India Travel

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); Barmer (2 daily; 4hr 30min-5hT); Bikaner (1 daily; 5hr|; Delhi (3 daily; 11-13hr); Jaipur (4-5 daily; 5-7hr); Jaisalmer (2 daily; 6hr 15min-8hr40min); Osian (1 daily; 2hr 30min); Udaipur (2 daily; 12hr 30mtn).

Udaipur to: Ahmedabad (1 daily; 9hr 20min); Ajmer (2 daily; 8hr-12hr 50min|; Chittaurgarh (2 daily; 3hr 30min-4hr 30min); Delhi (2 daily; 19-23hr); Jaipur (2 daily; 10-12hr); Jodhpur (2 daily; 12hr30min).

Buses

Jaipur to: Abu Road (2 daily; 11hr); Agra (12 daily; 5hr): Ahmedabad (1 daily; 16hr); Ajmer (hourly; 1hr 55min-2hr 30min); Alwar (hourly; 4hr); Bharatpur (every 30min; 4hr 30min): Bikaner (11 daily: 7hr 30min); Calcutta (4 weekly; 24hr); Chittaurgarh (7 daily; 7hr 15min); Churu (every 30min; 4hr 30min); Delhi (every 15 min; 6hr); Jaisalmer (2 daily; !3-15hr); Jhunjhunu (every 30min; 5hr); Jodhpur (every 30mm; 7-8hr); Kota (12 daily; 6hr);Nawalgarh (hourly; 3hr); Pushkar (9 daily; 3hr 30min-4hr); Sawai Madhopur (2 daily; 4hr 30min): Sikar (every 15min; 3hr); Udaipur (hourly; 10hr).

Jaisalmei to: Ajmer (1 daily; 12hr); Barmer (hourly; 3hr 30min); Bhuj (1 daily; 16hr); Bikaner (3 daily; 7hr); Jaipur (2 daily: 13-15hr); Udaipur (1 daily; 15hr).

Jodhpur to: Agra (1 daily; 10hr); Ahmedabad (4 daily; 11hr); Ajmer (hourly; 5hr); Bharatpur (2 daily; 10hr); Bikaner (13 daily; 6hr); Delhi (3 daily; 11-12hr); Jaipur (6 daily; 7hr): Jaisalmer (hourly; 5hr 30min); Mount Abu (1 daily; 9hr 30min); Mumbai (3 daily; 22hr); Osian (every 30min; 2hr); Udaipur (9 daily; 9-1 Ohr).

Udaipur to: Ahmedabad (hourly; 7hr); Ajmer (hourly; 7hr); Bikaner (1 daily; 12hr); Bundi (10 daily; 7hr); Chittaurgarh (hourly; 3hr-3hr 30min); Delhi (2 daily; 15hr); Jaipur (hourly; 10hr); Jaisalmer (1 daily; 15hr); Jodhpur (9 daily; 9-1 Ohr); Kota (10 daily: 6hr); Mount Abu (8 daily; 7hr); Mumbai (daily; 2hr 15min); Ranakpur (6 daily; 3hr).

Flights

Jaipur to: Ahmedabad (3 weekly: 1 hr); Calcutta (6 weekly; 2hr-3hr 50min); Delhi (3 daily; 40min-1hr); Jodhpur (1 daily; 40min); Mumbai (2 daily; 1hr 30min): Udaipur (2 daily; 1hr 15min-1hr 50min)

Jodhpur to: Delhi (daily; 1hr 50min); Jaipur (1 daily: 40min); Mumbai (daily; 2hr 10min): Udaipur (daily; 40min).

Udaipur to: Delhi (22 weekly: 1hr 55min); Jaipur (2 daily: 1hr 15min-1hr 50min); Jodhpur (daily; 40min): Mumbai (daily; 2hr 15min),

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 “Rajasthani Pizza", served on a lakeside lawn. The only other option is the run-of-the-mill Diamond, just south of Chogan Gate in the bazaar, which serves cheap rice and veg meals.

Haveli Braj Bhushanjee, just below the palace. The former home of trie Bundi prime minister’s elder brother, this 150-year-old haveli is full of character, with original murals and family portraits on the walls. Comfortable, tastefully furnished rooms at various prices, and delicious home-cooked food, served in the dining hall or an outside terrace with superb views of the palace. Well worth splashing out on if this is normally above your budget.

Haveli Katoun, near Gopal Mandir Balchandpara. Smallish rooms (some with bathrooms) in new block of an old haveli. Leafy garden; meals available on request.

Ishwari Niwas, 1 Civil Lines. Well-appointed rooms (some a/c) in a period building on the south side of town. Comfortable enough, and they serve passable food, but too far from the palace.

Kishan Niwas, near Lakshmi Nath temple. Very rudimentary, but genuinely hospitable, paying guesthouse in the thick of the bazaar. Attached bathrooms, home cooking and rock-bottom rates.

Lake View, Bohra Meghwahan Ji-ki-Haveli, opposite Nawal Sagar tank. Another ramshackle haveli whose owners claim descent from the Diwan of Bundi; deservedly popular.friendly, near the lake and palace, with simple, clean rooms. Home-made thalis for Rs50.

RTDC Vrindawati, Jait Sagar tank. Run-of-the-mill government hotel in a great location on the west shore of Jait Sagar, near the Sukh Mahal. Good-value rooms, but a characterless option compared with the havelis across town.

Uma Megh, Balchandpara. Best of the budget options, with a range of inexpensive rooms in haveli of former diwan (prime minister). The best of them, on the upper floor, have large windows overlooking the lake and attached bathrooms. This place has seen better days, but the rooftop views and warm family welcome more than compensate.

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) can also be reached by road (5hr), but it’s quicker to travel down to Kota and pick up a train connection there.

Note that as yet, there is nowhere in Bundi to change money; the nearest bank with a foreign exchange facility is in Kota.

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 surprisingly homogeneous considering the number of times it was added to over the years, although some wings are virtually derelict now, including the one that harbours Bundi’s greatest art treasures: its famous murals. As some of these are hidden behind locked doors, it’s a good idea to arrange a guide to show you around; the Haveli Braj Bhushanjee can put you in touch with a good one.

A short steep path winds to the entrance, Hathi Pole, flanked by the elephants that are so common in the Hadaoti region. From the small courtyard within, steps lead to Ratan Daulat, the Diwan-i-Am or Hall of Public Audience, with its simple marble throne. Shrine rooms and the womens’ quarters above it contain the cream of Bundi’s murals, but these lie within the so-called “‘closed portion” of the palace and you’ll need prior permission (or a good guide) to see them. Other wall-paintings, however, may be viewed in the Chittra Shala. a courtyard enclosed by cloisters whose sides swirl with elaborate blue, green, turquoise and white images of battles, court scenes and religious tableaux. Views over Bundi from the projecting balconies take in the Nawal Sagar tank with its half-submerged temple. The best views of all are from the Taragarh, though it’s a steep climb to see them.

A walk from the palace westwards through the walled bazaar and old gateways takes you to Rajasthan’s most spectacular step-well, Raniji-ki-Baori, built in 1699 by Nathwati, wife of Rao Raja Singh. One among a hundred such wells in Bundi, it lies deep beneath the surface of a small park, reached by a flight of steps punctuated by platforms and embellished pillars. As you descend, look for the beautifully carved panels showing the ten avatars of Lord Vishnu which line the side walls.

East of town, a few kilometres by rickshaw, the beautiful Sukh Mahal -Rao Raja Vishun Singh’s summer palace - on the northern shore of Jait Sagar tank, is where Rudyard Kipling wrote Kim. Now the regional water authority’s rest house, it is generally closed to visitors, but you can take a pleasant stroll in the gardens further along the west side of the lake, the Sahr Bagh, which encloses sixty crumbling royal cenotaphs. If the door to it is locked, ask for the key at the chowkidar’s hut, on your left just after the gateway over the main road.

Jeypore Palace may be called the Versailles of India; Udaipur’s House of State is dwarfed by the hill round it and the spread of the Pichola Lake; Jodhpur’s House of strife, grey tower on red rock, is the work of giants, but the Palace of Bundi, even in broad daylight, is such a palace as men build for themselves in uneasy dreams - the work of goblins rather than of men.

The walled town of BUNDI, 37km north of Kota, lies in the north of the former Hadaoti state, shielded on the north, east and west by jagged out-crops of the Vindhya Range. Visible only from the south and guarded by the tremendous Taragarh or “star fort” high in the north of town, the site made a perfect capital for the Hadachauhans, perched in their immense turreted palace. beneath the lofty walls of the fort. Although settled in 1241, 25 years before Kota, Bundi never amounted to more than a modest market centre, and remains relatively untouched by modern developments. Yet its palace alone ranks among the most spectacular monuments in Rajasthan, while the almost complete absence of intrusive modern structures within the old walled town, site of several impressive step-wells and crumbling stucco havelis, make this a far more appealing destination than other more famous landmarks in the state.

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 one to get a seat on at short notice is the Golden Temple Mail #2903, leaving daily at 11.30am, but the Rajdhani Express services #2951/2953/2431 are more punctual and quicker. To Mumbai (via Ujjain and Indore), the fastest trains are again the Rajdhani Expresses #2432/2952/2954, but for Jaipur you’ll probably find it easier to book a seat on the Mumbai-Jaipur Superfast #2955, which departs at 8.50am and takes only two hours.

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 Bhawan Palace, Former British Residency, now home to the Maharao of Kota; an oasis of calm in beautiful gardens on the banks of the Chambal. Lovely rooms and suites, plus a restaurant for residents full board available.

Chaman, Nayapura, One of cheapest lodges in town: the surface dirt makes it look worse than it is. Quieter rooms at the back.away from the road.

Navrang, Station Road, near the Post Office. Dependably clean mid-scale hotel ranged around a central courtyard, with some a/c rooms and a little restaurant.

Phul Plaza, Civil Lines. Newish hotel with a wide range of rooms; best fallback if the Navrang next door is full.

RTDC Chambal, Kshar Bagh. Typically shabby government-run place, with uninspiring but spacious rooms.

Sukhdham, near Umed Bhawan Palace. Congenial family-run guesthouse in a sandstone colonial mansion, set amid three acres of gardens. The best choice in this class. Meals available.

Welcomegroup Umed Bhawan Palace, Station Road, Khetri Phatak. Former palace converted into swish four-star hotel, with original Edwardian furniture and ostentatious European-Rajput fusion architecture. Rooms start at Rs1850.0

Kota’s railway station is in the north of town, a few kilometres from the central bus stand. The tourist office (Mon-Sat 8am-6pm) is in the RTDC Chambal Hotel, Nayarpura, not far from the bus stand. Changing money is a time-consuming process. The State Bank of India on Aerodrome Circle will change travellers’ cheques: other banks do not. The post office is on Station Road (Mon-Sat 6am-6pm).

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 on the edge of the river a few kilometres south of the fort.

In the Bnjvilas Palace on the northern edge of the lake, the Government Museum (daily except Fri 10am-5pm; Rs2) has a small collection of clothes, weapons and miniature paintings and a fascinating hand-drawn plan of Kota’s manoeuvres during the Mutiny of 1H57 that shows positions of defence and attack in minute detail.

Kota’s fort, raised above the flat bank of the Chambal 2km south of the bus stand, was built in 1264 by Rajkumarjait Singh of Bundi.,Construction of the City Palace and offices of state within the fortifications began in 1625, and continued sporadically until the early years of this century. Although the older fort ramparts are falling into disrepair, the palaces are still in excellent condition. Apartments in the heart of the palaces house the excellent Maharao Madho Singh Museum (daily except Fri llam-5pm; Rs50; Rs50 extra for camera, Rs75 extra for video). Among a vast collection of carefully decorated weapons, the size and severity of which is out of this world, you’ll see shields adorned with the solar symbol of the Hadachauhan Rajpurs, large enough to protect an elephant. Solid silver artefacts and fading sepia photographs of viceroys, maharajas, polo teams and Queen Victoria record the extravagance of royalty, and there are some outstanding examples of Kota Kamba, miniatures from Kota’s school of painting. The most spectacular apartment is Raj Mahal, which contains the royal throne.

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 and industrial cities, with hydro, atomic and thermal power stations lining the banks of the Chambal, alongside Asia’s largest fertilizer plant. The nuclear plant of Rawat Bhata, protected by stringent security 60km southwest, is notorious for its impact on local villagers.

Greatly prized saris from the village of Kaithoon, 20km southeast of Kota, are sold in all the bazaars. Made of tightly woven cotton or silk, and often highlighted with golden thread, they are known here as tmsooria and elsewhere as Kota doria sans.