While we were visiting Jaipur, I made a plan to visit the city of Tonk. I found it in the official Rajasthan tourism website when planning our trip and it became a must see destination. It’s only a 2 hour drive from jaipur so we made it into a day trip. It’s a very small town and not very well known to tourists but has a lot to see. The main attraction for me was the beautiful Jama Masjid.
Unfortunately because of (yes you guessed it!) the HEAT, it once again hindered our "exploratory progress". We ended up skipping a lot, plus our driver seemed like he was in a rush to get us there and back. We did not have a guide but learn from our mistake! Get a guide if you want to know where to go and how to get there. We did ask locals but few had any idea where things were located or how to get there, not as easy as one would think...
Tonk is the city of melons, Cantaloupe to be exact! I was dying for some cantaloupe since I eat it all throughout summer but couldn't find any in India. They do have a "sun melon" which is similar but was really looking forward to the cantaloupe here... but! Doh! The season had just ended and there was not even one cantaloupe left, poor me.
It's also the site of filming for one of my favorite movies Paheli! It's a bit older, released in 2005 but such a cute movie and if you're a Shah Rukh Khan fan you will love it!
Things to see in Tonk
Jama Masjid (went)
Hadi Rani Kund
Sunheri Kothi (went)
Bale Dev Mandir
Bisalpur Dam
Hathi Bhata
Raja Raj Singh Mahal
Shri Dev Narayan Temple
Sri Kalyanji Mandir
Rasiya Ke Tekri (sorta went)
You can google to see what they are exactly but I really wished we could seen them all! You will definitely need a full day here to see everything so I would suggest leaving quite early in the morning and visiting the ticketless places first to get a head start and then the ticketed places once they are open, Usually around 9-10am.
Jama Masjid - Tonk
Visiting Jama Masjid in Tonk was an unforgettable experience! The beauty of the masjid simply took my breath away, making it hard to truly capture its magnificence in photos. The warm welcome we received made us feel cherished and valued guests. Despite the language barrier, the Imam and Muezzin eagerly shared the masjid's history with us, their faces lighting up with pride as they conveyed the rich background of the masjid, the husband then translated for me. I hesitated taking pictures inside, but their insistence made me realize how much they wanted to share the Masjid with us. The pavement in the courtyard was SO HOT! I felt like I was walking on hot coals! Haha! But it was July and extremely hot that day, I'm talking 43 degrees, and it was already around 1pm.
Sunheri Kothi
I was so looking forward to seeing this inside but it was closed to the public indefinitely. They did offer tickets to view inside before and I was told there is some kind of government dispute at the moment, so it may open up again. I heard they also wanted to do some sort of restoration but who really knows. Hopefully they do open it again because it is stunning inside from what i've seen online.
Insider Tip: Apparently there is an elder lady living there and taking care of things in the meantime and if you ask her nicely and pay her a tip she will privately let you in to view. You didn't hear that from me!
Rasiya Ke Tekri
The view is the best part but there is also a small little domed tower at the top that I wanted to see also. Unfortunately we didn't go up. I wasn't sure if it was a drivable site but it is definitely not! It's a hike and not a small one as you can see from the beautiful view at the top. I would say it's worth it to go! But maybe avoid this in the summer heat.
At this point you're probably thinking we are nuts to go in Summer! But it was the only time we could swing it with kids, holidays, etc, and I will take any chance to travel to India that I can get.
I don't have any guide recommendations for Tonk as I did not use one but thoroughly regret it. Get the guide!! It may end up being a guide from Jaipur that is familiar with Tonk but learn from our mistakes or you will risk missing out on a lot and being frustrated in the process. If you do want to skip the guide and just travel to Tonk for the day like we did, just arrange a driver from Jaipur. it says its a 2 hour drive but it only took us about 1.5 hours. We stopped off on the way out of Tonk for some Baskin Robbins ice cream and then again to grab some food at a roadside dhaba on our way back to Jaipur.
Tonk deserves a second visit that is for sure! I will be making my way back here one day, when the weather is decent and I'm armed with a guide.
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