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…
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…
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…
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
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…
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…
Jaipur
Jaipur’s most-distinctive landmark, the Hawa Mahal is an extraordinary pink-painted, delicately honeycombed hive that rises a dizzying five storeys. It…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
Bikaner
Of Bikaner’s two Jain temples, Bhandasar is particularly beautiful, with yellow-stone carving and vibrant paintings. The interior of the temple is…
Jaisalmer
The biggest fish in the haveli (traditional, ornately decorated residence) pond is Patwa-ki-Haveli, which towers over a narrow lane, its intricate…
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…
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.
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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,…
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…