Alwar, Jaipur travel information.

	Alwar, Jaipur travel information
Home \| Rajasthan \| Ajmer \| Taragarh \| Bikamer \| Jaipur \| Udaipur \| Jaisalmer \| Jodhpur \| Mount Abu \| Pushkar

The bus stand in the west of Alwar sees services to and from Deeg and Bharatpur (every 15min), and Sariska (every 30min or so). Frequent buses also run north to Delhi and south to Jaipur (both 2-3hr). Several food stalls at the bus stand sell drinks and fiery curries, and there's a bike rental shop near the exit.

The railway station, receiving trains from Delhi, Jaipur, Jodhpur, Ahmedabad, Deeg and Ajmer, is a few kilometers away on the east side of town, and has retiring rooms. You can change currency and travelers' cheques, albeit at a thumb-chewingly slow speed, at the State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur, in the centre of town.

The tourist office, just south of the station exit on the opposite side of Nehru Marg (Mon-Sat 10am-5pm; phone 0144/21868), has dusty piles of aged leaflets about Rajasthan, but little else. Your best bet for budget accommodation is a group of five hotels of varying standards, all owned by five brothers and grouped together on the corner of Manu Marg, ten minutes' walk up Vivekananda Marg from the railway station. The Ankur (phone 0144/333025; Rs200-600) is just about the best of the bunch, but there's little to choose between them and all invariably have vacancies.

For more comfort, try the Aravali, a couple of doors down from the railway station on Nehru Marg (phone 0144/332883, fax 332011; Rs200-600), which has seen better days, but boasts a bar and pool in summer.

With your own transport, a more atmospheric upscale choice is the Hill Fort Kesroli, 12km east of town (phone 0144/81312; Rs900 and upwards), where a wonderful little fourteenth-century fort has been impeccably restored and converted into a hotel.

Centered on a lush inner courtyard filled with palms and bougainvillea, its rooms, set in the forbidding outer walls, have great views over Kesroli village and the surrounding countryside.

Back in town, the Aravali has a gloomy but serviceable restaurant, but for crispy dosas, tasty channa batura and other hot snacks, the South India café, opposite the State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur, is hard to beat. The only competition comes from the clean and pleasant Siddartha (see note below) vegetarian restaurant, just south of the Imperial Hotel on Manu Marg.

Note: Siddartha Gautama, Gautama Buddha, Shakyamuni Buddha.