Twelve properties that never needed a city to prove themselves — a Maharaja’s former tiger camp, an estate eighteen generations deep, forts still owned by the families who built them. This is the Rajasthan that exists between the destinations everyone already knows.
Every other destination in our collection is built around a name most travellers already recognise — Jaisalmer, Udaipur, Jaipur, Jodhpur. But a significant share of Rajasthan’s genuine royal history was never confined to its capitals. Noblemen built hunting lodges beside lakes they created themselves. Younger sons of Maharajas were granted forts on distant hilltops. Families who once served as ministers or generals built their own estates, separate from — but connected to — the grander palaces of the cities they served.
This page exists because we kept encountering exactly that pattern during our research across this project — a property with a genuinely extraordinary, verifiable story, sitting quietly outside any city we had already built a page for. Rather than force each one into an ill-fitting city page, or leave them out of our collection entirely, we have gathered them here, organised by the specific families, conservation stories and architectural histories that earned them a place.
What unites these twelve properties is not geography — they are spread across the Aravalli hills, the desert fringes and the plains between Jaipur, Udaipur and Jodhpur — but the same standard we apply everywhere else in our collection. Several carry documented royal lineage running back three or four centuries. One is built on the site of a Maharaja’s own former tiger-hunting camp. One family has maintained continuous custodianship of their estate for eighteen generations. None of these stories were manufactured for a hotel launch.
Twelve properties across two tiers — each one earning its place through the same standard applied everywhere else in our collection, regardless of how far it sits from the nearest city.
The questions we are asked most often about our countryside collection — answered through first-hand knowledge of the families, estates and land that define it.
These properties don’t belong to any single city — several sit closer to villages than towns, and grouping them by their shared countryside character felt more honest than forcing each into a nearby city page.
Most of these properties sit between 1 to 3.5 hours from Jaipur, Udaipur or Jodhpur — we coordinate the full route personally based on where else you’re travelling.
Two nights lets you properly experience the land itself — a lake, a fort, a hunting ground — rather than simply passing through.
Most are genuinely intimate — several have fewer than a dozen rooms — making them better suited to couples or small groups than large family gatherings, though exceptions exist within the collection.
Yes — we continue researching Rajasthan’s countryside and will add properties only once they meet the same standard as everything else in our collection.
Our journey began in Rajasthan, but our curation now extends across some of India's most extraordinary destinations—from the Himalayas and Kerala's backwaters to Central India's wildlife and beyond.
Whether you’re planning a stay in Jaisalmer alone or combining it with the Thar Desert, Jodhpur, Udaipur or beyond, we’ll help design an itinerary that fits your travel style. From personally curated stays to transport and unique experiences, every journey is planned around you.
Take a moment to share a few details with us, and we’ll craft a tailor-made itinerary just for you.
Our Travel Experts are here to narrow down the best options and create a journey that will stay with you forever.
