RAJASTHAN HERITAGE TOURISM

Rajasthan, the land of Rajputs, ("the land of kings"), is the largest state of the Republic of India by area. It is located in the northwest of India. It comprises most of the area of the large, inhospitable Great Indian Desert (Thar Desert), which parallels the Sutlej-Indus river valley along its border with Pakistan. The state is bordered by Pakistan to the west, Gujarat to the southwest, Madhya Pradesh to the southeast, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana to the northeast and Punjab to the north. Rajasthan covers 10.4 % of India, an area of 342,239 square kilometres (132,139 sq mi).

Jaipur is the capital and the largest city of the state. Geographical features include the Thar Desert along north-western Rajasthan and the termination of the Ghaggar River near the archaeological ruins at Kalibanga of the Indus Valley Civilization, which are the oldest in the Indian subcontinent discovered so far.