Jaipur

Jaipur is the gateway to Rajasthan, and our trips use it as the first stop on a royal loop through the state's four great cities. The Pink City itself is a planned 18th-century capital of bazaars and palaces, with Amber Fort rising over Maota Lake, the honeycomb façade of Hawa Mahal and the astronomical instruments of Jantar Mantar. It is an easy two-hour flight from Hyderabad and the perfect introduction to the colour, craft and hospitality of Rajasthan.

From Jaipur the route heads south past the ramparts of Chittorgarh to Udaipur, the city of lakes, for a sunset boat ride on Lake Pichola and the sprawling City Palace. It then crosses the Aravallis via the marble Jain temple at Ranakpur to Jodhpur, the Blue City, where Mehrangarh Fort towers above the old town. The trip ends deep in the Thar Desert at Jaisalmer, where people still live inside a golden sandstone fort, the havelis are carved like lace and evenings are spent on camelback across the Sam dunes before a folk music performance and dinner at a desert camp.

Rajasthan suits families, couples, photographers and anyone who loves history. Distances are long, so we plan the loop over seven or eight nights with comfortable drives, heritage-style hotels and a local guide in each city. Travel between October and March, when days are warm and nights cool; summer is fiercely hot. Along the way there is excellent shopping for block prints, bandhani, blue pottery and silver jewellery, and some of the richest vegetarian food in India.