Jodhpur in 3 days: what to see, in what order

A park of desert plants and red volcanic rock right under the walls of Mehrangarh, replanted from 2006 with native Thar plants. Marked trails climb over the rocks and along old water channels, with views of the fort and the blue city.

One of the biggest forts in India, built from 1459 by Rao Jodha on a rock about 120 m above the city. Inside are carved sandstone palaces, the Moti Mahal and Phool Mahal, and a museum of royal palanquins, howdahs, paintings and arms. From the walls you look down on the blue houses of the old city. The Chamunda Mata temple sits at the far end of the ramparts.

A white marble memorial built in 1899 for Maharaja Jaswant Singh II, with thin marble walls that glow when the sun is on them. Around it are small cenotaphs of later rulers, a stepped garden and a little lake, with a good view back up to the fort.

A deep stepwell from the 1740s, built by a queen of Maharaja Abhay Singh, with rows of carved sandstone steps going down to the water. It was cleaned out and opened up again in the 2010s, and cafes and shops now look over it.

The clock tower, built by Maharaja Sardar Singh, who ruled from 1880 to 1911, stands in the middle of Sardar Market, the old city's main bazaar. The lanes around it sell spices, tie-dye fabric, bangles, silver and mojari shoes. Try a makhaniya lassi or a mirchi vada from the stalls by the gates.

One of the last great palaces built in India, finished in 1943 for Maharaja Umaid Singh in golden sandstone with an art deco inside. The royal family still lives in part of it and part is a hotel. The museum wing shows clocks, crockery, paintings and photos of the family, and the maharaja's vintage cars stand in the garden outside.

A big open zoo in the rocky scrub west of the city, with lions, leopards, sloth bears, blackbuck, chinkara, desert foxes and many birds, in large enclosures along a walking loop. There is a small fort on the hill above it.

A Shiva temple tucked into a cleft of red rock in the hills between Takht Sagar and Kaylana Lake, reached by steps cut into the rock. It is cool and quiet, with views over the hills.

A large lake in the rocky hills about 8 km west of the city, made in 1872 by Pratap Singh. It is the city's water store, ringed by red rock and scrub, with a lakeside road, a viewpoint and boats. Birds come in winter.

A hilltop temple to the goddess Sachiya Mata, reached up a long covered stairway under carved arches. The present temple is from about the 12th century, built over older shrines, and is still busy with pilgrims. From the top you look over Osian's old temples and the desert around it.

Osian, about 65 km north of Jodhpur, was a rich trading town 1,200 years ago, and its 8th to 11th century temples are some of the oldest in Rajasthan. The Mahavira Jain temple, from about 783, has a carved gateway, a pillared hall and an image of Mahavira. Close by are the small Surya and Harihara temples, covered in carvings of gods and dancers.

Mandore was the capital of Marwar before Jodhpur, about 9 km north of the city. The garden holds the tall red sandstone cenotaphs, called devals, of the Rathore rulers, built like temples. The Hall of Heroes has big painted figures of gods and folk heroes carved out of one rock wall, and a small museum sits in the old palace. Langur monkeys live in the trees.