Beautiful Bundi

Hey all!

Have been in india for 2 weeks now. Apart from 5 days as an extra in the biggest bollywood film made to date, which was awesome, we had been having a fairly average time.

Pune, Jalgaon, Indore, Kota...none were very inspiring, but then we came to Bundi. What a place. Small, "clean" nice people, beautiful surroundings and monuments and almost no tourists.

I bet that within the next couple of years this place will become one of the major attractions of Rajahstan

Do yourselves a favour and get there if you have not been. Not one to punt places to stay, but... Kasera Guest House is cheap, run by cool people with an awesome little tyke called Yaj. Good food and a beautiful view of the palace on the rooftop restaurant.

I am seriously considering buying an old haveli there and making it my "retreat".

Namaste y'all, catch you on the flip side

hi stippy,

thanks for your tip.
it really seems to be a place worth to be visited. i will check it out on my forthcoming trip to india.

have a good time
martin

why not move this thread under "off the bitten trail"?

OK, thread moved to 'off the beaten trail'

There are trains to Bundi from Delhi, Agra, Sawai Madhoppur (Ranthambhore), and Chittaurgarh (& Udaipur soon).

Click here then scroll down a bit.

There are also loads of trains from Delhi, Mumbai, Jaipur, and many other places to Kota, then regular buses for the short trip to Bundi.

I spent a few days in Bundi in 2001, during my first visit to India. I thought it was a magical little town. . .and I'm so glad to hear that it still has that charm! It's a hidden gem in Rajasthan ~ fingers crossed that it stays that way a little bit longer. . .

Hi. I was interested in your comments on Bundi because my pal and I are going to be there in a couple of weeks -- early Jan 05. Is there any other info about Bundi you think we'd be interested in? Did you pursue the idea of buying a place there? Were there lots of touristos?

Cheers
Geoff

Guys, you have convinced me! I have also read very interesting comments about Bundi on LP and Routard guide (which is my preferred one for its frankness to say the thruth about the niceness of a place), and I have finally decided to include at least a couple of days in my itinerary in Rajasthan for next March.
I would rather cut some time in Pushkar... it seems a very beautiful place, but I have also read that it is completely touristised and everything is set for the pleasure of western tourists, exactly the contrary of Bundi and exactly what I would like to avoid! Maybe one day cab be sufficient, what do you think about?
My itinerary will take two weeks for: Nawalgarh - Bundi - Pushkar - Jodhpur - Jaiselmer - Udaipur, by train or bus, and a first week from Delhi to Agra and Varnasi. I still don't know if Jodhpur is worth a stop or not...
Bye!
Gianni

Hi, gianni66!

Yes, yes, yes! Jodhpur is certainly worth a look! GREAT fort, wonderful bazaars, and the best lassis in India.

I would also like to second everything everyone has said above about Bundi. Make sure you climb to the top of the amazing fort.... you will have to share the trail with monkeys, but the atmosphere -- and views -- are amazing. The town itself is delightful.... not quite as "non-touristy" as it sounds from a couple of the descriptions above (there is one section where every third shop seems to be an internet cafe), but when you go further into the old streets, you run into some delightfully unspoiled children. One of the best days I spent in India, even if half the evening did end up being spent at the bus station waiting for a bus that never arrived!

I was in Bundi in November. We stayed at the Royal Retreat inside the walls of the Fort. Our room was formerly part of the elephant stables!

Get up early and hike to the top of the fort for the sunrise. Awesome!

Oh-oh, here come the masses......

With trains between Jaipur & Udaipur suspended for the next 3 months, an alternative would be an overnight train from Jaipur to Kota (I'm sure there is one).

There are already overnight trains from Agra & Delhi direct to Bundi, and from Mumbai to Kota.

Oh-oh, here come the masses......

We went by train from Ajmer as we were coming from Pushkar.

Well, I was looking through and I found that kota is just 35 kms from Bundi.
So, the best way to reach bundi , I guess is take mumbai rajdhani.
Starts at 4Pm and reaches kota at 8:40 pm. By 9:30, you should be in Bundi.
Sounds cool for Delhi people like me. On anyweekend, two nights and 2 days in Bundi without taking a holiday.

Bundi's one of my favourites too - lovely palace (ask for the ex-air force guy working at the palace for the guided tour; he'll show you all the magnificent wallpaintings up close), great views (and it's just as blue as Jodhpur), some nice guesthouses and a maze of streets to wander through.
Make the effort and get an auto to the lake just outside town - the pretty Mughal palace is apparently where Kipling stayed to write Kim, there are kingfishers diving for fish here. A 30 minute walk along the lake there are the half-forgotten tombs of the local royalty that you can clamber around plus a little drinks stand.
Quite marvellous.

Ah! Jeroen, you are back. good. Any idea which is the best place to stay in Bundi.
In terms of view and service.