Jaisalmer is otherworldly. The ‘Golden City’ is a small rugged city in the middle of nowhere where it almost never rains. The city is an oasis in the Thar desert where travelers long ago used to rest for months on end partaking in copious amount of Opium in luxurious havelis.
GENERAL INFO
Getting there and away: We took an overnight train from Jaipur to Jaisalmer – this took 12 hours (we left Jaipur late at night and arrived in Jaisalmer at midday). You can walk into the centre of Jaisalmer from the train station or there are plenty of rickshaws.
From Jaisalmer, we travelled on overnight train to Jodhpur which took 6 hours and arrived in the early hours of the morning.
On our trip to Jaisalmer we were pushed for time (We had 3 weeks to explore 9 locations in India!) so we took an overnight train to Jaisalmer and back out again. This was the only way we could fit 2 days here into our itinerary. If you are in a similar situation I highly recommend doing the trip this way – its exhausting but much better than skipping Jaisalmer altogether. It is possible to spend only a day in Jaisalmer and take back to back overnight trains. The train station has a secure luggage storage service so you can explore the city with a daypack – however I highly recommend staying at least a night as the long train journeys are exhausting and your day would be very rushed.
Accommodation: There are many great options for accommodation in Jaisalmer – a lot of them quite pricey. We didn’t stay in the city itself so can’t recommend a specific place here.
I do recommend spending a night out in the Thar Desert however – there are multiple camps that combine a night in the desert with sandboarding, camel riding and dinner cooked under the stars. We stayed at Damodra Desert Camp which was a great experience. It is gorgeous (see photos below) and we particularly enjoyed dinner around the fire with local performances.
Food: Most of our meals were at our accommodation (as above) but we did have a great lunch at Natraj Restaurant. It is a lovely terrace restaurant with views of the upper part of Salim Singh Ki Haveli.
Getting around: We walked everywhere in Jaisalmer except for arranging transport with our accommodation out to the desert. All accommodation in the desert will provide this service and I highly recommend using it as its your only option to get out there unless you have your own car.
Top Tip: If you aren’t spending the night in Jaisalmer itself I definitely recommend making use of the luggage storage at the train station. This was so helpful as it meant we could do some sightseeing in Jaisalmer before and after our trip into the desert without lugging around our huge bags with us.
DAY 1
Use your morning to explore the intricate Havelis in Jaisalmer – you could even purchase one for yourself for a steal and settle in Jaisalmer permanently. Head to Nathmalji ki Haveli first and take a look at the outside – each side of this Haveli is slightly different.
Then make sure to visit Patwon-ki Haveli – the Kothari’s Patwon-ki Haveli Museum is the only part here worth entering. Allow an hour – hiring a guide is definitely recommended as you learn so much about the history of Jaisalmer and the beautiful Haveli.
In the early afternoon it will be time to head into the Desert for a little adventure. Your accommodation provider will put you on a camel to ride into the centre of the Dunes. After doing a bit of sandboarding to satisfy the adrenaline junkies you will then settle on the sand to watch the sunset.
This trip isn’t all that spectacular – don’t get me wrong its all nice – but there are more amazing deserts elsewhere; better places to sandboard and much more interesting camel rides. However, we had a good time and I did have the most impressively spectacular faceplant when I was sandboarding – it could have happened anywhere but it happened here and was captured on camera by my wonderful husband – so there’s that! *sigh*. Its a fun way to spend an afternoon.
You can still do the same activities above as a day trip if you would prefer not to stay overnight.
DAY 2
Day 2 should be spent visiting Jaisalmer Fort.
If you spent the night in the Desert (like we did) you will be dropped back into town around 10:30am after breakfast. Therefore, I recommend visiting the Jain Temples in the Fort first as they are only open to the public between 11am-12pm. No shoes or leather items are permitted inside.
After the Jain temples wander the rest of the rest of the Fort. This Fort is particularly fascinating as it is one of very few ‘living forts’ in the world – almost one fourth of the population still resides within its walls. Make sure to visit the Fort Palace and Museum (the audio guide is worth getting).
EXTRA STOP
If you have time – try to visit the haunted village of Kuldhara near Jaisalmer. Deserted places are fascinating and this village has a great legend. Around 300 years ago it was a thriving village. The state prime minister at the time set his sights on the daughter of the village chief and decided to force marriage upon her. Instead of following orders, the whole village left their homes and vanished, but not before leaving a curse forbidding anyone to settle their village ever again. It is probably more likely that the true story is that taxes were raised and the inhabitants had to migrate as they couldn’t afford to pay but the village has remained empty to this day and many believe it is haunted by the curse.
I didn’t have a chance to go here but I will definitely be visiting next time I make it to Jaisalmer.
I hope you enjoy Jaisalmer as much as I did!
Erika xx
THE ONLY ERIKA IN THE VILLAGE 