A journey to Rajasthan's gems: Jodhpur, Jaisalmer

After filling our stomachs to the full, we went on the never ending search for Rajasthani Lehengas. After roaming quite a lot in the narrow lanes of Jodhpur market, we finally managed to find a shop that sold a wide variety of Rajasthani Lehengas at reasonable prices.

Next day, we planned to cover the main attractions of Jodhpur- Mehrangarh Fort, Jaswant Thada, Umaid hawan Palace to name a few.

Mehrangarh Fort

Built in the 1460s by Rao Jodha, this magnificent fort is situated around 410 feet above the skyline of Jodhpur and is known for its stunning architecture, huge walls and the cultural heritage. The fort holds within itself a marvelous history w.r.t. to its architecture as well as its rulers. The best time to visit the fort is either in the morning or in the evening when the soft sunlight illuminates the red and golden walls of the fort.

Some important information about the fort:

Timings: 9am to 5pm

Ticket price: Domestic Guests - Rs. 100

Domestic Guests (Sr. citizen, Student, Para Military personnel) - Rs. 50

International Guests (includes the audio) - Rs. 600

Elevator - Rs. 50 per person

Guide charges: 1-4 persons -> Rs. 400

5-15 persons -> Rs. 500

It is recommended to hire a guide as there's no use of visiting any monument without knowing its history. It takes around 2-3 hours time to take a tour of the whole fort. The fort offers a great view of the city of Jodhpur and the clear skies from the top. After spending a fair amount of time here, we headed towards Jaswant Thada, which is hardly 5 mins away from the fort.

Jaswant Thada

This classic milky white monument is actually a cremation ground of the royal family of Marwar. A peaceful and calm building surrounded by a gorgeous garden and a lovely lake will leave you mesmerized. It won't take more than half an hour to take a look at the whole place.

Next we went to Mandore Garden as suggested by an uncle we met at Jaswant Thada. Mandore Garden was a bit of disappointment as it wasn't properly maintained. Although the architecture of temples and memorials here was commendable but the litter and garbage all around the place made it filthy. You'll find hundreds of Langurs here, so be careful.

Now it was time to fill our empty stomachs. I had heard a lot about this famous eating joint named 'Gypsy' in Jodhpur. But it was around 12 kms from Mandore. I had to hear a lot from my parents that why are we traveling so much just for food. But that daant was worth it(you'll get to know in a while :P). On reaching there, we had to make the rats in our stomachs to wait a little bit more as the place was completely full. But finally our chance came and we grabbed the last table just in front of a huge mirror. Although I wanted eat the popular Rajasthani thali of Gypsy, but none of the people in my group had the capacity to eat the 31 dishes thali(Thali, 366/- per person was served at the 1st floor where separate dishes can't be ordered). So I somehow pacified my craving for thali to settle down for other dishes at that place. We ordered Tadka Dal, Kadhi, Gatte, Lachha parantha, Amitsari kulcha along with fresh lime soda and cold coffee to moist our throats. And Oh my God! What food it was. The crisp Lachha parantha and Amitsari kulcha with butter making them shine like glass will just leave you craving for more. Dal, Kadhi and Gatte were simply delectable. At the end we had saunf and directly hopped to Umaid Bhawan Palace.

Umaid Bhawan Palace

Residence of current Raja Shri Gaj Singh-II is located in the Cantt. area of Jodhpur. We reached there at around 4 in the evening and spent an hour or so there. The palace has a museum and also a brilliant vintage car collection. The entry closes at exact 5:00 pm, so plan your visit accordingly.

After having such a long day, most of the members of my group were tired and went straight to their rooms. But I still wasn't satisfied and wanted to roam around in the market a bit more. So I along with my father went to the clock tower market and it was then I came to know that one can actually climb the Clock Tower. Entry closes at around 6 and I was the last person to go there. And what a view it was! The sun setting right behind the marvelous walls of Mehrangarh fort made a stupendous scene.

Next we headed to see the Toorji ka Jhalra which I wanted to visit since I came Jodhpur. Its a hidden gem just like Agrasen ki Baoli in Delhi. Its architecture and the symmetry will leave you spellbound. As you know that any evening is incomplete without snacks, so we tried the famous finger-licking Shahi Samosa and Pyaaz Kachori of Jodhpur and they were simply awesome.

The following day we left for the Sam sand dunes at around 8 in the morning after having breakfast. On our way, we halted first at the Pokhran Fort and then at the Jaisalmer War Museum which displays the war exhibits used and captured during the course of operations in 1965 and 1971.

We had our lunch at Jaisalmer and then finally reached Sam at 4:30 pm. We had our stay at Rojani Tents. The tents were decent with a fair price and also included the camel safari and jeep safari in the package. Dinner, breakfast, folk programme with evening snacks are among the other facilities that generally every tent out there provides. The best thing about this tent was that it was located just beside the main desert, so you could just walk to the desert to have a view of the sunset or sunrise. Research properly about the exact location of the tent before making a booking.

It was almost 5:00 pm and sunset was quite close. We had an option to do either camel safari or jeep safari, but we decided to do it next day at the time of sunrise as the desert in the evening is mostly very crowded and you won't enjoy the rides to the fullest. We walked to the desert to have a view of the sunset and trust me it was one of the best views of my life.

The vast desert stretched out to infinity with a sky continuously changing its colors on the top was magical. The shades of the sky started to become darker with the sun setting at one side and the full moon rising at the other. It is true paradise for photographers where one has to act really quick else the moment will be lost. So after being mesmerized by this beauty and after taking a lot of great shots, we returned to our tents where the folk programme had already started. We enjoyed the Rajasthani dance along with the evening snacks and after having dinner, we directly went to our beds.

Next morning, we woke up with excitement as it was time for sand bashing amidst the golden sand, yeaahhh!! We quickly got ready and hopped into the jeep to go to the sunrise point. And woah what a ride it was. The driver took our jeep through some really high and low inclines in sand making it truly a thrilling ride. Right after that, we rode our camels in the desert and it was quite a fun ride.

After having breakfast, we left Sam at around 9:40 am. Do keep in mind that checkout time is 9 am, although it may vary according to the tent. En route Jaisalmer, we visited the village of Kuldhara.

Kuldhara Village

Kuldhara is an ancient village in the Jaisalmer district which was completely abandoned by the inhabitants(Paliwal Brahmins) overnight. One story behind the abandonment is that the ruler of the village had his eyes on a girl of the village. So in order to protect the girl from him, the villagers left the place overnight. It is fairly a photogenic place where you can spend an hour or so.

Next destination was obviously the golden city of Jaisalmer. We reached there at around 11:40 am and after resting for sometime in our hotel we headed towards the Jaisalmer Fort.

Jaisalmer Fort

Jaisalmer Fort or the Sonar Qila( golden fort) as it is called is a 'living fort' with 1/4th of the city's population residing in it. The view of the complete city of Jaisalmer from the top of the fort was simply breathtaking. The yellow sandstone of the buildings with clear blue skies above it looked undoubtedly astonishing in the sunny day.

Entry fee for fort: Free of cost

Entry fee for the fort museum: 100/- per person

Phone or digital camera ticket separately required: 100/-

Timings: 9 am to 5 pm

After taking a tour of the fort and the museum, we went to the havelis via an auto. There are many havelis in the nearby area like Patwo ki Haveli, Salim Singh ki Haveli, Natmal ki haveli, to name a few. You can simply take a walk to cover all of them.

We roamed around the streets of Jaisalmer enjoying the foods and picking up some jewellery pieces from the local market, since street tour is actually the best way to take the flavour of any place. Do try the Kesari milk from any shop at the main Gandhi circle, Prabhu Tea Stall is one of the famous ones. Since it was a tiring day, soon we found ourselves lying in our cozy hotel beds.

The following morning we left for Tanot Mata Mandir at 9:00 am.

Tanot Mata Mandir

The Tanot Mata Temple situated in the Tanot village is a 2 hours drive from the main city of Jaisalmer which is being preserved and maintained by the Border Security Force(BSF) of India. It is that place where around 450 bombs were dropped by the enemies during the war, but none of it exploded. That's the extent of sacredness that this temple holds.

We didn't spend much time as we had to go to the Indo-Pak border. For border visit, one has to fill up a form along with photo copies of identity proofs at BSF headquarters located near Hanuman circle in Jaisalmer. There are two different BSF posts where tourists are allowed- Post 609 and Bawlian post. One must request the BSF officials for the permission till Bawlian post. As we reached the Bawlian post, a BSF official gave us the tour of the the whole post and told us some really interesting facts about the border. From border, we straight went to the Longewala War Museum.

We watched the war movie which was around 15 mins long and after spending some time there, we returned to Jaisalmer. By this time we were tired as it was quite a long journey. We just had a look at the Gadhisagar Lake in the city and returned to our hotel.

The following morning we woke up early as we had a flight from Jaisalmer to Delhi. There is now an airport in Jaisalmer as well and was opened around 2-3 months back. In the morning, we had really delicious Poha and tea from road-side vendor. Finally we boarded our long delayed flight and ended this stupendous and mind-blowing journey of ours :)

Well, I know it has been quite a long post, but trust me it could have extended further had I not kept my emotions in check. :P