Bundi

Bundi is a captivating town of narrow lanes of Brahmin-blue houses with a temple at every turn. There are fascinating step-wells, reflective lakes, and colorful bazaars. Dominating Bundi is a fantastical palace of faded parchment cupolas and loggias rising from the hills behind the town. Though an increasingly popular traveler hang-out, Bundi attracts nothing like the tourist crowds of places such as Jaipur or Udaipur. Few places in Rajasthan retain so much of the magical atmosphere of centuries past.

Bundi came into its own in the 12th century when a group of Chauhan nobles from Ajmer was pushed south by Mohammed of Ghori. They wrested the Bundi area from the Mina and Bhil tribes and made Bundi the capital of their kingdom, known as Hadoti. Bundi was generally loyal to the Mughals from the late 16th century on, but it maintained its independent status until incorporated into the state of Rajasthan after 1947.