Rajasthan beyond the pink city

Rajasthan, on the road west of Jaipur, late afternoon.

The desert is not the backdrop. It is the distance between the forts.

A state of colours

Rajasthan is India’s largest state, and much of its west is the Thar Desert. Its cities each took a colour. Jaipur is pink. Jodhpur is the blue city, its old houses washed indigo below a great fort, Mehrangarh. Jaisalmer is golden, built of yellow sandstone at the edge of the dunes. Udaipur is white, on its lakes. Between them run long roads through scrub, mustard fields in winter, and villages with stepwells and small shrines.

How people live with the dry

Much of Rajasthan’s building is about water and heat. Stepwells go down several storeys to reach the water. Havelis, merchant mansions, are built around shaded courtyards. Forts sit on ridges with tanks to catch the monsoon. The food follows the climate: dal baati churma, baked wheat balls with lentils, and dishes that keep without a fridge. The music too. The Manganiyars and Langas, hereditary musicians of the desert, still play at weddings and at dusk in the forts.

Why people come

Rajasthan was the land of the Rajputs, warrior clans who ruled dozens of kingdoms here, and it holds more forts and palaces than anywhere else in India. Six of its hill forts, among them Amber, Chittorgarh, Kumbhalgarh and Jaisalmer, are together a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Jaisalmer’s fort is one of the few in the world still lived in, with homes and shops inside its walls. Visitors from abroad come for the forts and the desert. Indians come for palace weddings and, in November, the camel fair at Pushkar.

How to cross it

Distances are long. Jaipur to Jodhpur is about 340 kilometres, and Jodhpur to Jaisalmer nearly 300 more. Jaipur, Jodhpur and Udaipur have airports, and overnight trains link most cities, which saves a hotel night. Many visitors hire a car and driver for a week. From Jaisalmer, jeeps and camels go out to the dunes at Sam or Khuri, about forty kilometres west, for sunset.

On the road

• October to March is the season. Summer days pass 45°C.
• Give each city two nights. Three cities in a week is plenty.
• Carry water and a scarf for the dust, even in winter.
• Stay one night inside or below a fort. The town changes after the day visitors leave.

Travel by road if you can spare the hours. The point of Rajasthan is the space between the famous gates.