Sights of India: Children entertain visitors. (SUN/Anne Gordon)

The splendour of India's desert region is particularly striking in Jaisalmer, where the golden sands provide a backdrop of drama for sylph-like women clad in brilliant jewel-coloured saris.

Located on the ancient Silk Route close to the border of Pakistan, this desert city was once a watering stop for camel caravans as they trekked between the great trading centres of the East.

Today, where little has changed over the centuries, one can wander for hours along the narrow, cobbled alleyways in the Old City. Like the locals, we ate naan (unleavened bread) and biryani (vegetables and rice) with our fingers. We quenched our thirst with lassi, a delicious iced drink made of yogurt.

In the shade of the market, a slender Brahmin woman with a green-eyed child astride her hip watched as sacred cows nosed into garbage mounds. When thirsty, they bent their heads to sip daintily from open drains.

Piglets, striped, spotted and plain, screeched and squealed as they slid in an oily black puddle. And children ran alongside anyone with a camera, pleading "Rupee for a good boy" or "Pen please."

Most of the fort's inhabitants are traditionally Brahmin caste. Their homes are tucked away in the curves and hollows of the 99 bastions forming the walls of the fort. On one of these walls was a poignant memorial: A display of tiny hands. "Sati" was once customary for widows who, dosed with opium, were burned alive on funeral pyres with the bodies of their dead husbands. Before mounting the pyre, the woman would dip her hands in henna and press them on the wall of the fort. To this day, these places of "the hands" are considered sacred and the women who sacrificed their lives are venerated.

Seldom mentioned in Rajasthan's guidebooks is a place called Bada Bagh. On a stony hill silhouetted against the sky are the "tombs of the kings." Built 500 years ago, each tomb is protected by a carved ochre sandstone cupola supported on elegant slender pillars.

Transport to these out-of-the-way places is not a problem. An auto rickshaw -- a diesel-driven three-wheel conveyance with a seat at the back for two -- is the most convenient way of getting around. Most are in an advanced state of dilapidation but some, lovingly restored, would suit the extravagant tastes of a Maharajah. Decorated with silver tinsel and marigold garlands, plastic sweet peas in vases attached to the taxi's metal frame, door-to-door carpets, white lace curtains and photos of Indian movie stars, the ultimate luxury is recorded music.

Jaisalmer's piece de resistance is a three-day camel safari in the desert, a journey that takes in a meandering trail of craft villages and gives one an insight into the life of the nomad.

Pressed for time, we settled for a Sunset Tour, a brief but pleasant compromise. Leaving from Hotel Moomal, we travelled 26 miles to the Sam Sand Dunes in the back of a jeep. At our destination, at least 200 saddled camels attired in embroidered quilts with tassels and pompoms, beaded necklaces and bells hanging from their necks awaited us.

At the camel "corral," things were far from peaceful. A scene was being played out that for comic value rivalled a Laurel and Hardy movie as six cameleers struggled to heave a dishevelled buxom Indian lady in a green and gold sari onto a standing camel.

The lady's husband and young daughter were already aboard, having mounted the conventional way whilst the camel was kneeling. The camel -- irritated by the jostling, shouting men -- roared, pulled itself free and tipped the whole family ignominiously onto the sand. Amidst shrieks of protest from the three ditched riders and the hysterical laughter of the cameleers, the young camel owner grabbed the animal's halter and the two fled across the sand.

As the light mellowed towards evening, dark-skinned turbaned men with hawkish features gathered companionably around smoky fires in the desert. Nearby, a sea of grunting camels rested on the sand. In the distance, dunes were tinged with orange, cream and gold as the sun vanished below the horizon.

If you go:

GETTING THERE: Regular round trip fares from Toronto to New Delhi start at about $2,000.

BY TRAIN:From New Delhi to Jodhpur is approximately 12 hours. First-class fares are about $45. Change trains in Jodhpur to Jaisalmer. The trip lasts between nine and 10 hours. First-class fare is about $25.

WHERE TO STAY: Modest but clean accommodation: Hotel Moomal -- Tariff: Double room about $40 per night, Dormitory about $2.50 per night. Tel. 91-02992-52392.

Gorbandh Palace -- Tariff: Double room about $120 per night. Tel. 91-02992-53111-3; Fax: 91-02992-52749.

HEALTH PRECAUTIONS: Before leaving Canada start anti-malarial medication and continue with it during and after your visit to India for the specified period. Your family doctor will be able to advise you about further inoculations that may be necessary.

MORE INFO:Government of India Tourist Office, 60 Bloor St. W., Suite 1003, Toronto, Ont., M4W 3B8. Tel. 962- 3787.