Rajasthan
In our 5 Shops series, we'll point you in the direction of our favorite independent shops across some of the world's best cities. From food markets and bookshops to vintage and homegrown design stores, we've found a diverse and exciting mix of local retailers where you can pick up one-of-a-kind pieces.
The capital of India's largest state, Jaipur (aka the Pink City) is replete with beautiful palaces, majestic forts and idyllic lakes and is surrounded by the lush green mountains of the Aravalli Range. It was founded in 1727 by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II and is one of the earliest planned cities in modern India (for which it was awarded UNESCO World Heritage status in July 2019).
As you drive into the Thar Desert in northwestern India, a shimmering golden city rises up like a mirage, its massive, sandcastle-like fort looming large on the horizon. Welcome to Jaisalmer, perhaps the most enchanting city in Rajasthan.
Imagine towering fortresses bursting from rocky crags, looming over tangled medieval lanes. Picture palaces decked from floor to ceiling with mirrored mosaics and intricate paintings of flowers, deities and fighting elephants. See yourself rattling across dusty deserts by train or bouncing by 4WD through tiger-stalked national parks. That’s Rajasthan.
An effective fort needs four things: a towering wall to keep out attacking armies; a secure water supply to endure sieges; a dramatic entrance to project an impression of power; and a secret way out, in case that projection of power fails. It’s a principle the fort-builders of Rajasthan in India’s rugged Thar Desert understood intuitively.
Thousands of years of power struggles between dynasties, empires and faiths have left formidable fortresses scattered all over India, from the palatial Mughal strongholds of the central plains to Portuguese, French and British bastions dotted along the coast. But even in this fortress-filled country, Amber Fort near Jaipur is something special.
