Anzahl der Besucher

Rajasthan Enfield Tour

Day 1 Jaipur to Pushkar

After three weeks of traveling in India, we became tired of searching for buses and booked out trains and were looking forward to feel like the easy rider. We decided to discover Rajasthan on a royal enfield. According to your recommendation we went to Rajasthan Autocenter in Jaipur which turned out to be the best decision.

The owner Saleem and his team were really nice and helpful. The bike was in a good condition. We already felt to be in the right place when we first saw the tidy shop and the clean royal enfields shining in the sun. The mechanics maintain the bikes regularly. The Oil was new, the tires, breaks and everything we need was good. What also help a lot, was the introduction to the bike you got and the travel hints on the route.

On the whole trip we did not have any problem with the bike. In case of a problem there would have been an insurance and an emergency number we could call. We felt very comfortable with the bike and the people. It is not that kind of shop like many others where they put preasure on you to buy or rent.

We did a 13 day trip (including days we did not drive) and drove 1700 km: Jaipur, Pushkar, Jodhpur, Jaisalmer, back to Jodhpur, Ranakpur, Udaipur, Chittorgarh, Bhilwara (just 1 night on our way to Jaipur), back to Jaipur, where we visited Amber fort.

Because of bumpy and narrow roads, you should not have more than 10 kilos of luggage on each side of the motorcycle. We wrapped our rucksacks into simple plastic bags for protection and for all the dirt (you can buy them at Badi Chaupar bazar, Rp 20 each) and fixed them with expanders (received them from saleem) on the bike. The left over luggage we stored at Saleem´s shop.

The most difficult part of the trip was the heavy traffic in Jaipur. If you like to see how the traffic looks like take a look at this video we made. Everything else may be a little bit challenging regarding road condition but traffic was not more difficult than in Jaipur on the trip we did.

The track sharing sites have been very helpful on our trip:

http://www.tourwerk.com

http://www.gpsies.com

http://www.gps-tour.info

and also the world wide free GPS maps from http://www.openstreetmap.org

In the Lonely Planet 3. Edition (German) the information about the rental shop is out of date. The new one is:

The owner Saleem Bhai muskanauto@rediffmail.com, mobile 09829188064 and website http://www.royalenfieldsalim.com/, res@royalenfieldsalim.com

You might have to search for the shop a little while, once the the small streets are missing in the map.

We enjoyed the Tour with our Enfield a lot. You have a lot of freedom to do the tour with a bike. There is no schedule you have to follow, no guide that may disturb you and you will also meet some real Indian people on the way not only the hassle ones that wait on the Bus- and Trainstations. I have not been on a motorbike since 15 Years when I made my driving license, but I did not have any difficulties. The traffic in India is chaotic, but if you drive slowly, slowly then you will be fine. They care a lot about you and the will take extra care if they see you as tourist on a motorbike.

If you carry your backpacks with you make sure that they do not weight more than 12 kilos each. The suspensions of the bikes are not very strong, the bike itself is very heavy and the streets in India can become very narrow. With light backpacks your trip will be much easier. Try the Hostels outside the old center first. It is easier to reach them and they will have a save place to leave your bike over the night.

We rented a bike in Jaipur from a very small shop. We went there 2 days before and choose a bike and gave the guys in the store time to prepare the bike (rear mirrow, racks for the backpacks, and final check of the bike). The bikes in this shop are in a very good condition and that is important as the bike is a very old construction and needs a lot of care.

On our first day we planed to start around 12:00 but we started much later. Take a lot of time for some chai tea with the guys, the instruction a short tour to get used to the bike and so on. We started to late and arrived in Pushkar to late. It was already dark and driving in the dark is dangerous in India. Many drive without a light, there can be sudden obstacles in your way (e.g. cows, dogs, rubbish) and the light of the Enfield is not very bright and is dependent on the speed of the bike.

We were lucky to have warm cloth with us. It can be very cold even in summer especially when you drive the whole day on a motorbike. I had some winter gloves with me and I sometimes wished they could be warmer. On the very cold days we stopped after a while on one of the many chai tea shops to become warm again. Plan a lot of time for your travel to enjoy it. We usually started around 7:00 in the morning, drove 2 hours and stopped for a chai. On some days we stopped for lunch at some of the very basic truckstops for a Thali or something like that. We usually stopped at the shops where we saw a lot of locals and pointed on one of there meal to get the same. On the other days we always arrived with sunlight.

The road from Jaipur to Pushkar is very good. It is a motorway and you can drive most of the time 80 kmh. There are a few checkpoints where cars and Trucks have to pay but motorbikes are free. There is a small bypassing for motorbikes on the lift side of the checkpoints.

In most of the towns we stayed 2 nights. When we arrived it was late and we were too tired to do anything. On the next day we visited the city, the temples, the fortress,..... Then on the day after very early we continued our trip. The numbers for the trip days count only the driving days of the whole trip. In total the trip lasted 14 days.

I aupdate OSM map so if you download the latest OSM map all the roads should be there and the places we visited and slept as well.

Day 2 Pushkar to Jodhpur

The street from Pushkar to Jodhpur are in a good condition. Most of the streets we used are called National Highways but the quality can be between a mud road with maximum 15 kmh up to a three lane road with 80 kmh.

The center of the old town is very small and you should know exactly where your Hostel is, otherwise it might be better to stay in a hostel outside the old town. On our trip we passed Jodhpur twice. On our way back we stayed a second night there. The first night we stayed outside because we gave up searching the hostel in the old town.

Day 3 Jodhpur to Jaisalmer

The road condition here have been the best on the Enfield trip. The street is in a very good condition and there are only a few trucks on the road. Jaisalmer is close to Pakistan and therefore for indian people the road ends there more or less.

Day 4 Jaisalmer to Jodhpur

We wanted to visit Udaipur and searched for possibilities to avoid driving back the same road but via Jodhpur is the fastest and best possibility we thought. Anyway we liked the city so back to Jodhpur.

Day 5 Jodhpur to Ranakpur

The first kilometers of this tour are horrible. The road condition is bad and a lot of Trucks are on the road. This part of our trip was the slowest average traveling speed. Close to Ranakpur the Road became a nice country road winding through low mountain area. We slept in a Resort close to the Jain Temple and visited the Temple. We already seen the one in Jaisalmer and they are quiet similar but we like the peaceful atmosphere in those temples.

Day 6 Ranakpur to Udaipur

The first part of this track was leading on a small and quiet road through a nice hilly landscape. This takes a little bit longer because of the small road but it is nice to drive. Later there is a good highway and the last kilometers can pass by with a 70 – 80 kmh.

Day 7 Udaipur to Bhilwara via Fort Chittaurgarh

We started early in Udaipur to visit the impressive Fort. The road condition have been good and we drove as long as we had daylight and then searched for a accommodation in one of the bigger towns we passed by. It was not a touristy town at all and it was not our plan to see it, we just needed a place to sleep because the distance to Jaipur from Udaipur was to big.

Day 8 Bhilwara to Jaipur

The road condition was good and we arrived early in Jaipur. We enjoyed the trip a lot but we where also lucky the get back to our backpacks. During the whole tour we did not have any problems at all. We checked the air in the tires and the oil regularly but both was ok.