24 Hours in Jodhpur | the Perfect Itinerary

I visited Jodhpur on my birthday in December. It was a short trip, just about a weekend long, but it turned out to be plenty of fun. Direct flights ply to Jodhpur from both Mumbai and Delhi. The timings are convenient and the fares are cheap. I’d heard that Jodhpur was a gorgeous city, and the weather in December was fab. There are many exciting tours and things to see. And, so, here I was!

How do you make the most of 24 hours in Jodhpur? Here’s the perfect 24-hours itinerary for you.

Good to know

Transportation within the city

Cab aggregators such as Uber and Ola are operational in Jodhpur but their availability is iffy. It is better to take an auto-rickshaw to wherever you want to go but you’ll need to bargain hard each time. It was a turn-off at first but gradually I got good at it. As a benchmark, offer no more than INR 100 per 5 km. An auto-rickshaw ride to the old city from the airport set me back by INR 200. If you hire a rickshaw for the itinerary below, you should pay no more than INR 1000 for the day (6-8 hours, with a drop back to your hotel).

Here are some great tour options if you do not want to do it yourself.

Where to stay

There are several good options to stay in Jodhpur. Many of the hotels are converted Havelis with lush rooms, thick stone walls, gorgeous paintings, steep stairs, and stylish ethnic upholstery. They are a delight. It’ll be a memory to cherish.

The prime locations for these hotels are

1. Navchokiya—where we stayed. At the gorgeous Rani Mahal. Navchokiya is made of narrow lanes, hanging wires, spit-stained streets, and SO MUCH character. It’s a challenge to walk in here, skirting pedestrians and rickshaws. Google Maps are not much help either. Rani Mahal itself was a delight. A 450-year-old haveli converted to a hotel, this place is hard to find (ask people on the street) but turned out to be a hidden gem. The rooms are exquisite and well-equipped. The restaurant upstairs on the terrace dishes out vegetarian and yummy food. Service is attentive and with a smile. And sitting on the terrace, in the gentle cold, with a splendid view of the fort, eating yummy dal bati thaali, was a fab experience.

   

   There are some cool murals in Navchokiya. They have been painted recently (late 2021) and make for a great walking and selfie location. The murals reflect traditional Rajasthani art, traditions and culture. Just be careful to duck the motorcycles, dogs and auto-rickshaws in time.

   

   

   

2. Next to the Stepwell at Stepwell Square—This is where most of the cafes, restaurants and upmarket shops are located. Stay options are Stepwell House and Zostel.

3. At Ghanta Ghar—the very happening centrifuge of the old city. Pal Haveli seemed like a good option. It also has a popular local restaurant called Indique. The thalis here are supposed to be great.

The Ghanta Ghar and Sardar Market areas are highly chaotic areas of the city but have everything in terms of food and shopping. I spent several hours loitering around here, trying local dishes, talking to the shopkeepers, and discovering the inside lanes and their secrets.

The area is open from 7 AM to 9:30 PM.

When to go

Summers can get super-hot. Therefore, late October to early March is your best bet to escape the heat and experience the pleasant winters.

About Jodhpur

Jodhpur is known as the Blue City and is the second-largest city in Rajasthan, after its capital, Jaipur. It was the former capital of Marwar and was home to kings and legends. The city was founded by and named after Rao Jodha, chief of the Marwar clan, in 1459.

The city’s houses were painted a bright blue either to keep the houses cool in summer, or to repel insects, or as some say, to show the resident’s higher Brahminical status to outsiders. Either way, the colour adds a distinctive photo opportunity for enthusiasts.

Your 24-hour itinerary for Jodhpur

Morning

Mehrangarh Fort

I have to say this is one of the better-kept forts I have seen in India. It is clean, easy to navigate and impeccably restored and maintained. The explanations as one walks around are lucid without being pedantic. And there is so much to know about the Rathore kings (apparent Suryavanshis)

Mehrangarh Fort is set on a rocky outcrop and overlooks the city. It is impressive and expansive, and you can see it anywhere you go in the old city. The fort was the backdrop of the starting scene of Dark Knight Rises.

Timings: 9 am to 5:00 PM

Tickets cost INR 200 pp. The elevator charge is INR 50 pp one way.

Jaswant Thada

Jaswant Thada is another quick visit. It is about a kilometre away from the fort and takes 15 minutes to walk. Jaswant Thada was built by Maharaja Sardar Singh of Jodhpur State in 1899 to honour his father. The Cenotaph is known as the Taj Mahal of Marwar. The grounds continue to serve as the cremation ground for the royal Rajput family of Marwar.

Optional: Take a dawn hike at Rao Jodha Stone Park built by the Mehrangarh Fort Trust. I went in the afternoon and wasn’t too thrilled with what it had to offer (entry fee is INR 100/pp, INR 200/ pp for a guided walk, timings: 7 AM to 6:30 PM) but I can see the merit in going for the guided tour that goes in the morning. The surroundings are lush green, there are several birds and plants, and the lakes (Ranisar and Padamsar) are worthwhile treats.

Your 24-hour itinerary for Jodhpur is as follows.

Afternoon

For lunch, partake in a lavish meal at one of the thaali joints in Jodhpur. Gypsy is a local favourite. It is next to the railway station, so slightly out of your regular route, but well worth the effort. A typical Rajasthani thali has dal baati churma, kadhi, gatte saag, kachori, moon and panchmela dal, wadi, ker sangri, and occasionally, laal maas. Each bite is oh-so delectable.

Umaid Bhavan Palace Museum

This is a quick hour-long visit. You can do this on your way to or from the airport as well because it lies on the way to the airport. The Umaid Bhavan Palace is over 75 years old, built by Maharaja Umaid Singh (1918–1947). Only open to the public is the museum which houses the Maharaja’s belongings and chronicles his life and times. The room with the paintings and the array of vintage cars on display was the most fascinating for me. The hotel wing of the palace is run by the Taj Group of Hotels and is called the ‘Taj Umaid Bhawan Palace Jodhpur.

Ticket price: INR 30/ pp

Last ticket: 5 PM, you can look around until 5:30 PM

Your 24-hour itinerary for Jodhpur

Night

Street food

Jodhpur is a foodie paradise. Popular items to have and take home for friends are onion kachori, mawa kachori, ghewar, and makhaniya lassi (butter lassi). And the best place to have them is in the area around Ghanta Ghar and Sardar Market. The place is crazy. It is mayhem. But you can find everything there.

Open from 7 AM to 9:30 PM.

The crazy food scene around Ghanta Ghar

Shopping and hangout

The Ghanta Ghar area is also a good place to buy everything you need, including traditional fabrics and clothes. There are also schools for miniature paintings where you can buy or learn to paint one (It takes three hours and INR 1000). At Umaid Heritage Art School, I met Lentil Man or Vijay Prajapat who took us through a few of his paintings, the technique, and the history. It was time well spent. The paintings don’t come cheap, given the labour that goes into them; they start at INR 500 and go up to a couple of lakhs.

If you are looking for trendier shopping, head over to Stepwell Square. There are shops for traditional designer kurtis, kaftans, dupattas, sarees, mojris, and jewellery. It has Good Earth, a Forest Essential store, Royal Blue, and some others.

Or at the end of the day, just laze with a glass of wine on the terrace of one of the Havelis with a view of the fort such as this.

Drop me a line if you used this 24-hour itinerary for Jodhpur and enjoyed it. Or if you have suggestions to add to my itinerary.

Find other interesting Indian itineraries in my blog. Take a road trip along the Maharashtra coastline. Or do a 5-day road trip in Kashmir. Or plan a long weekend trip to Andaman.