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Rajasthan is one of the most popular travel destination in India. If you want to tour the whole of Rajasthan you need to plan a holiday of 15-20 days or more to get the fullest flavour of Rajasthan.

Rajasthan means tour of the grand palaces, monuments, temples, mosques ,enormous sand dunes ,beautiful lakes ,rugged landscape with the Aravalli hills as its backdrop , rich heritage and culture and altogether makes Rajasthan , an un-parallel tourist destination .
We decided on a short tour to Rajasthan ,as we had only 7 days leave from our work schedule. We reached Delhi airport by 9 in the morning and were welcomed by our hired Innova middle aged ,well mannered ,Sikh driver , Kuljeet Singh . He had the knowledge of total Rajasthan , Delhi , Chandigarh.His expertise not only shown in his driving , but also in his guidance in the whole Rajasthan tour making it easier ,interesting , adventurous and enthralling for us.
Our first tourist destination was Pushkar and Ajmer as we decided on to visit the religious sites first . As we approached towards our destination , long stretch of greenery started fading in to sparse vegetation, low plains faded into arid , rugged hilly plains .Excitedly ,we captured the landscape as we were more acquainted with the green pastures of West Bengal . We took a break for the lunch where we tasted the awesome Rajasthan thali . It was around 4:30 pm , when we reached Pushkar covering approx. 410 km from Delhi.Pushkar is a Hindu pilgrimage town that curls around a holy lake,Pushkar and has temple devoted to Lord Brahma . The Pushkar lake has 52 ghats where pilgrims take bathe in the sacred waters and also offer pujas .Pitra Daan or Ancestor Ceremony is performed for peace and salvation of soul of dear ones who passed away.The most famous among all the temples is the Brahma Temple,one among the very few temples dedicated to Lord Brahma . We saw the setting of the sun, sitting beside the lake which is itself a beautiful sight and roamed little in the nearby market that had loads of jewellery , colourful costumes and many other varied items on display. On our way from Pushkar to Ajmer, as we were descending the hill ,our car took a turn and, beyond our wildest dreams , an overwhelming sight awaited for us .The twinkling lights of the far city in the dark backdrop from the altitude ,looked like thousands of twinkling stars have come down from the night sky to greet us . We reached Ajmer around 8 pm and quickly checked in a hotel and took dinner . All of us were tired and took to bed and within few minutes all were in deep sleep . Next day around 8 pm we were ready to go to Ajmer Sharif Dargah . It is dedicated to the sufi saint, Moinuddin Chishti. People from all over the world , flock in to pray , offer chaddar , flowers in respect to the shrine that has the grave of the revered saint, Moinuddin Chisti . Seeing the two huge Degs (Cauldrons) installed by Mogul emperors , for cooking on a large scale was a fascinating sight . We also offered prayers and chaddar and tied threads .After we returned from dargah , had a hurried early lunch and set off to Jodhpur .

Jodhpur , Osian & Jaipur

We reached Jodhpur around 4 pm and just enough time to explore the Umaid Bhawan and Mandore Garden . The magnificent palace is situated on the highest point of the city. The 347-roomed massive palace reflect a combination of Indian and European style of architecture. Now a part of the palace serves as a residence to the royal family, while other two parts of the palace are converted into Taj Palace Hotel and museum which is open for tourist. The museum and the surroundings of the palace enthralled us. We then visited the Mandore Gardens which had a government museum, a ‘Hall of Heroes’ , temples and a well maintained garden . The architectural splendour boast of the bygone era. As we moved towards our hotel , we passed by the Clock Tower , a famous landmark. We stopped at the Sardar Market which had a wide range of unique handicrafts, saris, spices,antiques, miniature elephants, silver jewelry and a lot more . We retired to hotel for the day , and next day we planned to visit the grand Mehrangarh Fort.The fort is built about 410 feet above the city on a rocky hill and is enclosed by imposing thick walls. We drove through a winding road that led to the fort .Jai Pol,Fateh Pol, Dedh Kamgra Pol, Loha Pol, are the gates to enter into the main part of the fort complex. Immediately to the left are the handprints of the ranis who in 1843 immolated themselves on the funeral pyre of their husband, Maharaja Man Singh.Within the fort we found several brilliantly crafted and decorated palaces such as Moti Mahal ,Phool Mahal ,Sheesha Mahal ,Sileh Khana and Daulat Khana. There was a great accumulation of palanquins, howdahs, royal cradles, miniatures, musical instruments, costumes and furniture, artillery, paintings at the Museum. The ramparts of the fort preserved the old cannon and provided a breath-taking view of the blue city from top .We also visited the Chamunda Devi Temple before leaving the Fort . We bid adieu to Jodhpur city and headed towards Osian . This location was suggested by Kuljeet ji , as we donot have much time to explore the exotic Jaisalmir -the land of sand dunes. So he suggested that this ancient temple city would give us a slight flavour of the Thar desert. Osian is situated 65kms from Jodhpur and has a number of beautiful temples like Mahavir temple, Vishnu temple and Surya temple , Osian Mata Mandir depicting our rich ancient architecture. We visited the Osian Mata Mandir. The temple architecture really fascinated us . From the Osian mandir , we had the panoramic view of the long stretch of barren desert type landscape with small and big sand dunes . Kuljeet ji took us to the vast land of sand masses, and we hopped on the sand heaps and dunes to our mind’s contentment. From here it would take just approx. 3-4 hours to reach Jaisalmir . But as we had preplanned and booking for Jaipur , so we had to head towards Jaipur. We had our lunch in Osian , and the extremely tasty food quenched our devilish appetite.It was a long journey from Osian to Jaipur aroun 6-7 hours .We again stopped for evening tea and snacks .Around 9 pm we entered our hotel and after dinner , fully exhausted , all fell into sound sleep. Next day , after breakfast , we started off to see the exotic forts of Jaipur .
First we opted for Jaigarh ,Nahargarh and Amer fort .Jaigarh located on one of the peaks of the Aravalli range of hills. As we drove up the winding path to the fort the view of the city below was impressive.The fort was built to protect the Amber palace. The fort is situated higher than amer palace and maota lake. The fort holds a massive cannon named “jaivana”. Fort have several complex Laxmi vilas, Lalit Mandir, vilas Mandir and and a museum . In the same route another Nahargarh fort stands on the edge of the Aravalli Hills, overlooking the pink city of Jaipur . It was built for the royal ladies who use shift to the breezy hilltop fort during the summer seasons . We roamed through the apartments of the queen and peeped through the windows to get the amazing aerial view of the pink city of Jaipur .
We next proceeded towards the magnificent Amer Fort which stood on the same Aravalli range as that of Jaigarh Fort. The palace and Jaigarh Fort are considered one complex, as the two are connected by a subterranean passage. This passage was meant as an escape route in times of war to enable the royal family members and others in the Amer Fort to shift to the Jaigarh Fort. Now it is not permissible to enter the tunnel.The spectacular fort has a blend of Hindu and Muslim style .Light show is the most important thing which should not be missed as it relates the historical background of Jaipur.Suraj Pol ,traditionally decorated entrance gate of the fort,leads to Jaleb Chowk . Beyond this chowk we found grand palaces, gardens and beautiful temples.Best part which excited me was the Sheesh Mahal ,which is adorned with thousands of mirror tiles as well as colored glasses on its wall as well as on ceiling. A museum, garden and lake below the fort are other pieces of interest at Amber Fort. On our way back to Hotel we stopped to view the most beautiful and serene Jal Mahal(Water Palace) in the centre of Sagar Lake .The light sand coloured stone walls of the Jal Mahal set in a contrast to the deep blue waters of the lake and hilly slopes as its backdrop is certainly a lovable spot for photographers .Next day was our last day of the tour and we had planned to visit the jantar mantar , hawa mahal , birla mandir and the city palace. We found the Birla mandir a stunning white marble temple with three domes .It has magnificent shrine, beautifully sculpted idols of Lord Vishnu and Goddess Lakshmi, and other Hindu Gods and Goddesses.

We reached the eloquent Hawa Mahal,a beautiful red and pink sandstone five-storey palace built with 953 windows. Moving inside we could feel the fresh breeze flowing in through the multiple windows .In those royal days ,It would have been a treat to the royal ladies to view the city and get the fresh pollution free flow of winds.
We had an enigmatic experience at the grand city palace , situated in the heart of Jaipur . The complex had numerous magnificent buildings, museum , elaborate gardens , temple .The intricate design of the gates fascinated me. Other buildings like diwani aam , khas , Chandra mahal , Mubarak Mahal also exihibit the beautiful architecture .
The Jantar Mantar monument is a collection of nineteen architectural astronomical structures, built by the Rajput king Sawai Jai Singh . It was really overwhelming to understand the methods followed by the rulers to understand the intricacies of astronomy . We had only one hour to freshen ourself before moving to airport .It was time to return to our city Kolkata. Kuljeet ji dropped us at the airport .
The trip was an enthralling one which is still fresh in my memories , yet ,lot more left to see of Rajasthan .