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break the hypnotic calm of an Aravalli countryside sojourn. You can choose a route with the appropriate properties, together with unique activities, that maintains the distinct charm of these villages and its people. A recommended route (southwest to northeast, Udaipur to Delhi, or vice versa), which tracks the Aravalli Range, would include the lakeside Deco heritage of Dungapur’s Udai Bilas Palace. Then move on to Udaipur, where you can escape the crowds by staying a night at Devi Garh before moving on to the charming Rawla Narlai. Then you could take in the impressive Kumbhalgarh Fort and the Jain temples at Ranakpur (overnighting at HRH’s Aodi). After that head northeast towards Bhilwara and the homely Shahpura Bagh (halfway between Udiapur and Jaipur) for a few days before the drive to Jaipur. After shopping and sightseeing in the Pink City spend a night at Samode Palace after seeing the Amber Fort, but be sure not to miss Amanbagh for a final few days of relaxation and pampering before the short trek to Delhi and home.

WHERE TO STAY & DINE EN ROUTE TO OR FROM DELHI

Instead of hightailing it to or from the capital, consider breaking up your journey and enjoying some of the marvelous luxury and architectural heritage available between Delhi and Jaipur.

Amanbagh For its inspired location alone, this fabulous Amanresort property deserves three stars. Made almost entirely of pink sandstone by local stonemasons, the best and most expensive suites are the palatial pool pavilions. A light-filled entrance foyer leads directly through to your own emerald marble pool, a gorgeous, massive bedroom on one side and a spacious domed bath chamber on the other. For significantly fewer dollars, you can forgo a private pool (arguably eclipsed by the 33m/108 ft. marbled magnetic main pool), while still being thoroughly ensconced in luxury in one of the three categories of haveli suite (the elevated terrace units are best, up in the mango trees gazing directly at the hills; ask for one facing the canal rather than the pool). If you can bear to leave the premises, you can undertake a number of truly worthwhile activities: picnics into the countryside, hike to ancient Somsagar Lake, explore the haunted ruins at Bhangarh, visit the archaeological sites in the Paranagar area. Amanbagh’s staff is enchanting: warm, discreet; dining is world-class.

Ajabgarh, Rajasthan. 01465/22-3333. Fax 01465/22-3335. www.amanresorts.com. amanbagh@amanresorts.com. Reservations: Amanresorts Corporate Office 77/774-3500 in Colombo 24/7. Fax 011/237-2193. reservations@amanresorts.com. 40 Units. $1,250 pool pavilion; $850 terrace haveli; $700 garden haveli; $650 courtyard haveli. Rates exclude 10% service charge. AE, MC, V. Amenities: 2 restaurants; bar; doctor-on-call; gym; Internet (complimentary); library; guided meditations; 2 heated pools; room service; safaris—horse, camel, jeep; spa; walks; yoga. In room: A/C, CD player, minibar, pool pavilion rooms have private heated pool; Wi-Fi (complimentary).

Once Were Warriors: The History of the Rajput

Rajasthan’s history is inextricably entwined with that of its self-proclaimed aristocracy: a warrior clan, calling themselves Rajputs, that emerged sometime during the 6th and 7th centuries. Given that no one too low in the social hierarchy could take the profession (like bearing arms) of a higher caste, this new clan, comprising both indigenous people and foreign invaders such as the Huns, held a special “rebirth” ceremony—purifying themselves with fire—at Mount Abu, where they assigned themselves a mythical descent from the sun and the moon. In calling themselves Rajputs (a corruption of the word Raj Putra, “sons of princes”), they officially segregated themselves from the rest of society. Proud and bloodthirsty, yet with a strict code of honor, they were to dominate the history of the region right up until independence, and are still treated with deference by their mostly loyal subjects.

The Rajputs offered their subjects protection in return for revenue, and together formed a kind of loose kinship in which each