Lake Pichola at six in the morning is empty. Most boats don't start until eight. The cooks at the lakeside ghats are setting up the chai stalls, and the kites are circling. We sat on the steps below Bagore-ki-Haveli with a kulhad of chai and watched the city wake up. The light hit the City Palace last.

The Udaipur City Palace is the largest royal complex in Rajasthan. 22 courtyards, expanded over four centuries. The Krishna Vilas section has miniature paintings worth the slow walk. The durbar hall has the original Sisodia banner and a chandelier from Czechoslovakia. The guide will show you the secret passage behind the throne.

Chittorgarh fort is the largest in India. 700 acres on top of a 180-metre hill. The Vijay Stambha victory tower is nine storeys; you can climb to the top. The Padmini palace at the south end has the lotus pool where the queen is said to have walked. The siege history is heavy enough that the guide pauses on it.

Kumbhalgarh's wall runs 36 kilometres around the fort and is second only to the Great Wall of China in length. Rana Kumbha built it in the 15th century. The wall is wide enough to ride a horse on, and the parapet is mostly intact. We walked one section. The fields below are full of mustard, yellow in winter.