Best Places to Visit in Rajasthan

Hawa Mahal

The Palace of Winds, a high screen wall built so the women of the royal household could observe street festivals while unseen.

Udaipur City Palace

The largest palace complex in Rajasthan, a labyrinth of 11 interconnected palaces built by 22 Mewar kings over 400 years, rising straight out of Lake Pichola like a marble ship.

Jaisalmer Fort (Sonar Quila)

One of the world's only 'living forts' — a 12th-century golden-sandstone citadel rising from the Thar Desert where 3,000 people still live, cook and run guesthouses inside the original fortifications built by the Bhati Rajputs.

Mehrangarh Fort, Jodhpur

A 122-metre cliffside citadel that has never been breached in 577 years — Rudyard Kipling called it 'the work of angels, fairies and giants'. From its ramparts the view of the indigo-washed old city below explains Jodhpur's nickname: the Blue City.

Pushkar

India's most sacred lake town — the only Brahma temple on earth, 52 bathing ghats, and a November camel fair that doubles the population to 200,000 for one week of folk music, pilgrimage, and livestock trading.

Ajmer Sharif Dargah

The 13th-century dargah of Sufi saint Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti — 'Gharib Nawaz' (Benefactor of the Poor) — a white-marble tomb complex at the foot of the Taragarh hill where Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs and Christians queue side by side under the same rose-garlanded gate.

Ranthambore National Park

One of the largest and most famous national parks in Northern India, known for its tiger population.

Jaipur: The Living Museum of Rajputana Royalty

The Tigers of Ranthambore: Tracking Jungle Kings in a Mughal Fort

Udaipur: The Mewar City of Lakes, Where Rajput Kings Built on Water

Jaisalmer: The Golden Fort That Still Breathes in the Thar Desert

Rann of Kutch: Salt, Stars and Nomadic Souls

Sundarbans: Where Tigers Swim and the World's Largest Delta Breathes