Fort, Tiger and Desert — Eight Nights from Jaipur to Jaisalmer

You are met at Jaipur airport and driven to your hotel. Jaipur's walled quarter is painted pink and the city was laid out on a grid in the eighteenth century. The rest of the day is free. · Jaipur

A full day in Jaipur. Amber Fort stands on a ridge above a lake outside the city, built in pale stone with mirrored halls inside. In the city itself are the City Palace, the Jantar Mantar observatory with its outsized stone instruments, and the Hawa Mahal, the screen of latticed windows built so the women of the court could watch the street unseen. · Jaipur

You travel southeast about 200 kilometres to Ranthambore, where dry deciduous forest surrounds a tenth-century hilltop fort inside the reserve. You check in and the rest of the day is free. The park is closed from 1 July to 30 September. · Ranthambore

The longest day of the trip, about 450 kilometres, broken by Chittorgarh — the largest fort in India by area, a hilltop plateau of palaces, temples and two victory towers. You continue to Udaipur in the evening. · Udaipur

A day in Udaipur. The City Palace runs along the shore of Lake Pichola and is the largest palace complex in Rajasthan, built up by successive rulers over four centuries. Jagdish temple, the Saheliyon ki Bari garden and the old lanes around the lake complete the day. · Udaipur

You travel north about 300 kilometres through the Aravalli hills, stopping at Ranakpur where a fifteenth-century Jain temple stands on more than a thousand carved marble pillars. You continue to Jodhpur. · Jodhpur

You travel west about 350 kilometres into the Thar desert to Jaisalmer, the country thinning out steadily as you go. You check in on arrival. · Jaisalmer

A day in Jaisalmer. The fort here is one of the very few in the world still lived in, with families, shops and temples inside the walls, and the yellow sandstone turns gold in low light. The merchant havelis in the town below are carved in the same stone. · Jaisalmer

After breakfast you check out and travel back east about 300 kilometres to Jodhpur, continuing to the airport for your onward flight. This is a full day's drive, so allow for it when booking your onward flight.