Jaisalmer

Rawal Jaisal raised this sandstone fort in 1156, and UNESCO listed it in 2013 with Rajasthan's other hill forts. Homes, shops and temples crowd its walls and people live here, but waste water soaking the foundations has some urging visitors to lodge outside.

Five mansions built by the wealthy Patwa merchant family for five sons stand joined in a single lane. Work began in 1805 and ran over 50 years, and balconies of sandstone pierced like lace cover whole walls. Part is a museum, part shops.

A 14th-century reservoir created to supply the city with water, its shore lined with small shrines and bathing ghats. Tradition credits Tilon, a court dancer, with the arched entrance gate, and sunrise brings people to see the shrines mirrored on the water.

Dunes some 40 kilometres west of the city, ridden up by camel around sunset. Tent camps and stages line up in front of them, so evenings get crowded; for a quieter desert, pick Khuri, further out.

A village built up by Paliwal Brahmins and abandoned all at once in the 19th century, its mud-walled houses standing empty in rows. Accounts of why they left split between oppression and drought, and the gate is shut after sunset.

A hillside of sandstone cenotaph pavilions honouring Jaisalmer's rulers, roughly 6 kilometres out of town to the north. The pavilions glow gold at sunset, but a row of wind turbines on the ridge behind means picking the camera angle with care.

Seven Jain temples built between the 12th and 15th centuries inside the fort, linked by passages, their pillars and ceilings covered in yellow sandstone carving. Non-Jains are admitted in the morning only; leather items must be left outside.

A mansion built in 1815 for the chief minister Salim Singh, its upper storeys jutting out wider than those below. The roof's eaves arch like a peacock fanning its tail, and it lies close to the fort entrance, easy to fit in on the way down.

A national park protecting dunes and salt-crusted flats of the Thar, the last stronghold of the critically endangered great Indian bustard. A breeding centre nearby is raising chicks, and entry requires a forest department permit, with tours by jeep.

A small fort above another village the Paliwals deserted, like Kuldhara, holding a room of fossils found in the area. From its walls the ruined houses spread out below, and in the early morning peacocks come down in flocks to feed.

The late 19th-century mansion of the prime minister Nathmal, carved by two mason brothers taking a side each, so the halves differ subtly. Yellow sandstone elephants flank the entrance. It is still a private home, so how much of the inside you can see varies.

A hill north of the fort crowded with sandstone pavilion cenotaphs of the Brahmin community. At sunset the fort walls opposite turn gold, and people gather to watch. It is walkable from the fort; arrive 30 minutes ahead of sunset for a good spot.

Once the capital, about 15 km northwest, before the court moved to Jaisalmer. The rebuilt Jain temple's entrance arch is covered in fine sandstone carving. Jeeps heading out to the desert camps often pause here.

A reservoir on the western outskirts with a royal garden palace and a Jain temple on its banks. The marble and sandstone carving in and around the temple is fine work. In dry years the lake bed shows by summer, so go after the monsoon to see it full.

A temple about 120 km northwest near the Pakistan border, run by the Border Security Force. Shells said to have fallen around it without exploding in the 1965 war are displayed with that story. Longewala's battlefield lies en route, on the same drive.

The desert battlefield where a small Indian post held off a Pakistani armoured column in the 1971 war. Captured tanks and vehicles stand out in the open, and a small hall walks you through the battle. The film Border made it well known to Indian visitors.