 1734 and extended in 1868, this sturdy fort overlooks the city from a sheer ridge to the north. The story goes that the fort was named after…

  • Lake Palace, Jagniwas island, Udaipur, Rajasthan, India

    Jagniwas Island

    Udaipur

    Jagniwas Island is about 15,000 sq m in size and entirely covered by the opulent palace built by Maharana Jagat Singh II in 1754. Once the royal summer…

  • Sisodia Rani Palace Garden, Jaipur, Rajasthan, India. (Photo by: IndiaPictures/UIG via Getty Images)

    Sisodia Rani Palace Garden

    Jaipur

    Six kilometres from the city, on Agra Rd via the Ghat Gate, this formal garden is enjoyable to wander around and take in a breath of fresh air. The grand…

  • Jaswant Thada

    Jaswant Thada

    Jodhpur

    This milky-white marble memorial to Maharaja Jaswant Singh II, sitting above a small lake 1km northeast of Mehrangarh, is an array of whimsical domes. It…

  • Kumbhalgarh

    Rajasthan

    One of the many forts built by Rana Kumbha (r 1433–68), under whom Mewar reached its greatest extents, this isolated fort with a derelict palace is…

  • Mandore Gardens

    Jodhpur

    Situated 9km north of the centre of Jodhpur, Mandore was the capital of Marwar prior to the founding of Jodhpur. Its gardens, complete with rock terraces…

  • Gagron Fort

    Rajasthan

    Don’t miss a trip to this spectacular fort, 7km north of Jhalawar. Almost 1km long, it’s set high above the confluence of the Kalisindh and Ahu rivers…

  • Umaid Bhawan Palace

    Jodhpur

    Gaj Singh II still lives in part of this hilltop palace, built in 1929 for Maharaja Umaid Singh. It was designed by the British architect Henry Lanchester…

  • Chaumukha Mandir

    Rajasthan

    Built in the 15th century in milk-white marble, the main temple of Ranakpur, Chaumukha Mandir (Four-Faced Temple), is dedicated to Adinath, the first…

  • Sorsan Grasslands

    Rajasthan

    About 50km east of Kota are the Sorsan Grasslands, a 35-sq-km bird sanctuary where the scrubby vegetation and numerous small water bodies harbour an…

  • City Palace

    Rajasthan

    The City Palace, and the fort that surrounds it, make up one of the largest such complexes in Rajasthan. This was the royal residence and centre of power,…

  • Char Chowk Haveli

    Rajasthan

    Beneath the eaves on the northern external wall of this haveli (traditional, ornately decorated residence), you’ll find a picture of a bird standing on an…

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