Rajasthan

Most itineraries run Jaipur, Jodhpur and Udaipur in six days, and the state stays behind glass. Give it a fortnight and it opens. Bishnoi hamlets on the Jodhpur road where blackbuck graze at forty metres. The indigo pits at Bagru, where block printers work to a rhythm older than the dye. Chittorgarh’s ridge at seven in the morning, before the buses. We favour Bundi over another night in Jaipur, a camp in the dunes near Khuri rather than Sam, and small forts in the Aravallis reached by jeep track. December mornings start near 8°C and reach 30°C by lunch; pack for both.