Explore the highlights of Rajasthan in 2 weeks


Firstly, Rajasthan is pretty huge. It is India’s largest state by area and to see large parts of it in 2 weeks, you need to be prepared for some fairly lengthy journeys. That being said, the journeys are almost always exciting and completely worth it.

If you’ve come to India in search of culture, history and a large variety of landscapes and cuisine then you’ve come to the right place. In Rajasthan, you can expect to experience grand palaces and sandstone forts, huge deserts and arid landscapes, big major cities as well as small quiet towns and spicy meat dishes or vegetarian delights. Out and about you will see elephants, camels and monkeys and as always with India; lots of bright colours, sounds, flavours and smells.

Please note: Prices provided are in Indian rupees. At the time of writing, 100 rupees is equal to £1.20 or $1.50. Prices below are from Feb 2014.

rajasthanmap.png

Udaipur

Udaipur, with it’s fairy-tale palace, beautiful scenery, perfect sunsets and picturesque rooftop restaurants, is certainly worth a stop for a few days and there’s no wonder it is known as the ‘Romantic City’.

We arrived here on a night bus from our previous destination, ‘Bandra Terminus’ in the northern part of Mumbai. This journey took 16.5 hours and cost 435 rupees per person for a bunk in sleeper class.

Udaipur was quite the contrast and as we stepped off the night train we instantly noticed how fresh the air felt. After 5 days in Mumbai, we were certainly ready for the peaceful city of Udaipur.

1888527_10153909712885038_1415576418_n
Udaipur Lake
Things to do in Udaipur

  • Explore the beautiful City Palace
  • Take a boat ride over to The Lake Palace
  • Eat in one of the many rooftop restaurants to relax and enjoy the stunning views
  • Shop for gifts. With many lanes of stalls and shops, this was my favourite place in India for buying gifts to send back home

1796698_10153909716390038_481193363_n.jpg
View of the City Palace
Where to stay

We stayed in the beautiful and traditionally decorated ‘Panorama Guest House‘ for 900 rupees per night. On arrival, music was sounding and I looked out of the bedroom window to see a parade of music and elephants all beautifully decorated, just as Shaun opened the bathroom window to see a giant monkey staring right at him. Amazing place! We also ate here at their rooftop restaurant and highly recommend the delicious food.

Jaisalmer 

We arrived in Jaisalmer after a night bus which had me clenching onto my stomach at every bend inside our coffin sized box to sleep in, to find we were deep in the middle of the Thar Desert. Just opposite our guest house was what looked like an incredible giant sandcastle, otherwise known as The Jaisalmer Fort.

1899975_10153909720885038_584821240_n
Inside the Jaisamer Fort
Things to do in Jaisalmer

  • Get lost in the huge sandstone Jaisalmer Fort
  • Go on a camel tour into the desert for at least a few nights. Many places in Jaisalmer can arrange this for you for reasonable places. I have heard that if you are going to do a desert tour on a camel anywhere in the world, Jaisalmer is one of the best places in the world to do this. We had a 3 day trip arranged with our hotel, Nomad’s Guest House, however unfortunately we were very sick in Jaisalmer so had to give it a miss, however we enjoyed the exciting stories on the rooftop of other backpackers who did do the trip.

Where to stay

We stayed in the Nomads Guest House. We absolutely loved our stay here and would highly recommend it. This hotel had a nice social roof terrace with a view of the fort, plus the owners can arrange you a desert tour for a really good price. We paid 350 rupees per night for a basic but lovely double room with an en-suite squat toilet.

This hotel featured in my ‘Top 4 Budget Guest Houses’ – Click here for more info!

1969313_10153909721015038_826817291_n.jpg
The Jaisalmer Fort

Jaipur

Jaipur is the capital of Rajasthan and the biggest city in the region. Some say it is dirty and stressful, but we found it excitingly chaotic.

To get here involved another night train, the journey from Jaisalmer to Jaipur took 11.5 hours. Jaipur has plenty to do and explore to keep you entertained for at least a few days. Here are some of our favourites…

Things to do in Jaipur

  • Visit the huge Amer Fort and relax in the surrounding gardens
  • Shop in the cities markets and bazaars – there are many in Jaipur!
  • Visit the pink sandstone Hawa Mahal – Otherwise known as ‘The Palace of the winds’.
  • Explore the 18th century City Palace

1782026_10153909722855038_2096848932_n
Shaun, at Hawa Mahal
Where to stay

We stayed in the popular hostel chain ‘Zostel Jaipur Hostel’. A bed in a 8 bed dorm here cost us just over 700 rupees each. We do highly recommend this hostel, it was located in a nice area with has a good social area and even a kitchen (a rare find in India)

Where to eat

One of our favourite places to eat here, particularly for lunch, was actually the famous food chain ‘The Indian Coffee House’. It is very cheap, we recommend to try the Masala Dosa or Biryani rice!

2
Indian Coffee House Masala Dosa and Biryani Rice

Pushkar

Pushkar is famous for being one of the holiest places in India. As a sacred town, it is forbidden to eat meat or drink alcohol. Pushkar certainly felt different to anywhere else in India and it was one of my all time favourite places. As a major Hindu pilgrimage; Hundu’s should visit at least once during their lives.

Pushkar can be reached by a short local bus journey from the bus station in the close-by larger town of Ajmer. Ajmer has a major train station so is easily reachable, we got a not too lengthy train journey this time, from Jaipur.

4
Festival of Shiva – February 2014
Things to do in Pushkar

  • Visit the Hindu Brahma Temple, located close to the sacred lake, this is one of the very few temples in the world dedicated to Lord Brahma!
  • Practise your flexibility in enjyoing some yoga.
  • If you’re there at the right time, usually November time, visit the annual camel fair.
  • Visit the Pushkar Lake. There are 52 bathing ghats at this sacred place for Hindu’s; many pilgrims descend to the lake to bathe in the holy water.
  • Shop in the bazaars. There were many interesting gifts and lots of bright ‘hippy’ colourful clothing for sale.

5
Pushkar Lake
Top Tip – Watch out for the pushy priests who will place a flower on your forehead, pray for you, your family and friends and then demand money afterwards. If you don’t give money or a high enough amount, they will get very aggressive. 

Where to stay

Without a doubt, we felt that the best place in town for backpackers is the Milkman’s Guesthouse. A room here cost us just 150 rupees per night for a basic double room, shared squat-toilet bathroom. This was the cheapest room of our whole trip to India!

This hotel featured in my ‘Top 4 Budget Guest Houses’ – Click here for more info!

Where to eat & drink

Pushkar is full of amazing organic restaurants and if you are a vegan or vegetarian you will be in heaven in Pushkar. Our favourite place to hang out and have a drink or bite to eat was the ‘Funky Monkey Cafe’.We spent many hours sat here people (and cow) watching!

3.jpg
Sat outside ‘The Funky Monkey Cafe’
So that’s my 2 week itinerary for travelling in Rajasthan! But this could be travelled slower or faster if needed.

Are you heading to India soon? Are you looking for further advice? You may also enjoy ‘My Ultimate Guide to Backpacking in India’ for essential things to know for the first time visitor to India. Or, ask away in the comments below!

Exploring the highlights of Rajasthan - a 2 week itineraryPin it for later!

 

Posted by

Hi, I'm Zoe. Welcome to Zo Around The World! I have an obsession for travel and exploring new cultures. Myself and my husband Shaun have travelled to over 50 countries in 6 continents around the world, including long term budget backpacking trips around many amazing places in South America, Asia, The Caucasus, Australasia and more. In this blog you can read all about our travels, including detailed itineraries and how we managed to travel so cheaply! Travel is my passion, let me help it become yours too

31 thoughts on “Explore the highlights of Rajasthan in 2 weeks

  1. I have been to New Delhi and Agra, but didn’t really how much there is to see in Rajasthan. Pushkar sounds especially interesting. I would also like to do yogo there.

    Like

  2. Hi, loved the post! I have only visited Jaipur and I must say I am in love with the Palaces and forts 🙂

    Next time you visit Rajasthan, try “dal baati Churma” and “laal Maas”. 🙂

    Like

  3. Oh wow your bus ride in Jaisalmer really resonated with me, I have been in that situation too!I love your refreshing info on both the awesome sights, places to stay and also the scams to avoid- watch out for pushy priests! I’ve also never taken a night train so that would be nice.

    Like

  4. I don’t really know anything about this region of India but it looks very interesting. Pushkar, in particular, looks like it would be a fascinating place to visit. I bet the camel fair would be an experience too!

    Like

  5. Great post! I’m actually off to Udaipur tonight from Jodhpur (won’t get there until 3am – if the bus is actually on time!), and so coming across your blog today was brilliant. I’m also dreaming of Pushkar, hopefully next weekend or the following I can go, it sounds amazing.

    Like

    1. Great! Thank you for your comment! 🙂 I hope you made it to Udaipur okay, it’s beautiful there 🙂 I also hope you get chance to go to Pushkar as it’s such a cool place!

      Liked by 1 person

  6. hi Zoe. U wrote amazing. Rajasthan is a beautiful place indeed ! I am an Indian & it feels really amazing when people who visit India write so good about it.Much appreciation.

    Like

    1. Hi, thanks so much! India is such an amazing country, I have so many good things to say about it and I can’t wait to go back 😀

      Like

  7. Hello, Thanks for sharing such a fantastic blog.I really appreciate your blog to share information about Rajasthan …Visiting in Rajasthan is amazing experience.Royal Rajasthan is not only the the land of Kings but also famous in tourist destinations in all over the India. Rajasthan is only one of the place where tourists can enjoy with many of things such as culture, civilizations, history, fairs & festivals, Songs & dances, food, forts, temples, lakes, hills and natural beauty with adventure tours. best blog…

    Like

    1. Thank you for your comment and I’m glad you enjoyed my blog 🙂 Rajasthan is definitely one of my favourite parts of India! 😀

      Like

Leave a comment