Review
There are some journeys which are planned for a destination, and there are some which become memorable because of the journey itself.
This was one such family road trip.
After spending considerable time travelling for work, I wanted to take a short break with family without making it a long holiday. The plan was simple—take the car, leave Vadodara, visit Ujjain for the spiritual experience and then continue towards Mandu to explore its historical ruins and beautiful landscapes amid the post monsoon period of Malwa land.
With my wife, two daughters and my father, we started our journey in our Kia Carens.
The route was Vadodara – Ujjain – Mandu – Vadodara.
Four days, two very different destinations and a lot of joyful driving.
As usual, kids were more excited about the road trip and the destination, but for me, this trip started much earlier — with research, route checking, hotel comparison, sightseeing sequence planning, parking considerations, family comfort and, most importantly, deciding how much we could realistically cover without making the trip tiring for everyone.
The objective was not to cover every possible tourist attraction.
The objective was:
See the important places, enjoy the journey, keep the family comfortable and avoid unnecessary running around.
And after completing the trip, I can say that this approach worked quite well.
Why Ujjain + Mandu?
The original idea was to combine two very different experiences in one road trip.
Ujjain for:
- Mahakaleshwar Jyotirlinga
- Mahakal Lok
- Kal Bhairav
- Harsiddhi Mata
- The spiritual atmosphere of the city
And then Mandu for:
- Historical monuments
- Forts and palaces
- Scenic valleys
- Sunset views
- A relaxed heritage experience
This combination made sense for our family.
Ujjain was more of a pilgrimage experience, while Mandu would give us history, architecture and nature.
The distance between Ujjain and Mandu was also manageable, so instead of trying to do Mandu as a rushed day trip from somewhere else, we decided to stay there for two nights.
Planning the Trip Before Booking
I spent quite some time researching the trip before actually booking anything.
The important things I considered were not only hotel ratings or Google reviews.
For a family trip with my father and two children, I was looking at:
- Parking availability
- Distance from attractions
- Room configuration
- Cleanliness
- Comfort
- Check-in/check-out timing
- Whether we would have to repeatedly move the car
- How much walking would be required
- Whether the day's schedule would become too tiring
- Whether we could keep some flexibility in the itinerary
I compared several hotels in Mandu, including:
- TGI Jahaz Mahal
- Clarks Exotica (Seemed overpriced)
- MPT Malwa (was sold out for the dates of trip)
- Green Valley (unsatisfactory reviews)
- Hotel Fun N Food
Initially, TGI Jahaz Mahal was particularly attractive because of its location and overall experience.
But finally, Hotel Fun N Food made more sense for our budget and requirements.
For Ujjain, we selected Solitaire Hotel & Resort.
Day-1: 25.08.2026
Vadodara to Ujjain
We left Vadodara in the morning and started our journey towards Ujjain.
I generally enjoy long-distance driving, and this was no different. The Kia Carens made the journey comfortable for the family, particularly with five people travelling together.
One of the route decisions I had made during planning was to use the route through SH-47 → Jhabua → Dhar → Indore → Ujjain, rather than blindly selecting the shortest-looking route.
The reason was simple:
For a family road trip, road quality and ease of driving matter more than saving a few kilometres.
The journey itself was quite smooth, and after several hours on the road we finally reached Ujjain.
We checked in at Solitaire Hotel & Resort.
The room booked was a Family Double Room with Pool View – interconnected room, with two queen beds, for five guests.
The booking cost was: ₹4,589
After checking in, having lunch and taking some rest, it was time to experience the first major attraction of the trip.
Mahakal Lok
In the evening, we went to Mahakal Lok. It was raining a bit outside hence we decided to take our own car instead of struggling for auto outside. However, due to evening rush, we could not navigate to parking as it was jam packed, hence we decided to return back to hotel and to visit mahakal lok on next day morning after darshan.
We came back to hotel and enjoyed swimming pool bath under showers of rain. It was fun evening for kids due to this unique setup of swimming event.
Day-2: 26.08.2026
Mahakaleshwar Darshan
The most important thing I did before reaching Ujjain was to book the Sheeghra Darshan in advance a week earlier to booking of hotels.
Our booking was:
Date: 26 August 2026
Time: 7:00 AM
Number of persons: 5
Status: Paid
This advance planning made a big difference.
Instead of reaching the temple and then trying to figure out the queue and booking arrangements, we already had a defined time slot.
The allotted time was 7:00 AM to 8:00 AM, and we reached the temple area early.
We woke up early and took an auto from near the hotel.
The auto charged us ₹100 for all 5 in total.
In fact, we reached the designated gate around 6:20 AM.
The early start was worth it. Our entry was through Gate 4 as indicated in the booking arrangement.
This gate is indicated as the Bhasma Aarti Gate on Google Maps if you try to locate it. As I had already researched how and where to reach, I asked the auto driver to take us to Mahakal Chauraha. From Mahakal Chauraha, Gate 4 is only around 300 metres away on foot.
We did not carry any mobile phones or wallets with us and left them at the hotel. We only carried printouts of the Darshan QR code passes, the original Aadhaar cards of each family member and around ₹900–₹1,200 in cash.
However, just near the gate-4, there is well established mobile locker facility and it is recommended to take at least one mobile in group for further navigation and photo clicking after darshan. Shoe stand is also at gate-4. We deposited our shoes and noted the token number provided by the counter attendant.
It was useful to understand these arrangements beforehand rather than wasting time figuring everything out at the last moment.
For a family with children and an elderly parent, advance planning of these small things makes a noticeable difference.
Due to the previous night's rain, the temple corridor pathways used for darshan were covered with a thin layer of slurry. The temple management needs to pay attention to such poorly managed pathways and improve this part of the complex as well, rather than focusing only on the Mahakal Lok corridor.
The cleanliness of these areas needs immediate attention and improvement from the temple committee.
Our early arrival allowed us to complete the darshan comfortably. We were able to spend a brief moment in the front row before the main Shivalinga inside the temple. It was a unique and divine experience that is difficult to describe in words.
We came out around 8:00 AM.
For me, this was the most important part of the Ujjain visit.
After coming out of Mahakaleshwar, we took another auto from Mahakal Chauraha towards Kal Bhairav Temple.
The auto cost: ₹200
This was another decision that worked well.
Rather than returning to the hotel, resting for a long time and then going out again, we continued with the important Ujjain visits while everyone was already out.
Road construction was still underway in Ujjain, and due to the rains, the roads were not in good condition. The auto ride towards Kal Bhairav was therefore bumpy and a little stressful.
At Kal Bhairav too, I noticed unhygienic pathways filled with slurry, mud and stagnant dirty water in the queue area. This is something that can and should be improved for devotees coming for a holy darshan. No devotee would like to have their feet covered in mud and dirt before entering the temple premises.
The management needs to look into this and take appropriate action to improve the condition.
After Kal Bhairav, we returned to the hotel at approximately 9:15 AM.
The distance between the different places is not very large, but the traffic and local movement can make the journey slower than expected.
Hotel Checkout Flexibility Helped
Our official checkout was 10 AM.
However, because we had the early morning Mahakal Darshan, the hotel reception had allowed us some additional flexibility and we could manage the morning without rushing.
We had breakfast after returning from darshan.
Breakfast cost: ₹400
This was a good example of why I prefer keeping some buffer in a family itinerary.
A theoretically perfect schedule on paper can become stressful when travelling with five people.
Ujjain to Mandu
We finally left Ujjain around 11:00–11:30 AM.
Now the character of the journey changed.
We were leaving the crowded pilgrimage city behind and heading towards the historic landscape of Mandu.
Mandu was not a new name for me, but visiting a place and actually spending time there with family is very different from knowing about it or passing through it.
The drive to Mandu was comfortable, with scenic roads. We took a few short halts for nature enjoyment en-route to Mandu, enjoying the changing hills and plateau landscape.
The next two nights were booked at:
Hotel Fun N Food, Mandu
Booking:
26 August – 28 August
5 guests
Amount paid: ₹9,770
We reached Hotel Fun N Food, Mandu at around 4:00–4:30 PM.
One pleasant surprise was that the hotel had acknowledged my earlier communication and arranged an upgraded ground-floor room, 103 and 104., The rooms were equipped with Android TVs and Wi-Fi connectivity..
For my father, this was particularly useful with adjacent ground-floor rooms.
The reception staff was courteous and supportive. The owner, Mr. Rakesh, also greeted us and made us feel comfortable.
After checking in, we decided not to rush into sightseeing.
There was still the next day.
And Mandu deserved a proper day.
Planning Mandu Sightseeing – The Parking Strategy
Mandu is an interesting place because many monuments are spread across different areas.
If you simply enter every attraction into Google Maps one after another, you can end up:
- Driving unnecessarily
- Parking repeatedly
- Getting in and out of the car
- Walking back to the vehicle
- Losing time
So I tried to group monuments geographically.
The idea was:
Park once, see several monuments, then move the car to the next group.
This turned out to be one of the better decisions of the trip.
Mandu – Royal Enclave
The main cluster included places such as:
- Jahaz Mahal
- Hindola Mahal
- Mandu Museum
Mandu – Central Village group
We also planned the historical monument group around:
- Hoshang Shah's Tomb
- Jama Masjid
- Ashrafi Mahal
- Chaturbhuj Shri Ram Temple
Baz Bahadur Palace and Roopmati Pavilion
The next important group was towards:
- Baz Bahadur Palace
- Rewa Kund
- Roopmati Pavilion
- Ujala Baodi in Return towards Hindola Mahal
The Evening masterpiece: Light and Sound show at Hindola Mahal (Opposite gate of Jahaz Mahal complex)
Day-3: 27.08.2026
Exploring Mandu
I have always liked places where history and nature exist together.
Mandu is one such place.
The ruins are spread across a large area, and unlike visiting a single monument, exploring Mandu involves moving between different groups of monuments.
So I planned the sightseeing keeping one thing in mind—avoid unnecessary movement and parking wherever possible.
We started after breakfast.
Hotel Fun N Food is around 5.5 km before the main Mandu attractions. I selected it deliberately because I preferred staying slightly away from the congestion around the main tourist area, while still remaining within a comfortable driving distance of all major attractions.
When you drive towards Jahaz mahal, road is curve and scenic. Pay attention to road curves, and stop by safe place to capture en-route beauty.
As you enter the Mandu Village area a small check post will collect 50rs. For the whole day as toll tax. Keep the slip safe in car for showing it to passing by from this check post to avoid multiple transactions.
Royal Enclave
Our first major stop was the Royal Enclave.
The combination of Jahaz Mahal, Hindola Mahal, and the surrounding ruins gives Mandu a very different character.
I had explored Youtube a night earlier to understand the history of Mandu and found a good video of Guide Mr. Rishabh Jaishwal at the channel of @Satellite Tracker. In this video he explains the story of complex structure in well structured narrative. Fortunately when I reach Jahaz mahal complex and parked the car, just at the gate I met him personally. I immediately recognized him from last night clipping of YouTube video. It was a surprise and pleasant experience to meet him.
We headed on walk from parking Lot towards Jahaz mahal on foot. I had pre booked the ticket online from ASI (archaeological survey of India) website. 30rs. For adult and 20rs. For kids below 12 years. Ticket counters are available at entry, even though online ticketing can save a time at monument.
We took a guide from the gate at 200rs. Which was useful, to understand significance of what we see, without that, it would be just capturing random pics of ruins.
Jahaz Mahal is probably the monument that immediately captures your attention. The architecture, scale and setting make it different from the usual forts and palaces we see.
Standing between the two water bodies, the structure actually gives the impression of a ship floating between them.
Then came Hindola Mahal.
The sloping walls of the monument are unusual and make it instantly recognisable.
The more time I spent looking at these structures, the more I started imagining what Mandu must have looked like centuries ago and how these would have been built, so accurate in dimensions, geometry and shapes. Well planned water system, drainage and natural air conditioning and lighting arrangements.
There is something fascinating about walking through a place where the buildings are partly ruins but the stories connected with them are still alive.
We also visited Mandu Museum as part of this section. The Mandu Museum was useful for understanding the historical background rather than simply looking at monuments without context.
Rather than trying to cover every monument in Mandu, I preferred to spend reasonable time at the places that interested us.
That makes a family trip much more enjoyable.
What I liked about Mandu was that the monuments are not isolated attractions.
The entire area feels like an open historical landscape.
You drive through the old settlement and suddenly come across another monument, gateway, baoli or viewpoint.
Jama Masjid and Ashrafi Mahal stories of being Hindu establishment and then later converted to Muslim monuments were touching heart.
Taking blessing of Worlds only temple where Shri Ram is with 4 hands, the Chaturbhuj Ram Temple, was divine.
After this segment we returned to Hotel at 12.30PM, for lunch and a quick rest before evening experience.
As we had booked Room only configuration, the lunch was on extra payment. We felt the pricing were a bit higher, but the ambience and food compensated for this.
After a brief rest, we started from hotel at 3.00PM for evening setup of Mandu, to eplore its remaining beauty.
Baz Bahadur Palace and Roopmati Pavilion
The next important group was towards:
- Baz Bahadur Palace
- Rewa Kund
- Roopmati Pavilion
- Ujala Baodi in return to Hindola Mahal.
The Roopmati Pavilion was particularly important because of its location overlooking the valleys. This is where Mandu changes character. The earlier monuments are primarily about history and architecture.
Here, the experience becomes: history + landscape + valley + sunset.
For a family trip, that variety is important. Children don't necessarily want to spend the entire day walking through monuments.
A viewpoint overlooking the valley provides a completely different experience.
A different Mandu after sunset
One thing I particularly wanted to experience was the evening show at Hindola Mahal.
We reached early.
In fact, we were among the first to buy the tickets and the first to reach the seating arrangement.
The window of ticket counter opens around 7.10PM and tickets cost are 180Rs. For Adult and 100Rs. For Kids (4 years to 12 years).
It is recommended to reach early to get parking spot (as parking space is limited) and to be early at counter line to get early ticket and early entry to have front chair row for seating and optimum view of show.
That turned out to be a small but memorable achievement.
We got comfortable seats and waited for the show to begin.
And then Mandu changed completely.
The illumination and projection on the historic structure created a completely different atmosphere from what we had experienced during the daytime.
The monument that we had been looking at in daylight was now being used as a canvas to narrate its history.
We simply sat back and enjoyed the show.
Sometimes the best part of travelling is not ticking another destination off the list, but sitting quietly for an hour and allowing the place to tell its own story.
This was one such evening.
Day-4: 28.08.2026
The journey back
The final day of a road trip always has a slightly different feeling.
The destination has been explored, the bags are packed and now the road is taking you back home.
But I have never liked keeping an entire day only for driving back.
There is always something to see on the way.
Dino Adventure Park – The Last Stop
For the morning of 28 August, we had planned Dino Adventure Park and Museum before starting the return journey.
The park was very close to our hotel, which made it ideal.
That was another example of planning the itinerary around location.
We could:
Wake up → breakfast → checkout → visit Dino Park → start for Vadodara
instead of making a separate long drive for it.
The entry fee was surprisingly low:
- Adults: ₹30 each
- Children below 12: ₹20
The park itself was not very well maintained.
So I would not recommend planning a major part of the day around it.
But for ₹140 for five people and because it was close to our hotel, I felt it was worth a quick visit.
The good part for us was the glass extended viewing platform, from where we could see the waterfall and valleys.
So my verdict would be:
The return route was:
Mandu → NH-47 → NE-4 → NE-1 → Vadodara
The drive went quite smoothly.
And finally:
We reached home at Tarsali, Vadodara at around 3:00 PM.
The return journey would be the final chapter of this short holiday.
And as I drove back towards Vadodara, I kept thinking about how different the two destinations on this trip had been.
Ujjain was about faith.
Mandu was about history.
The road connected both.
What I liked about this trip
This was not a typical sightseeing holiday where the objective was to cover as many places as possible.
The best part was the combination.
A comfortable drive from Vadodara.
A spiritual experience at Ujjain.
A comfortable family stay.
The historical ruins of Mandu.
And finally, an evening light-and-sound experience sitting in front of a centuries-old monument.
Travelling with family also changes the way you look at a destination.
You don't necessarily want to run from one monument to another.
Sometimes a good breakfast, a comfortable drive, an afternoon rest, a beautiful road or an evening show becomes as important as the monument itself.
My Take
Mandu is a destination where I would recommend taking your own car if you enjoy driving.
The monuments are spread across the area, and having your own vehicle makes moving between them considerably easier.
Ujjain, on the other hand, requires a little more planning, particularly if Mahakaleshwar darshan is an important part of your visit.
The biggest lesson from this trip was simple:
Don't try to see everything.
See what you have planned, but give yourself enough time to actually experience it.
A road trip is not only about the kilometres covered.
It is about the roads, the unexpected stops, the conversations inside the car, the tiredness after a long day, the excitement of reaching a new place—and the memories that remain after you return home.
This four-day journey from Vadodara to Ujjain and Mandu and back was exactly that.
A short break from routine, but a long-lasting memory.
Thank you for reading.
---Samarparn