Villages & Hidden Gems in Rajasthan
63 places in Rajasthan under villages & hidden gems. Places most people drive straight past.
Explore with dates- AlsisarJhunjhunu, Rajasthan · Palaces & HavelisA palace hotel village north of Jhunjhunu that hosts a music festival each December.
- Arna Jharna Desert MuseumJodhpur, Rajasthan · MuseumsKomal Kothari's quarry museum of desert life, starting with a gallery of a hundred brooms.
- Arthuna TemplesBanswara, Rajasthan · Temples & ShrinesThe ruined temples of the Paramara capital of Vagad, scattered through a village 55 km from Banswara.
- Badnore FortBhilwara, Rajasthan · FortsA seven-storey Mewar noble's fort, home of Rao Jaimal who died holding Chittor in 1568.
- Bairath (Viratnagar)Kotputli-Behror, Rajasthan · Monuments & HeritageThe 3rd-century BC Buddhist hill where an Ashokan edict was found, with Pandava legends below.
- Barmer Ajrakh and EmbroideryBarmer, Rajasthan · Villages & Hidden GemsIndigo ajrakh printing and mirror embroidery, bought at the workshop from the people who made it.
- Beawar Old TownBeawar, Rajasthan · Villages & Hidden GemsThe 1836 walled market town Colonel Dixon built, known for its gates and its tilpatti.
- BhandarejDausa, Rajasthan · Villages & Hidden GemsA quiet old thikana town with a large stepwell and a palace hotel, near Chand Baori.
- BhinmalJalore, Rajasthan · Temples & ShrinesBrahmagupta's 7th-century capital, with the Varaha Shyam temple and a 72-shrine Jain complex.
- Bishnoi Villages and KhejarliJodhpur, Rajasthan · Villages & Hidden GemsVillages that have protected trees and blackbuck since 1730, an hour out of Jodhpur.
- Churu HavelisChuru, Rajasthan · Monuments & HeritageShekhawati havelis with almost no tourists, in the town with the coldest winters in Rajasthan.
- Deolia FortPratapgarh, Rajasthan · FortsThe abandoned first capital of the Pratapgarh state, a fort and palace 12 km from town.
- Didwana Salt LakeDidwana-Kuchaman, Rajasthan · Lakes & DamsA working inland salt lake with winter flamingos, on the edge of Shekhawati.
- DundlodJhunjhunu, Rajasthan · FortsA 1750 fort turned heritage hotel, painted Goenka cenotaphs and a Marwari horse stud.
- Fatehpur ShekhawatiSikar, Rajasthan · Palaces & HavelisPainted merchant havelis, one restored by a French artist, in a town quieter than Mandawa.
- Gang CanalSri Ganganagar, Rajasthan · Monuments & HeritageThe 1927 canal that turned the Thar edge green, and gave the town its name.
- Ghanta Ghar and Sardar MarketJodhpur, Rajasthan · Monuments & HeritageThe clock tower square where the blue city starts, and where the mirchi vada is.
- Hadi Rani ki BaoriTonk, Rajasthan · Monuments & HeritageA fine three-storey stepwell in Todaraisingh that hardly anyone visits.
- Hindumalkot BorderSri Ganganagar, Rajasthan · Monuments & HeritageThe Indo-Pak border 25 km from Sri Ganganagar. No ceremony, just the fence.
- Jaipur Walled CityJaipur, Rajasthan · UNESCO SitesThe 1727 planned grid inside the wall, painted pink in 1876 and never repainted.
- JambhaPhalodi, Rajasthan · Pilgrimage RoutesThe lake where Guru Jambheshwar meditated, and the second holiest place for Bishnois.
- JhajhirampuraDausa, Rajasthan · Temples & ShrinesA spring-fed kund and a cluster of small temples under the hills near Baswa.
- Jhalrapatan Surya templeJhalawar, Rajasthan · Temples & ShrinesA 10th-century Sun temple in the bazaar of a walled town that once rang with temple bells.
- Juna BarmerBarmer, Rajasthan · Monuments & HeritageThe abandoned 12th-century first Barmer, a Jain temple and fort walls in the scrub.
- Kaithoon, Kota Doria weavingKota, Rajasthan · Villages & Hidden GemsWhere Kota Doria is actually woven. Watch the pit looms and buy from the loom.
- KatariasarBikaner, Rajasthan · Villages & Hidden GemsDunes, chinkara and a fire dance 45 km from Bikaner. The easy desert night.
- KhetriJhunjhunu, Rajasthan · FortsWhere Vivekananda found his name and his patron, below a hill fort and above a copper mine.
- Khichan Demoiselle CranesPhalodi, Rajasthan · Birding SpotsA village that feeds twenty thousand demoiselle cranes every winter morning, and has done so for fifty years.
- Khimsar Fort and DunesNagaur, Rajasthan · FortsA 1523 Rathore fort turned hotel, with a small dune field and blackbuck six kilometres out.
- KhuriJaisalmer, Rajasthan · CampingThe quiet dunes. Homestays, camels and a dark sky, 45 km from Jaisalmer.
- Kishangarh Fort & Marble Dumping YardAjmer, Rajasthan · FortsThe white slurry flats of the marble town, plus the fort where Bani Thani was painted.
- KuldharaJaisalmer, Rajasthan · Villages & Hidden GemsThe Paliwal village that emptied overnight two centuries ago, and stayed empty.
- LadnunDidwana-Kuchaman, Rajasthan · Temples & ShrinesThe Terapanth Jain centre with a meditation university and a handful of 10th-century temple sculptures.
- Laila Majnu ki MazarSri Ganganagar, Rajasthan · Pilgrimage RoutesLaila and Majnu are said to lie here, two graves in a field by the border.
- LakshmangarhSikar, Rajasthan · FortsA fort on a rock above a gridded merchant town, with the biggest painted haveli in Shekhawati.
- Lodurva Jain TempleJaisalmer, Rajasthan · Temples & ShrinesThe old capital before Jaisalmer, with a 1615 Jain temple and a carved torana.
- LohargalJhunjhunu, Rajasthan · Pilgrimage RoutesThe kund where the Pandavas washed their weapons, under the Aravalli near Udaipurwati.
- Mahabar Sand DunesBarmer, Rajasthan · CampingLow sunset dunes outside Barmer with none of the Sam crowds.
- MakranaDidwana-Kuchaman, Rajasthan · Villages & Hidden GemsThe quarries that gave the Taj Mahal its marble, still being cut by wire saw.
- MandawaJhunjhunu, Rajasthan · Palaces & HavelisThe densest cluster of painted havelis in Shekhawati, below a 1755 castle that is now a hotel.
- Mandore GardensJodhpur, Rajasthan · Monuments & HeritageThe old Rathore capital: red sandstone cenotaphs built like temples, and a rock wall of painted heroes.
- Merta City and Charbhuja TempleNagaur, Rajasthan · Temples & ShrinesMeera Bai's home town, and the Charbhuja temple where she first sang to Krishna.
- Molela terracotta villageRajsamand, Rajasthan · Villages & Hidden GemsThe village whose potters make Mewar's votive terracotta plaques. Walk in and watch.
- Nagri (Madhyamika)Chittorgarh, Rajasthan · Monuments & HeritageThe mound of Madhyamika, a Mauryan-era city north of Chittorgarh, with a stone enclosure and little else.
- Nawa and the Sambhar ShoreDidwana-Kuchaman, Rajasthan · Lakes & DamsThe working western shore of India's biggest salt lake, with salt trains and winter flamingos.
- NawalgarhJhunjhunu, Rajasthan · MuseumsThe town with the best-kept frescoes in Shekhawati, restored in the Podar Haveli Museum.
- Neemrana BaoriKotputli-Behror, Rajasthan · Monuments & HeritageA nine-storey 1760 stepwell ten minutes from Neemrana fort that most visitors miss.
- Om Banna TemplePali, Rajasthan · Temples & ShrinesA garlanded Royal Enfield by the highway, worshipped since 1988 by everyone who drives this road.
- Pachpadra Salt LakeBalotra, Rajasthan · Lakes & DamsA centuries-old brine-pit salt lake beside the Balotra road, still worked by hand.
- Panna Meena ka KundJaipur, Rajasthan · Monuments & HeritageThe criss-cross stepwell behind Amber town. Look from the top, the steps are roped off.
- Phalodi Fort and HavelisPhalodi, Rajasthan · FortsA salt town of red sandstone havelis round a plain 15th-century fort, the stop before Khichan.
- Phalodi Salt PansPhalodi, Rajasthan · Villages & Hidden GemsWorking brine-well salt pans on the edge of a salt town. Go in the morning.
- Ramgarh ShekhawatiSikar, Rajasthan · Monuments & HeritageThe Poddar merchant town of 1791, with the finest painted cenotaphs in Shekhawati and no crowds.
- Rampuria HavelisBikaner, Rajasthan · Monuments & HeritageRed sandstone merchant havelis in the old city lanes, with bhujia at the end of the walk.
- RatangarhChuru, Rajasthan · Villages & Hidden GemsAn 1820 walled junction town with a clock tower and a scatter of painted havelis.
- Salumbar and the Hadi Rani legendSalumbar, Rajasthan · FortsThe Chundawat seat of Mewar, and the town behind the story of Hadi Rani. A stop on the way to Jaisamand.
- Sambhar Salt LakeJaipur, Rajasthan · Lakes & DamsThe largest inland salt lake in India, with winter flamingos and a working salt railway.
- Shahpura and Phad paintingBhilwara, Rajasthan · Villages & Hidden GemsThe home of Phad scroll painting and the Ramsnehi sect, an hour north of Bhilwara.
- ShilpgramUdaipur, Rajasthan · Villages & Hidden GemsA crafts village of real huts from four states. Come during the ten-day December fair.
- Thewa jewellery of PratapgarhPratapgarh, Rajasthan · Villages & Hidden GemsThe gold-on-glass jewellery that one Pratapgarh family has made since 1767. Watch it done.
- Tilwara and the Mallinath FairBalotra, Rajasthan · Pilgrimage RoutesA folk saint's temple on the Luni, and the fortnight-long livestock fair held on the riverbed each Chaitra.
- TodgarhBeawar, Rajasthan · Villages & Hidden GemsThe Aravalli hill village named after Colonel Tod, cooler and greener than the plains below.
- Toorji ka JhalraJodhpur, Rajasthan · Monuments & HeritageA 1740s stepwell dug out from decades of rubbish in 2014, now the old city meeting point.
All places in Rajasthan · Villages & Hidden Gems across India
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