Jaisalmer: The Golden City

Around 560 kms from Jaipur is the desert city or the 'golden city' of India located. Jaisalmer is popularly known as 'golden city' because of its golden sandstone out of which the Jaisalmer fort and the entire city is made of. This sandstone has a natural golden yellow color and thus the buildings does not need to be painted in any other color. This leads to the uniformity in color of entire city and it looks lustrous golden during afternoon to the viewers. 

Which is the best/ideal month to visit Jaisalmer? 

Since Jaisalmer is a desert area, it has extreme hot weather during day and extreme cold during night. Maximum day time temperature goes upto 50 degrees during summers and night temperature falls  up to -5°C. Day temperature during winters is pretty normal around 24°C -25°C So the best time to visit Jaisalmer is during winters which is supposed to be from November-March. Anyways during peak summers, you won't find any Desert Safari, Camel ride and other adventurous activities. So the tourists mostly visit Jaisalmer during November to March. 

How many days do anyone need to see Jaisalmer? 

Jaisalmer is a very small city spread is an area of 5sqkm. It can be explored in one day. But, for better desert experience, staying for 2 days and 3 nights is advisable. Generally people plan their one night in desert camp & two nights in city hotels. The choice is totally upto you. 

What are the best hotels to stay in Jaisalmer? 

There are many hotels in Jaisalmer but in case you want to stay in fort like luxurious hotels then here are some good options available:

1. Suryagarh Jaisalmer
2. Hotel Jaisalkot
3. Jaisalmer Mariott Resort
4. Welcome Heritage Mohangarh Fort

If you want to stay in desert camp then some other good options are available like:

1. Sujan The Serai Jaisalmer
2. Desert Dream Royal Camp
3. The Carvan
4. Le Royal Camp

For best experience, it is advisable to stay one night in city hotel and one night in desert camp. 

Things to do in Jaisalmer

Sightseeing of the following places:

1. Gadisar Lake- It is an artificial lake built by the founder of Jaisalmer - King Rawal Jaisal. Sunrise and sunset looks amazing from this lake. You can go for boating here as well. 




2. Jaisalmer Fort- Built by King Rawal Jaisal and at that time fort was the city of Jaisalmer. Earlier king & queen along with the Brahmin and Rajputs used to live in the fort. Now their descendants live here but the present king and queen doesn't stay here. It is the only 'living fort' of the world. 




3. Jain Temple- There are seven Jain temples inside Jaisalmer fort.  It showcases intricate carvings of animals and human figures. It can be considered as Indian architectural wonder. 




4. Patwon ki haveli - This is again an architectural piece. These havelis have lots of windows and intricate carvings. These havelis belonged to the business men of Jaisalmer. These havelis have appeared in lots of movies because of its unique design. 




5. Kuldhara Village - The village which was once inhabited by Paliwal Brahmins is known to get abandoned in a day due to king's atrocities and drought in early 19th century. Nobody knows where the people along with their cattle disappeared in just a day. It is designated as a haunted place now. 




6. Desert Safari - You can go for desert safari on a jeep Or camel & enjoy the sunset. It is hard for vehicles to run on sand but somehow jeep manages to do that and its white adventurous to ride on jeep in desert. 




7. Para-sailing - You can also go for para-sailing in desert but at your own risk. Although it's pretty safe to do para-sailing in desert as the wind speed it quite good there. 




What to buy from Jaisalmer? 

Once you visit some place and not get a souvenir won't be fair. There are certain unique things that you can buy from Jaisalmer:

1. Handmade dari/carpet
2. Habur (bowl for converting milk into curd without inoculum) 
3. Buddhist singing bowl
4. Jaisalmer paintings
5. Silver jewelry
6. Camel leather jacket
7. Camel wool shawl

Beware of fraud. Prices are generally hiked and you have to bargain really hard to buy these at correct price. 
Do visit with your near and dear ones to this place once. 







Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Top 5 Tourist Places in Karnataka

Image
Around two years ago I went for Karnataka trip and after visiting so many places I can figure out what places are really best and unique of all. Though it was very difficult for me to find out top five tourist places in Karnataka as it has so many places that attracts tourists from all over the world.  What are the top 5 tourist places in Karnataka?  As per my experience, top 5 tourist places of Karnataka are: 1. Badami 2. Hampi 3. Jog Falls 4. Coorg 5. Chikmangalur Badami : Badami is one of the heritage cities of India. It is located in Bagalkot district of Karnataka. Badami was ruled by ancient Chalukyas. It is famous for its monolithic cave temples. It is one of the UNESCO's World Heritage Sites. If you ever visit here, don't forget to take pictures of this monument that is masterpiece of our history.  Hampi : This is yet another UNESCO's World Heritage Site in Karnataka. This one is so famous that its 'stone chatiot' has got displayed on ₹50 note. Hampi was the...
Read more

How To Plan a Trip in a Set Budget?

Image
This blog is for those who plan their trips frequently. When we go trips very often then we surely need to adjust it as our pocket permits. Whatever our income might be, everyone needs a plan and everyone has a budget. Here are some tips that we should follow while planning a trip under a budget.  1. Set your trip budget This is the most crucial part of planning. You should always set a budget that you want to allocate for your trip. Your budget should not be purely imaginary but based on your previous evaluation of your trips. If you are going for a trip for the first time then you can make a budget allocation as per your income that can be modified later.  2. Make a list of places you want to cover Once the budget is set you should research on the places you want to see at particular destination. For example, if your Destination is Jaipur then make a list of sightseeing spots that you want to cover.  Estimate number of days you need to cover those places using distance ...
Read more

Queen of Hill Stations: Ooty

Image
 I have been to Ooty long back in 2017 and will share my views and experiences as per that visit. Things might have changed now post pandemic but for those who are going to visit Ooty for the first time are going to feel the same way as I felt years back.  What is Ooty famous for?  Ooty is a hill station in Tamil Nadu located in Western Ghats. It is a colonial town and still preserves working steam engine train. It is famous for its tea plantation popularly known as Nilgiri tea. It is also famous for various forest products like Eucalyptus oil. The tallest peak of Nilgiri mountain range is Doddabetta located near Ooty. Due to its aesthetic beauty and cool climate, it makes one of the most loved destinations for honeymoon couples.  What are the places to visit in Ooty?   1. Mudumalai National Park : It is located in Ooty Mysore road connecting Eastern ghats and Western Ghats. It has also been declared as a tiger reserve. Best place for nature lovers.  2. Oot...
Read more