Rajasthan
SOUTHERN
R AJASTHAN
Rajasthan
EAT iNG & D RiNK iNG
Rajasthan
KOTA
Nawal ̈Sagar ̈Palace ̈ HER iTAGE HOTEl $$$
(%2447050; http://www.nawalsagarpalace.com; r ₹1500-
3000) This 300-year-old former royal resi-
dence, once home to the ladies of the court,
has a beautiful location, with buildings,
including a restaurant (mains ₹80-200),
overlooking a grassy lawn, which in turn
overlooks the lake. Rooms are huge, with
some interesting old furniture (including
enormous beds) and artwork, and some
have lake views. There’s no TV or internet
and the atmosphere is far from homely, but
there’s a certain historical charm that’s hard
not to fall for.5 ̈Eating ̈& ̈Drinking
Tom ̈& ̈Jerry ̈ MU lTiCU iSiNE $
(₹80-150; h8am-10pm; W) A friendly, laid-
back rooftop restaurant with Indian vegetar-
ian dishes plus pasta and pizza.Rainbow ̈Cafe ̈ MU lTiCU iSiNE $
(mains ₹100-150; h7am-11pm; W) Bohemian
ambience with chillout tunes, floor-cushion
seating and two types of special (bhang)
lassi. Located up on the roof to one side of
the town’s West Gate and caged off from ma-
rauding macaques with a bamboo trellis.Out ̈of ̈the ̈Blue ̈ iTA li AN $$
(mains ₹130-220; h8am-10.30pm; W) Follow-
ing in the footsteps of the successful original
branch in Pushkar, Bundi’s Out of the Blue
also offers excellent Italian pizza and home-
made pasta as well as the best coffee in town
(₹40 to ₹70).Bundi’s ̈Coffee ̈Comforts ̈ CAFE
(coffee ₹40-80, tea ₹35-45; h9am-9pm) Hard to
believe it now, but there was a time when
this roadside cafe was the only place in Bun-
di with fresh coffee. It still does a number of
coffee brews plus a range of teas, although
for the real deal in Indian chai, sneak across
to the simple tea stall next door (chai ₹10
to ₹20).8 Information
There’s an Axis Bank ATM on Sadar Bazar and a
State Bank ATM west of Azad Park.
Roshan Tour & Travel (h8am-10pm) An inter-
net cafe (per hr ₹40), money-changer, bicycle-
rental place (per day ₹80) and transport-ticket
seller all rolled into one.
Tourist Office (%2443697; Kota Rd;
h9.30am-6pm Mon-Fri) This very helpful
office has bus and train schedules, and offers
free maps and helpful advice on most practical
questions you can ask.8 Getting ̈There ̈& ̈Away
BUS
For Ranthambhore, it’s usually quicker to catch a
bus to Kota, then hop on a train to Sawai
Madhopur.
Direct services from Bundi bus stand:
Ajmer (₹14, four hours, every 15 minutes from
5am to 11pm)
Jaipur (₹154, five hours, every 15 minutes from
5am to 1am)
Kota (₹27 to ₹29, one hour, every 15 minutes
from 6am to 10pm)
Pushkar (₹150, 4½ hours, 8am)
Sawai Madhopur (₹93, four to five hours,
7.45am, noon and 2pm)
Udaipur (₹200, 6 hours, 7.15am, 9am and
11.15am)TRAIN
There are no daily trains to Jaipur, Ajmer or
Jodhpur. it’s better to take a bus, or to catch a
train from Kota or Chittorgarh.
Two trains travel daily to Chittorgarh. The
7.20am takes 3½ hours; the 9.38am takes 2½
hours. Sleepers cost ₹80 and ₹120 respectively.
Two daily trains also go to Delhi (Hazrat
Nizamuddin). The 5.35pm takes 12 hours; the
10.42pm takes just eight hours. Sleepers cost
₹192 and ₹232 respectively.
Only one daily train goes to Agra (Agra Fort);
the 59811 Haldighati Passenger (sleeper ₹109,
5.50pm, 12 hours).
And only one train goes daily to Udaipur; the
12963 Mewar Express (sleeper/3AC ₹157/398,
2.04am, five hours).8 Getting ̈Around
An autorickshaw to/from the train station costs
₹50 to ₹70, ₹70 to ₹100 at night.Kota
0744 / POP 1,000,000
An easy day trip from Bundi, Kota is an
industrial and commercial town on Rajas-
than’s only permanent river. You can take
boat trips on the river here, but it’s only re-
ally worth visiting Kota for its palace, which
is, admittedly, quite spectacular.1 ̈Sights
City ̈Palace ̈& ̈Fort ̈ PA lACE, FORT
The fort and the palace within it make up
one of the largest such complexes in Ra-
jasthan. This was the royal residence and
centre of power, housing the Kota prince-
dom’s treasury, courts, arsenal, armed forces