Aura of India: Cities in Rajasthan: Jaipur, Jodhpur, Udaipur and More to Visit

Jaipur spread across the plain below the walls of Nahargarh Fort

Photo: Harshil s mehta, CC BY 4.0 (cropped), via Wikimedia Commons

Jaipur's walled city seen from the ridge of Nahargarh, on a hazy winter morning.

Rajasthan's cities were built by rival kingdoms, and each still turns inward to its own fort, its own lake and its own bazaar.

Jaipur, the capital

Jaipur is the capital and the largest city: about 3 million people in the 2011 Census. It was founded in 1727 by Sawai Jai Singh II as a planned grid of wide streets and market blocks inside a wall, and the walled city has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2019. Most visitors see only the old core and Amber Fort on the hill to the north.

Jaipur has one metro line, about 12 km from Mansarovar in the south-west to Badi Chaupar inside the walled city. A second, 41-km line past the airport began construction in 2026 and is due in 2031. For the hour before the shutters go up, read Jaipur before the shops open.

The desert cities: Jodhpur, Jaisalmer and Bikaner

Jodhpur is the second city, with about 1.14 million people in 2011. Its old town of blue-washed houses lies below Mehrangarh, and the clock-tower market is its centre. Jaisalmer, about 285 km further west, is a small town of some 65,000 people in 2011, built of yellow sandstone around a fort where families still live; the fort is one of the six Hill Forts of Rajasthan on the UNESCO list. Flights to Jaisalmer run mainly in the winter season; from 25 October 2026 they connect it with Delhi and Mumbai.

Bikaner, in the north, is quieter. Junagarh Fort stands in the middle of the modern town rather than on a hill, and the old city is known for its bhujia, a crisp, spiced gram-flour snack sold by weight in its shops.

Udaipur, Chittorgarh, Bundi and Kota

Udaipur, about 250 km south of Jodhpur by the road past Ranakpur, is the city of lakes, with its own airport. Chittorgarh, about 115 km to the north-east, is a small town below one of the largest forts in India, another of the UNESCO hill forts. Bundi, further on, is a small walled town: Taragarh Fort of 1354 on the hill, Raniji ki Baori, a carved stepwell (baori) of 1699, and the Chitrashala of Garh Palace, a gallery of wall paintings.

Kota, about 40 km from Bundi, is Rajasthan's third city, about 1 million people in 2011, and is best known across India for its coaching schools for engineering and medical entrance exams. Visitors come for the Garh Palace and its Rao Madho Singh Museum of Kota painting, and for the Chambal River Front, 2.75 km of themed ghats (steps down to the water). Kota's new airport is not due before December 2027; Jaipur is about 250 km away.

Ajmer, Alwar and Bharatpur in the east

Ajmer, on the main railway line south-west of Jaipur, is a pilgrim city built around the dargah (Sufi shrine) of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti. Most travellers sleep in Pushkar, about 15 km away over a ridge, and visit Ajmer by day. Alwar, between Jaipur and Delhi, has a hill fort above the town and is the base for Sariska Tiger Reserve. Bharatpur is a small town whose reason to stop is Keoladeo National Park, a wetland of winter birds and a UNESCO site since 1985.

City to city: the road times

Rajasthan is large, and the cities are a long drive apart. Jaipur to Jodhpur is about 340 km, six hours or so by car. Jodhpur to Jaisalmer is about 285 km, five to six hours across the desert. Jodhpur to Udaipur is about 250 km, around five hours by the road past Ranakpur. Udaipur to Chittorgarh is about 115 km, two hours.

A first trip of ten days usually takes in Jaipur, Jodhpur, Jaisalmer and Udaipur. A second trip can follow the south-east instead: Udaipur, Chittorgarh, Bundi and Kota, with Ajmer and Pushkar on the way back to Jaipur. See Rajasthan for festivals and food.

Cities to know

Jaipur (Jaipur): the walled capital, about 3.05 million in the 2011 Census.
Jodhpur (Jodhpur): the blue old town below Mehrangarh, about 1.14 million.
Kota (Kota): coaching schools, a river front and a palace museum, about 1 million.
Udaipur (Udaipur): lakes, palaces and the easiest airport in the south.
Jaisalmer (Jaisalmer): a lived-in sandstone fort on the edge of the Thar.
Bikaner (Bikaner): Junagarh Fort and the snack shops of the old city.
Ajmer (Ajmer): the Chishti dargah and the gateway to Pushkar.
Bundi (Bundi): stepwells, wall paintings and a fort, at a slow pace.
Chittorgarh (Chittorgarh): a great hill fort above a small town.
Bharatpur (Bharatpur): the town for Keoladeo's winter birds.

In Rajasthan the city changes every few hundred kilometres, but the fort on the hill is always the first thing you see.

Plan your visit

Best season	October to March. April to June is very hot, especially in Jaisalmer, Bikaner and Kota. July to September brings short, green monsoons around Udaipur.
How to reach	Jaipur International Airport is the main gateway, with airports also at Jodhpur and Udaipur, and seasonal flights at Jaisalmer. Main railway junctions: Jaipur, Ajmer, Jodhpur and Kota.
Getting around	Trains and state RSRTC buses between cities; a car with driver for forts and small towns. Jaipur has one metro line from Mansarovar to the walled city.
Where to stay	Jaipur inside or just outside the walls; Jodhpur's old city below Mehrangarh; Jaisalmer in or below the fort; around Lake Pichola in Udaipur; Pushkar rather than Ajmer; the old town in Bundi.
How long to spend	Two or three nights in Jaipur and Udaipur, two in Jodhpur and Jaisalmer, one each in Bundi, Bikaner and Chittorgarh.

Open Jaipur, Rajasthan in Google Maps

Questions people ask

Which are the largest cities in Rajasthan?

Jaipur, Jodhpur and Kota, in that order, by the 2011 Census, the last completed count. Bikaner, Ajmer and Udaipur follow. The 2027 Census is under way.

Is there an official ranking of Rajasthan's developed cities?

No. Lists of 'most developed' cities are not official. This guide covers the cities by what they offer a visitor.

Is Kota worth visiting?

For a day, yes, if you are in Bundi: the Garh Palace museum and the river front in the evening. It is a working city of coaching schools rather than a heritage town.

How do I get to Jaisalmer?

By overnight train or road from Jodhpur, about 285 km. Flights to Delhi and Mumbai resume for the winter from 25 October 2026; check the airline schedule, as they stop in the hot months.

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Cities in Rajasthan: Jaipur, Jodhpur, Udaipur and More to Visit