Two days in Bundi from Delhi NCR, timed around opening hours: stepwells, cenotaph and Nawal Sagar on day one, then the Chitrashala, Garh Palace and Taragarh Fort on day two.
Quick summary
Bundi is about 470 km from Delhi NCR, roughly nine hours by road with breaks, so a two-day trip works best if you leave very early or travel overnight. This plan gives you two full blocks in town: the stepwells, the cenotaph and Nawal Sagar on the first afternoon, then the Garh Palace, the Chitrashala and Taragarh Fort on the second day, with the timings arranged around published opening hours and winter sunset. Options for a third day, and the train and motorcycle versions, follow at the end. For background on the town itself, see the Bundi destination guide.
Before you go
- Season: October to March is the comfortable window. Sunset in Bundi falls between about 5.35 pm (early December) and 6.20 pm (mid-February), and later in October and March. Check the best time to visit Bundi before fixing dates.
- Opening hours shape the plan: Raniji ki Baori and Chaurasi Khambon ki Chhatri are listed as open from about 9 am to 5 pm, so neither is a dawn or sunset stop. The Chitrashala's published hours vary between sources (9 am to 5 pm, or 8 am to 6 pm), so it goes first on the palace morning.
- Tickets: one composite ticket (₹75 for Indians, ₹350 for foreigners, per Lonely Planet) covers Raniji ki Baori, the cenotaph and Sukh Mahal, and is reported to be valid for two days. The Garh Palace ticket covers the palace and Taragarh Fort; the Chitrashala is free.
- Stay: book a haveli guesthouse in the old town near Nawal Sagar or below the palace, so everything on Day 2 is on foot.
Getting there from Delhi
By car: the usual route is NH48 to Jaipur, then the Jaipur–Tonk–Deoli highway to Bundi, about 470 km. Allow nine hours with stops. Cars can also use the Delhi–Mumbai Expressway towards the Kota side; check which sections and interchanges are open before relying on it. Leave by 5 am to reach Bundi around 2 pm. Use the fuel calculator to estimate the drive.
By train: the Mewar Express (12963) leaves Hazrat Nizamuddin at 6.25 pm and is scheduled into Bundi at 1.28 am, so book your room from that night and arrange a pickup. Alternatively, the Golden Temple Mail (12904) leaves Hazrat Nizamuddin at 4 am and reaches Kota at 10.10 am, after which Bundi is about 35 to 40 km by bus or taxi, putting you in town around midday. Coming back, the Mewar Express (12964) leaves Bundi at 11.20 pm and reaches Hazrat Nizamuddin at 6.50 am, which lets you use all of Day 2. Check current timings on IRCTC before booking.
Day 1: Arrival, stepwells, cenotaph and Nawal Sagar
2 pm: check in and lunch
Drop your bags, eat at the guesthouse or a bazaar restaurant and rest for an hour. If you came on the overnight train, you have the whole morning free: spend it walking the Blue Town lanes and leave the palace for tomorrow.
3.15 pm: Raniji ki Baori and Nagar Sagar Kund
Buy the composite ticket here and walk down into the 46-metre stepwell, built in 1699, with its carved pillars and Vishnu sculptures. Allow 30 to 40 minutes. Nagar Sagar Kund, the twin stepped tanks outside the Chogan Gate, is a few minutes' walk away; ten minutes is enough.
4 pm: Chaurasi Khambon ki Chhatri
Take an auto to the 84-pillared cenotaph of 1683. The same composite ticket applies. It is listed as closing at 5 pm, so this slot gives you about 45 minutes; if you arrive late in Bundi, move it to Day 2 afternoon, since the ticket is valid for two days.
5.15 pm: Nawal Sagar and the Blue Town at sunset
Back to the lake below the palace, with the half-submerged Varuna temple in the water and the palace above it. Walk the ghats and the lanes around the lake as the light goes and the palace is lit.
7.30 pm: dinner
Many havelis serve dinner on rooftops facing the palace. Order dal baati churma, gatte or laal maas, and turn in early: Day 2 starts at 7.
Day 2: Garh Palace and Chitrashala, then Taragarh Fort
7 am: the Blue Town on foot
Walk the indigo lanes behind Nawal Sagar while shops are opening and the light is soft, and have breakfast at the bazaar. About 90 minutes.
9 am: the Chitrashala
Go to the Chitrashala before anything else, so you are inside whichever published hours apply. Lonely Planet's directions are to exit through the Hathi Pol and walk around the corner uphill; the painted rooms sit above the palace's garden courtyard. The 18th-century murals of Krishna, court scenes and elephant fights need about an hour. Carry a torch or use your phone light.
10 am: the Garh Palace
Buy the palace ticket (reported as ₹600, covering Taragarh too; confirm at the gate) and take a guide if you want the stories behind the rooms. Inside are the Ratan Daulat with its marble coronation throne, the Chhatra Mahal, the Phool Mahal and the Badal Mahal, with murals and views over the town. Allow about two hours.
12 pm: Taragarh Fort
Continue up to the fort on the ridge above the palace; visitors sign in with a guard on the way up. The ramparts, water tanks and views over the town and Nawal Sagar need 1.5 to 2 hours including the climb. Monkeys are common, so carry a stick if offered, keep bags zipped and food out of sight, and wear shoes with grip. One listing gives the fort's closing time as 5.30 pm, which is why it goes here rather than at sunset. In October and March, carry plenty of water for the midday climb.
2 pm: lunch and rest
Back to the guesthouse through the bazaar. Two hours off your feet.
4 pm: Dabhai Kund and Sukh Mahal
An auto to Dabhai Kund, the large stepped tank on the edge of the old town (free, about 20 minutes), then to Sukh Mahal on Jait Sagar, which is on the composite ticket. Arrive before 5 pm to be safe. If you skipped the cenotaph yesterday, do it now instead.
5.30 pm: sunset and dinner
Watch the sunset from the Jait Sagar shore or your haveli rooftop, then a last dinner in the old town. If you are taking the 11.20 pm Mewar Express back to Delhi, keep your room or arrange a late checkout; otherwise drive back the next morning or carry on with Day 3.
Day 3 options
Option A: Menal and Bhimlat, then on to Chittorgarh or Udaipur
Bhimlat's Shiva temple and waterfall are about 35 km from Bundi and Menal's temples and gorge about 72 km, roughly halfway to Chittorgarh. Both falls run in and just after the monsoon and may be dry in winter, but the temples are worth the stop. From Menal you can return to Bundi for the drive home, or continue south towards Chittorgarh and Udaipur.
Option B: Ramgarh Vishdhari Tiger Reserve
A safari in the tiger reserve, notified in 2022, in Bundi district. As of a February 2026 local report, safaris ran only on buffer-zone routes, with online booking; core-zone safaris had been planned from October 2025. Check current routes and booking on the Rajasthan Forest Department portal, book ahead, and treat a tiger sighting as a bonus. Drive back to Delhi after the safari, or stay a further night.
The 3-day Bundi itinerary sets out the longer version in full.
The motorcycle version
Motorcycles are not allowed on the Delhi–Mumbai Expressway, so ride NH48 to Jaipur and then down through Tonk and Deoli. Two-wheelers do not pay national highway tolls. Most havelis can park a bike in or near the courtyard; ask when booking. A third day for Menal and Bhimlat on the road south is where a motorcycle is most useful.
Packing
- A torch or a strong phone light for the Chitrashala and palace rooms
- Shoes with grip for the Taragarh path
- A bag that zips, for the monkeys
- Light layers: winter mornings are cool and afternoons warm
- Hat, sunscreen and water for the fort and the cenotaph
- Cash for autos, tickets and bazaar food
For per-person budgets on this plan, see the Bundi trip cost guide, and for more detail on each sight, the guide to the best places to visit in Bundi.