Rearing high above the city skyline the medieval Mehrangarh Fort is your most iconic takeaway memory of the ‘Blue City’ of Jodhpur in Rajasthan.

The fortified city, a remote royal outpost in the sprawling hot lands of the Thar Desert, Jodhpur has long served as the bastion of the Marwar royals. It was built at the tail end of the 15th century to replace Mandore as the capital of Rao Jodha of the Kannauj family. Its secretive passages and maze-like structure were an attempt to hinder the movement of the enemy’s elephants, who back in the day were a critical component in the arsenal of wars and battles. There was a practical element to this—since Marwar was always in a state of apprehension because of the warring factions of the neighbouring Rajputs and Mughals.