Rajasthan
SOUTHERN
R AJASTHAN
Rajasthan
iNFORMAT
iON
Rajasthan
CH iTTORGARH (CH
iTTOR)
and state offices. Some of its buildings are
now used as schools. The City ̈Palace (in-
dian/foreigner ₹20/150, camera/video ₹50/100;
h10am-4.30pm), entered through a gateway
topped by rampant elephants, contains
the excellent Rao ̈Madho ̈Singh ̈Museum,
where you’ll find all the stuff necessary for a
respectable Raj existence – silver furniture,
an old-fashioned ice-cream maker, and in-
genious, beautiful weapons. The oldest part
of the palace dates from 1624. Downstairs is
a durbar (royal audience) hall with beautiful
mirror work, while the elegant, small-scale
apartments upstairs contain exquisite, beau-
tifully preserved paintings, particularly the
hunting scenes for which Kota is renowned.
It’s around ₹30 to ₹40 in an autorickshaw
from the bus stand, and at least ₹60 from
the train station.
8 Information
Tourist Reception Centre (%2327695; RTDC
Hotel Chambal; h9.30am-6pm Mon-Sat)
Handy for its free map of the town. Turn left out
of the bus stand, right at the second round-
about and it’s on your right.
8 Getting ̈There ̈& ̈Away
BUS
Services from the main bus stand include:
Ajmer (₹165, four to five hours, half-hourly
from 4.15am to 11.45pm)
Bundi (₹27 to ₹29, every 15 minutes from 6am
to 10pm)
Chittorgarh (₹150, four hours, half-hourly
from 5am to 7.30pm)
Jaipur ₹181, five hours, half-hourly from 4am
to 11.45pm)
Pushkar (₹200, four to five hours, 7am and
11.15pm)
Udaipur (₹250, six to seven hours, hourly from
5am to 7.30pm)TRAIN
For Ranthambhore, seven trains run daily to Sa-
wai Madhopur (5.25am, 5.55am, 8am, 8.50am,
11.15am, 12.35pm and 2.50pm); many more
run on selected days so you rarely have to wait
more than an hour. The journey takes one to two
hours. An unreserved ‘general ticket’ costs ₹44.
likewise, trains run almost hourly to Delhi
(sleepers ₹220, five to eight hours).
Five trains run daily to Jaipur (8am, 8.50am,
12.35pm, 2.55pm and 11.45pm), but again there
are many others on selected days so you rarely
have to wait long. it takes about four hours.
Unreserved ‘general ticket’ seats cost around
₹70; sleepers around ₹150.
Three daily trains go to Chittorgarh (1.25am,
6.25am and 9am) and take three to four hours.
Sleepers cost ₹80 to ₹120.
Six fast trains (around 14 hours) go daily to Mum-
bai (2.35pm, 5.35pm, 9.15pm, 9.55pm, 11.25pm
and 11.45pm). Sleepers cost around ₹340.8 Getting ̈Around
Minibuses and shared autorickshaws link the
train station and central bus stand (₹6 to ₹10
per person). A private autorickshaw costs
around ₹30.Chittorgarh (Chittor)
% 01472 / POP 153,000
Chittorgarh, the fort (garh) at Chittor, is the
largest fort complex in India, and a fascinat-
ing place to explore. It rises from the plains
like a huge rock island, nearly 6km long and
surrounded on all sides by 150m-plus cliffs.
Its history epitomises Rajput romanticism,
chivalry and tragedy, and it holds a specialMAJOR ̈TRAINS ̈FROM ̈KOTA
DESTINATION TRAINDEPARTURE
TIMEARRIVAL
TIME FARE (₹)
Chittorgarh 29020 Dehradun Express 9am 12.05pm 120/610
(A)
Delhi (Nizamuddin) 12964 Mewar Express 11.55pm 6.30am
(next day)220/582
(A)
Jaipur 12465 Ranthambhore Express 12.35pm 4.45pm 71/153 (B)
Mumbai 12956 JP-BCT Superfast 5.35pm 7.40am
(next day)349/931
(A)
Sawai Madhopur 12903 Golden Temple Mail 11.15am 12.25pm 44/140 (C)Fares: (A) sleeper/3AC, (B) 2nd-class seat/sleeper, (C) sleeper/2A