Facts at a Glance
History
Attractions
Off the Beaten Track
Getting There & Getting Around
Lonely Planet Guides
Travellers' Reports on India
On-line Info
Area: 342,000 sq km
Population: 50 million
Capital city: Jaipur (pop 1.5 million)
Main languages: Rajasthani & Hindi
 Rajasthani women dressing down as usual (22K)
The Rajputs' bravery and sense of honour were unparalleled, but they spent much of their energy squabbling amongst themselves and this weakness eventually led to them becoming vassal states of the Moghul Empire. As the Mughals declined, the Rajputs gradually clawed back their independence and when the British arrived they signed articles of alliance which allowed them to continue as independent states, each with its own maharaja, subject to the usual British political and economic constraints.
These alliances proved to be the beginning of the end for the Rajput rulers. Indulgence and extravagance soon replaced chivalry and honour so that, by the early 1900s, many of the maharajas spent most of their time travelling the world with a vast army of wives, concubines and retainers, playing polo, racing horses and gambling their fortunes away. Their profligate waste was socially disastrous and when India gained its independence, Rajasthan had one of the subcontinent's lowest life-expectancy and literacy rates.
At Independence, India's ruling Congress Party was forced to make a deal with the nominally independent Rajput states in order to secure their agreement to join the new India. The rulers were allowed to keep their titles, their property holdings were secured and they were paid an annual stipend commensurate with their status. It couldn't last forever, given India's socialist tendencies, and the crunch came in the early 1970s when Indira Gandhi abolished both the titles and the stipends and severely sequestered the maharajas' property rights. While some of the rulers have survived these changes by turning their forts into museums and their palaces into luxury hotels, many have fallen by the wayside, unable to cope with the financial and managerial demands of the late 20th century.
The capital of Rajasthan is popularly known as the `pink city' because of the ochre-pink hue of its old buildings and crenellated city walls. The Rajputs considered pink to be a colour associated with hospitality, and are reputed to have daubed the city in preparation for the visit of Britain's Prince Alfred in 1853. This tradition and Jaipur's welcoming, relaxed air continue to this day.
Jaipur owes its name, its foundation and its careful planning to the great warrior-astronomer Maharaja Jai Singh II (1699-1744), who took advantage of declining Moghul power to move his somewhat cramped hillside fortress at nearby Amber to a new site on the plains in 1727. He laid out the city, with its surrounding walls and six rectangular blocks, according to principles of town planning set down in the Shilpa-Shastra, an ancient Hindu treatise on architecture.
Today Jaipur is a city of broad avenues and remarkable architectural harmony, built on a dry lake bed surrounded by barren hills. It's an extremely colourful city and, in the evening light, it radiates a magical warm glow. The city now has 1.5 million inhabitants and has sprawled beyond its original fortified confines, but most of its attractions are compactly located in the walled `pink city' in the north-east of the city. All seven gates into the old city remain, one of which leads into Johari Bazaar - the famous jewellers' market.
The most obvious landmark in the old city is the Iswari Minar Swarga Sul (the Minaret Piercing Heaven) which was built to overlook the city, but the most striking sight is the stunning artistry of the five-storey facade of the Hawa Mahal, or Palace of the Winds. The palace was built in 1799 to enable ladies of the royal household to watch street life and processions, and is part of the City Palace complex which forms the heart of the old city.
Hawa Mahal (Palace of the Winds) (21K)
The City Palace occupies a large area divided into a series of courtyards, gardens and buildings. It's an interesting blend of Rajasthani and Moghul architecture, constructed over several centuries, and is still home to the former maharaja. The seven-storey Chandra Mahal is the centrepiece and commands fine views of the gardens and the city. The complex contains an excellent museum, an armoury and several fine halls.
Other attractions include Jai Singh's Jantar Mantar - an observatory which includes a sundial with a 30m high gnomon, whose shadow moves up to 4m an hour; the Nahargarh (Tiger Fort), which overlooks Jaipur from a precipitous ridge to the north and is floodlit at night; the dusty collection in the Central Museum in the architecturally impressive Albert Hall; and the bizarre Museum of Indology, which includes folk art ranging from a map of India painted on a rice grain to a manuscript written by Moghul emperor Aurangzeb.
Although you shouldn't expect much nightlife in Jaipur, there are plenty of ways to entertain yourself. If (as they say) you go to only one Hindi movie while you're in India, see it at the opulent and immense Raj Mandir cinema. An evening drink at the terrace bar of the exquisite Rambagh Palace hotel is also highly recommended, but watch out for the peacocks. Most budget accommodation is located on the south-eastern fringe of the walled city. There are numerous restaurants along Mirza Ismail Rd, which leads from this area to the old city's Ajmeri Gate.
This mellow, picturesque, holy town of 12,000 souls is built around the beautiful Pushkar Lake in central Rajasthan. It's an important pilgrimage centre, a favourite travellers' hangout and the home of one of the world's most famous camel and cattle fairs, held in October or November. Pushkar is the site of the only temple in India dedicated to Brahma, and has numerous ghats on the lake shore where pilgrims bathe. It's a relaxing place, but you can exert yourself on a short camel trek or head off early in the morning on the one-hour walk up to the hilltop temple overlooking the lake - the view is magnificent. The town is comfortably geared to Western visitors, has some great budget accommodation and is a vegetarian teetotallers' paradise - being a holy place, meat and alcohol are banned.
Pushkar camel trader (11K)
The second-largest city in Rajasthan is situated on the edge of the inhospitable Thar Desert and dominated by a formidable fort straddling an unlikely sandstone bluff that protrudes some 125m smack in the middle of the city centre. The city was founded in 1459 by Rao Jodha, and the old quarter is surrounded by a 10km long 16th century wall. It's a truly fascinating place to wander around, with a jumble of raucous, narrow streets, and boisterous textile, silver and handicraft bazaars. And yes, it was from here that those baggy-tight horse-riding trousers took their name, but you're unlikely to see anyone in such ludicrous garb today.
Meherangarh Fort (12K)
The Meherangarh Fort, or the Majestic Fort, is the most impressive fort in all of fort-studded Rajasthan. Its awesome location, impressive gates, luxurious palaces and the numerous trappings of royalty are simply breathtaking. There are great views from the fort's parapets down onto the city below - a view brightened by the inordinate number of gorgeously painted marine-blue buildings, signifying that they are the homes of Brahmins.
The marble and red sandstone Umaid Bhawan Palace on the outskirts of the city was completed only a few years before Independence made such extravagances redundant, and is now a spacious and sumptuous hotel and museum. Further afield, but well worth a visit, is the ancient Thar Desert town of Osian, 55km from Jodhpur. It was a great trading centre between the 8th and 12th centuries when it was dominated by Jains, but today it's a fascinating oasis with lavishly sculpted temples and an inordinate number of peacocks.
The most romantic city in Rajasthan, built around the lovely Lake Pichola, has inevitably been dubbed the `Venice of the East'. Founded in 1568 by Maharana Udai Singh, the city is a harmonious Indian blend of whitewashed buildings, marble palaces, lakeside gardens, temples and havelis (traditional mansions). It boasts an enviable artistic heritage, a proud reputation for performing arts and a relatively plentiful water supply, all of which have helped make it an oasis of civilisation and colour in the midst of drab aridity.
Rooftop view of Lake Pichola (18K)
Lake Pichola is the city's centrepiece and it contains two delightful island palaces - Jagniwas and Jagmandir - that are the very definition of Rajput whimsy. The former is now an exquisite luxury hotel. The huge City Palace towers over the lake and is bedecked with balconies, towers and cupolas. It contains a museum, some fine gardens and several more luxury hotels. Other attractions include the gates to the old walled city and its lovely alleyways; the fine Indo-Aryan Jagdish Temple, dating from the mid-17th century; and the lakeside Bagore ki Haveli, once a royal guesthouse, but now a cultural centre.
Ghats at night (23K)
Despite the long list of sights and attractions, the real joy of Udaipur is finding a pleasant lakeside guesthouse, scrambling up to the roof and watching the activity at the ghats, listening to the rhythmic `thwomp!' as washerwomen thrash the life out of their laundry, and sensing the gentle changes of light on the water as the slow days progress.
This desert fortress close to Rajasthan's border with Pakistan is straight out of an Arabian fairy tale. Founded in the 12th century as a staging post for camel trains travelling between India and Central Asia, Jaisalmer is a golden sandstone city with crenellated city walls, a magnificent fortress and a number of exquisitely carved stone and wooden havelis. Seen at sunset from afar, it glows with the luminescence of a mirage.
Nathmal ki Haveli (20K)
Jaisalmer's impressive fort crowns an 80m high hill, and about a quarter of the city's 40,000 inhabitants reside within its walls. Little has changed here for centuries, and if ever a record-breaking effort were made to pack as many houses, temples and palaces into a confined space, this would be the result. The fort is honeycombed with winding lanes, and has formidable gateways, a maharaja's palace, a ceremonial courtyard and beautifully carved Jain temples. The most beautiful of the havelis built by Jaisalmer's wealthy merchants are Patwon ki Haveli, Salim Singh ki Haveli and Nathmal ki Haveli.
Despite its incredible picturesqueness, you don't have to look very hard to realise that Jaisalmer is crumbling at an alarming rate. Its disintegration has finally brought local, governmental, tourist and archaelogical interest groups together and a `Jaisalmer in Jeopardy' campaign has been launched in the UK.
Camels in the Thar Desert (10K)
Camel trekking is big business in Jaisalmer and it's a great way to experience the desert. Make sure you know exactly what you're getting for your money, because there's ample opportunity to be disappointed. Most treks last three to four days. The best time to go is between October and February.
Very few travellers ever make it to Deeg, which is unfortunate because this small town has massive fortifications, a stunningly beautiful palace and a thriving market. The town was formerly the second capital of Bharatpur state and the site of a famous battle in which the maharaja's forces successfully withstood a combined Moghul and Maratha army of some 80,000 men. The palace, Gopal Bhavan, has been called one of the most beautiful and delicately proportioned buildings in India.
Sariska Tiger Reserve
This 800 sq km sanctuary, set in a wooded valley surrounded by barren mountains, is renowned for its tigers, blue bulls (yes, bulls), sambar, spotted deer and wild boar. The park also contains ruined temples, a fort, pavilions, and a palace (now a hotel) built by the maharajas of Alwar. The best way to see wildlife is to book a `hide' overlooking one of the waterholes and wait. The sanctuary is near Alwar, halfway between Jaipur and Delhi. It can be visited year-round, except July and August when the animals move to higher ground.
Shekhawati
The semi-desert Shekhawati region, several hundred km north of Jaipur, is renowned for its magnificent painted havelis, built by merchants who made their fortunes supplying camel trains passing through from the ports of Gujarat. Although the trading posts have long lost their importance, such is the splendour of the havelis that the region has been dubbed `the open-air gallery of Rajasthan'. Naturally, the region also boasts the obligatory Rajasthan fort, a couple of minor castles, distinctive wells, chhatris (tombs) and a handful of interesting mosques. The major towns are Fatehpur, Mandawa, Jhunjhunu and Sikar, all of which have been by-passed by Rajasthan's tourist boom.
The hilltop fortress of Chittorgarh epitomises the whole romantic, doomed ideal of Rajput chivalry. Three times in its long history, Chittor was sacked by a stronger enemy and, on each occasion, the end came in textbook Rajput fashion as the men donned saffron robes of martyrdom and rode out from the fort to certain death and the women committed mass suicide by self immolation to avoid being dishonoured by their captors. Today the fort is a deserted, peaceful ruin standing on a 280-hectare site atop a 180m hill jutting abruptly from the surrounding plain. This monument to heroism is well off the tourist circuit, but it's worth a detour.
Mt Abu
Rajasthan's only hill station sprawls along a 1200m high plateau in the south of the state, close to the Gujarat border. It's a pleasant, easy-going, hot-season retreat from the plains and a favourite with Indian honeymooners, which could lead to some interesting anthropological observations. You won't find many Western travellers here, apart from those who come to study at the Brahma Kumaris Spiritual University. The centre of the town is Nakki Lake, allegedly scooped out by the fingernails (nakk) of a god, and there are the usual opportunities for sedate boating activities and scenic walks. The main attraction of the area, however, is the Dilawara temples a couple of km north-east of the town. These Jain temples, with their exquisitely carved marble, are among the finest examples of Jain architecture in India.
Most travellers arrive in Rajasthan via Delhi and make Jaipur their first port of call. Jaipur is a short and relatively cheap hop by plane or a five-hour deluxe-bus or train journey from the nation's capital. There are frequent flights between Jaipur, Udaipur and Jodhpur.
Half-empty Rajasthani bus (16K)
Rajasthan has an extensive and reasonably good state bus system, but make sure you stick to the express buses or you'll be making all manner of stops and detours. Try to avoid a bus which screens videos or you may live to regret it. The state's main cities are all connected by rail, but trains are generally slower than buses and services are not that frequent. One of the most relaxing ways to travel long distances in the state is to get an overnight sleeper.
 Travellers' Reports
- Take the subWWWay to India
|
Facts at a Glance
History
Attractions
Off the Beaten Track
Getting There & Getting Around
Lonely Planet Guides
On-line Info
