I've wanted to go to India for many years now, and one of the (only) good things about waiting so long is that I've had plenty of time to research where the best places to visit in India are, so today I want to talk to you about one of my favourites: Rajasthan.
Where Is Rajasthan?
Rajasthan is in the North-Western part of India, a chunk of it is the Thar Desert and its western border is actually shared with neighbour Pakistan. Rajasthan is actually India's largest state by area: four per cent of India's population can be found in Rajasthan.
Rajasthan Trip Plan: How Do I Overland to Rajasthan?
Our big dream is to overland from Europe to India, but which route do we take? We have two planned routes so far:
- the southern route (aka through the Middle East), which I'd love to take but it seems to be fairly hard to get across that Pakistani/Indian border;
- the northern route (aka through Russia), but Russian visas can be hard to obtain, and going in winter would suck.
It's one of those dreams where I'm like, do I let it stay a dream because of all of the complications, or do I just take the easiest route and simply fly to India? Perhaps something in the middle is best, e.g. over-landing all the way to Pakistan and then using Air India Express to fly the last leg.
Once you're actually in India, there are three main ways to reach Rajasthan (well, five if you include walking and cycling, and if you do I salute you). You can take a bus or a train from most major cities to Jaipur, the capital of Rajasthan. You can also fly there.
Why We Want to Go to Rajasthan
There are many reasons we want to travel Rajasthan, here are the top ones:
#1. The 'Blue City' of Jodhpur
One of the main reasons we want to visit Rajasthan is because of Jodhpur, which is the 2nd biggest city in Rajasthan (the largest being Jaipur). Jodhpur is nicknamed the blue city because many of its old buildings are painted blue. It looks like a city you'd stumble upon in Morocco, not thousands of miles away in India. I'm not sure which came first tbh, but because I found out about the cities in Morocco before I found out about Jodhpur, in my narcissistic reality, Morocco came first (sorry).
#2. The wildlife in Rajasthan
Another big reason we want to travel Rajasthan is because of the wildlife, in particular for the wild tigers. This area is one of the best places in India to photograph tigers, which I'd love to do, but honestly just seeing them with my two eyeballs would be more than enough.
And it's not just tigers, you can also find desert foxes, desert lynxes and perhaps even the Great Indian Bustard, the state bird. Unfortunately, the Great Indian Bustard is critically endangered, so it's important to preserve it whilst we still can (namely by not extirpating it).
#3. Jaipur and its vegan scene
Jodhpur isn't the only city in Rajasthan I'm interested in, I'm interested in Jaipur too. And the biggest reason why is for my belly. Jaipur boasts four completely vegan restaurants: AhimsaGram, GoodDO, The Modern Chowpatty and Vaibhav Mall. For those who are interested in a wonderful sight of the city, the 18th century Nahargarh Fort (which is also a viewpoint) is the place to go.
Our Rajasthan Tour Plan
Although I'm usually the last person to recommend tours (too restrictive), I think in India I would make an exception because it makes things so much less complicated. Rajasthan tour packages can cover everything from wildlife to adventure, to festivals and fairs. It's easy to include visiting the bucket-list item the Taj Mahal on one or more of these tours because it is so close to Rajasthan. I'd love, for example, to start off in New Delhi, travel down to the Taj Mahal and then take a tour through Rajasthan to see Jaipur, Jodhpur and of course the wild tigers in one or more of the splendid national parks.
Note: if you decide to do a similar tour, please make sure to only see animals in their natural habitat, aka the wild. Animals in circuses or cages or being ridden or doing anything unnatural is extremely cruel. This is something to be aware of wherever you travel of course, not just India.
Wrap Up: Why We Want to Go to Rajasthan
So there you have it, our post about why we want to go to Rajasthan. We think Rajasthan has it all: cool cities, wonderful plant-based food, beautiful wild animals and probably many, many more surprises. And with such close proximity to the Taj Mahal and New Delhi there's no excuse not to add it to the end or beginning of a bucket-list India trip.
So what do you think? Have we convinced you to go to Rajasthan too? Or perhaps you're lucky enough to have been already? Let us know and please feel free to give us tips and advice!
ABOUTME
We overland. We eat plants and fungi. We live outside as much as possible. We are all connected. A female travel blogger overlanding and writing about ecotourism, ethical and sustainable travel, socially conscious travel and housesitting. An online travel magazine since 2015.
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