Around Jaisalmer: Amar Sagar, Sam and Barra Bagh

	Around Jaisalmer: Amar Sagar, Sam and Barra Bagh
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A short distance northwest of Jaisalmer, Amar Sagar is a small peaceful town set around a large lake (empty during the dry season). A former palace and large complex of Jain temples, recently restored to their former magnificence, stand on the lake edges.

The huge, rolling sand dunes 40km west of Jaisalmer are known as SAM , though strictly this is the name of a small village further west. The dunes are so famous in Rajasthan that most tourists don't realize that there are others throughout the desert; consequently they have become a prime attraction. There's even an RTDC tourist bungalow, the Hotel Sam Dhani (phone 02922/52392; Rs200-300), bookable through the RTDC Moomal Tourist Bungalow in Jaisalmer.

Given the inexorable advance rate of the dunes, it will probably be buried by sand within the next decade. Sunset at Sam can be breathtaking, though drink-sellers, musicians, piles of plastic rubbish and numerous camel trains and bus parties somewhat dilute the romance. The undulating sandscape also looks spectacular at sunrise, so it's worth sleeping the night here if you're on a camel safari.

A bus does run to Sam, but it doesn't return until the next day. Those visitors who aren't traveling on camels usually make the journey by Jeep.

Six kilometers north of Jaisalmer, in the fertile area of Barra Bagh , a collection of cenotaphs built in memory of Jaisalmer's rulers stand clustered on a hill. Domed roofs shade small marble or sandstone slabs bearing inscriptions and equestrian statues. The green oasis below is where most of the fruit and vegetables of the region used to be grown - a surreal sight amid the hostile waste of sand and scrub.