Discover the Beauty of Rajasthan, India

I really wanted to visit Jaipur but I didn’t have much time left in the itinerary, so it was really quick, two days and one night, but it was so worth it.

I arrived very early on the first day and checked straight in to the Fairmont. The hotel is a palace, and honestly, I have never seen anything as magical in my entire life. Every corner of the hotel is covered in beauty; musicians are all around the hotel from the entrance to the lobby, the rooms are very well arranged, and the bathroom with a marble bath is just mesmerizing. Finally, the view is just something else. I would have wanted to spend my whole day there, but since I was short on time, I decided to book a private city tour with a guide and driver (important for safety) and make the best of my day to see as much as I could.

They came to pick me up at the hotel and I hopped on our full-day tour. My guide was very kind and knowledgeable, perfect English, and had many stories to share. Since it was just him and me, I was a bit worried at first, but it was a great experience.

Here is a glimpse of the places we visited:

• Hawa Mahal Palace, the most famous architectural piece in Jaipur, where women used to observe the vibrant street life while remaining unseen by the public in accordance with the law.

• Step Well, an ancient site.

• Ambert Fort, a former royal residence where one of the rulers who lived there built dozens of hidden rooms for his mistresses.

• Shopping stop for jewelry and silk.

• Lunch at a local restaurant

• City Palace, current royal residence and museum.

• Jantar Mantar to explore local astronomical instruments.

Then take the rest of the afternoon off to enjoy the beautiful pool, the spa, and have a drink at the bar. They had a fire ritual in the evening, which was a real unique experience to witness. You can also cross the garden and access the Raffles property, which belongs to the same owner. Enjoy dinner at the hotel for some local delicacies; ask advice from their team and chefs to try some unique dishes.

Be ready to start the day early and go on a Safari expedition. Jaipur is known for its leopards, and you have a few options that can be coordinated and arranged by the hotel to ensure it is a reliable service. It starts before sunrise, so you will need to be up around 4 am. First, you will need to take a ride to meet your driver for registration at the entrance of the reserve. You will then hop on an open-air jeep for a few hours and drive through the incredible Indian forest. It lasts for around three hours, and if you are lucky, you will witness the leopards in their natural habitat, crossing roads, and running around. There are many other animals living in the reserves on hectares of land. It is a great experience.

When heading back to the hotel, enjoy breakfast before heading to the airport and flying to Jodhpur. It is recommended to arrange all airport transfers directly with the hotel for pick up and drop off. It makes the whole process smoother and safer.

RAAS is a beautiful property with a panoramic view of Mehrangarh. It leaves you quite speechless when you enter the garden. They have a beautiful terrace, perfect to watch the sunset.

We decided to visit the city and take a tuktuk to take around a few stops we initially researched. You can easily ask assistance from the hotel to call a tuktuk and help you negotiate, then keep his contact number for future rides.

Here are a few highlights:

• Gulab Sagar, a reservoir built in the 18th century by Gulab Rai, the beloved mistress of Maharaja Vijay Singh.

• Umaid Bhawan Palace, one of the world’s largest private residence. It functions as a royal residence, a luxury hotel, and a museum.

• Jodhpur’s “blue neighborhood”, a beautiful walk around the streets and houses with blend of historical tradition and religious symbolism.

• Walk up to Sodagaran Mohalla viewpoint for a majestic sunset and beautiful view of the whole city

Time to head back to the hotel, enjoy the facilities, and have a nice dinner in their restaurant. The food is delicious and there are plenty of options from Indian to Asian, with a mix of spicy levels.

For our second day in Jodhpur, we decided to call back our tuktuk driver and head to Jaswant Thada. It’s a marble masterpiece located in the hills of the city and is often referred to as the “Taj Mahal of Marwar” due to its architecture. Its marble setting makes it a unique monument, and it was built by Maharaja Sardar Singh in memory of his father. You can freely walk around and enjoy the unique structure, located just near the Ranisar and Padamsar lakes with beautiful views.

Just a few minutes away is the main attraction in Jodpur, the Mehrangarh Fort, a huge fortress, which was built in 1459, full of history and turned into a museum. You will witness beautiful architecture, as well as lots of art and royalty furniture that have been preserved and are now on display. There is a large outdoor area where you can see the whole city from the top. It will take your 2 to 3 hours to just walk through the whole area so be prepared for it but it’s a must; don’t miss it.

Time to go for lunch after a morning full of historical visits. Back in town, Gypsy restaurant is a must-try. They serve traditional meals where you can taste everything in little portions and people queue outside for a chance to get a seat.

If you are adventurous enough, there are a few street food stalls nearby that are worth a stop. I believe people really have a misconception about Indian street food due to many videos online, but if you are well-informed and with the right person, I assure you it will be worth the experience.

We then decided to stop by the local market to buy some spices to take home. There is a street where locals usually do their groceries—the secret to quality and good prices.

On the way back, make a stop at Ghanta Ghar, the famous clock tower location in the middle of the market’s central area. Following some recommendations, we decided to visit a silk shop where we bought a few cashmere blankets and other souvenirs—be ready to negotiate. Those are great pieces to bring back home—I still cherish the blanket that I use every evening on my sofa.

For dinner, we dined at The Ajit Bhawan Palace following some recommendation and it was delicious. The place is very simple and does not seem like anything special however, the food is really to die for—authentic, flavorful Indian food, and the team was helpful in highlighting their preferred dishes.

Today we are heading to Udaipur and we decided to go by car and make a road trip out of it so we could visit two unique monuments on our way. It is quite a long ride, around seven hours, but with two stops on the way, it does not feel excessively long.

Our first stop was Chaturmukha Dharana Vihar, where we visited the Ranakpur temple, completely made of white marble, a truly unique architecture with exactly 1,444 unique marble pillars.

It is easily accessible, and you will just need to cover your legs and shoulders, but it is such a unique place, it is really worth the stop. It will take around 30 minutes maximum to walk through the temple, and it is a magical experience.

Our second stop further along was Kumbhalgarh, a UNESCO site and considered the world’s second-longest continuous wall (after the Great Wall of China). It is a spectacular fort and be ready for a good walk to reach the fort all the way up the hills. It is now a museum; you can access the garden, and the roof above, which will really show you a majestic view of the surroundings and the greenery. It is also home to monkeys, so watch out for your belongings, as they are known to be quite aggressive.

We continued our ride all the way to Udaipur and managed to arrive early evening, just in time for a nice Indian dinner at the hotel.

Today is our first real day in Udaipur, so we decided to explore the wonders of the city. We arranged a car with a driver and planned our own itineraries.

We started with the visit of the Jagdish Temple—this was actually a special day where they had a celebration happening, so it was quite spectacular to witness with great energy and lots of singing. On the side of temple, I found a small art shop where the painters were creating art right in front of you. I decided to buy two paintings on silk, which I have framed at home.

Right across from the temple, we decided to try some more street food. “Chat” is a local dish made of dough and yogurt, the best I have had in my life.

We continued our visit with the Udaipur Palace, located in the center of the city. There is a museum inside with lots of art pieces and history, and it has a great view on the lake as well.

Later that day, after a few hours of resting, we walked to the riverside to witness a unique gathering, the national celebration of Hindi Diwas. People were everywhere on the streets, with music, dancing, and by tradition they needed to go to the water and rinse themselves as it is considered holy. It starts in the afternoon until late at night. We made our way to a rooftop where we could witness the busy life in the streets and enjoyed a nice Indian dinner.

Today is a special day; it’s cooking day! We organized a simple cooking class just for the two of us with a local Indian family that loves to share their culture and passion for cooking. We spent the whole morning at their house, showing us spices and how to cook several Indian dishes from scratch. Then we ate all together on the floor of their living room as a family. I personally love to cook, so I had the best time learning tips and family secrets, and just spending time with people and talking about life. I would really recommend the cooking class experience, especially in a country with such a strong culinary identity.

We continued exploring the city and decided to walk around the busy streets near the city palace museums. There are many different small shops where you can buy souvenirs, all locally made, including some beautiful jewelry stores to purchase some nice silver pieces.

For our last evening in Udaipur, we decided to visit and dine at the very unique Taj Hotel located on the Pichola lake. It is not easily reachable—as you need to reach the pier first, where you will be taking a boat that will bring you to the hotel. In addition, reservations are a must as the hotel does not allow walk-ins.

We wanted to be there on time for the sunset, so we took the boat around 4.30 pm. We had a quick visit of the hotel and then took a seat at the bar where we enjoyed the view while sipping a nice cocktail.

Every day the hotel offers a traditional dance show to their clients, so we had the chance to witness an almost one-hour showcase.

We had dinner at their fine-dining Indian restaurant, where we had the most amazing feast with dozens of dishes to taste served on gold chinaware. The whole experience was out of this world, and our whole evening was just magical.

It is already time to fly back to Delhi and go back home. For the last part of the trip, I recommend two options: ideally if you have time and can spend two nights in Delhi, I suggest planning a day trip the next day to visit the Taj Mahal. If you do not have time, just take the afternoon to visit Humayun’s Tomb, known as a mini Taj Mahal. It is located in a middle of a garden, and it is truly a masterpiece of architecture.