heritage – THE ONLY ERIKA IN THE VILLAGE

Ranakpur Temple and Kumbhalgarh Fort are wonderful attractions worth visiting BUT as they are situated rurally (this is part of their charm). This makes them a bit of a pain to visit. I definitely still recommend making the effort to experience the majesty of these locations if you are going to be in the area. I can recommend a way that won’t add a whole lot of extra time, money or discomfort to your journey (yes its entirely possible). I must admit it is on condition of taking a particular route for your travels in India. Check below to see if it will work for you.

Top Tip: Getting there and away

There are express buses from Udaipur (the closest city) but these take about 3 hours. So its a major journey to undertake in a day if you are trying to visit both sites – and probably not worth a 6 hour journey to see just the one.

Therefore, I suggest hiring a driver (expensive, but worth it for the comfort and not entirely unaffordable).

If you are flying in and out of Udaipur and this is your only stop in Rajasthan then you could visit these sites with a driver from Udaipur. However, the most convenient and economical solution is to travel between Udaipur and Jodhpur with a private driver – visiting these locations of interest en route.

Don’t get me wrong it is a loooong day. But you can relax in the car and watch the world go by or even have a nap or three. Plus, there is no direct train between Jodhpur and Udaipur and flying would be more expensive so this is your best option for travel between these two cities.

On my journey, I went from Jodhpur to Udaipur booking a driver through Viator. The driver will wait for you at both sightseeing stops and allow plenty of time. You could reserve this route and travel in the other direction but make sure to leave Udaipur late morning as Ranakpur Temple does not open to visitors before 12pm. You also should consider how opening hours affect your plans if leaving Jodhpur very early in the morning.

Food:

I highly recommend stopping for lunch at Ranakpur Temple (timing works perfectly if you are driving from Jodhpur). Also, you don’t have to convince your driver to make another stop somewhere where he doesn’t get commission – he will have no choice in the matter.

There is a charity restaurant here next to the shop that sells chai etc. – I am not sure but I think it is run by a temple orphanage? Please correct me in the comments if I am wrong. Its all you can eat for less than 1 US dollar. There is no English menu but don’t let that put you off – its delicious. Only catch is you need to clear your own dishes after your meal and take them to the dishwasher. I think you can manage that! They don’t accept tips but they do have a charity box at the front counter so feel free to put some extra money in there.

What to bring:

Make sure to take plenty of water with you and lots of food if you don’t want to make a lunch or dinner stop. Be aware their are large stretches of road in which there are no places to stop and eat or at which your driver may refuse to stop because they want to take you to restaurants they have an ‘understanding’ with.

Its a long drive – bring anything that will make it comfortable for you.

What to expect:

Expect a great day out visiting these beautiful sites. Its lovely to be out in the more rural (smog free!) air for the day and to take a break from walking around cities for a change. Although you will still need to do a bit of exercise to get to the top of Kumbhalgarh Fort. Its worth it for the great view though!

Erika xx

Going to Agra to visit the Taj Mahal is one of the highlights of any India trip, but all the advice you have read tells you that you must go to the Taj early in the AM which means you need to spend a night in Agra. If you don’t know this yet I explain why in my post here. How will you spend the rest of your time while there?

Agra is actually a very lovely city with a lot of beautiful places – many of which are overlooked in favor of the more famous Taj Mahal. I would highly recommend basing yourself in Agra rather than Delhi for this part of your journey. I go into more detail about why I wasn’t a big fan of Delhi here.

GENERAL INFO

Getting there and away: To get to Agra, we took an overnight train to Agra Fort Station from Umaria (the closest station to Bandhavgarh National Park where we saw tigers). This took almost 14 hours. We left Agra by train from Agra Fort Station to Jaipur (4 hour journey).

Many people would take the train to Agra from Delhi – this is 3 hour journey.

Accommodation: We stayed in The Coral House Homestay – a beautiful guesthouse very close to the eastern gate of the Taj Mahal. We were able to walk to the Taj Mahal very early in the morning and then return to the guesthouse for breakfast once we were finished. The house had a beautiful garden and had a very restful feel.

However, we don’t recommend eating dinner here – this was an optional extra and we found it overpriced.

Food: We didn’t really eat much while in Agra as we were still full from days of overeating amazing food at our resort in Bandhavgarh National Park.

Getting around: As in the rest of India, rickshaws are the best way to get around. The train station has pre-paid autorickshaws with prices displayed on charts. This will give you a good guide to help with haggling for trips around the city.

Top Tip: Please DO go and see the Taj Mahal if you go to Agra – I am not recommending skipping it to visit these other spots. The Taj should be your top priority – it is breathtakingly beautiful. Read my post here on tips for visiting the Taj Mahal.

SUGGESTED ACTIVITIES

1. Agra Fort

Agra Fort is an impressive structure which served as the main residence of the emperors of the Mughal Dynasty until 1638. Shah Jahan (who commissioned the Taj Mahal) was also imprisoned in this fort and forced to gaze upon his beloved Taj Mahal built to house the tomb of his favorite wife Mumtaz Mahal.

You can wander the grounds and appreciate the expanse of the Fort, view the Taj Mahal in the distance and wander the well-kept gardens spotting Northern palm squirrels.

2. The Baby Taj (Tomb of Itimad-ud-Daulah)

The Baby Taj, as its name implies, is a small building similar to the Taj Mahal in design. It is also often described as the ‘Jewel Box’. The complex is small and it doesn’t take long to look around but its well worth a visit as the tomb is gorgeous and its almost completely devoid of tourists. Also on the east bank is Mehtab Bagh so you could combine these in to one visit.

3. Fatehpur Sikri

Fatehpur Sikri is also worth a visit – however it is a big monument outside of Agra itself so you will need most of a day to visit. Fatehpur Sikri was actually a city built during the second half of the 16th century and is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It contains one of the largest mosques in India.

There are guides waiting to take you around the complex for a fee. We found the guide relatively informative but the tour was very rushed and we were only taken around the main part of the complex. We learnt just as much about the city from our Lonely Planet guide and doing some exploring on our own meant we saw some interesting things not mentioned by the guide such as an elephant tusk tower!