diff --git a/.env.example b/.env.example
index 3567be1..63006b5 100644
--- a/.env.example
+++ b/.env.example
@@ -19,6 +19,9 @@ WS_AUTH_SECRET=
 
 # Solana
 SOLANA_RPC_URL=https://api.mainnet-beta.solana.com
+# Fallback RPC — used automatically when primary is down or rate-limited.
+# IMPORTANT: defaults to devnet if unset — must be set for mainnet deployments.
+FALLBACK_RPC_URL=
 
 # Supabase
 SUPABASE_URL=
diff --git a/src/routes/adl.ts b/src/routes/adl.ts
index 471953d..609cfa7 100644
--- a/src/routes/adl.ts
+++ b/src/routes/adl.ts
@@ -50,6 +50,8 @@ import {
   createLogger,
   sanitizeSlabAddress,
 } from "@percolator/shared";
+import { withRpcFallback } from "../utils/rpc-fallback.js";
+import { RpcTimeoutError } from "../utils/rpc-timeout.js";
 import { isBlockedSlab } from "../middleware/validateSlab.js";
 
 const logger = createLogger("api:adl");
@@ -170,11 +172,18 @@ export function adlRoutes(): Hono {
       return c.json({ error: "Market not found" }, 404);
     }
 
-    const connection = getConnection();
     let data: Uint8Array;
     try {
-      data = await fetchSlab(connection, new PublicKey(slab));
+      data = await withRpcFallback(
+        (conn) => fetchSlab(conn, new PublicKey(slab)),
+        getConnection(),
+        `fetchSlab(${slab})`,
+      );
     } catch (err) {
+      if (err instanceof RpcTimeoutError) {
+        logger.warn("RPC timeout fetching slab for ADL", { slab, timeoutMs: err.timeoutMs });
+        return c.json({ error: "Upstream RPC timeout", slab }, 504);
+      }
       const msg = err instanceof Error ? err.message : String(err);
       if (msg.includes("not found")) {
         return c.json({ error: "Slab account not found", slab }, 404);
diff --git a/src/routes/health.ts b/src/routes/health.ts
index 31b4045..6701510 100644
--- a/src/routes/health.ts
+++ b/src/routes/health.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,7 @@
 import { Hono } from "hono";
 import { getConnection, getSupabase, createLogger, truncateErrorMessage } from "@percolator/shared";
+import { withRpcFallback } from "../utils/rpc-fallback.js";
+import { HEALTH_RPC_TIMEOUT_MS } from "../utils/rpc-timeout.js";
 import { getWebSocketMetrics } from "./ws.js";
 import { requireApiKey } from "../middleware/auth.js";
 
@@ -26,7 +28,12 @@ export function healthRoutes(): Hono {
     
     // Check RPC connectivity
     try {
-      await getConnection().getSlot();
+      await withRpcFallback(
+        (conn) => conn.getSlot(),
+        getConnection(),
+        "healthcheck:getSlot",
+        HEALTH_RPC_TIMEOUT_MS,
+      );
       checks.rpc = true;
     } catch (err) {
       logger.error("RPC check failed", { error: truncateErrorMessage(err instanceof Error ? err.message : err, 120) });
diff --git a/src/routes/markets.ts b/src/routes/markets.ts
index fa86676..d2fa674 100644
--- a/src/routes/markets.ts
+++ b/src/routes/markets.ts
@@ -5,6 +5,8 @@ import { cacheMiddleware } from "../middleware/cache.js";
 import { withDbCacheFallback } from "../middleware/db-cache-fallback.js";
 import { fetchSlab, parseHeader, parseConfig, parseEngine } from "@percolator/sdk";
 import { getConnection, getSupabase, getNetwork, createLogger, sanitizeSlabAddress, truncateErrorMessage } from "@percolator/shared";
+import { withRpcFallback } from "../utils/rpc-fallback.js";
+import { RpcTimeoutError } from "../utils/rpc-timeout.js";
 
 const logger = createLogger("api:markets");
 
@@ -121,9 +123,12 @@ export function marketRoutes(): Hono {
     const slab = c.req.param("slab");
     if (!slab) return c.json({ error: "slab required" }, 400);
     try {
-      const connection = getConnection();
       const slabPubkey = new PublicKey(slab);
-      const data = await fetchSlab(connection, slabPubkey);
+      const data = await withRpcFallback(
+        (conn) => fetchSlab(conn, slabPubkey),
+        getConnection(),
+        `fetchSlab(${slab})`,
+      );
       const header = parseHeader(data);
       const cfg = parseConfig(data);
       const engine = parseEngine(data);
@@ -150,6 +155,10 @@ export function marketRoutes(): Hono {
         },
       });
     } catch (err) {
+      if (err instanceof RpcTimeoutError) {
+        logger.warn("RPC timeout fetching market", { slab, timeoutMs: err.timeoutMs });
+        return c.json({ error: "Upstream RPC timeout" }, 504);
+      }
       const detail = err instanceof Error ? err.message : "Unknown error";
       const isNotFound = detail.includes("not found") || detail.includes("Account does not exist");
       if (isNotFound) {
diff --git a/src/utils/rpc-fallback.ts b/src/utils/rpc-fallback.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..49f5b7f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/utils/rpc-fallback.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,47 @@
+/**
+ * RPC failover for read-only on-chain calls.
+ *
+ * Tries the primary connection first; on ANY error, retries once against
+ * the fallback connection (FALLBACK_RPC_URL).  Each attempt is independently
+ * wrapped in withRpcTimeout so a hung primary doesn't consume the fallback's
+ * timeout budget.
+ *
+ * If FALLBACK_RPC_URL is not explicitly set, the original primary error is
+ * re-thrown unchanged.  This prevents silent failover to the devnet default
+ * that @percolator/shared uses when the env var is missing.
+ */
+
+import type { Connection } from "@solana/web3.js";
+import { getFallbackConnection, createLogger } from "@percolator/shared";
+import { withRpcTimeout } from "./rpc-timeout.js";
+
+const logger = createLogger("api:rpc-fallback");
+
+/** True only when the operator has explicitly configured a fallback RPC. */
+const hasFallbackRpc = Boolean(process.env.FALLBACK_RPC_URL);
+
+export async function withRpcFallback<T>(
+  fn: (conn: Connection) => Promise<T>,
+  primary: Connection,
+  operation: string,
+  timeoutMs?: number,
+): Promise<T> {
+  try {
+    return await withRpcTimeout(fn(primary), operation, timeoutMs);
+  } catch (primaryErr) {
+    if (!hasFallbackRpc) {
+      throw primaryErr; // no explicit fallback configured — re-throw original
+    }
+
+    logger.warn("Primary RPC failed, trying fallback", {
+      operation,
+      error: primaryErr instanceof Error ? primaryErr.message : String(primaryErr),
+    });
+
+    return await withRpcTimeout(
+      fn(getFallbackConnection()),
+      `${operation}[fallback]`,
+      timeoutMs,
+    );
+  }
+}
diff --git a/src/utils/rpc-timeout.ts b/src/utils/rpc-timeout.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f2bacd4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/utils/rpc-timeout.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,41 @@
+/**
+ * Timeout wrapper for RPC calls that don't accept AbortSignal.
+ *
+ * fetchSlab() and getConnection().getSlot() from the SDK/shared libs take a
+ * Connection object, not an AbortSignal, so AbortSignal.timeout() cannot be
+ * threaded through.  Promise.race is the only viable approach.
+ *
+ * The underlying RPC call is NOT cancelled — Node will GC the dangling promise
+ * once it settles.  This is acceptable because fetchSlab/getSlot are read-only.
+ */
+
+const DEFAULT_RPC_TIMEOUT_MS = 10_000;
+const DEFAULT_HEALTH_RPC_TIMEOUT_MS = 5_000;
+
+export const RPC_TIMEOUT_MS: number =
+  Number(process.env.RPC_TIMEOUT_MS) || DEFAULT_RPC_TIMEOUT_MS;
+
+export const HEALTH_RPC_TIMEOUT_MS: number =
+  Number(process.env.HEALTH_RPC_TIMEOUT_MS) || DEFAULT_HEALTH_RPC_TIMEOUT_MS;
+
+export class RpcTimeoutError extends Error {
+  public readonly timeoutMs: number;
+
+  constructor(operation: string, timeoutMs: number) {
+    super(`RPC timeout: ${operation} did not complete within ${timeoutMs}ms`);
+    this.name = "RpcTimeoutError";
+    this.timeoutMs = timeoutMs;
+  }
+}
+
+export function withRpcTimeout<T>(
+  promise: Promise<T>,
+  operation: string,
+  timeoutMs: number = RPC_TIMEOUT_MS,
+): Promise<T> {
+  let timer: ReturnType<typeof setTimeout>;
+  const timeout = new Promise<never>((_, reject) => {
+    timer = setTimeout(() => reject(new RpcTimeoutError(operation, timeoutMs)), timeoutMs);
+  });
+  return Promise.race([promise, timeout]).finally(() => clearTimeout(timer!));
+}