Things to do in Jodhpur

Jodhpur grew from one rock. Rao Jodha founded the city in 1459 and set his fort on the hill. The old city still circles it inside a wall with several gates.

Tours in Jodhpur divide between the city and the desert around it. The city takes a day. The villages, the dunes and the long roads to other cities take the rest.

What the city holds

• Mehrangarh Fort. The palace-fort above the roofs, with courtyards, a museum and the view over the blue houses. A guided visit gives it about two hours.
• Jaswant Thada. A white marble cenotaph for Maharaja Jaswant Singh II, with gardens and a small lake.
• Umaid Bhawan Palace. A royal residence, partly a museum, with the family's vintage cars.
• The old city. Navchowkiya's blue lanes, the Toorji Ka Jhalra stepwell, the Clock Tower and Sardar Market. A guided walk takes two to three hours and climbs Pachetia Hill for the view.

The local orders are fried and rich: mirchi bada, mawa kachori and makhaniya lassi.

Out into the desert

• Mandore. The former capital of Marwar, with the red sandstone cenotaphs of Jodhpur's rulers set in a garden.
• Osian. Two temples, then a camel ride in the dunes and a vegetarian dinner. A 1 pm departure gets back at 9 or 10 pm.
• Bishnoi villages. A four-hour open-jeep outing to Guda Bishnoiyan and Kankani, looking for blackbuck and chinkara. Sightings are not guaranteed.
• Jawai. A leopard safari in a 4x4, paired with Ranakpur on a 12-hour day.

Onward trips are drives: Pushkar about four hours, Jaisalmer five to six, Udaipur and Jaipur about six. Going via Ranakpur stretches Udaipur to seven or eight hours. Its 15th-century Jain temple has 1,444 carved pillars.

Practical

• Weather. May reaches 41C and June 40C, with nights near 27C. January and December afternoons run 25 to 27C and nights fall to 10 or 11C. July and August bring about 120 mm of monsoon rain each.
• Timing. From April to June afternoons pass 38C, so start the fort early.
• Transfers. Private cars collect from the hotel, airport or station. A sedan takes up to four people and an SUV up to six.
• Temples. Shoes come off, and shoulders and knees should be covered.