Rajasthan & Uttar Pradesh · 15 days
Havelis and palaces
Rajasthan through the houses rather than the forts — and the country between them.
The journey
The long loop, and the one that goes where the coaches do not. Bundi and Bijaipur instead of only Jaipur and Udaipur; Jojawar, where the local train runs through the Aravallis and the Raika herders still bring their camels down; Nagaur and Bikaner on the desert edge; and Shekhawati at the end, where the merchant families painted the outside of their houses and then left them.
Route
- Delhi
- Agra
- Jaipur
- Bundi
- Bijaipur
- Chittorgarh
- Udaipur
- Ranakpur
- Jojawar
- Jodhpur
- Nagaur
- Bikaner
- Shekhawati
What stays with you
- 01The Taj at sunrise, and Fatehpur Sikri on the way to Jaipur
- 02Bundi's palace, which Kipling wrote about and almost nobody visits
- 03Chittorgarh, the largest fort in India, and the road down to Udaipur
- 04The Aravalli train from Jojawar, and a morning with Raika herders
- 05Nagaur and Bikaner on the way into the desert
- 06The painted havelis of Shekhawati, most of them still shut and unrestored
Day by day
A shape rather than a timetable. Days move, and most people move one or two of them.
1 – 2
Into Delhi, and a day in it.
3 – 4
Agra: the fort, and the Taj. On to Jaipur by way of Fatehpur Sikri.
5
Jaipur — Amber, the City Palace, Jantar Mantar, the Hawa Mahal.
6
South to Bundi and the palace on the hill.
7
The Bijolia temples and the Menal gorge, then a night at Bijaipur.
8
Chittorgarh in the morning, Udaipur by evening.
9
Udaipur, at its own pace.
10
Ranakpur, then Jojawar, and out to a Raika village.
11
The rural train through the Aravallis, then Jodhpur and Mehrangarh.
12
Nagaur fort, and on to Bikaner.
13
Into Shekhawati, and the painted houses.
14 – 15
Back to Delhi, and out.
Shall we plan it?
Tell us roughly when, and how many of you, and we will come back with dates, a price and anything we would change about the route.
Or write to us at info@scenicescapesindia.com
Rajasthan & the north