Travel in Bundi

Bundi appears once in the whole India programme. One tour out of fifteen goes there: On the trails of the Maharajas, fifteen days, from EUR 1,840. If you found this page because you want to spend time in Bundi, read the next paragraph before you enquire.

It is one night. Bundi is day 7 of a 15-day route — you arrive from Ranthambore and leave the following morning for Udaipur. The itinerary names no train and no flight on either leg, so both are road transfers in your own vehicle with your own guide. In practice that gives you an afternoon and an evening in the town, and you are gone after breakfast. This is a page about a stopover, not a stay.

What the day actually contains, as the itinerary sets it out: Taragarh Fort and the Raniji ki Baori. The fort sits on the hill above the old town and is the reason for the climb — the view over the country spreading out below it. The Raniji ki Baori is the reason Bundi is on this route at all. It drops 46 metres, it is carved through with stonework, and the itinerary calls it the finest and most significant stepwell in Rajasthan. The town once had around fifty of them; only a few survive. Inside the old walls, Bundi kept a medieval shape that the bigger Rajput cities lost.

Now the awkward part. Bundi is known for two things, and this trip includes one of them. The itinerary notes the town's reputation for miniature painting, but it does not put you in front of the Chitrashala murals — neither the Garh Palace nor its painted gallery is named anywhere in the day. Nor is Sukh Mahal, the 84-pillared cenotaph, Nawal Sagar or the Jait Sagar lake. If the painted rooms are what is bringing you here, they are not written into this trip as it stands. Say so when you enquire and we will look at whether the day can carry them. Do not assume they are already in there.

The route around Bundi is the real reason most people book this trip. Day 2 is Agra: the Taj Mahal, which is closed on Fridays, and Agra Fort. Day 3 stops at Abhaneri for the Chand Baori, the second stepwell on the route, its steps dropping more than 20 metres, then Jaipur. Day 4 is Jaipur proper — Amber Fort, the Jantar Mantar observatory, the City Palace, the Hawa Mahal, a rickshaw ride through the bazaars. Days 5 and 6 are Ranthambore, with a vegetable market in Sawai Madhopur and then two safaris on the same day, early morning and afternoon. One thing to know about those: the safaris are shared, in a jeep of up to six people or a canter bus of up to twenty, depending on availability. They are the only shared element in an otherwise private trip, and no operator can promise a tiger.

After Bundi comes Udaipur for two nights, with a Lake Pichola boat ride that depends on water levels, then Ranakpur's Jain temple and the narrow-gauge train from Phulad to Kamli Ghat, the Manvar desert camp with a jeep safari and a camel ride, and Jodhpur under the Mehrangarh Fort. Day 14 flies Jodhpur to Delhi — that flight is in the itinerary, so it is included. International flights are not.

The itinerary names no hotels — not in Bundi, not anywhere on this route — so ask for the night-by-night list with your quote. Rooms come as Standard, Deluxe, Superior or Executive; there is no five-star tier. Included throughout: hotel accommodation, breakfast, a German-speaking guide, 24-hour availability and a bottle of water on arrival.

Four other tours cross Rajasthan and none touches Bundi. Rajasthan – The Land of Kings, 14 days from EUR 1,800, runs Ranthambore, Jaipur, Shekhawati, Jaisalmer, Jodhpur and Udaipur. The magic of Rajasthan, 10 days from EUR 1,000, runs Sariska, Jaipur, Ranthambore, Dholpur and Agra. For Bundi it is this one route or nothing off the shelf — though every trip is private and built around you, so ask.