Jodhpur and Jaisalmer - Desert Kingdoms of India

"Polish comes from the cities; wisdom from the desert."

Above saying truly suits to the city of Jaisalmer. This city, lies in the heart of Indian desert called 'Thar desert', is also known as 'Golden city of India' or 'Walled city'. Once you visit the city, you see all the houses are in same color i.e. sand and in the night when lights are turned on you can the shining gold from all over the city. And this is called walled city because most of the houses are inside fort itself and fort is having a wall length of 5km. 

Quick Itinerary-

Day	City	Places to visit
Day 1	Jodhpur	Umaid Bhawan, Jaswant Thada, Mehrangarh fort, Mandore, Clock tower
Day 2	Jaisalmer	Jaisalmer fort, Gadisar Lake, Patwon ki haveli, Kuldhara village, Sand Dunes
Day 3	Jaisalmer	Bada bagh, Longewala war museum, Tanot temple

I visited these cities in month of December 2018. As everyone is aware of torturous summers of desert, so Winter season of these cities see the highest footfall of tourists as the temperature dips down to  ~ 25'C(max) in the day and  ~ 7'C(min) in night. 
Day 1:

We started our journey from Jodhpur which has been capital of Marwar kingdom. It's also known as Blue city. Here is some quick info about Jodhpur-
Location: Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India
Nearest Airport: Jodhpur Airport
Nearest Railway Station: Jodhpur Junction
Established: 1459 by Rao Jodha

Places to visit in Jodhpur:

1.Mehrangarh Fort: This fort is one of the most visited tourist spots in Jodhpur. The foundation of this fort was laid by Karni mata and Rao Jodha constructed the fort. The name Mehrangarh is derived from Mehr(Sun) + Garh(Fort) as Sun has been chief diety of Rathore dynasty. His highness Maharaja Gaj Singh Rathore is current ruler of this fort.

This is one of those largest forts in India where royal family still lives. The collection of armoury and museum/architecture is main attraction of this fort. If you're lucky, you might see some festival/events going on in this fort.

If you're a foreigner/Solo traveler, get Audio guide for 180₹ and you can see all points in the fort. Currency exchange is also available.

Historical Significance: built in 1460, by Rao Jodha
Open Timing: 9 AM - 5.30 PM
Parking Availability: Yes
Entry Fee: 100₹
Camera fee: 100₹
Public convenience: available at almost every corner of fort
Food: costly but available inside the fort itself
How to reach: Auto will charge 100-150₹, OLA/Uber cabs are also available at same price
Other : read more about fort museum here

2.Jaswant Thada: It's a cenotaph which serves as cremation ground for rulers of Mewar. This monument is made of marble stone which's why it's also known as "Taj Mahal of Rajasthan". It has a lake near by which makes this place one of the best locations in Jodhpur for photography.

Historical Significance: built in 1899, by Maharaja Sardar Singh
Open Timing: 9 AM - 5 PM
Parking Availability: Yes
Entry Fee: 30₹
Camera fee: Free
Public convenience: available near ticket counter
Food: Yes, limited options
How to reach: It's 1km from Mehrangarh fort, so you can walk or take an auto for 30₹

3.Umaid Bhawan Palace: This palace has 3 parts. One is for Royal family. Another part has been turned into guest house to serve guests. 3rd part has been converted into museum where tourist can see the history of Royal family.

There is also a section of museum where you can see the collection of vintage cars which were used by royal families.

Historical Significance: foundation laid by Maharaja Umaid Singh in 1929
Open Timing: 9 AM - 5 PM
Parking Availability: Yes
Entry Fee: 30₹
Camera fee: Free
Public convenience: available near ticket counter
Food: Yes, limited options, 'kulfi' is famous there.
How to reach: You can take Auto/Ola/Uber which should cost 100-150₹.

4.Mandore Garden: Mandore is an ancient town located at distance of 9km in north of Jodhpur. It is believed as native place of 'Mandodari', wife of Ravana from the epic Ramayana. Ravana is still treated as son-in-law there.

By the time we had reached there, it was 5 PM and temple was closed so we couldn't visit it, but we didn't miss the beauty of Mandore garden.

There is a "Temple of 33 crore Gods" of Hindu deities. Also there is a museum which portrays the history of Mandore. It was closed due to maintenance when we reached there. There is a way uphill from museum which leads you to old Mandore fort which is in ruined state.

Historical Significance: was capital of Marwar until 1459
Open Timing: 9 AM - 5 PM
Parking Availability: No
Entry Fee: Free for park, 50₹for museum
Camera fee: Free
Food: Yes, Outside garden
How to reach: You can take Auto/Ola/Uber which should cost 150-200₹ .

5.Clock Tower: This is famous landmark in old city. One can see it from distance. It's surrounded by Sardar Market where you can get vegetables, sweets,handicraft products etc.

It's also called as 'Ghanta Ghar'. In most of the Indian cities you'll find these clock towers and crowded roads near by. But what makes it different is you can buy a ticket(low cost) and climb stairs up to clock and view city from there.

Historical Significance: century old
Open Timing: All time(4PM-9PM is best time to visit)
Parking Availability: No
Entry Fee: Free
Camera fee: Free
Public convenience: Yes
Food: Yes, In all 4 directions :)
How to reach: walkable from Railway station/can take auto for 30₹

Day 2: Last night we caught train from Jodhpur to Jaisalmer and we reached early morning there. We went to our hotel & checked in. After freshen up, we started exploring the golden city.

Some quick info about Jaisalmer-
Location: Jaisalmer, Rajasthan, India
Nearest Airport: Jodhpur Airport/Jaisalmer Airport
Nearest Railway Station: Jodhpur Junction/Jaisalmer
Established: 1156 CE by Rawal Jaisal

1.Jaisalmer Fort: Before 17th century, this fort was enough to accommodate people of Jaisalmer. But as the population keeps on growing, people started settling up themselves outside the fort also.
It's one of the 'living forts' in the world because people are still living inside the fort. In 2013, it was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Historical Significance: built by Rawat Jaisal in 1155 AD
Open Timing: 8 AM - 5.30 PM
Parking Availability: No(Yes for off-peak season)
Entry Fee: 50₹
Camera fee: 50₹
Public convenience: yes
Food: not available inside fort museum
How to reach: Auto will charge 10-30₹ or you can Walk

2.Gadisar Lake :The lake is situated at another end of the city. In Winters, you can ride boat there but in summers, it all dries out. This place is good to visit at the time of sunrise/sunset and is one of the photographic locations in Jaisalmer.

Historical Significance: built by Rawat Jaisal
Open Timing: All time(sunset/sunrise best time to visit)
Parking Availability: No
Entry Fee: Free
Camera fee: Free
Public convenience: no
Food: available near by
How to reach: Auto will charge 10-30₹ or you can Walk

3.Patwo ki haveli: This palace was named after Guman Chand Patwa who ordered the construction of seprate stories for each of his 5 sons. So this is not a single haveli but a cluster of 5 havelis. Patwa was a renoknwed trader/influencial business man of his time. This whole building is made in yellow sandstone and the largest haveli in Jaisalmer.

Historical Significance: built in 1805
Open Timing: 9AM - 5PM
Parking Availability: No
Entry Fee: 30₹
Camera fee: 50₹
Public convenience: no
Food: available near by
How to reach: Auto will charge 10-30₹ or you can Walk

4.Jain Temples: These temples have beautiful architecture wherever they are built. Last time I visited Hastinapur, there were also few excellent architecture buildings of Jain temples. You can read that blog here. There are 7 temples which are dedicated to different Tirthankars(Hermits).
Jainism is one of the major religions in the world which was originated in India.  Tirthankar are the persons who help people in achieving enlightenment. Below are few photos which shows that even in old era, people were very creative and their architecture was very attractive.

After visiting these points in city, we got ready for San Dunes. Our tour planner has requested us to come back by 1 PM so that we can't miss sunset at dunes. So we came back to hotel and from there, all people going to dunes were accommodated in Jeep and started moving towards Sam village.
On the way, driver showed us the infamous haunted village Kuldhara.

5. Kuldhara: It's a haunted village around 30 km away from Jaisalmer city. In 19th century this village was abandoned by unknown reasons. Theory suggests that it happened due to lack of water but locals claim that the reason of mass persecution done by Salim Singh.

6. San dunes: Around 4 PM, we reached at our tents where Rajasthani folk dance and music was scheduled to take place in late evening. We put our luggage in tents and start riding the camels as part of our adventure activity.
Package cost: 3500₹ per person
Package inclusion: Dinner/breakfast, Kuldhara, Camel ride, Thar ride, cultural program, night under open sky

Have you rode a camel before? Yes? How did you feel then, let me know in comment section. Let me tell you my story. I felt like hell when camel started to standing up. As soon as camel stood up, it started grunting(sound that camel make) continuously for few minutes. I was so scared that I wanted to scream at one point but cameleer made camel to stop grunting. This experience was scary but funny as everybody was smiling.

We reached Sand dunes around 4.30 PM. Ahh it was so good to see sand which I only saw in movies before this day. I started walking over dunes and kept an eye on my footprint trails so that no one could walk over my footprints. I know it sounds little crazy but I wanted to do it.
Sunset at dunes is really amazing. The view around you make you fall in love with sand and sun. In fact Both sunrise and sunset gives you scope to capture beautiful photo in their surroundings.

6. Cultural Program at night: We reached our tents in evening where arrangement of dinner with Rajasthani folk dance and music was already done by the organizers. Here is how our tents looked like

And finally in the late evening cultural program began. It gives me immense feel when I see a different culture. I really enjoyed this program.
In dinner they included few local dishes as well. Over all it was a well spent evening.

After this program, we moved to dunes in Jeep to spent a night under open sky. As the time was passing, the temperature was dipping down and we could feel the cold breeze passing by our ears. And finally we reached to our beds at 10 PM. 

Although it was full moon but being a novice in photography,I was not able to capture much photos from DSLR, so I did capture it from mobile and in below photo I capture Moon and Fire.

I met few more people who belongs to Delhi, we had little chit chat and then went to sleep but I couldn't sleep because I was eagerly waiting to see sunrise in dunes. So I left bed at 5 AM and start moving around the bed and around 5.50 AM I could see the ray of hope(sunrise). But on other hand moon was also shining to its fullest.

But anyway, within few minutes, sun came out of horizon and again I was feeling happy to see this lovely sunrise.

Day 3: Next day we back to Jaisalmer city, had kachori in breakfast and booked a cab for tanot mata temple and Longewala border.
Due to tourist season, price were very high but we managed to book cab in 3500rs. On the way, we stopped to take a look at place called -

1. Bada Bagh: This place is collection of multiple cenotaphs at one place. These cenotaphs are called 'Chhatri'. This is a cremation place of royal family. It's having extravagant architecture which again reminds you how beautifully carving has been done on stones.

Also there are Windmills standing tall near by this location which makes it more photogenic specially sunset.

Then we moved ahead towards our next stop. In mid way we took few more photos because as we were moving towards depth of sand, the landscape was getting attractive and beautiful.

2. Longewala border: There is war museum located in this check post of Indian army. Longewala battle was fought in 1971 between India and Pakistan and this check was the main target of Pakistan but how bravely Indian soldier fought and won the battle, one can see it in museum.

While Indian soldiers claimed the victory in this battle, they also captured Pakistani tanks and rifles/bullets which are put in museum.

There is also a part of museum where battlefield has been designed with the help of toys to display how the war of 1971 had been fought. Below are the photos where you can see air strike by Indian army beyond the border line and another one is close look of armies both the side of fences.

There is a show where you can see the story of 1971 war on screen.

3. Tanot mata temple: This temple is also witness of war. It is belived that when pak rangers tried to destroy the temple by throwing mortar and grenades, none of those grenades was exploded and temple was saved. You can still find those mortars near the temple. This temple is completely operated by BSF wing of Indian army.

After visiting these places, we returned back to Jaisalmer. We had dinner in Shiva café and they were courteous to drop us to railway station from where we returned back to Delhi with mesmerizing memories of desert cities.

Thank you for reading this blog. Please let me know in comment section how did you like it, your feedback is appreciated.