Jaipur

A facade of 953 windows let the women of the palace look out unseen. So many openings keep air moving and the inside stays cool.

Mirror set into the walls of this hill fort let a single candle light a whole room. The rampart runs several kilometres along the ridge.

Sundials and astronomical instruments were built large in stone across this yard. The biggest dial stands 27 metres and reads to two seconds.

The family still lives in part of it and the rest is open. Two silver water urns each hold four thousand litres.

A palace occupies the centre of a lake with its lower four floors submerged. No boat lands there and the shore is where people look from.

From the ridge the whole city shows laid out on its grid. After dark the lights trace that grid exactly.

Symmetrical stairs descend eight levels into the ground. Water was drawn here and now only the steps remain.

Patterns cut into wooden blocks are stamped onto cloth to lay the colour. Each colour has its own block, so the pattern takes several passes.

Jewellers fill one street and stones are cut in the back rooms. Prices vary widely, so weight and grade are checked before buying.

Pools step down a gorge and monkeys play in the water. Anything held in the hand gets taken, so hands stay empty.

Built around 1726 on the ridge above Amber Fort, and linked to it by a passage inside the walls. On display is Jaivana, a colossal wheeled cannon cast in 1720. Huge underground cisterns that once stored rainwater are still there.

The state museum, opened in 1887 in a building that blends Indian domes with British arches. An Egyptian mummy lies in one upstairs gallery and holds visitors longer than anything else. At night floodlights wash the whole facade and the square fills up.

A gateway to Jawahar Circle park near the airport, its pillars and ceilings painted edge to edge with scenes and patterns from across Rajasthan. Nearly everyone comes for photographs of the colour. Arrive early to catch the arches empty.

This Laxmi Narayan temple went up in white marble in 1988, below Moti Dungri hill. Alongside the deities, the outer walls carry the faces of saints and philosophers from many faiths. After dusk, under floodlights, the marble glows milky white.

Cremation memorials of Jaipur's rulers clustered at the foot of Nahargarh hill. Each marble or sandstone pavilion has pillars and domes carved in fine detail. Visitors are scarce compared with the city sights, so the place stays hushed.

A terraced garden Jai Singh II made for his queen in 1728, set on a hillside beside the Agra road. Every level has fountains and channels, and the pavilion walls are painted with Radha and Krishna. Water runs fullest just after the monsoon.

Shops selling fabric and embroidered leather mojari slippers line the pink arcades here. Where Johari Bazaar deals in gems, this one centres on cloth and footwear. Haggling usually opens at about half the first price quoted.

A movie palace opened in 1976, famous for its pink, meringue-like curved interior. It still screens Hindi films, and the audience whistles and claps when the hero walks on. Many travellers buy a ticket just to watch the crowd, plot or no plot.

A stepwell in Abhaneri village, 95km east of Jaipur, first dug in the 9th century. Some 3,500 steps zigzag down three of its sides through 13 levels. Many people stop here on the drive to Agra.

Raised in 1749 by Ishwari Singh to celebrate a battle won, and tucked behind Tripolia Bazaar. Its inner spiral ramp tops out above the old city's pink rooftops, facing the Nahargarh ridge. Few know of it, so you often have the top to yourself.

West of Jaipur lies the largest inland salt lake in India. In winter flamingos gather in the shallows, while dry months bare a bed of white salt. A narrow-gauge line once used to haul salt crosses the lake.

A Krishna temple in the gardens of the City Palace complex, its image brought from Vrindavan. The curtain opens seven times a day to reveal the deity and stays shut in between. At the evening rite the hall fills with singing and clapping.

An arts centre designed by Charles Correa and opened in 1991, laid out on a nine-square mandala. Each square stands for a planet, with its symbol worked into the walls. Shows and exhibitions change often, and students crowd the courtyard cafe.

A 17th-century fort and its bazaar street left in ruins in the hills northeast of Jaipur. Rumour names it the most haunted place in India. A sign from the archaeological authority at the entrance forbids entry after sunset and before sunrise.