Delhi – Pushkar – Ajmer – Chittorgarh – Kumbalgarh – Ranakpur – Udaipur – Bundi – Jaipur – Delhi Time taken – Left Kumbalgarh at 12pm, reached Ranakpur by 2:15, Left Ranakpur at 5pm and reached Udaipur by 7:15pm. Room at Udaipur – 1200 INR dirtiest room we stayed during the trip after 3hrs of searching. They should have paid us to stay in that room. Ranakpur Jain Temples – Undoubtedly the most well preserved Temples in India, and the finest Temples we have visited so far. The architecture, carvings are stunning. What also needs appreciation is the management of the temple. Audio guides at the Temples are very informative and they are the only option as there are no guides around. They have a strict policy regarding cameras. So you need to buy tickets for everything and be prepared for a proper security check. We tried to fool the staff by hiding our cell phones and he caught us like he knew where we had hidden them.
Verdict – A must see on your trip to Rajasthan, easily accessible from Udaipur. You must get the audio guides and a ticket for the camera as what you see inside the main temple is breath taking. The audio guide is very informative and a tad bit interesting. Give yourself at least 2-3hrs to see this masterpiece. Sight Seeing – Udaipur Palace, Jagdish Temple and Hanuman Ghat It is a very huge palace. It took us about 4hrs at a brisk pace. Palace is beautiful and takes you on a journey in time. They have put a trip advisor rating in one of the showcases, wonder why a Raja who has 365 cooks to cook him meals so that no meal is repeated in a year would care about the Rating on TripAdvisor.
Breakfast recommended at one of the roof top cafe’s overlooking the Lake. Most of them serve similar food, a mix of different cuisines from across the world, similar to cafes in Manali and Hampi. We had our breakfast at Café Namaste, the service was great and the food was delicious.
Verdict – We had heard great things about Udaipur before we got there, and we were not disappointed. The only downside was the mad crowd everywhere. Inside the city palace, we saw at least 2000 people that day. Our recommendation would be to visit Udaipur sometime in before 30 November or after 15 February. Expenses Lunch at Ranakpur Temple – 200 Dinner – 725, Breakfast – 730 Udaipur Hotel – 2400 City Palace Entry Tickets, Audio Guides – 1200 Ranakpur Temple Audio Guides – 200 Mobile Camera Ticket 100
Isn’t the architecture at Ranakpur temple exquisite! I visited last Oct and still haven’t written my trip report yet 🙁
Seeing you guys blogging while traveling inspires me! 🙂
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Aditi,
Ranakpur was a surprise for us, our friend ankit insisted on visiting it. And boy he was right.
Looking forward to going there again
-Empty Rucksack
Such wonderful sculptures. Nice post!
Thanks Niranjan, have you visited Ranakpur?
Ranakpur looks impressive na ? 1400 pillars and not two are alike 🙂
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Puru,
Ranakpur is like a reward to travellers. We don’t remember loving any other temple as much.
-Empty Rucksack
Rajasthan is a fab state ! Loved the photos !
Thanks Paresh,
Rajasthan lived up to all the hype. We are planning another trip, it is a delight for a traveler, photographer and a must visit for evrry foodie.
-Empty Rucksack