Jaisalmer the “The Golden City” is a tourist destination of choice across the world. Located in the middle of great Indian Thar desert , it is a border area located in Rajasthan. It shares approx 400 km with Pakistan. The topography of the region includes Picturistique landscapes and sunset in sand dunes. It was historically a seamless desert passage for visitors across neighbouring countries.
Thar desert, Jaisalmer- India
On the way to sandunes, Jaisalmer
Jaisalmer is named after Maharawal Jaisal Singh who founded the city (Jaisalmer means The Hill Fort of Jaisal) .The yellow sand and sandstone used in every architecture gives a golden tinge to the city. Specially at sunset, it creates an amazing view of the fort. The Jaisalmer fort is also known as “Sonar qila” or Golden Fotress. It is also called “living fort” since a quarter of city population still lives inside the fort.
Due to its tough weather conditions , Jaisalmer has a small population with tourism being the mainstay of people living here. The place is however of utmost strategic and military importance with airbase. Jaisalmer is rich in its culture with many people going overseas representing the state.
We went from Delhi by train overnight. In the morning, we reached our resort “Chowki-dhani ” located in the city. Our accommodation was in tents / small huts.
Entrance at Chowkidhani, Jaisalmer
Tent accommodation
Jaisalmer also has a beautiful lake “Gadsisar Lake ”, which is scenic rainwater lake and a must visit for all. We enjoyed a boat ride.
Boating in Gadsisar Lake
Another view at Gadsisar lake
In the evening, we went to see the sunset. Sunset in the desert was a once in a lifetime experience.The sand was glowing and its beautiful hues with yellow –orange setting Sun. It was a vibrant and mesmerizing View.
Sunset in Thar desert
People viewing sunset
Our stay was very intresting as we enjoyed traditional food (thali) in dinner. Live cultural event including puppet shows and dances were interesting as well.
Rajasthani Thali
Puppet show for kids
Rajasthani dance
Next day we went to Jaisalmer fort and had a glimpse of it’s rich heritage.It offers a bird’s eye view of the city.
We planned to cover most of Rajasthan in a 7 day trip , with two days each in Jaisalmer, Udaipur with a day in Jodhpur.
After Jaisalmer, we headed for our next destination , Jodhpur by car.
Article by Dr. Jatin Dhingra
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