These hills in Rajasthan, northwest India, were first fortified around the 11th century by the Kachchwahas, a Hindu warrior caste, whose chief is said to have married the sister of the last Hindi king of Delhi, a link which assured their grip on power atAmber.

But it was their later friendship with the Mogul conquerors that brought vast wealth to Amber and led to the construction of the palace, fort and ramparts that snake across these steep hills. So intricate is the architecture that it took more than 100 years to perfect the fort-palace.

The Mogul empire was expanding under Akbar, who ruled between 1556 and 1605, and the alliance was strengthened because the Muslims needed the Kachchwahas to clear the territory of bandits so pilgrimages to their shrine at Ajmer could travel in safety.

Amber's 16th century rulers, Man Singh I and Jai Singh I, built the fort-palace, which was added to by their descendants.

Marble was carried by camel, elephant and oxen from a quarry 70 kilometres away, and walls within the maharaja's chambers were studded with precious stones of every description.

The sapphires, diamonds, rubies and emeralds have long-since been plucked, but otherwise the palace is still intact, a marvel of craftsmanship.

Some 40 elephant are used to take visitors up and down the narrow pathway that leads to the palace. But there used to be hundreds in the princely processions. The maharaja would sit under the canopy on the royal elephant, the beast painted and bedecked in jewellery, the mahout in front in his fine tunic.

Some of the maharajas had a wicked sense of humour. If a courtier stepped out of line, then he would be presented with an elephant. But what appeared to be a handsome gift was, in fact, punishment.

For elephants have gargantuan appetites, and it can be almost a full-time job collecting their food. The courtier would not dare leave this task to his servants, fearing the Maharaja's wrath. So instead of amassing further wealth, he would be condemned to spending the rest of his life serving an elephant - the great mammal can live to 80.

At the height of its glory, Amber Palace was protected by some 7,000 troops, and when its rulers were not in battle with rival kingdoms, they would be basking in the palace gardens, wining and dining, choosing a companion for the night from their harem.

Tiny mirrors cover the domed walls of bedrooms which were once used by the royal wives. Light two candles and the rooms glitter and dance in reflected light as they would have done centuries ago.

Iron rings are still embedded in the ceilings of some of the rooms where the maharajas entertained. From these, heavy herbal curtains once hung. They were dampened to release the strong, natural perfume, and servants heaved them to and fro to fan their masters.

Hundreds of tons of marble was worked by hand into intricate and symmetrical designs by master craftsmen, and it is all perfectly preserved. Marble was not only used for its strength and beauty, but because it is always cool, an important consideration, for the temperatures here can be higher than 40 degrees Celsius.

Beautiful gardens were laid out in the area known as the Summer Palace, and a drainage system ensured that cooling water kept circulating. There was also a natural water heating system for bathing.

Even where marble was not used, powdered marble, crushed eggshells and pearl were mixed and covered walls to give an appearance of marble.

The Ganesh Pol, a huge ceremonial gate, is a burst of colour, smothered in mosaic and fresco, the original vegetable-based paint still as new, though the gate was built in 1639.

Ceremony played a big part of life in the palace, and clothing could rarely have been more opulent than here. The maharanis' headdresses were several metres long, woven with gold thread, and weighed nine kilograms.

The poor ladies were unable to walk because of the weight, so sloping corridors were built leading from their private quarters, and they would sit in specially-made wheelchairs, which were pushed by ladies-in-waiting, to attend the ceremonies. The wheelchairs are still there in Amber Palace.

In spite of this magnificent and luxurious lifestyle, however, these were dangerous, cruel, warring times, and the many gateways within the palace walls were built in a zig-zag fashion to increase security, making it difficult to reach the inner sanctum.

The royal ladies were brought up in the palace and it became their prison, for they were not allowed outside. If a maharaja took a fancy to a commoner outside the palace, she too would have no choice but to spend the rest of her days behind its walls.

A prince and princess could be married at the age of three, and if the ''wife'' became a childhood widow, she would be looked upon as a bad omen, and confined to her room forever.

A widow would be persuaded to commit Sati, ritual suicide, jumping on to the funeral pyre of her husband. She would be high on opium, and drummers would dull her screams. This practice was only officially abandoned in India in 1940.

Again, if a maharaja was about to go into battle, and knew he was facing defeat, he would get his wives high on opium and make them jump into a fire, rather than be taken by the victors.

The goddess Shila Devi was thought to bring luck in war, and her shrine is still worshipped in Amber Palace. Parents would once willingly offer their children for sacrifice here to appease Shila Devi.

Eventually Amber was abandoned, some say because of a scarcity of water, and the then ruler, warrior-astronomer Jai Singh II built a walled city in 1727 to replace it some 12 kilometres away. That city, Jaipur, known as the ''Pink City'', is now the state capital of Rajasthan.

The old part of this second city is surrounded by a wall with seven gates, and here is another magnificent palace that replaced Amber, and the impressive observatory that Jai Singh II began building in 1728.

It is a now a bustling city of colourful cloth markets and gem ''factories'' which are hidden away up steep and narrow staircases, where cutting is still done with traditional tools.

Trishaws compete for space with taxis, carts drawn by camels and sometimes elephants opposite the Palace of Winds, which never really was a palace. It is little more than a splendid facade behind which the royal ladies would sit, concealed, to watch citylife.

The old part of this newer city was painted pink to welcome the Prince of Wales in 1876, and even now every building there must by law remain pink. The state government paints public places, but citizens face penalties if they do not put a new lick of pink paint on their outside walls every few years.

Scenes from the mini-series Far Pavilions were shot in the city palace, which, like Amber Palace, retains much of its former glory.

Here are the largest pieces of silver in the world, two water jars weighing 340 kilograms each. Maharaja Sawai Singh II had them shipped with him to England for his visit in 1902.

They were filled with water from the Ganges, the only water he would drink, and each contained 9,000 litres.

And some of the clothes worn by royalty are still on display in the palace, including those worn by Madho Singh I, who ruled between 1750 and 1768. He died at 35. No wonder. As the clothes attest, he weighed a massive 250 kilograms.

The great days of power for the the maharajas ended soon after India was given independence in 1947, but the last Maharani of Jaipur still lives in the city and has written her memoirs in the book A Princess Remembers.

The many palaces of Rajasthan ensure that it was a lifestyle that will never be forgotten.

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