Jaisalmer is also known as the Golden City. Gateway to the Thar Desert and the sixth and last leg of our 3-week journey to North India before reaching Delhi . Jaisalmer is home to many sights including a palaces built on top of a hill with many havelis and a fort .
Visit Jaisalmer, the golden city of Rajasthan
To visit Jaisalmer is also to visit its old center and its temples. Travel story with our good addresses catering and accommodation (at the bottom of the page), photos and video tours and the city are on the agenda to dream and why not prepare for the next trip to India.
How to get to Jaisalmer?
Jaisalmer is not directly connected by air from any part of India. Jodhpur airport is located 300 Km away from Jaisalmer.
From Jodhpur
It is by car with driver that we reach Jaisalmer from Jodhpur. The distance to go is 278 km in 4:45 . Booked an air-conditioned vehicle to the hotel in Jodhpur. Take a break in the village of Deehu which is 155 km from Jaisalmer.
Jaisalmer can also be reached by train from Jodhpur or Delhi. It is also in 1st class that reached Delhi in 16h15 non stop journey. Take the Palace on Wheels famous luxury train for Rajasthan. There are many luxury trains are running through Indian Railways.
The interior of the train is clean and air conditioned. Suffice to say, the ultimate to rest during this long ride. The other cabins of the 1st class are all for 4 people and yet the price of the ticket is the same.
In the city
Here we are in Jaisalmer. We give you the best advice for driving in this city of 65000 inhabitants.
– The Rickshaw: Convenient especially for short trips in town. The rickshaws can bring you to the doors of the palaces but they do not circulate inside. The streets are pedestrian and very narrow.
– We walk in the forts and it is also possible in the old town. The route from the lake to the old town and the citadel can be done on foot without problem. Stay at Jaisalmer 4 days and 3 nights including 2 days and 1 night in the desert . The golden city emerges from the desert like a mirage. We are 100 km from the border with Pakistan and there is no security problem. Only a few bursts surely on a surveillance mission and flying at low altitude fly over the golden city at times. Jaisalmer is actually on the old caravan route that linked India to Asia.
The main attractions of the city are the palaces and its fort, the havelis and the temples of the old center and the lake. Jaisalmer is also the starting point for camel safaris .
What to see and do in Jaisalmer
- Visit of the fort and palaces
The forts are one of the most popular attractions in Jaisalmer . The facades of havelis dating from the seventeenth to eighteenth century are all carved. The detail of the architectural work accomplished is truly impressive. It’s like a thousand and one nights. Everything is clean and sumptuous. The Jain Temple and Fort Palace visits (200 Rs / person) prove it. Both sites are very well preserved and are unmissable when visiting Jaisalmer.
And the inhabitants? They are just adorable, proud to invite us in their shops to drink a chai or on their terraces to observe the roofs of the citadel . The forts are human-sized and can be visited quickly enough. Do not miss the few views of the city and the desert like sunrise and sunset points . And who knows, perhaps a local will join you to tell you the history of the city.
It can be very hot during the day in Jaisalmer . Mid-April, during the visit, the heat was more and more difficult to bear. In fact, April is a month of climate transition in India. This is the period before the monsoon. The latter will then cross the whole country in the following months. When you arrived in Jaisalmer, the temperatures were still bearable. After 4 days, the 40 degrees were easily exceeded.
- Gadisar Lake
Whether you stay in the fort or in the city, it is not difficult to reach the Gadisar lake by rickshaw. It is located below the gateway to the fort, exactly south of the ramparts. If you stay in the fort, you can also reach the lake on foot in about twenty minutes. You can not miss the huge door that allows access to it anyway. Arrived at the lake, we contemplate the few temples and oratories that were built here. Opposite, place to the Nature and to the numerous animals like the cows who come regularly to drink there. It is also a refuge for many birds. The atmosphere is bucolic and full of history at the same time. The lighthouse attraction Indian tourists love is the short boat ride of a few minutes on the lake which is a real haven of peace.
Also Read: List of Luxury Trains in the World
- Safari in the Thar Desert
Booked a 2 day / 1 night safari directly to the hotel.
First went by jeep around 7:15 in the morning heading west for 1 hour drive. The icing on the cake, comes from a small village of only 300 souls lost in the middle of the desert. Then, after about fifteen minutes of sandy track, here we are in a hamlet sheltering some huts. Camel driver and his young sidekick are waiting for you.
Jaisalmer is an essential stop on a trip to North India. Very rich culturally, this city has a lot to offer. Do not miss the fort and palace. It is also necessary to walk around and get lost in the old woman to feel the soul of Jaisalmer. Taking your time also allows you to meet people and immerse themselves in the way of life of the inhabitants. It was in Jaisalmer that we were most invited to share a chai. The camel safari in the Thar desert is an experience not to be missed.
