[Dry Ice]

Originally Posted by rsarunkumar

Hi all
Planning a trip in the heartland of Rajasthan, 10 nights - 11 days starting 30th Jan. The tentative routing is as follows
30th Jan - To Jaipur (Halt)

I would suggest you to plan the night halts in major destinations as you will have more choices for stay. So ideal stop overs could be - Jaisalmer, Jodhpur, Udaipur, Jaipur. Roads, even SH are good in Rajasthan, so you can easily cover higher distances in lesser time. Without driving outside the speed limits. Since you are travelling with kids, be sure to carry some food items always as there are limited options alongside the roads once you move beyond the regular routes.

If you are ok to skip Bikaner, you can reach Jaisalmer on Day 1. Jaipur to Jaisalmer is a fantastic drive on SH and NH (follow the route google recommends via Nagaur). Road conditions are good. Not much traffic if you plan your exit from Jaipur early. Be ware of cattle on road. It will take you roughly between 9-10 hours including breaks.

You can cover Haldi Ghati, Chittorgarh on the move without spending a day here. The saved day can be utilized in Ranthambore. You can reach Ranthambore by evening, stay for the night and do the next day morning safari and then leave for Jaipur.

[naren_gs1]

Originally Posted by camitesh

Good to know. Unfortunately for us, it was a sour experience.

Sorry to hear about your experience. This is not only in contrast to my experience but also confusing. I tanked up just outside barmer on munabao road and pump manager called up multiple people to ensure Rohidi dunes were cleaned up and there is no blockage. Also at BSF checkpost - only my our id card details were noted and not for wife/daughter. We could visit both station and border checkpost. Nobody told about any restrictions at all! Utter lack of info on rules!

[rsarunkumar]

Originally Posted by Dry Ice

If you are ok to skip Bikaner, you can reach Jaisalmer on Day 1. Jaipur to Jaisalmer is a fantastic drive on SH and NH (follow the route google recommends via Nagaur). Road conditions are good. Not much traffic if you plan your exit from Jaipur early. Be ware of cattle on road. It will take you roughly between 9-10 hours including breaks.

Thanks Dry Ice.
That's something I am considering too. A 10 hour drive on Day 1 should be ok for the kids too, since all other drives post Jaisalmer would be less than 5-6 hours.
My only doubt was will I miss out something in Bikaner.

[nishantbhatia84]

Originally Posted by naren_gs1

Hi. I took permission right at munabao. No need for prior permission at barmer. Also you can drive straight from jaisalmer ~180 kms. - great roads all the way even though single lane.

This is what the BSF guys at Munabao told me as well, however, the hotel where I was put up (Sanchal Fort), informed me otherwise, it is hence safer to get the permits done from Barmer.

Originally Posted by camitesh

Good to know. Unfortunately for us, it was a sour experience.
No locals/hoteliers/fuel attendants were aware about this apparent restriction. We kept inquiring about Munabao with everyone and we were guided there without hesitation until the police convoy stopped us.
All I can say is, better get the permits if you are interested. I’ll be certain to get the permit if I Visit the area next time

I'm surprised this happened! I saw no cop cars en-route to and from Munabao - only BSF vehicles. Also, AFAIK that restricted area falls under BSF jurisdiction so the local cops should have no say on it. Luckily for me my hotel GM had asked me to call him in case of any trouble and he'll get stuff sorted.

[Dry Ice]

Originally Posted by rsarunkumar

Thanks Dry Ice.
That's something I am considering too. A 10 hour drive on Day 1 should be ok for the kids too, since all other drives post Jaisalmer would be less than 5-6 hours.
My only doubt was will I miss out something in Bikaner.

I feel its better to spend more time at a particular stop rather than hoping everyday.

All of Rajasthan has forts and museums, Bikaner is no different. It has a repute for the "namkeens" and "bhujiya".

Do try out the morning breakfasts street side. Pohas, Dal Pakwan, Pyaz Kachoris, Mirchi Vada - street food is amazing in all of RJ, and the interesting thing is, the flavour varies slightly even between the cities.

ATB!

[camitesh]

Originally Posted by naren_gs1

Sorry to hear about your experience. This is not only in contrast to my experience but also confusing. Nobody told about any restrictions at all! Utter lack of info on rules!

I cannot agree more. This was a very confusing situation for us as well given the information available on Tbhp & other travel forums. The ordeal lasted over an hour and all the time we were thinking for ways to get out of the situation unharmed. This was our first experience sitting inside a remote police station being simultaneously interrogated by half a dozen tough looking guys who seemed like they meant business. I tried my best to argue with the fact that there is a serious lack of information on this restriction. They kept re-directing me to the board near Kiradu temples which mentions this restriction (as confirmed later, it’s only for foreigners). Sad experience indeed, almost killed our morale on Day 2 of the trip itself after a 900+ kms marathon ride from Mumbai to Barmer just because we wanted to accommodate a visit to the Munabao station in our 2 day plan to reach Jaisalmer.

Originally Posted by nishantbhatia84

This is what the BSF guys at Munabao told me as well, however, the hotel where I was put up (Sanchal Fort), informed me otherwise, it is hence safer to get the permits done from Barmer.



I'm surprised this happened! I saw no cop cars en-route to and from Munabao - only BSF vehicles. Also, AFAIK that restricted area falls under BSF jurisdiction so the local cops should have no say on it.

The police stations are there at Gadra & Ramsar en-route from Barmer to Munabao. Yes the BSF presence is more evident on the said route but we were told by the officials that BSF holds the local police liable if they allow any non-permitted personnel towards the border. In fact, they stressed that they are doing us a favour by stopping us mid way and peacefully allowing us to return back to safety as BSF probably wouldn’t be that generous in their interrogations and approach. This followed by numerous recent examples of people being detained by BSF as well as them.

To their credit, after the initial few minutes, they were nothing but polite, and friendly in their approach. Though on a lighter note, I did not get the “Padhaaro Mhare Desh” vibes at any point in time.

In hindsight, I do feel we were taken for a ride in the name of abundant precaution by the officials in charge there. I believe they are not so used to fully geared riders on strange looking bikes like Versys with electronics like gopro/sena etc. I was worried they would object for our helmet wireless communication & gopros setups to worsen the situation further but they just seemed intrigued by the hardware, nothing else.

While leaving the station and seeing they were pretty friendly now while we shook hands and bid goodbyes, I did ask them in a nonchalant way that how were you guys alerted about us. it was definitely not a routine checkup or nakabandi stop. The police jeep was definitely speeding in our direction specifically looking for us the way they stopped abruptly and jumped out of the vehicle. To this, one of them sheepishly replied that they got a warning call from someone we just passed (presumably the other police station or some alarmed locals)

I had half a mind to call you and seek help especially after seeing this board at Kiradu exit but the sour experience killed our excitement to visit Munabao and let it slide for some other time.

Rest of the ride was pretty much as planned and we covered quite some destinations in RJ and GJ. I'll share the executed itnerary in a day or two.
Cheers

[Krishroy]

Originally Posted by rsarunkumar

Hi all
Query 1: I would like to know what other places I could potentially cover, and what I could skip?

Query 2: I would like to include Haldighati and Ranthambore, if possible? Would that be possible? For instance, drive from Jaipur to Jaisalmer on Day 1, via Bikaner without a halt there, and finish with a day in Ranthambore.

My two cents
In a single trip, if you try to cover entire Rajasthan, it will just be hopping from one city to another. In Rajasthan, each city has several places to visit, different culture, cuisines and beauty. I would suggest you may reduce the number of destinations and spend atleast one full day in the major cities.

In my first Rajasthan trip, I also prepared a crazy plan like yours; but luckily changed it and covered northern part only. Later I had another trip to Rajasthan to cover the Southern part of Rajasthan.

Anyway, best wishes and have a great holiday

[anthusiast]

Originally Posted by rsarunkumar

Hi all
Planning a trip in the heartland of Rajasthan, 10 nights - 11 days starting 30th Jan. The tentative routing is as follows

I would also advise you to skip a couple of places and have a more relaxing tour. Rajasthan is the largest state of India and AFAIK has at least 3 popular routes.
1. In and around Jaipur (Shekawati region) -> Agra-New Delhi triangle with surrounding places like Mathura, Sariska, Ranathambore
2. Marwar region - Jaipur-Ajmer/Pushkar-Jodhpur-Jaisalmer-Bikaner - Forts at Jodhpur (Mehrangarh), Jaisalmer(Fort and desert safaris and night stays), Pushkar(Brahma Temple and camel ride etc), Ajmer(Dargah)
3. Mewar region - Jaipur-Chittorgarh (Fort) - Udaipur(Palace and Lakes) - Kumbhalgarh (Fort), Ranakpur (Jain temple).

Here is a suggested itinerary:
Jaipur - 2D (+1 day for Ranathambore)
Pushkar - 1D
Chittorgarh (Visit fort and night stay at Udaipur) - 1D
Udaipur -> 2D (Add Mount Abu optionally)
Ranakpur/Kumbhalgarh - 1D (Night halt at Jodhpur)
Jodhpur - 1D
Jaisalmer - 1D

You could skip Bikaner and travel straight Jaipur to Jodhpur and Jaisalmer. Since you are from south, you might as well skip Mount Abu as there are similar places down south. The below itinerary covers Shekawat, Mewar and Marwar regions with best of forts and palaces in Rajasthan (Amer-Jaigarh->Jaipur, Chittorgarh, Kumbhalgarh, Mehrangarh-Jodhpur, Jaisalmer fort)

I would beg to differ and advise hiring a combo of day taxi and one way taxi drops for the entire trip. This is more safe for a family trip and takes less toll on health and driving fitness. Covering forts and palaces and evening drives is tiring. Also, by this way you can start from Jaipur and end your trip at Jaisalmer/Jodhpur depending on flight fares. Attached map has the main places covered.

[BowMan]

Friends I have to pick up a bike from Udaipur and ride all the way to Ahmedabad.

I will do a stopover in either Udaipur or Mount Abu for the night. My preference is Udaipur. But that would mean I take the Jodhpur - Pali - Rajsamand - Udaipur road. Or the other option is Jodhpur - Pali - Sirohi - Pindwara - Udaipur road.

Those familiar with these roads please advise. I will be riding solo on a bike.

Thanks.

[abhikb]

Jodhpur to Ahmedabad via mount Abu Highway is 4 lane and less with traffic of trucks and buses. The road to Udaipur from Rajsamand or Sirohi might not be in best shape as these are state highways. Hence, better to stay in Mount Abu and then ride to Ahmedabad. Even if you are willing to stay in Udaipur then come via rajsamand which is approximately 40kms shorter then via Sirohi route. The road from Pali to Rajsamand will be state highway and better to ride in daylight.

[zaveed]

Hi ,

Need some help.

We are group of 12 people (8 adults- 4 kids) travelling to Ajmer would be travelling to Jaipur also. This will be in the last week of July. We will be reaching jaipur at 1.30PM on Monday and would be there till Wednesday 7.30 pm . ( Train Tickets have been already booked for Ajmer to Jaipur).

In which area should i be looking for a hotel, also are there any reference for a good day tour operator? Not looking forward for the ranthambore national park just local Jaipur sight seeing.

Any pointers . Thank you.

Zaveed

[nexus]

Planning to do Rajasthan trip in November from Pune. Below itinerary is chalked out. Hotel bookings are also done accordingly. Looks hectic considering we are travelling with 2 kids?

[ranjitp1]

Originally Posted by nexus

Planning to do Rajasthan trip in November from Pune. Below itinerary is chalked out. Hotel bookings are also done accordingly. Looks hectic considering we are travelling with 2 kids?

Attachment 1782124

First things first-yes it is indeed very hectic,hardly any time to stop and smell the roses

You could consider doing Ahmedabad-Jaisalmer-Jodhpur-Jaipur-Ajmer-Pushkar- -Udaipur-Ahmedabad,which would be a lot less tiring in my opinion.

If you are indeed going to do the originally proposed plan,then you might want to consider doing it this way https://goo.gl/maps/tdc5QcMfn7P2 this way you do not retrace the route anywhere.I do not have the most recent road conditions but I do not foresee any bad sections.

[_nitink_]

Roads in Rajasthan are under heavy maintenance. I last visited Rajasthan 4 months back, all the roads were being laid again. When I enquired from the locals, everyone said that its a similar situation in almost all the places in Rajasthan. Kindly plan the trip accordingly.

[nexus]

Originally Posted by ranjitp1

First things first-yes it is indeed very hectic,hardly any time to stop and smell the roses

Thanks a lot for your input. Unfortunately all the feedbacks that I got so far say that it's a hectic trip. It's bad on my planning part. I also consulted HVK sir but he couldn't do much as we had fixed number of days and wanted to cover as much as possible.

Ranthambore is something that we didn't want to give a miss. Bikaner is just a break point. I forgot to mention one important thing that ladies accompanying in this trip which includes my 2 year old daughter are doing Mumbai-Udaipur-Mumbai in flight. We didn't want to stress them. Hence, we are doing Udaipur to Udaipur circle.

Originally Posted by _nitink_

Roads in Rajasthan are under heavy maintenance. I last visited Rajasthan 4 months back, all the roads were being laid again. When I enquired from the locals, everyone said that its a similar situation in almost all the places in Rajasthan. Kindly plan the trip accordingly.

I hope the conditions are better by November. If not, I can very well imagine a stressful trip.