Places to Visit in Rajasthan: Forts, Lakes and the Desert

Six forts carry a UNESCO inscription and they are the spine of the places to visit in Rajasthan, running from Chittor in the south to Jaisalmer in the west. Jaisalmer is among the very few living forts anywhere, with close to a quarter of the old city's population still living inside the walls. The lakes at Udaipur, the tiger forest at Ranthambore and the desert beyond Jodhpur fill in the rest.

Everything below is reached by road, and the legs between cities run three to six hours. The guide to preparing for travelling in India runs the general version, and Rajasthan adds distance to it.

Places to visit in Rajasthan

Grouped by where they sit, east to west and then south.

Jaipur. The planned capital, Amer fort above it, and the bazaars below.
Ranthambore. The tiger park, between Jaipur and the southeast.
Udaipur. Lakes, the city palace, and Kumbhalgarh a morning away.
Jodhpur. Mehrangarh above the blue city, and the gateway west.
Jaisalmer. The living fort, the havelis and the Thar beyond it.
Bundi and Chittor. The quieter south, and the largest fort in the state.

Jaipur and the Amer fort

Jaipur is the usual arrival and Amer is the fort that carries its UNESCO listing. The city below it is a grid, which is unusual for an Indian city of its age.

Amer Fort. One of the six Hill Forts of Rajasthan inscribed by UNESCO in 2013.
The city palace and Jantar Mantar. Both central, both half a morning.
Hawa Mahal. Better from the street opposite than from inside.
The bazaars. Johari for cloth and stones, and the lanes behind it for everything else.
Nahargarh. Above the city, and the view that explains the grid.

Udaipur and the lake forts

Udaipur sits on a chain of lakes with the Aravalli behind it, which makes it the green corner of a dry state. Kumbhalgarh and Chittor are both reachable from it.

The City Palace. The largest in Rajasthan, built up over four centuries.
Lake Pichola. The boat is worth it in the last hour of light.
Jagdish Temple. In the middle of the old town, and the one most visitors walk past.
Kumbhalgarh. Two hours north, with the wall that everybody misquotes.
Chittor Fort. The largest fort in the state, and the most sombre.

Jodhpur and the road to Jaisalmer

Mehrangarh stands on a rock above the blue houses and is the most complete fort in Rajasthan to walk through. West of it the country opens out and the drive becomes the point.

Mehrangarh. Still held by the royal trust, and the best-kept fort museum in the state.
The blue city. The painted houses below the fort, best seen from the ramparts.
Jaswant Thada. Marble, quiet, ten minutes from the fort gate.
Osian. Temples in the desert, about an hour and a half out.
The drive west. Around 280 kilometres to Jaisalmer, across open country.

Kumbhalgarh, and the wall claim that is not true

Kumbhalgarh's wall runs about 36 kilometres around the fort, which is remarkable and is not what the signage says. It is not the second longest wall in the world.

The claim. That it ranks second after the Great Wall of China.
What the record actually says. Guinness lists it in a category of longest fort walls, not a ranking of all walls.
The arithmetic. The Great Wall runs about 3,460 kilometres. Kumbhalgarh runs about 36.
What is true. Around 36 kilometres of wall, about five metres thick, with seven gateways.
Why go. It is a genuinely vast hill fort in the Aravalli, two hours from Udaipur, and far emptier than Amer.

A fort does not need a world ranking to be worth a morning, and the invented one has quietly replaced the real thing in most of what is written about it.

Ranthambore and the tiger parks

Ranthambore covers 1,334 square kilometres including two adjoining sanctuaries, and held 69 tigers as of 2022. The fort inside it is one of the six UNESCO hill forts.

The park. Declared a sanctuary in 1955, a Project Tiger reserve in 1974 and a national park in 1980.
The tigers. 69 as of 2022, which is high density for the area.
Ranthambore Fort. Inside the park boundary, and included in the 2013 UNESCO inscription.
Zones. Booked in advance by zone, and the popular ones go first.
Sariska. The other tiger reserve in the state, closer to Delhi and much quieter.

Six forts sit on the UNESCO list and the Thar carries 83 people to the square kilometre, which is a density no other desert on this scale comes near. Our eleven day cultural, desert and wildlife journey through Rajasthan runs the forts and the park together rather than choosing between them. Customised tours is where Bundi, Chittor and the Shekhawati towns get added or left out. Whether a protected place benefits the people inside it is a longer question, and a living fort asks it more directly than most.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which forts in Rajasthan are UNESCO sites?

Six, inscribed together in 2013 as the Hill Forts of Rajasthan. They are Chittor, Kumbhalgarh, Ranthambore, Gagron, Amer and Jaisalmer. Ranthambore's fort sits inside the national park, and Jaisalmer's is still inhabited.

Is the Kumbhalgarh wall the second longest in the world?

No. The claim is repeated widely and is not supported by any record. Guinness lists Kumbhalgarh in a category of longest fort walls rather than ranking it against all walls. The wall runs about 36 kilometres, against roughly 3,460 for the Great Wall of China.

How many tigers are in Ranthambore?

69 as of 2022, across 1,334 square kilometres that include the Kailadevi and Sawai Man Singh sanctuaries. The reserve was declared a sanctuary in 1955, came under Project Tiger in 1974 and became a national park in 1980. Zones are booked in advance and the popular ones fill first.

Which is the best city in Rajasthan to visit?

Udaipur for lakes and a short walkable old town, Jodhpur for the single best fort to walk through, and Jaisalmer for the desert and a fort people still live in. Jaipur is the easiest to reach and the busiest. Most seven day circuits take three of the four rather than all of them.

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