Kumbhalgarh & Ranakpur - in a day

As part of our udaipur tour I've decided on spending a night at kumbhagarh and already booked a room at Aodhi.

Now since I've only a day and I must cover both the fort and the neraby Ranakpur temple, I was wondering how to do it best.

I've seen few photos of the fort lit up with light. Does anybody know the timning of the lighting?

Also is there any specific openning/closing time of the fort?

How far are the jain temples of ranakpur from kumbhalgarh? My plan is to either visit them on the way to kumbhalgarh or while coming back. Also how much time should I reserve for the temple?

Wow!! That's a lot of questions!!

Sleepy

I was in this area in 2008 and I will be there again next month. Kumbalgarh, particularly, is a fantastic area and I would allow a good bit of time to walk around the fort and its walls. I believe that the fort is open from 09.00 to 18.00. It takes 2 - 3 hours from Udaipur depending on the route, roadworks and traffic. From Kumbalgarh to Ranakpur it will take a couple of hours by road (its a very narrow, windy road) or you can walk it with a local guide in 4 hours through the Wildlife Sanctuary.
As you are staying the night at the Aodhi, you could plan to arrive reasonably late in the afternoon and then have a couple of hours at the fort which is nearby. I believe that the lights are on for a shortish period after dark. This would leave the next day for further exploration and the trip to Ranakpur.
If you are going back to Udaipur from Ranakpur remember that it will take around 4 hours to get back.
The journey through the Aravali hils has some great views as well so you might leave a bit of time for stops on the way. See photo attached of a well on the roadside.

Thanks Normski. That was very helpful.
I never thought kumbhalgarh to ranakpur will take that much time. Good that I know it now.

Also, somewhere I read non-Jains are allowed inside the ranakpur temple only after noon. Is that true?

Stroll in the fort in the afternoon. Go to the top. Keep 2 to 4 hours for this. Next morning get up before sunrise and walk up to a vantage point(the bend in the road) and wait at the elevation to your right, just of the road. Watch the fort from here as the sunrise. Then return to hotel, have a leisurely breakfast and drive through the beautiful forest to cover Ranakpur.
I was in the Ranakpur temple at 12 noon. There were several foreigners already there. There was no notice about non Jains. But make sure.

Sleepy

We were at Ranakpur immediately after lunch - about 1pm I think - and there were no problems getting in. By the way, Ranakpur, though an amazing temple, intricately carved, only requires a visit of an hour or so as the area isn't large. That is why I suggested taking more time at Kumbalgarh, which is huge.

The routes are messy because you are on tiny roads not marked on most maps. The route we followed looked like a large letter Y with Udaipur at the bottom. You had to go up the junction and take the right fork to Kumbalgarh then come back to the junction and take the left road to Ranakpur.

Are there buses between kumbhalgarh and ranakpur? What are the other public transport options?

there are buses which ferry from udaipur to kumbhalgarh and ranakpur. but from what i've heard about them is that its quiet a walk from the places that they drop you off to the actual fort or the temple.

there are private buses too from udaipur which will take you to the actual destination. we found a lot of these booking centres of private buses right outside the city palace entrance in udaipur.

however because we wanted to spend more time at the fort and the temple, hence we went by hiring a car of our own.

about the timings, even we did not see any timings for non jains but guess its safer to ask someone. also theres a fight here. because the evening aarti at the temple is also nice and the fort also lights up in the evenings beautifully. what we did was reached kumbhalgarh about sunset, spent the night, checked out the entire fort in the morning and noon, left post lunch to ranakpur. spend the evening and left after the aarti. so for us, we didnt miss out on anything.

see how it works out for you. you would enjoy neverthless of the timings though, thats for sure.

bon voyage mon ami,
ST

Thanks normski and labrol. I had a wonderful trip and the information you provided were of immense help.

One thing I realized during the trip is that, people live inside the fort at kubhalgarh. So, though the official counter closes at 5/5:30pm, one can still remain inside. The fort and its temples were really a sight to behold, when lit up in the night. One should never miss that. But unfortunately it is only for half an hour after sunset.
Though there is no camera fee inside the fort, for some strange reason tripod is not allowed inside. I missed it so much!!

Any budget hotels near kumbhalgarh?

Are there any buses between kumbhalgarh and ranakpur?
Also are there any buses between nathdwara and ranakpur?

There are buses from Udaipur to Kumbalgarh which also go on to Ranakpur. They take a long time. You might be interested to hear about the hike I have just done from Kumbalgarh to Ranakpur today. There are 3 routes but at least one is closed for repair. They start at one of 3 Park Gates which can be anything up to 6 km from the fort so best to take transport to the start.
The walk requires a permit and a local guide - all available through local Hotels. I don't know the costs because I booked it in the UK along with car and hotels.
All the walks are about 14 kms long and are on good tracks (apparently built during the Raj period for hunting). But don't think it's a doddle. The route we followed climbed up a sizeable hill, went right down into the valley bottom, then climbed up an even bigger hill. The last 4km were downhill all the way. We came out on the road about 2km from Ranakpur. Walking at a pretty brisk pace it took us 4 hours but I am a very experienced mountaineer and pretty fit. So allow a bit more time. It was also very hot. We left at 08.30 so got some early shade but by 10.00 there was very little shade and it and was HOT. I got through 2 bottles of water.
Well worthwhile but we didn't see much wildlife. The place is very arid at this time of year. There is no water other than a tank about halfway through just now.
By the way, doing it the opposite way would be much harder.

i had been to both of them on the same day, check my photos of rajasthan day 17
www.picasaweb.com/sanjay.kamath

it is possible to travel both on the same day, i travelled alone so i had used the local transport. there are few buses from ranakpur to kumbhalgarh. there are tours to both the places organised by the rajasthan govt. when i went 2009 jan feb they had closed as lack of tourists and i had to go all the way to kelwara junction by bus and then walk 2 kms with my bags to the fort.since the bus is not frequent if you are going wiht your family i suggest hire a car for both the places. i had some difficulty as i was totally relied on the local transport and sinc ei was alone i could do it.

Hi,

I am planning a trip to Udaipur next week. I will be staying in Udaipur itself but plan to visit the Kumbhalgarh fort & Ranakpur Temples. I plan to hire a taxi. Could you please help me figure out below:

1) if these 2 places can be visited within 1 day.
2) How much time I should keep for both places.
3) how much time it will take to reach Kumbhalgarh fort from Udaipur and how much time it will take to reach Ranakpur Jain Temples from Kumbhalgarh fort.

thanks.

We did this five years ago, started at nine in the morning and came back at six in the evening. In 2007 we paid 140 rs for the car.