India Travel

Bundi North in Kota in Rajasthan

Related Properties from Gurgaon

Practicalities Between of Kota and Bundi in Rajasthan

Buses run between Kota and Bundi (1hr) every half-hour, and cover the journey to Chittaurgarh (5hr) three times a day, two of them continuing to Udalpur; better still, jump on the 8.10am train from the station on the southern edge of town (only 3hr 30min). Coming from Chittaurgarh, you can avoid a long and tedious road journey by catching the 2.30pm train, which gets you in here at 6pm. Bundi is also connected by hourly buses to Ajmer (165km; 4hr),Jaipur (210km; 8hr) andjodhpur (11hr). For Pushkar, there are three daily direct buses (7hr 30min): Sawai Madhopur (for Ranthambore National Park)

East of Udaipur in Rajasthan

The belt of hilly land east of Udaipur is the most fertile in Rajasthan, watered by several perennial rivers. Although you need your own vehicle to penetrate the countryside, the historic town of Chittaurgarh, which preceded Udaipur as the seat of Mewar's rulers, is easily accessible by bus. Further east, clusters of crumbling temples mark the sites of still older cities. In the far southeast, the heartland of the princely state of Kota, palaces and forts in Kota and Bundi stand sentinel over fields of wheat, groundnut, castor-oil plants and opium poppies. A prime crop here for centuries, opium is

Moving on from Kota East of Udaipur in Rajasthan

Kota is well connected by bus to destinations in Rajasthan and across the state border to Bhopal and Indore. Services to Bundi leave more or less every half an hour, taking around one hour. Travellers heading northeast towards Agra often pass through Kota to pick up the main broad-gauge line, which is also the most straightforward approach to Sawai Madhopur, jumping-off place for Ranthambore National Park. The recommended service here is the Paschim Express #2955, which leaves at 8.50am and arrives one-and-a-half hours later. There are also six daily trains to Delhi (most of them via Jaipur and Bharatpur). The easiest

KOTA East of Udaipur in Rajasthan

KOTA, 230km south of Jaipur on a fertile plain fed by Rajasthan's largest river, the Chambal, is one of the state's dirtier and less stimulating cities, and foreign visitors are sufficiently unusual to attract stares in the streets. But it does have some beautiful gardens, and its old palaces house one of the best museums in Rajasthan. In the seventeenth century, when Kota was declared capital or. a newly independent princely state by the Moghul emperor Jahangir, it was ruled by Rao Madho Singh of the Hadachauhan Rajputs. Today, with a population nudging 650,000, it is one of Rajasthan's major commercial

The City East of Udaipur in Rajasthan

The residential areas, bazaars, fort, City Palace and museum east of the Chambal face harsh buildings and factory smokestacks across the river. Kishor Sagar. an artificial lake built in 1346, gives picturesque relief. The red and white palace in its centre, Jag Mandir, was commissioned by Prince Dher Deh of Bundi in 1346 and can be visited only with permission from the Superintendent Engineer of Kota; ask at the tourist office. Gardens to the north of the tank are lush with mango trees, dahlias and palms, and crocodiles and gharial sun themselves in a shallow pond in the Chambal Gardens

The Town North of Kota in Rajasthan

In his Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan (1829), Col James Tod, the first British official ever to explore the region, wrote that the "coup d' oeil of the castellated palace of Bundi, from which ever side you approach it, is perhaps the most striking in India". Walking north through the bazaar today, with the creamy stone domes, cupolas and bleached walls of the palace spilling down the hillside ahead, you'll doubtless agree. Built during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries in authentic Rajput style, this was one of the few royal abodes in Rajasthan untainted by Moghul influence. Its appearence is

Travel details in the Rajasthan

Trains Jaipur to: Agra (2 daily; 7hr); Ahmedabad (2 daily; 14hr); Ajmer (5 daily; 2-3hr); Alwar (7 daily; 2hr 35min-4hr); Bikaner (3 daily; 6hr 30min-1 Ohr); Calcutta (2 daily: 29hr); Chittaurgarh (2 daily; 7hr 40min-8hr 15min); Chum (3 daily: 5hr 20min); Delhi (8 daily; 4hr 20min-6hr 30]; Jhunjhunu (3 daily; 4hr 40min-6hr); Jodhpur (4-5 daily; 5hr-6hr iOmin); Kota (3 daily; 3hr 45min); Mount Abu (3 daily; 8-9hr); Mumbai (2 daily; 16hr 30min-22hr); Sawai Madhopur (2-3 daily; 2hr-3hr 20min); Sikar (5 daily; 3hr); Udaipur (2 daily; 10-12hr). Jodhpur to: Abu Road (3 daily: 5hr); Agra (2 daily; 13hr); Ahmedabad (3 daily; 10hr);

Accommodation and eating of Bundi in Rajasthan

With its lake and palace views, and traffic- and tout-free backstreets, Bundi makes a relaxing place to stay; many travellers find themselves moving on well after they'd intended. Most of the accommodation is in old havelis that for once offer a good choice of budget rooms. Pick of the bunch has to be the Haveli Braj Blutshanjce, just below the palace, but there are plenty of cheaper fall-backs further up the lane. Book in advance and you can be sure of an evening meal, otherwise the best restaurant is the modest Garden, next to the Lake View, whose speciality is

Chittaurgarh East of Udaipur in Rajasthan

Of all the former Rajput capitals, CHITTAURGARH (or Chittor), 115km northeast of Udaipur, was the strongest bastion of Hindu resistance against the Muslim invaders. No less than three mass suicides (johars) were committed over the centuries by the female inhabitants of its fort, whose husbands watched their wives, sisters and mothers burn alive before smearing ash from the sacred funeral pyres over their bodies and riding to their deaths on the battlefield below. An air of desolation still hangs over the honey-coloured ramparts, temples, towers and palaces of the old citadel, which sprawls over a rocky plateau high above the

Moving on from Vadodara in Gujarat

Vadodara railway station js often rather crowded and queues for tickets can be long (the reservation office is upstairs); you can bypass the hassle for a Rs15-25 fee if you buy your ticket from Vogikrupa Travel Service opposite (daily Sam-8pm; 0265/794977), All trains travelling along the main Delhi-Mumbai line stop here. New Delhi is reached by at least ten daily trains (12-24hr), via Kota and Sawai Madhopur, with one train a day to Jaipur (11hr 50min). There are at least fourteen daily services to Ahmedabad (1hr 55min-2hr 30min), some of which continue to Rajkot, Jamnagar and Porbandar and one each

Accommodation and eating to Kota East of Udaipur in Rajasthan

Kota's hotels cater mainly for passing business travellers, and the cheaper rest-houses reflect the dustiness and neglect that prevails in the town. Inexpensive dives are grouped around the railway station and rhe areas known as Civil Lines and Nayapura close to the bus stand and main market. In addition to the hotel restaurants - the Navrang and Chainan both have reasonable dining rooms open to nonresidents - try the cheap but good veg Barkha Restaurant on Nayapura Circle. Failing that, you'll have to settle for a roadside stall - there are a couple of decent ones outside the Pint! Plaza. Brijraj

Sawai Madhopur and Ranthambore National Park Practicalities East of Jaipur in Rajasthan

Sawai Madhopur is served by trains on the main Mumbai-Delhi line, and is thus easily accessible from Bharatpur, Agra, Jaipur and Delhi, as well as destinations further south, such as Kota. The train tracks divide the main residential side of town to the north from the industrial zone, known as Sawai Madhopur City, to the south (where you arrive when travelling from Shivpuri). The station is midway between the two, close to the bus stand and bustling Bazriya market area, near the cheapest lodges. About 100m southwest along the train lines (toward1; Mumbai and Jaipur) is a flyover carrying the

By train in Delhi

Delhi's main railhead. New Delhi Station at the eastern end of Paharganj. less than ikm north of Connaught Place, has regular departures to all corners of India, and a very efficient booking office (Mon-Sat 8am-5pm) for foreign tourists, on the first floor of the main departure building. They'll give you advice on the fastest trains, and you should have little difficulty finding a seat or berth: women travelling alone in second class may prefer to ask for a berth in the ladies' carriage. Foreigners must show passports, and pay in foreign currency or in rupees backed up by exchange certificates.

Travel details in Delhi

Trains To Rajasthan: Abu Road (3-4 daily; 11hr 10min-14hr 15min); Ajmer (5-6 daily; 7hr 1 Omin-11 hr 5min); Bharatpur (5 daily; 2hr 50min-4hr 15min): Bikaner (3 daily; 1Ohr 20min-11hr 4Dmin): Chittaurgarti (2 daily: 16hr 30min); Jaipur (10-12 daily; 4hr 25min-11hr 35min); Jodfipur (2 daily; 10hr 55min-13hr 40min); Kota (7-9 daily; 4hr 40min-10hr 45min); Sawai Madhopur (7 daily; 5hr 15min-8hr 15min); Udaipur (2 daily: 15hr 10min-21hr 15min). To Uttar Pradesh: Agra (18-20 daily: Itir 55min-4br 40min); Allahabad (10-12 daily; 7-14tir), Delira Dun (2-3 daily; 5hr 25min-10hr 20min); GoraKhpur (4-5 daily; 13hr 30min-22hr 5fnin); Kanpur (18-22 daily; 4tir 25min-8hr 20min); Lucknow (5-6 daily;

Travel details from Madhya Pradesh

Trains Bhopal to: Agra (16-20 daily; 5hr 30min-10hr); Chennai (3-5 daily; 23-32hr); Delhi (18-22 daily: 7hr 45min-15hr): Goa (1 daily; 30hr): Gwalior (17-22 daily: 4hr 15min-7hr); Indore (4-6 daily;5hr-8hr 15 min): Jabalpur (3-4 daily; 6-7hr); Jalgaon (2-3 daily; 7-9hr); Jhansi (22-26 daily: 3hr-5hr 40min); Manmad (lor Aurangabad; 7-10 daily; 9br-11hr30min); Mumbai (4 daily 14hr 55min-18hr); Nagpur (12-15 daily; 5hr 30min-9hr 30min); Pune (2-3 daily; 16-17hr|: Sanchi (2 daily; 45-55min): Ujjain (4-6 daily; 3hr-5hr|; Vidisha (3-4 daily; 40-50min). Gwalior to: Agra (23-26 daily; 1 hr 10min-2hr 20mm); Bhopal (19-24 daily; 3hr 40min-7hr); Calcutta (4 weekly; 22hr 30min-24hr 30min); Chennai (2-1 daily; 28-40hr]; Delhi

Ajmer East of Jaipur in Rajasthan

As you head west from Jaipur, or north from Chittor and Bundi, the flat, arid expanse of the Dhundar plains are dramatically interrupted by the Aravallis, running in a bare brown ridge towards Mount Abu and the Gujarat border. A reference point for millions of pilgrims over the centuries, this steeply shelving spur, known locally as the Nag Pahar (Snake Mountain), forms an appropriately epic backdrop for AJMER, famous throughout India as the former home of the Sufi Khwaja Mum-ud-din Chishti, founder of the Chishtiya order. He died here in 1236, at a time when Ajmer was under Muslim rule,

Ajmer Practicalities East of Jaipur in Rajasthan

Ajmer's railway station is in the centre of town, with regular services from Delhi, Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Udaipur, Cittor and Kota. See the box opposite for a list of recommended trains for onward travel. The state bus stand, with an exhaustive array of routes, is inconveniently situated on the northeast edge of town, 2km from the railway station. Tempos and auto-rickshaws connect the two; auto-rickshaws cost around Rs25. Approaching town from the south, most buses stop at a string of large intersections en route, but don't be tempted to get off before the bus stand as transport into town from these

Accommodation and eating of Udaipur in Rajasthan

While Chittaurgarh's mid- and upper-range hotels cost a little more than elsewhere, places at the lower end of the price scale are pretty dingy. This is one place budget travellers might want to splash out. As for food, both the Pratap Palace and Mceta have popular non-veg restaurants, of the dimly lit variety where travelling businessmen indulge in chicken eating and beer drinking. A more respectable, and cheaper, option is the Ralu Raj Vatika, across town. They specialize in traditional wedding feasts, but also have an excellent little pure-veg restaurant inside with tables spread over a lawn. The paneer dishes

Jaipur and around of Rajasthan

A flamboyant showcase of Rajasthani architecture, the Pink City of JAIPUR has long been established on tourist itineraries as the third corner of India's "Golden Triangle", just 300km southwest of Delhi and 200km west of Agra. Though the "Pink City" label applies specifically to the old walled quarter of the state capital, in the northeast of town, exuberant eighteenth- and nineteenth-century palaces are scattered throughout the whole urban area. These, and the salmon-coloured facades of the city's ornately decorated vernacular buildings, form an appropriately exotic backdrop for the swirl of typically Rajasthani street life below. A vast storehouse of traditional

Practicalities of the Mathura in the Uttar Pradesh

The city's principal railway station lies southwest of the centre, around 4km from Holi Gate and the old city. It's on the main Delhi—Agra line, 1hr 45min from Delhi Nizamuddin on the fast Taj Express #2180, and only 50min short of Agra; Mathura is also served by several Delhi-Mumbai trains such as the Punjab Mail #2138 via Agra and the fast Kerala Express #2626; the Fashchim Express #2926 stops at Sawai Madhopur (for the wildlife park of Ranthambore) and Kota. Mathura has two bus stands; the Old Bus Stand, near Holi Gate, has hourly connections to Agra and serves Govardhan, 25km