Rajasthan

Rajasthan is a landlocked desert state, and the nearest sea is a long day's travel away in another state. Its lakes in Udaipur and Pushkar are scenic and in Pushkar sacred, so nobody swims in them, and the desert has no inland bathing to speak of. Swimming here means a hotel pool, and plenty of the heritage and palace hotels have good ones, often in courtyards or on lake-facing terraces. That makes a pool afternoon a pleasant break from the heat, but it is never a reason to come.

Rajasthani cooking was shaped by the desert: dal baati churma, gatte ki sabzi in yoghurt gravy, ker sangri made from dried desert beans and berries, and, from the old royal hunting kitchens, fiery laal maas mutton. Much of it is vegetarian and rich in ghee. Street food is the best of it: onion kachori and mirchi vada in Jodhpur, thick saffron lassi, Bikaner's spiced bhujia, and the sweet shops of Jaipur's old city with ghewar in the cooler months.

Jaipur has the widest choice, from old-city snack counters to modern Indian restaurants, and Udaipur's rooftop terraces over Lake Pichola make dinner an occasion. Thalis in heritage hotels show the cuisine at its most generous. Drinking culture is modest and wine is imported. Visitors with sensitive stomachs should favour busy stalls with fresh frying.

Rajasthan is the land of the Rajput kingdoms, and its forts and palaces are the reason most visitors come. Jaipur's pink walled city holds the City Palace, Hawa Mahal and the Jantar Mantar observatory, with Amber Fort on the ridge above. Jodhpur's Mehrangarh rises sheer from rock over a blue-washed old town, Udaipur's City Palace runs along Lake Pichola, and Jaisalmer is a living sandstone fort city in the desert, with carved merchant havelis below its walls.

The depth goes further: the hill forts of Chittorgarh and Kumbhalgarh, the marble Jain temples of Ranakpur and Mount Abu, the stepwells and painted palaces of Bundi, and the mural-covered mansions of Shekhawati. A classic circuit links three or four cities over two weeks, and each holds days of sightseeing.

Evenings in Rajasthan are about rooftop dinners with fort views, not late nights. Jaipur has the most to offer, with cocktail bars in heritage hotels, a few lounges and the occasional club night in the newer parts of the city. Udaipur has lake-view terraces that serve drinks until a reasonable hour. Elsewhere bars are mostly inside hotels, and Pushkar, as a holy town, is officially dry. For most visitors the night ends early, and that suits the dawn starts for safaris and forts.

The Thar Desert fills the west of the state, and a night in a desert camp near Jaisalmer, reached by camel or jeep across the dunes at Sam or Khuri, is the classic outdoor experience. Ranthambore, in the east, is one of the best places in India to see wild tigers, roaming among ruined pavilions and lakes below an old fort. Keoladeo near Bharatpur is a wetland famous for winter migratory birds, best explored by bicycle or rickshaw.

The Aravalli hills give gentler scenery around Udaipur, Kumbhalgarh and the hill station of Mount Abu, with some trekking and horse riding. The good months run from October to March. Summer heat makes the desert punishing, and the tiger parks close through the monsoon.

Each of the main cities has its own short list of outings, and the good ones need a full day. From Jaipur, the deep Chand Baori stepwell at Abhaneri, the ruined town and fort of Bhangarh and the palace village of Samode are all within about two hours by car. Ajmer, with its great Sufi shrine, is about two hours by train, and the lakeside pilgrimage town of Pushkar lies a short drive beyond it, a long but workable day. The painted havelis of the Shekhawati towns are too far for a return trip and are better as an overnight stop on the way between cities.

From Udaipur, the Krishna temple town of Nathdwara and the old temples of Eklingji and Nagda are close, while Chittorgarh's hill fort and the road over the Aravallis to Kumbhalgarh and Ranakpur each fill a day. From Jodhpur, the temple town of Osian and the Bishnoi villages make a good outing, and from Jaisalmer the Jain temples of Lodurva and the abandoned village of Kuldhara are an easy half day. Most trips are by hired car with driver, and Indian roads make two hours feel long, so it pays to plan one outing a day.

For older children Rajasthan can be a real adventure: forts with ramparts to explore, camel rides and a night under canvas in the desert, a jeep safari looking for tigers, and puppet shows in Jaipur and Udaipur. Heritage hotels with pools and gardens make good bases for recovering between outings.

It is hard going with small children, though. There are few attractions made for them, traffic is chaotic and pavements are rare, the long drives between cities test patience, and families need to be careful with food and water. Visiting between November and February avoids the worst heat, and building in pool days helps.

Most visitors tour Rajasthan with a hired car and driver, which is the easiest way to link the cities and stop at forts along the way. Trains connect Jaipur, Jodhpur, Udaipur, Jaisalmer and Bikaner, including overnight services across the desert, and Jaipur has a short metro line, but the journeys between the main cities still take most of a day.

Within the towns, auto-rickshaws and ride-hailing do the work. The old cities are dense and walkable in distance, but traffic, animals, horns and missing pavements make walking tiring. Udaipur's lake district and Jaisalmer's fort are the calmest places to explore on foot.

Rajasthan is one of India's great craft regions, and shopping is a large part of many trips. Jaipur is the centre: Johari Bazaar for gems and silver, hand block-printed cottons from the workshop villages of Sanganer and Bagru, blue pottery, and a scene of contemporary designer boutiques that rework these traditions. Jodhpur is known for antiques and old furniture, Udaipur for miniature paintings, and Jaisalmer for mirror-work embroidery, while bandhani tie-dye and embroidered leather mojaris turn up everywhere.

The bazaars are vivid but demand patience. Drivers and guides steer visitors to commission shops, and bargaining is expected. Gem purchases call for particular caution.

Rajasthan is cheap for a visitor by any international standard. Street food and thalis cost very little, auto-rickshaws and trains are inexpensive, and hiring a car with driver for a whole circuit is within reach of most budgets. Family-run guesthouses and converted havelis offer character for modest money. The other end of the scale is the palace hotels, some among the most expensive stays in the country, and rooms in Udaipur and Jaipur cost more in the peak months from November to February. Fort and palace entry fees are higher for foreigners than for Indians, but still moderate.

Rajasthan has one of India's richest folk music traditions. The Manganiyar and Langa musicians of the western desert sing ballads to the kamaicha and dholak, and Kalbelia dancers spin in black skirts. A visitor meets this mostly at evening shows in heritage hotels and desert camps, and at the nightly folk dance performance at Bagore ki Haveli in Udaipur, which is the most reliable chance to see it done well. Puppet shows with string marionettes are another old tradition.

The Rajasthan International Folk Festival, held within Mehrangarh in Jodhpur each autumn, is the high point of the year. Jaipur's Jawahar Kala Kendra hosts theatre and music, but formal concert and theatre life is otherwise thin.

Rajasthan has no public bathing culture of its own, so wellness happens inside its hotels. Converted palaces and lakeside retreats around Udaipur and in the Aravalli countryside offer Ayurvedic massage, yoga on the terrace and quiet courtyards where a long afternoon passes easily, and a few rural forts and havelis are built for exactly that kind of slow stay. Pushkar has yoga and meditation classes for travellers staying a while. Outside these retreats the towns are loud and crowded, so a restful trip here means choosing calm places to stay and spending real time in them.