Rajasthan, one of the most visited states in India, shows India at its most colorful and exotic best. But there is so much to see and explore that it would not have been fair to accommodate the mighty state in a weeks itinerary. I also didn’t want to make the trip monotonous by just visiting one fort after another. Combining Jaipur with Ranthambore is the best combination of heritage and nature.
LAP 1: Jaipur City
Jaipur, referred to as the Pink City because of the pink walls and buildings of the old city, lures visitors with its stunning remnants of a bygone era. There are direct flights to Jaipur from most of the major cities in India which makes for an easy travel. Spending 3-4 days here would be good to explore at leisure.
Jaipur City Gates
Day 1:
Start the day with the Pink City Heritage Tour which covers:
Hawa Mahal: This was built so that the ladies of the palace could look out over the street to view the processions, from the small windows, unobserved. There are 953 of these windows in total, spread over five levels! Make sure you climb the 5 stories for some amazing spectacles rather than just visiting the popular window side of the Mahal.
Hawa Mahal
City Palace: Inside the City Palace complex is a museum, art gallery, and interesting displays of royal costumes and old Indian weapons. The most stunning part of the City Palace is the Peacock Gate. It’s located in a small courtyard known as Pritam Niwas Chowk. Pritam Niwas Chowk has four colorful painted doorways, each representing a different season. The magnificent Peacock Gate is dedicated to fall/autumn and Lord Vishnu.
Beautiful artwork on Peacock gate in City Palace.
Jantar Mantar: This looks like a collection of massive and strange sculptures, which are actually an astrological instrument with a specific purpose, such as calculating eclipses. There is no information written and it would be good to hire a guide or the Audio information deck available at the ticket window, in order to understand the functioning of these structures.
Breakout for lunch and then continue with Albert Hall museum and in the evening stroll along the Central park and be back to witness the spectacularly lighted Albert Hall museum in the night. Make sure to hire a guide to enlighten you of the glorious history of these monuments and be ready to be transported back in the time of the Maharajas.
Albert Hall, all lit up at night
Day 2:
View of Jaipur city from Nahargarh fort
Hire a cab to explore the mighty forts of Jaipur: Nahargarh, Jaigargh and Amber. We started the morning with Nahargarh which has beautiful views of the city and an old fort. There is also a wax museum along with a unique Sheesh Mahal. The wax museum is not great but the SheeshMahal is worth a view.[Although they charge a combined ticket for both]. The Jaigarh fort does not have much to explore but hosts the world’s largest cannon on wheels. You can then visit the Meena-Panna Stepwell for its marvelous architecture before moving on to the Amber Fort. This is the best of the lot and there is much to see here. Make sure to hire a guide to explain the history and stories behind the fort. From the beautifully crafted and mirror studded Sheesh-Mahal, to the beautiful gardens and the identically crafted apartments – Zenana Khana for the twelve queens – this palace is like something out of a fairy tale. The evening sound and light show, which brings alive the Fort’s history, is impressive.
Shessh Mahal at Amber Fort
Diwan-e-Khas at Amber Fort
Amber fort lit up at night for the light-and-sound show.
Day 3:
You could either have a day trip to Pushkar or visit Abhaneri-Chand Baori.
Harshit Mata Mandir
Chand Baori at Abhaneri
Even though the famous Camel-Fair was in progress we preferred to keep out of the crowds pf Pushkar and instead visited the architectural marvel: “Chand Baori” a beautifully crafted and one of the largest stepwells in India. Chand Baori is a deep four-sided structure with an immense temple on one face. The construction dates to the 10th century, and is dedicated to Harshat Mata, goddess of joy and happiness.
With the evening free you have the opportunity to either visit the Nahargarh fort for the spectacular sunset overlooking the city lights or visit the Monkey temple for a different experience. We went to Monkey Temple and I absolutely regretted it as the place is not well maintained and also our visit coincided with Chat Puja and the place was crowded with hundreds of worshipers.
If you have additional time on hand you could visit Jawahar Circle Garden for a stroll in the park and also stay for its light and music fountain show which starts at 7pm.
LAP 2: Wildlife Safaris
Around 3.5 hours from Jaipur city is the Ranthambore National Park. It is one of the best places in India to spot a tiger in the wild against the backdrop of the fort ruins. In contrast to many national parks in India, Ranthambore is also really accessible and easy to get to but also has the costliest safaris.
Inside the park is a formidable fort that was built in the 10th century and coveted by many rulers due to its strategic position between north and central India. The fort is also home to famous three eyed Hindu God- Ganesh whose blessings are sought before any new beginnings. The fort is really interesting, so do take some time to explore it and the Ganesh temple.
BattisChatri At Ramthambore fort
Ranthambore park has 10 zones. Zones 1-5 are in the core area, while the remaining 6-10 are in the surrounding buffer area. Although this reserve houses around 60 tigers, the tiger sighting is a matter of luck.
Gypsy safari, early morning to Ranthambore
Make sure to book at least 3-4 safaris: 2 in morning and 2 in evening for a better chance to sight the mighty cat. We had booked 3 safaris: On the first safari in Zone 2 in early morning, which was supposed to be the best zone, we were unfortunate and did not sight any tiger even though we found some fresh pugmarks but the tiger had moved into the restricted zone. On our second safari in the evening, We sighted 2 tiger cubs [around 2 years old], locally named as “Jai” and “Veeru”. They were sleeping on the fort gates and later one of them obliged an audience for the spectators! Zone 1 also has good sightings. [But this changes from time to time]. Unfortunately our 3rd safari was cancelled due to strike of gypsy drivers and guides.
Tiger cubs sighting at Ranthambore
Driving back to Jaipur, we took a stay close to Jawahar Circle and took 2 safaris to the Jhalana Leopard Sanctuary. This place is right IN the city. The place is somewhat of a local wildlife sensation. With an area of just 24 square kilometres, it is home to over 20 leopards and thus gives a good probability to spot them. Leopards are rarer to spot because they are stealthier and shy.They have huge territories (average of 70 square kilometres) and are solitary animals. On our evening safari we spotted 2 female leopards, they were locally named “Juliet” and “Cleopatra”. It was an adrenaline pumping chase, with the gypsy driving in frenzy to spot them based on the monkey and peacock calls and rushing to the spot for better angles for photography. In our morning safari we didnt spot any.
Leopard sighting at Jhalana
Both the parks: Ranthambore and Jhalana are full of peacocks and other wildlife like chital, nilgai, spotted deer, sambar, monkey etc and different species of birds as well.
While in the city do not miss out the Lassi served in kulhad on MI Road, it surely is out of the world. Also the yummy rajasthani food.
Lassi at MI road
Fact File:
Stay :
In Jaipur:
Hotel Pearl Palace:
I highly recommend Hotel Pearl Palace. Its the best budget hotel with a highly rated restaurant.
https://hotelpearlpalace.com/wordpress/
In Rantmabore:
Machli, a wilderness resort : Has good rooms and food as well as helpful staff.
https://www.themachli.com/
Ranthambore and Jhalana Safari:
Tigerwalah: https://www.tigerwalah.com/
All our safaris in Ranthambore and Jhalana were booked through Tigerwalah. NOTE: The booking needs to be done 2-3 months in advance.
24 November 2018 at 19:06
Very interesting travelogue. Seems like you have had a great time
24 November 2018 at 19:23
Yes, thanks