Rajvant Palace (Vijay Palace)
Rajpipla's royal showpiece: an early-twentieth-century palace in European classical style, domes and colonnaded verandahs above the Karjan low country.
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- Best months
- Oct, Nov, Dec, Jan, Feb
- Time needed
- ~1.5 hr
- Entry fee
- ₹100
- Hours
- 09:00–18:00
- Effort
- Easy
Rajvant Palace, also called Vijay Palace, is the showpiece of Rajpipla's royal past: an early-twentieth-century palace in confident European classical style, domes, Corinthian columns, high colonnaded verandahs, set in lawns above the Karjan river's low country. Built for the Gohil Rajput rulers of Rajpipla state, it stayed with the family after independence and now runs as a heritage resort whose public side includes a museum wing of royal photographs, furniture, trophies and costume.
Rajpipla's princely history is more colourful than the town's size suggests, Maharaja Vijaysinhji, its most famous ruler, won the 1934 Epsom Derby with his horse Windsor Lad, still India's only Derby-winning owner. Rooms of memorabilia carry that era, and Bollywood knows the palace well: its lawns and staircases appear regularly in film and television shoots, which occasionally close sections to visitors.
As a stop, it pairs the museum hour with a walk through the grounds, and works as a heritage-flavoured contrast to the engineering spectacle at Ekta Nagar, forty minutes away.
Highlights
- ◆European classical palace of the Rajpipla royals
- ◆Museum wing with royal memorabilia
- ◆Lawns familiar from countless film shoots
- ◆Easy 40-minute pairing with Ekta Nagar
History & lore
Rajpipla state was ruled by the Gohil Rajput dynasty for centuries before merging with India in 1948. Vijay/Rajvant Palace was raised in 1910 by Maharana Chhatrasinhji for the young Vijaysinhji, who grew up to win the 1934 Epsom Derby with Windsor Lad, still India's only Derby-winning owner.
Traveller tips
- →Combine with Harsiddhi Mata temple and an old-town walk for a Rajpipla half-day
- →Ask about the Derby story at the museum: the memorabilia makes more sense with it
- →Staying a night here is the easy way to see Ekta Nagar without its hotel crush
Where it is
Approximate pin. The circle is the margin · 21.8700, 73.5000
Directions to Rajvant ↗Getting there
Road · On the edge of Rajpipla town; well connected by road from Vadodara, Bharuch and Ekta Nagar
Rail · Ekta Nagar station (~25 km) or Ankleshwar Jn (~70 km)
Air · Vadodara (~70 km)
Last stretch · Drive-in to the grounds; museum is ground-floor with some stairs to upper verandahs
Questions people ask
Can non-guests visit the palace?
Yes. The museum wing and grounds are ticketed for day visitors, subject to event and shoot closures. The private residential wings stay off-limits.
Practical detail
- The road
- Good
- Parking
- Inside the grounds
- Season
- Comfortable October–February; monsoon greens the lawns and river country.
- Visiting
- Call ahead if the museum matters to your plan. Shoot-day closures are unannounced.
- Photography
- Late-afternoon light warms the west façade; interiors need permission, ask at the desk.
- Food
- Resort restaurant on site; Rajpipla town eateries minutes away
- Toilets
- good
- Guides
- Staff walk-throughs on request
Where to sleep
Rajvant Palace Resort, Rajpipla
Sleeping in the 1910 palace is the quiet way to do the SoU circuit, 25 min from the campus without its hotel crush.
Direct booking with the resort; ~14 rooms, so weekends and film-shoot periods block out fast
Nilkanthdham Guesthouse & Bhojanalaya, Poicha
Best for pilgrims and anyone wanting the complex at dawn before day crowds; expect devotional campus norms, not hotel service.
Rooms via the temple's guest facilities; simple, clean, vegetarian campus rules apply
Vishal Khadi Eco Campsite
A five-room forest camp on the Rajpipla–Netrang road, roughly 20 km south of Rajpipla, hemmed in by the Karjan and Dediapada forests. The practical bed for the Rajpipla-side waterfalls if the palace hotel is beyond budget.
Forest Department portal lists 3 rooms from ₹1000 and 2 tents from ₹500 a night. Small site, the whole place books out on long weekends.
Nearby
Data confidence: Researched · facts last verified 2026-08-08 · 3 field(s) awaiting verification
- Rajavant Palace, District Narmada, Government of Gujarat, narmada.nic.in (official)