Rajasthan – As we Explored!

Diwali is the time, we (me, my husband and the 2 little kids) usually take a break from our regular routine and this Diwali we chose to explore Rajasthan. With its royal palaces and impregnable forts, vast deserts and magical festivals, and everyday life bursting with colours it is quite an obvious choice. Since we had visited Jaipur, Pushkar and Ajmer before, we started gathering details about Udaipur, Jaisalmer, Jodhpur, Bikaner, Mount Abu and Ranthambhor.  

Compiling a must-see list in Rajasthan is not easy – there are just so many fantastic things to see and do. Our own experiences have taught us not to try and do too much that too with two young kids (6 years old daughter and 15 months old son). Hence we settled for the ‘Golden City’ – Jaisalmer, the ‘Tiger Reserve’ – Ranthambhor and the ‘Lake City’ – Udaipur!  Then started a series of reservations for train, flight and hotels; all 2-3 months in advance. 

Jaisalmer Fort

Finally we started on our long awaited trip, nine days of the most incredible sights, sounds and taste of Royal Rajasthan. We took a train from Mumbai directly to Jaisalmer. Jaisalmer is one city that offers facts about the courageous rulers and citizens of the bygone era, tales of unequalled valor, unique in its beauty and undaunted spirit. The must see attractions are Sam Sand Dunes (70 kms from Pakistan Border), Jaisalmer Fort aka Shonar Kella, (also the famous book and a 1974 film by director Satyajit Ray) and Patwon ki Haveli. Our source of inspiration for visiting this city was Shonar Kella!

Sam Sand Dunes

Our next destination was Ranthambhor. From Jaisalmer we took a train to Jaipur and then another till Sawai Madhopur. In fact we had two reservations; since the 1^st train was just after 15 min of us reaching Jaipur, we had another in the next 1.5 hrs (back up plan!). The Ranthambhor Tiger Reserve is a “secluded” ecological island, surrounded by two hill systems – the Aravallis and the Vindhyas. Although we couldn’t get a glimpse of a tiger, but the jungle safari on the canter is an experience in itself. As we took our tour, flock of peacocks, sambhars and a plethora of birds greeted us. Within the tiger park lies the Ranthambhor Fort; the former hunting grounds of the Maharajahs of Jaipur before Indian Independence!

Flock of Peacocks @ Ranthambhor

After spending two days at Ranthambhor, we headed towards Udaipur, often called the "Venice of the East". Besides the shimmering Lake Pichola, fantastic palaces, temples, havelis and countless narrow, crooked, colourful streets add the human counterpoint to the city’s natural charms. The major attractions include City Palace, Monsoon Palace, Saheliyon ki Badi and Bagore ki Haveli – Evening Cultural Show. Needless to mention, several emporiums to take back the impeccable craftsmanship of the state. Spent 3 lovely days in the “City of lakes” and finally took the flight back to Mumbai.

City Palace, Udaipur

What made the Rajasthan trip incredible for us is:

• From an arbitrary list of places that we wanted to see to a precise list after thorough research.
• Meticulous planning(including backup planning) well in advance made the trip very smooth, though we were bang in the middle of the tourist season.
• We carried a folder with print outs containing information about each and every “must see” place at all locations.
• We prioritized and selected the ‘must see’ places at each location and planned the itinerary for each day on the previous evening. This was keeping in mind the meal and nap times of the kids.
• We ended up covering more places than we thought we could!
• Thanks to IRCTC, makemytrip and RTDC hotels......