Rajasthan, India: The Perfect Romantic Getaway

Fly into Jaipur (JAI) or take the train from Delhi (4.5 hours). The old city of Jaipur — the Pink City, so called because every building in the walled quarter was painted terracotta pink for the 1876 visit of the Prince of Wales — is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the most completely realized planned cities in the world, laid out in 1727 by Jai Singh II according to Vedic principles. The Hawa Mahal (Palace of Winds) — a five-story pink sandstone screen of 953 latticed windows from which the palace ladies could observe street life without being seen — is the city's icon. The Jantar Mantar astronomical observatory in the city center, also built by Jai Singh, contains the world's largest stone sundial and has instruments accurate to 2 seconds. Dinner at a rooftop restaurant in the old city with views of the illuminated Hawa Mahal.

• ✦ Hawa Mahal — the Palace of Winds with 953 latticed windows
• ✦ Jantar Mantar — 18th-century astronomical observatory, UNESCO-listed
• ✦ Old city pink painted haveli streets
• ✦ Rooftop dinner overlooking the illuminated Pink City

Amber (Amer) Fort, 11km north of Jaipur in the Aravalli Hills, is one of the great Rajput fortress complexes in India — begun in 1592 and expanded through the 17th century in a blend of Rajput and Mughal architectural styles. The elephant ascent to the main gate (or the jeep alternative) is a classic Jaipur experience; the Ganesh Pol gateway decorated with carved reliefs and mirror-work panels leads to the Sheesh Mahal (Palace of Mirrors), where a single candle reflected in thousands of glass mirror pieces embedded in the ceiling creates a simulated night sky. The City Palace complex in Jaipur contains the Maharaja's still-occupied private apartments, the extraordinary Chandra Mahal, and the Mubarak Mahal textile museum with a collection of royal Rajasthani garments in silk, brocade, and embroidery. The Nahargarh Fort at sunset on the ridge above Jaipur provides the most complete view of the Pink City.

• ✦ Amber Fort Sheesh Mahal — Palace of Mirrors ceiling
• ✦ Elephant ascent to Amber's main gate
• ✦ City Palace and the Chandra Mahal
• ✦ Nahargarh Fort sunset view over the Pink City

Drive or take the train 335km west to Jodhpur — the Blue City, where the old city's buildings are painted indigo blue (traditionally to mark Brahmin houses but now an aesthetic choice throughout the old quarter). The Mehrangarh Fort, rising 125 meters above the city on a volcanic outcrop, is the most spectacular Rajput fortress in India — the battlements above the cliff are so dramatic that Salman Khan had them replicated for a Bollywood film set. From the fort ramparts, the blue city spreads below in every direction, with the Thar Desert beginning beyond the city walls. The old city's Sardar Market is excellent for blue pottery, tie-dye textiles, and the silver jewelry for which Jodhpur's craftsmen are famous. Check into the Umaid Bhawan Palace — a 347-room Art Deco palace still partly occupied by the Jodhpur royal family — for the most theatrical hotel experience in Rajasthan.

• ✦ Mehrangarh Fort — the most spectacular Rajput fortress, rising 125m above the city
• ✦ Blue City panorama from the fort battlements
• ✦ Sardar Market for blue pottery and silver jewelry
• ✦ Umaid Bhawan Palace — Art Deco, partly royal-occupied

A full day in Jodhpur. The Toorji Ka Jhalra stepwell (baoli) in the old city is a magnificent geometric stone structure — a series of steps descending symmetrically to a central water pool, built in the 18th century for water storage. Recently restored, it's one of the finest stepwells open to the public in Rajasthan. The Clock Tower (Ghanta Ghar) neighborhood is the best shopping area in Jodhpur: the spice stalls selling hand-ground Rajasthani spice blends, the sweets vendors with jodhpuri mirchi vada (stuffed chili fritters, the city's street food signature), and the textile shops with Rajasthani bandhani and leheriya dyed cotton. The Jaswant Thada — a white marble cenotaph for the Maharaja Jaswant Singh II (1899) beside a lily-pond — is sometimes called Jodhpur's Taj Mahal and is genuinely beautiful in the late afternoon light.

• ✦ Toorji Ka Jhalra stepwell — geometric stone symmetry
• ✦ Clock Tower spice market and jodhpuri mirchi vada
• ✦ Jaswant Thada white marble cenotaph — Jodhpur's Taj Mahal
• ✦ Mehrangarh Fort at sunset from the city walls

Drive south from Jodhpur 90km to the Ranakpur Jain Temple Complex — the most extraordinary Jain temples in India, built between 1437 and 1458 in a jungle clearing in the Aravalli Hills. The main Chaumukha Mandir has 1,444 elaborately carved marble columns (no two alike) supporting the temple's 24 domed halls, with a quality of stone carving that matches anything in India. The temple is still actively used and radiates a meditative peace that is very different from the tourist-heavy Jaipur and Jodhpur monuments. Continue south to Udaipur — the City of Lakes, the most romantic city in Rajasthan and arguably in all of India. The approach into Udaipur along the shores of the Fateh Sagar and Pichola lakes, with the white marble City Palace rising from the lakeside and the Taj Lake Palace visible on its island, is one of the great arrivals in Indian travel.

• ✦ Ranakpur Jain temples — 1,444 uniquely carved marble columns
• ✦ Aravalli Hills drive through the forest
• ✦ First sight of Lake Pichola and the Lake Palace
• ✦ City Palace from the lakeside at sunset

Udaipur's Lake Pichola is at the heart of everything. The City Palace complex — Rajasthan's largest palace, built over 400 years from 1553, with interconnected rooms, zenana apartments, mirror-work chambers, and panoramic terraces — is the finest Rajput palace in India. The Crystal Gallery within the palace contains a maharaja's crystal collection of extraordinary extravagance: crystal beds, crystal dining tables, crystal glasses, all ordered from England in 1877 and never used (the maharaja died before delivery). A boat ride on Lake Pichola to the Jag Mandir island palace is the classic Udaipur afternoon: the lake palace and the mountains above reflected in the still water at dusk. Evening: the Bagore Ki Haveli cultural show with traditional Rajasthani music and dance on the lakeside ghats, then dinner at the Upre restaurant overlooking the lake.

• ✦ City Palace — Rajasthan's largest, 400 years of royal accumulation
• ✦ Crystal Gallery — a maharaja's Victorian crystal collection, never used
• ✦ Boat ride on Lake Pichola to Jag Mandir island
• ✦ Sunset from the Sajjangarh (Monsoon Palace) above the city

Udaipur Airport (UDR) has good connections to Delhi and Mumbai for international connections. A final morning in Udaipur belongs to the Saheliyon-ki-Bari — the Garden of the Maids of Honor, built by Maharana Sangram Singh II for the queen and her ladies, with fountains, lotus pools, marble kiosks, and the specific intimate atmosphere of a garden designed for royal women's pleasure rather than public display. A final boat trip on the lake, watching the palace reflections in the morning stillness before the tourist boats begin their runs, is the most beautiful Udaipur experience. Take home Udaipur's famous miniature paintings (a living tradition of the Rajput court painting school), Rajasthani silver jewelry, and a spice blend from the old city market.

• ✦ Saheliyon-ki-Bari — the Garden of the Maids of Honor
• ✦ Final morning boat on Lake Pichola before the crowds
• ✦ Rajput miniature painting and Rajasthani jewelry shopping
• ✦ Transfer to Udaipur Airport for onward connections