Jaisalmer Travel Guide: Golden City of the Thar Desert

Jaisalmer rises out of the Thar Desert in the far west of Rajasthan, barely 60 miles from the Pakistan border and roughly 175 miles west of Jodhpur, the nearest large gateway city. It is built almost entirely from a honey-coloured local sandstone that turns deep amber at sunrise and molten gold at dusk, which is why travellers have called it the Golden City for centuries. The town was founded in 1156 by Rawal Jaisal, a Bhati Rajput chieftain who moved his capital to this triangular ridge of rock called Trikuta Hill because it was easier to defend than his old stronghold at Lodhruva. For the next six hundred years Jaisalmer grew rich as a customs post on the caravan routes that carried opium, silk, indigo and spices between India, Afghanistan, Persia and Central Asia.

That wealth is still legible in the city’s architecture. The merchant families who taxed and financed those caravans built extravagant mansions, or havelis, whose facades are carved into stone screens so fine they look like sandstone lace. When sea trade through Bombay replaced the overland routes in the nineteenth century, Jaisalmer’s fortunes collapsed and the city was left almost frozen in time, which is precisely what makes it so extraordinary to visit today. Modern Jaisalmer is compact and walkable, ringed by dunes, dry scrub, wind farms and the stone-walled villages of the Thar. Palace on Wheels includes Jaisalmer on its week-long circuit through Rajasthan, and it is one of the few places on that journey where the desert itself, not a palace or a lake, is the main event.

What to see in Jaisalmer

• Jaisalmer Fort (Sonar Quila) — One of the very few living forts left on earth, with something like a quarter of the city’s population still residing inside its ninety-nine bastions. You enter through a sequence of gates into a warren of lanes lined with homes, temples, shops and rooftop cafes; the Maharawal’s palace at the main square is open to visitors.
• Patwon ki Haveli — A cluster of five interconnected mansions built by a wealthy brocade and opium trading family in the early nineteenth century. The stone screens, brackets and balconies here are considered the finest carving in the whole of Rajasthan, and one wing is now a well-presented museum of merchant life.
• The Jain temples inside the fort — Seven linked temples dating from the twelfth to the sixteenth centuries, dedicated to Jain tirthankaras including Parshvanath and Chandraprabhu. The interiors are covered end to end in figurative carving, and the light that filters through the yellow stone is remarkable in the early morning.
• Gadisar Lake — A man-made rainwater reservoir dug in the fourteenth century that was once the town’s entire water supply, now ringed with small shrines, ghats and cenotaphs. Boats go out at dawn and dusk, and migratory birds gather here in winter.
• Bada Bagh — A hillside garden a few miles north of town filled with the domed cenotaphs, or chhatris, of Jaisalmer’s rulers, each one marking a cremation site. It is starkly beautiful at sunset, with modern wind turbines turning on the ridge behind the tombs.
• Salim Singh ki Haveli and Nathmal ki Haveli — Two more merchant and minister houses worth the detour. Salim Singh’s is topped by a spectacular peacock-shaped upper storey; Nathmal’s was reputedly carved by two brothers working from opposite ends, which is why the two halves do not quite match.
• Sam and Khuri sand dunes — The classic desert excursion, about 25 to 30 miles west and south-west of the city. Camel and jeep rides run out to the dunes for sunset, followed by folk music and Kalbelia dance at the desert camps. Khuri is quieter and less commercialised than Sam.
• Kuldhara — An abandoned Paliwal Brahmin village whose residents are said to have left overnight in the early nineteenth century rather than submit to a minister’s demands. The roofless stone houses and the local legend of a curse make it one of the more atmospheric stops in the region.

What to eat in Jaisalmer

Desert cooking in western Rajasthan evolved around scarcity of water and fresh vegetables, so it leans on dried beans, lentils, millet and generous quantities of ghee. The dish to try first is ker sangri, a tangy stir-fry of desert berries and dried beans gathered from the scrub, usually seasoned with red chilli and mango powder. Alongside it you will meet gatte ki sabzi, gram-flour dumplings in a yoghurt curry; dal baati churma, the Rajasthani standard of baked wheat balls broken into lentils and served with a sweet crumble; and bajre ki roti, a rustic millet flatbread eaten with garlic chutney and white butter. Meat eaters should look out for laal maas, a fiery mutton curry built on Mathania chillies.

For snacks and sweets, the local pyaaz kachori and mawa kachori are sold hot from stalls around Gopa Chowk and Hanuman Circle, and the reduced-milk sweet ghotua laddu is a Jaisalmer speciality you will not find made the same way elsewhere. The drink of the city is makhaniya lassi, a thick saffron-and-cardamom yoghurt drink that is exactly what you want after an afternoon in the fort. Rooftop restaurants facing the fort walls are a fixture here, and many will serve a simple thali at sunset with the stone glowing in front of you.

Shopping and crafts

Jaisalmer is one of the best places in India for mirror-work and applique embroidery, produced in the surrounding villages and sold as cushion covers, wall hangings, bags and quilts. Camel leather is the other local signature, worked into slippers, satchels, journals and belts. Look also for hand-blocked bandhani and ajrakh textiles, tribal silver jewellery, hand-knotted woollen blankets and small carved sandstone pieces made by the same families of stonemasons who maintain the havelis. Bargaining is expected and generally good-humoured; ask before photographing artisans at work.

Best time to visit

The comfortable season runs from October to March, when daytime temperatures sit in the pleasant seventies and eighties Fahrenheit and desert nights turn genuinely cold, so a jacket is essential for dune excursions. December and January are the coolest and busiest months. The Jaisalmer Desert Festival, with camel races, turban-tying contests and folk performances on the dunes, is held each winter on the full moon of the Hindu month of Magh, which usually falls in February. Avoid April through June, when temperatures routinely pass 110 degrees Fahrenheit, and note that the brief monsoon in July and August brings little rain but high humidity.

Good to know

• Jaisalmer Fort is a living settlement with a fragile medieval drainage system, and conservation bodies have asked visitors to limit overnight stays inside the walls. Sleeping outside the fort and visiting by day is the responsible choice.
• The nearest major airport with reliable year-round connections is Jodhpur, roughly five to six hours away by road; Jaisalmer’s own airport operates a limited seasonal schedule.
• Border-area sites such as Tanot Mata temple and the Longewala war memorial require a permit arranged in advance, and photography is restricted near military installations.
• Carry more water than you think you need, wear closed shoes for the fort’s uneven stone lanes, and plan sightseeing for early morning and late afternoon.
• Desert camps vary enormously in quality. A properly vetted camp with private facilities makes the difference between a magical night under the stars and a long one.