Rajasthan Tourism Guide 2027: 15 Best Places, Festivals and Tips

By Khem “Babu” Khadaka, founder, driving these roads since 1996 · Last updated: 2027 season (October 2026 – June 2027)

Rajasthan tourism sells itself with forts, palaces and camels at sunset, and for once the brochure pictures are true.

What the pictures don’t show is scale. Rajasthan is India’s largest state, bigger than many European countries. Its famous cities sit hundreds of kilometres apart, the desert gets bitterly cold on winter nights, and the summer heat can pass 45 °C.

Travellers who enjoy Rajasthan most are the ones who choose well: the right handful of places, the right months, and a pace that leaves time for a rooftop sunset or a chai in a village square.

So instead of asking only “What are the best places to visit in Rajasthan?”, it helps to ask a better question:

Which parts of Rajasthan suit my time and my season, and how do I see them without spending the whole trip on the road?

That’s what this Rajasthan tourism guide is built around. It covers the 15 best places to visit in Rajasthan and what to see in each, entry fees for foreign visitors, the best time to visit Rajasthan month by month, the fairs and festivals of 2026–27 with official dates, what to eat and buy, how to travel responsibly (including why we don’t recommend elephant rides), getting around, and what a Rajasthan trip costs with a private car and driver.

1. Rajasthan Tourism in 2026–27: What Makes the State Different

Rajasthan was once a patchwork of princely states ruled by Rajput clans, and each capital built its own fort, palace and temple quarter. That’s why the state has so many great cities rather than one.

It has four UNESCO World Heritage listings: Keoladeo National Park at Bharatpur, the Jantar Mantar observatory in Jaipur, the walled city of Jaipur itself, and the six Hill Forts of Rajasthan (Chittorgarh, Kumbhalgarh, Ranthambore, Gagron, Amber and Jaisalmer).

Rajasthan tourism is also changing. Many former palaces and havelis are now heritage hotels, the roads are far better than a decade ago, and new expressways have shortened the drive from Delhi. The official Rajasthan Tourism website lists events and destinations across the state.

The constant is that distances are large. Plan fewer places, stay longer in each, and the state rewards you.

2. Places to Visit in Rajasthan: The 15 Best at a Glance

These are the places to visit in Rajasthan that we send our own guests to, with a realistic number of nights for each.

You won’t see all 15 in one trip, and you shouldn’t try. For how to combine them into a route, see our Rajasthan tour itinerary guide, which has day-by-day plans from 6 to 18 days.

3. Jaipur: The Pink City

Jaipur is the state capital, the hub of Rajasthan tourism and, for most visitors, the first stop. Its walled old city was painted pink in 1876 to welcome the Prince of Wales, and in 2019 it became a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

• Amber Fort: the great hilltop palace-fort, 11 km north of the city. Go at opening time, before the tour buses.
• City Palace: still partly home to the former royal family, with museums of textiles and arms.
• Jantar Mantar: an 18th-century astronomical observatory of giant stone instruments, next to the City Palace.
• Hawa Mahal: the honeycomb façade built so royal women could watch the street unseen. Best in the morning light, and from the cafés opposite.
• Nahargarh Fort: the sunset viewpoint above the city.
• The bazaars: Johari Bazaar for jewellery, Bapu Bazaar for textiles and shoes.

Give Jaipur two nights. Our Delhi to Jaipur by car guide covers the drive in, and our Jaipur tours page lists the trips that include it.

For a full day-by-day plan, ticket prices and where to eat, read our guide to the best things to do in Jaipur.

4. Udaipur, Kumbhalgarh and Ranakpur

Udaipur, the City of Lakes, is the most romantic stop in Rajasthan tourism. The City Palace rises straight out of Lake Pichola, and the Lake Palace hotel seems to float in the middle of it.

• City Palace: the largest palace complex in Rajasthan. Ticket prices depend on which sections you visit; 2026 listings range from about ₹300 to ₹700 for foreign adults.
• Lake Pichola boat ride: best in the late afternoon, timed for sunset.
• Jagdish Temple in the old city, and Bagore ki Haveli, which stages an evening folk-dance show.
• Saheliyon ki Bari: a garden of fountains and lotus pools.

Kumbhalgarh, about 85 km north of Udaipur, is a UNESCO hill fort whose walls run for about 36 km over the Aravalli hills. It was the birthplace of Maharana Pratap. There’s an evening light-and-sound show in Hindi.

Ranakpur, on the road between Udaipur and Jodhpur, is a 15th-century Jain temple of white marble with 1,444 carved pillars, no two the same. Non-Jain visitors are usually admitted from around midday, so time your drive accordingly, and leave leather items in the car.

5. Jodhpur: Mehrangarh and the Blue City

Jodhpur is dominated by Mehrangarh, one of the most impressive forts in India, standing on a cliff above the old city. It’s run by a royal family trust and is very well kept, with some of the best museum galleries in Rajasthan. Entry for foreign visitors is about ₹600, and the audio guide is excellent.

Below the fort, the old quarter of Brahmpuri is famous for its blue-painted houses. Walk it with a local guide, who can take you up to rooftops for the best views.

• Jaswant Thada: a white marble memorial below the fort, calm in the late afternoon.
• Umaid Bhawan Palace: an Art Deco palace, partly a hotel and partly a museum.
• Clock tower and Sardar Market: spices, textiles and the city’s famous makhaniya lassi.

Jodhpur works as one full day or two unhurried ones, and it’s the natural gateway to the desert side of Rajasthan tourism.

6. Jaisalmer and the Thar Desert

Jaisalmer is the golden city of the Thar Desert, and its fort, raised on Trikuta Hill in 1156, is one of the few “living forts” left in the world: roughly a quarter of the old city’s population still lives inside its walls.

Walking into the fort is free; the Fort Palace Museum, the Jain temples and some viewpoints charge separately, usually a few hundred rupees. In the town below, Patwon ki Haveli is the finest of the merchants’ mansions, and Gadisar Lake is the place for sunrise.

Outside town, the abandoned village of Kuldhara and the royal cenotaphs of Bada Bagh make good stops on the way to the dunes.

The desert: the Sam dunes, about 40 km west, are the most famous and the busiest. Khuri, to the south-west, is quieter. A night in a desert camp is the highlight for many, but choose carefully; our Rajasthan itinerary guide has camp tips. Desert nights from December to February can fall close to freezing.

7. Pushkar and Ajmer

Pushkar is a small holy town built around a sacred lake, with 52 ghats leading down to the water. It has one of the very few temples in India dedicated to Brahma. The town is vegetarian and alcohol-free, and it has a relaxed, backpacker-friendly café scene.

The ghats are sacred. Take off your shoes, don’t photograph people bathing, and if someone offers you flowers to throw in the lake, understand that a donation request follows. A polite no is fine.

Pushkar is best known for its camel fair, officially the Pushkar Fair, 17–24 November 2026. Livestock trading, camel races, folk music and a huge pilgrimage come together in the week before the full moon of Kartik.

Ajmer, 15 km away over a hill, is home to the Dargah Sharif, the shrine of the Sufi saint Moinuddin Chishti, one of the most important Muslim pilgrimage sites in South Asia. Cover your head and dress modestly. It’s at its most crowded during the annual Urs festival.

8. Ranthambore, Bundi and Chittorgarh

South-eastern Rajasthan is where Rajasthan tourism thins out, and that’s the point.

Ranthambore National Park is one of the best places in the world to see a wild Bengal tiger. The park is open from 1 October to 30 June and closed in the monsoon. The 10th-century Ranthambore Fort inside the reserve is one of the UNESCO hill forts. Safari permits are sold on the forest department’s booking site; read our Ranthambore tiger safari guide for zones and timings.

Bundi is a small town under a hillside palace decorated with some of the finest murals in Rajasthan. Its stepwells, above all Raniji ki Baori, are superb, and the lanes are quiet enough to wander without a plan.

Chittorgarh is the largest fort in Rajasthan, a plateau of palaces, towers and temples. It’s famous for the Tower of Victory and for the story of Rani Padmini. Allow half a day; foreigners pay about ₹600 at this Archaeological Survey of India site.

9. Bikaner, Shekhawati, Bharatpur and Mount Abu

These four places round out the best places to visit in Rajasthan for travellers with more time.

• Bikaner: Junagarh Fort, never conquered, has beautifully painted rooms; foreigners pay about ₹300. The Karni Mata temple at Deshnoke, about 30 km away, is famous for the thousands of rats revered there. Bikaner is also the home of Bikaneri bhujia.
• Shekhawati: the towns of Mandawa, Nawalgarh and Fatehpur are full of havelis covered in frescoes, painted by merchant families in the 18th to early 20th centuries. Many charge a small fee to enter.
• Bharatpur: Keoladeo National Park, a UNESCO site, is one of Asia’s great bird sanctuaries, best from November to February when migratory birds arrive. Explore by bicycle or cycle-rickshaw with a naturalist.
• Mount Abu: Rajasthan’s only hill station, in the south, with the Dilwara Jain temples, whose marble carving is even finer than Ranakpur’s. Photography isn’t allowed inside.

Bharatpur sits only about 55 km from Agra, so it fits neatly between the Taj Mahal and Jaipur.

10. Rajasthan Entry Fees for Foreign Visitors

Entry fees are one of the bigger costs of Rajasthan tourism, because foreign visitors pay several times the Indian rate. These are the main ones for the 2026–27 season:

Fees change, and privately run palaces set their own. Carry cash, as card machines sometimes fail, and keep your ticket, since some sites check it more than once. Children usually pay less or enter free.

11. Best Time to Visit Rajasthan: Month by Month

Rajasthan is hot and dry for most of the year. Jaipur’s long-term averages show a daily high of about 22.5 °C in January and 41.1 °C in May, with most of its 600 mm of annual rain falling in July and August.

So the best time to visit Rajasthan is October to March, with November to February the most comfortable. If you’d like quiet roads and greener landscapes, late September and early October are underrated.

12. Rajasthan Festivals 2026–27: Official Dates

Festivals are the heart of Rajasthan tourism. These dates come from Rajasthan Tourism’s official fairs and festivals calendar, except Diwali:

Festival dates follow the lunar calendar and occasionally move, so confirm before booking. Hotels in Pushkar, Jaisalmer and Udaipur fill up months ahead for their festivals.

13. What to Eat and What to Buy in Rajasthan

Food is one of the underrated pleasures of Rajasthan tourism. Rajasthani cooking was shaped by the desert: dried beans and berries, plenty of ghee, and dishes that keep well in the heat.

• Dal baati churma: baked wheat balls with lentils and a sweet crumble; the state’s signature meal.
• Gatte ki sabzi: gram-flour dumplings in a yoghurt curry.
• Ker sangri: desert beans and berries, tangy and spicy.
• Laal maas: a fiery red mutton curry, for those who like heat.
• Pyaaz kachori and mirchi bada: the classic street snacks of Jodhpur and Jaipur.
• Ghevar: a honeycomb-like sweet, especially around Teej in August.

Shopping

Jaipur is known for block-printed cotton (from Sanganer and Bagru), blue pottery and jewellery. Jodhpur has antiques and spices, Jaisalmer embroidered textiles and mirror work, Udaipur miniature paintings, and Bikaner its bhujia.

Be careful with gemstones. Offers to buy stones to resell at home are a long-running scam. For fixed prices, try the state government’s Rajasthali emporiums, and never feel obliged to buy in a shop a guide or driver takes you to.

14. Responsible Rajasthan Tourism: Animals, Dress and Photography

The way you travel matters as much as where you go. These are the choices we ask our own guests to make.

• Skip the elephant ride at Amber Fort. Animal-welfare groups have raised serious concerns about the elephants’ working conditions. Walk up the ramp, which takes about 15 minutes and gives better views, or take a jeep to the top.
• Choose camel rides with care. Pick operators whose camels look healthy, aren’t overloaded and rest in the heat of the day.
• Dress for temples. Cover shoulders and knees, remove shoes, and cover your head at the Ajmer Dargah and at gurdwaras.
• Ask before photographing people, especially women in villages. Some people will ask for money for a photo; if you don’t want to pay, don’t take it.
• Avoid single-use plastic. Carry a refillable bottle; many hotels offer filtered water.
• Stay in family-run havelis and eat in local restaurants, so your money stays in the community.

Responsible Rajasthan tourism is also about pace. A slower trip means fewer kilometres, less pressure on drivers, and more time to meet the people who live here.

15. Getting Around and What a Rajasthan Trip Costs

Most Rajasthan tourism happens by road. Visitors usually travel by private car and driver, because it’s the only way to stop at villages, stepwells and viewpoints between the cities. Trains are good for some legs, such as Jaipur to Sawai Madhopur or Jodhpur to Jaisalmer, and Jaipur, Udaipur and Jodhpur have the most flights. Driving yourself is possible but not something we recommend for a first visit; see driving yourself in India.

Our Rajasthan tours are private and priced for the whole vehicle. The price covers the car, the driver, fuel, tolls, parking and state taxes, and the driver’s own food and lodging. Hotels, meals, entry tickets and guides are extra.

On top of the car, budget for hotels (from simple guesthouses to palace hotels), meals, entry fees (see the table above) and a licensed guide at the big forts. Tipping your driver is always optional; our tipping guide suggests fair amounts. See all our Rajasthan tours.

Get Your Personal Itinerary

Tell us your dates, group size and the places you most want to see. We reply within 24 hours with a fixed price for the car and driver. If you’d like a detailed day-by-day itinerary, it costs €100, and the full €100 is deducted from your tour price when you book. There is no obligation.

Your Planning Checklist

Before you book, run through these eight questions:

1. Am I travelling between October and March, or am I ready for heat or monsoon?
2. Have I chosen four or five places rather than trying to see all fifteen?
3. Do Jaipur and Udaipur each get at least two nights?
4. Have I checked whether a festival falls on my dates, and booked early if so?
5. If I want tigers, am I visiting Ranthambore between 1 October and 30 June?
6. Have I budgeted for entry fees, which add up for foreign visitors?
7. Do I have warm layers for desert nights in winter?
8. Am I happy to walk up to Amber Fort rather than ride an elephant?

If you can answer yes to most of these, your Rajasthan trip will go smoothly.

Summary: A Simple Way to Think About It

Think of Rajasthan tourism in three layers.

The great cities: Jaipur, Jodhpur, Jaisalmer and Udaipur, each with its own fort and palace. The places in between: Pushkar, Ranakpur, Kumbhalgarh, Bundi and Shekhawati, where the state feels less polished and more personal. The wild side: the Thar Desert, Ranthambore’s tigers and Keoladeo’s birds.

Pick from each layer, travel in the cool months and don’t rush. That’s all the Rajasthan tourism advice most travellers need.

Frequently Asked Questions

Before You Go

Rajasthan rewards travellers who choose. Four or five places in the cool months will give you more than ten places in a hurry.

Book festival weeks early, carry cash for entry fees, pack warm layers for the desert and walk up to Amber Fort. Leave time for the moments that aren’t on any list: a haveli rooftop at dusk, a village chai stop, a conversation with your driver about his home town.

Once you plan around those things, Rajasthan tourism becomes simple and very rewarding. For routes, read our Rajasthan tour itinerary guide; for tigers, our Ranthambore safari guide; and for adding Agra and Delhi, our Golden Triangle tour guide.