11-Day Jaipur, Udaipur, Jodhpur, Jaisalmer, Bikaner, Pushkar

Eleven days, six cities, and nothing dropped

Most Rajasthan itineraries cut Bikaner and Pushkar first, and then Jaisalmer. This one keeps all of them, which is what the distances actually require — Jaipur to Jaisalmer alone is 560 km, and Bikaner is 330 km north of that.

Jaipur

Amber Fort above Maota Lake, the City Palace, Jantar Mantar's stone instruments and the Hawa Mahal, plus the bazaars where the gem cutters, lac-bangle makers and block printers still work.

Pushkar

A town around a lake that Hindus hold formed where Brahma dropped a lotus — one of the very few Brahma temples in the world, with fifty-two ghats ringing the water.

Strictly vegetarian and alcohol-free inside the town limits. Enforced.

Udaipur

The City Palace running most of a kilometre along Lake Pichola, built up in pieces by twenty-two rulers across four centuries. Jagdish Temple from 1651, Saheliyon ki Bari, and a boat at sunset with the hills going dark behind the water.

Jodhpur

Mehrangarh rises 120 metres straight off the rock and was never taken; the museum inside is the best-run in the state. Below it, Jaswant Thada in marble thin enough to pass light, and the blue lanes around the clock tower.

Jaisalmer

Sonar Quila, the golden fort of 1156 and one of the last living forts on earth — about three thousand people still live within its walls. The Jain temples inside are carved to the point of lace; Patwon ki Haveli is five merchant mansions side by side. Then Sam dunes for a camel ride at sunset.

Bikaner

Junagarh, one of very few Rajasthan forts not built on a hill, and the Karni Mata temple at Deshnoke — where several thousand rats live as sacred residents and you walk barefoot among them. Not for everyone, and unforgettable.

Practical

Private air-conditioned vehicle with a driver throughout, and local guides in each city.

October to March. The desert legs pass 45°C from April and approach freezing on December nights.