Rajasthan Tours & Experiences

Things to do in Rajasthan

Each activity below links to its place's page, which lists every trip we run there.

Explore a hill fort

Six of the state's forts share one UNESCO World Heritage listing as the Hill Forts of Rajasthan: Amber, Chittorgarh, Gagron, Jaisalmer, Kumbhalgarh and Ranthambhore. Go early, before the courtyards heat up. Our Amber Fort experience is timed to reach the Sheesh Mahal ahead of the coach groups, and our Mehrangarh Fort tour gives you a guide in Jodhpur's fort museum. More on the Jaipur and Jodhpur pages.

Ride a camel into the Thar

Near Jaisalmer, camel safaris head for the dunes at Sam and Khuri. Our Thar Desert camel safari climbs to a high dune for sunset, then serves dinner with folk music at a camp, where you can also stay the night. See Jaisalmer, or Pushkar for dunes on the edge of a temple town.

Track tigers at Ranthambore

Ranthambore National Park, 14 km from Sawai Madhopur, is open from October to June, with drives every morning and afternoon in open Gypsies or canters on permits sold online in advance. Our Ranthambore tiger safari puts a private naturalist in your vehicle, and Tiger Safari and Taj Mahal pairs three drives with a sunrise at the Taj. No drive comes with a promised sighting. See Ranthambore.

Take a boat on Lake Pichola

Udaipur's lake is at its best from a boat late in the day, and Rajasthan Tourism singles out the sunset view of the water and the City Palace. Our Udaipur lake palace experience puts a private boat on Pichola for sunset and adds a guided visit to the palace. See Udaipur.

Plan around a fair or festival

Many trips here begin with a date: the Pushkar Fair in Kartik (October or November), Jaipur's Kite Festival around 14 January, the Khatu Shyamji fair in February or March, Gangaur and Udaipur's Mewar Festival in Chaitra, and Jodhpur's Marwar Festival in Ashwin. Our Pushkar Camel Fair trip and Diwali in Jaipur are on our Rajasthan festivals page.

Spend an evening with folk musicians

Our Rajasthani folk evening gathers Kalbelia dancers and Manganiyar and Langa musicians, with kathputli string puppets at some venues, in a haveli courtyard, on a fort terrace or at a desert camp, usually over a thali dinner. It runs in most of the state's cities all year.

Cook a Rajasthani thali

In our Jaipur cooking class, you make dal baati churma and gatte ki sabzi, with laal maas for meat eaters, beside a local host, then eat the thali you made. It is indoors and runs in every season. Our guide to Rajasthani food lists what else to order.

Make a pilgrimage

The Khatu Shyam Ji temple in Sikar district holds five aartis a day, Pushkar's lake is lined with 52 bathing ghats, and Ajmer's Dargah Sharif, the shrine of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti, draws people of every faith. Our Khatu Shyam Ji temple tour is timed around darshan hours; see Sikar.

Choosing between our tours and experiences

An experience is one activity in one place, and it fits into any itinerary. A tour package takes you through one place or several with a private car and driver, from a day in Jaipur's walled city to twelve days round the state. The Royal Rajasthan Circuit covers Jaipur, Jodhpur and Udaipur in six days, and the Rajasthan Grand Tour adds Pushkar and a desert-camp night near Jaisalmer. The Rajasthan family tour suits children of about eight and older, and the Rajasthan photography tour times its stops for golden-hour light. Every route is on our Rajasthan tour packages page; the Rajasthan travel guide covers the sights.

When to go for these

October to March suits nearly all of it. IMD's 1991–2020 averages put May afternoons at about 41°C in Jaipur and 42°C in Jaisalmer, so summer sightseeing belongs to the early morning. Rajasthan Tourism gives October to March as the camping season. Ranthambore is open from October to June, and our safari pages favour the drier months from March, when animals gather at water. Rain, most of it in July and August, is heavier in the east and south than in the desert west: Udaipur averages about 674 mm a year, Jaisalmer about 237 mm.

Planning tips

Our Royal Rajasthan Circuit allows about five and a half hours by road from Jaipur to Jodhpur and six from Jodhpur to Udaipur, so choose fewer bases rather than more. At temples, cover shoulders and knees and wear shoes that slip off easily.