Rajasthan is land of rajputs, history, forts, colorful festivals, and spicy meal. I have traveled Rajasthan in Feb 2005 to sour reach colorful tradition of Rajasthan. I spent more than week visiting premier historical destinations intentionally skipping some of religious destinations and national parks. Using my last tour experience, I have created 3-week dream itinerary of Rajasthan as a useful guide for my future Rajasthan travel plans. As a Gujarati, I have started my dream literary from Udaipur but it can be easily altered from Jaipur, if you traveling from Delhi.
Although you can travel on the train or leisurely on your motorcycle, I would prefer to drive in car so, my itinerary will be based on driving on magnificent interstate roads connected major places in Rajasthan. My literary is also based on my preference of daytime drive and fond of Rajasthani meal on roadside dhabas. You should do upfront reservation at motels so, you don’t have to shop around motels once you get into destination cities especially at late nights.
You can alter your itinerary based on number of days you have, destination you want to see, and prefer time of driving. I would advice everyone to hire local guide in every destination for spicing up your visit to historical places. In fact, without Guide, you won’t able to enjoy your sightseeing at all.
Day 1: Udaipur
(#) Early Morning: Drive - Ahemadabad to Udaipur
(#) Check into Motel, Udaipur (afternoon)
(#) Afternoon to Evening - City Palace, Jagdish Temple, Boat tour on Lake Pichola (Jag Mandir and Lake Palace), Sunset from the banks of Lake Pichola
Day 2: Udaipur
(#) Morning: Drive to Sajangarh – for panoramic view of Udaipur
(#) Afternoon: Rana Pratap Memorial, Sahelion ki Bari
(#) Evening: shopping or relax
Day 3: Excursions – Eklingji, Nagda, Nathdwara, Jaisamand and Rajsamand
(#) Eklingji (22 km): Temple complex of 108 temples dedicated to Lord Shiva
(#) Nagda: short distance from Eklingji, Saas-Bahu temples dedicated to Lord Vishnu
(#) Nathdwara (48 km): Pilgrimage site for Vaishanav, Shrinathji temple dedicated to Lord Krishna
(#) Jaisamand and Rajsamand Lakes
Day 4: Ranakpur and Kumbhalgarh
(#) Check out from Motel– Udaipur (Morning)
(#) Drive - Udaipur to Ranakpur
(#) Ranakpur: Pilgrimage site for Jains, Jain temple complex
(#) Drive - Ranakpur to Kumbhalgarh
(#) Check into Motel, Kumbhalgarh (afternoon)
(#) Kumbhalgarh: Mountain fortress
(#) Enjoy evening with traditional folk dance and music
Day 5: Kumbhalgarh Wildlife Sanctuary
(#) Check out from Motel– Kumbhalgarh (early Morning)
(#) Kumbhalgarh Wildlife Sanctuary: Horse or Jeep safari
(#) Drive - Kumbhagarh to Ajmer
(#) Check into Motel, Ajmer (late night)
Day 6: Ajmer and Pushkar
(#) Check out from Motel– Ajmer (Morning)
(#) Ajmer: Dargah of Saint Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti
(#) Drive - Ajmer to Pushkar
(#) Check into Motel, Pushkar (afternoon)
(#) Pushkar: Pushkar Lake and Ghats, Lord Brahma temple, Pushkar Cattle Fair (Oct/Nov after Diwali – Add extra day)
Day 7: Chittaurgarh
(#) Check out from Motel– Pushkar (Morning)
(#) Drive - Pushkar to Ajmer to Chittaurgarh
(#) Chittaurgarh: Ruined Chittaurgarh fort, Vijay Stambh, Kirti Stambh, Meerabai Temple, and Padmini’s Palace
(#) Drive - Chittaurgarh to Bundi
(#) Check into Motel, Bundi (late night)
Day 8: Bundi
(#) Bundi: Taragarh fort, Garh Palace, Sukh Niwas Mahal, Sar Bagh, Naval Sagar Lake, Rani-ki-Baori stepwell
(#) Check out from Motel– Bundi (late afternoon)
(#) Drive - Bundi to Sawai Madhopur
(#) Check into Motel – Sawai Madhopur (late night)
Day 9: Ranthambhore National Park, Sawai Madhopur
(#) Drive - Sawai Madhopur to Ranthambhore National Park (morning - 10 km)
(#) National Park – Project Tiger Reserve, Jeep Safari to Park - Ranthambhore fort, Man Sarovar Lake, Rajbagh Lake
Day 10: Jaipur
(#) Check out from Motel – Sawai Madhopur (Morning)
(#) Drive - Sawai Madhopur to Jaipur
(#) Check into Motel – Jaipur (afternoon)
(#) Jaipur: City Palace, Jantar Mantar, Hawa Mahal, and shopping at Johari Bazaar
Day 11: Jaipur
(#) Jal Mahal, Jaigarh Fort, Nahargarh, Amber fort on Elephant
(#) Birla Lakshmi Narayan Temple, Sisodia Rani ka bagh
Day 12: Excursions - Gaitore and Abhaneri
(#) Gaitore - Cenotaphs of the former Maharajas
(#) Abhaneri (95 km on Jaipur-Agra Road) - Amazing step wells
Day 12: Keoladeo Ghana National Park, Bharatpur
(#) Check out from Motel– Jaipur (early Morning)
(#) Drive – Jaipur to Bharatpur
(#) Check into Motel, Bharatpur (morning)
(#) National Park: Unesco World Heritage Site, Bird Sanctuary - Boating, bicycling, cycle-rickshaw rides, and wildlife watching in dense forest
Day 13: Deeg and Alwar
(#) Check out from Motel– Bharatpur (Morning)
(#) Visit Lohagarh fort in Bharatpur
(#) Drive - Bharatpur to Deeg (morning)
(#) Deeg: Deeg Water Palace
(#) Drive- Deeg to Alwar (afternoon)
(#) Check into Motel, Alwar (afternoon)
(#) Alwar: City Palace, Moosi Maharani ki Chhatri
Day 14: Shekhawatis
(#) Check out from Motel– Alwar (Morning)
(#) Drive Alwar to Jaipur to Mandawa (morning) - Drive around towns of Shekhawati region for frescos, painted havelis, forts, and temples – Sikar, Lachhmangarh, Dundlod, Nawalgarh, and Mandawa
(#) Check into Motel, Mandawa (late night)
Day 15: Shekhawatis
(#) Check out from Motel– Mandawa (morning)
(#) Drive Mandawa to Bikaner (morning) - Drive around towns of Shekhawati region for frescos, painted havelis, forts, and temples – Mandawa, Fatehpur, Ramgarh, Bissau, and Churu
(#) Check into Motel, Bikaner (late night)
Day 16: Bikaner
(#) Morning: Drive to Deshnok for Karni Mata temple with rats
(#) Afternoon: Junagarh fort, Lalgarh Palace
(#) Late Afternoon: Camel Breeding Farm
(#) Night: Bhujia shopping
Day 17: Jaisalmer
(#) Check out from Motel– Bikaner (Morning)
(#) Drive - Bikaner to Jaisalmer
(#) Excursion: Bhattiani Rani Temple, Bada Bagh, Lodurva Jain temples
(#) Drive to Sam dunes, 50 km from Jaisalmer: San dunes for sunset, Camel Safari, traditional folk dance music
(#) Night stay at desert tents
Day 18: Jaisalmer
(#) Drive back to Jaisalmer city
(#) Morning: Gadisagar Lake, Golden fort
(#) Check into Motel, Jaisalmer (afternoon)
(#) Afternoon: Havelis
(#) Evening: Shopping or visit one of villages nearby
Day 19: Jodhpur
(#) Check out from Motel– Jaisalmer (Morning)
(#) Drive - Jaisalmer to Jodhpur
(#) Check into Motel, Jodhpur (afternoon)
(#) Afternoon: Mehrangarh fort, Umaid Bhavan Palace, and Jaswant Thada
(#) Evening: shopping or relax
Day 20: Mt.Abu
(#) Check out from Motel– Jodhpur (Morning)
(#) Drive: Jodhpur to Mt.Abu through Pali-Shirohi-Abu Road
(#) Check into Motel, Mt.Abu (afternoon)
(#) Afternoon: boating on Nakki Lake, stroll on market nearby lake, Hiking on Toad’s Rock
(#) Evening: Sunset Point and shopping
Day 21: Mt.Abu
(#) Dilwara Jain temples, Achalgarh, Guru Shikar
(#) You can stay overnight to enjoy hill station or drive out to Ahmedabad in late afternoon
Based on more knowledge or your feedback, I will change this itinerary. Primary its for my own reference, which can be helpful to you guys for your journey to Rajasthan.