Best time to visit Rajasthan

Ranthambore National Park is closed during the monsoon months, which are July, August and September

Pushkar is well known for its camel fair, usually in November. But it is also a great place to celebrate Holi, the festival of colours, in March.

The Phool Sagar Lake is a place of beauty in Bundi, but particularly in September when it becomes covered in a sea of lotus flowers. Bundi also has a stunning cultural festival in November.

If you can time your visit to the state for the Rajasthan International Folk Festival in Jodhpur in October, it is music for the soul.

Although the climate is best for travelling between October and March, if you are in the Thar Desert, temperatures really dip during December, January and February. So you need your layers out there.

When hiking in the Aravalli Hills, you will find an array of orchids in May.

While the rest of Rajasthan is scorching in June, and most tourists avoid it, one exception is Mount Abu, the state’s highest peak and place of pilgrimage in the Aravalli Hills. People come here for the cooler temperatures May and June before the monsoon as well as their summer festival.

April is boiling in Rajasthan and most tourists avoid it. However, if you are there, the Mewar Festival in Udaipur is full of historic processions and pageantry. And prettiness. This is Rajasthan, after all. Prettiness is its middle name.