Rajasthan's Palaces and Forts: India's Most Regal State
Rajasthan is India at its most theatrical — a state of desert landscapes, medieval forts, and maharaja palaces where the colours are vivid, the history is epic, and the hospitality is extraordinary.
Rajasthan — the Land of Kings — is the largest state in India and the one that most closely matches the Western imagination of the country: a landscape of desert and scrubland dotted with medieval forts, where the women wear vivid saris of orange and pink and the men wear turbans of saffron and crimson. The state was ruled by the Rajput clans for centuries, and the palaces and forts they built — at Jaipur, Jodhpur, Udaipur, Jaisalmer — are among the finest examples of Indian architecture.
Jaipur, the Pink City, is the capital of Rajasthan and the most visited city in the state. The old city, built in 1727 by Maharaja Jai Singh II, is laid out on a grid of wide streets flanked by buildings painted in the distinctive terracotta pink that gives the city its name. The Hawa Mahal (Palace of Winds), the City Palace, and the Jantar Mantar (an 18th-century astronomical observatory) are the principal sights, but the bazaars of the old city — selling block-printed textiles, blue pottery, and silver jewellery — are equally rewarding.
Jodhpur, the Blue City, is dominated by the Mehrangarh Fort — one of the largest and most impressive forts in India, rising 120 metres above the city on a rocky outcrop. The fort's museum contains the finest collection of Rajput artefacts in India, and the view from the ramparts — over the blue-painted houses of the old city, with the Thar Desert stretching to the horizon — is one of the finest in Rajasthan.
Udaipur, the City of Lakes, is the most romantic city in Rajasthan — a place of white marble palaces reflected in the waters of Lake Pichola, with the Aravalli Hills rising behind them. The Lake Palace, built on an island in the middle of the lake and now a luxury hotel, is one of the most famous buildings in India, and the view of it from the City Palace at sunset — the white marble glowing in the last light — is one of the finest in the country.
Jaisalmer, the Golden City, rises from the Thar Desert like a mirage — a medieval fort of yellow sandstone that is still inhabited, with narrow lanes, havelis (merchant mansions) of extraordinary carved stone, and a desert landscape that stretches to the Pakistani border. The camel safaris into the Sam Sand Dunes, 40 kilometres from the city, offer the finest desert experience in Rajasthan — a night in the dunes under a sky of extraordinary clarity.
The heritage hotels of Rajasthan — former palaces and forts converted into accommodation — are among the finest in India. The Umaid Bhawan Palace in Jodhpur, the Taj Lake Palace in Udaipur, and the Samode Palace near Jaipur are the most famous, but there are dozens of smaller heritage properties — converted havelis and hunting lodges — that offer a more intimate experience at a fraction of the cost.
The best time to visit Rajasthan is from October to March, when the temperatures are comfortable — the summer months (April to June) can see temperatures exceeding 45°C in the desert areas, which makes outdoor sightseeing genuinely dangerous. The monsoon (July to September) brings relief from the heat and transforms the desert into a brief green landscape, but the rain can make roads impassable and some forts inaccessible.
