Everyone wants to experience the different beauty of mother nature. Like sometimes you want to feel the silence of a snowy mountain, or to relax at the sea beach on a sunny day, or to walk through some lush green forest area, or want to gaze at the stars sitting on a desert at night. When you plan for a desert trip, Jaisalmer is the first place that comes to everyone’s mind. Jaisalmer is a perfect dish consists of history, fort, Havelis and last but not the least, golden desert.
Jaisalmer is a desert city located in the western part of Rajasthan. One of the exciting facts about Jaisalmer is that Fort, Havelis, many of the houses, temples are built of finely sculptured yellowish sandstone. For this, Jaisalmer is known as ‘The Golden City.
Jaisalmer Fort: It was built by Rawal Jaisal, from where the name Jaisalmer came. Yellow sandstone is used to make this fort, which looks like honey-gold, especially at sunset. So, it is also known as ‘Sonar Quilla’ or ‘Golden Fort’. This fort is a ‘living fort’, which is rare. As many people still stay within the fort area. The lanes inside the fort are very narrow; you will find hundreds of shops selling various types of items. The honeycomb-like narrow streets make the place feel like a bit of a maze. Inside the fort, there are few Jain Temples; the artistry of the temple interior and idols are amazing. You can find beautifully crafted Havelis carved from yellow sandstone. These Havelis have many rooms with decorated and colourful windows, archways, doors and balconies. They converted some of the rooms into a museum. And finally, the view of the city from the top of the fort is just amazing.
Patwon Ki Haveli: It is the most famous and largest Haveli in Jaisalmer. It’s not a single haveli, a cluster of five Havelis constructed by a wealthy trader Guman Chand Patwa for his five sons. Beautiful wall paintings, intricate yellow sandstone carved Jharokhas (Balconies), and innovative architecture can be seen in every corner of this haveli.
Gadisar Lake: It was built by Rawal Jaisal and rebuilt by Gadsi Singh. It is an artificial lake, and it is said that this lake was built to supply water to the entire city. There are many chhatris and shrines around the lake, and some are middle of the lake also. Various types of birds fly in-group over the lake. One can witnessastonishing sunset in the Gadisar lake.
Kuldhara: Kuldhara is an abandoned village 18 km away from Jaisalmer city. It was established around the 13th century, and at that time, it was an affluent village of Paliwal Brahmins. After that, they leave this place by the early 19th century; the reason is still unknown. According to a few, scarcity of water forced the villagers to leave, few claims due to oppression by the minister Salim Singh. The villagers couldn’t stay there and vacate overnight. While leaving the village, the Brahmins cursed that no one will ever inhabit the place. A study suggests that Kuldhara and other neighbouring towns were destroyed due to the earthquake. According to the survey, the ruined houses in these villages are evidence of earthquake-related destruction.
Desert Safari: Jaisalmer desert safari offers a great combination of peace, thrill and culture that you will cherish forever. One can start with camel safari. Camel riding isa unique experience for everyone, just sitting on the back of a camel and entering deep within the dunes where one can see only sand miles after miles. Jeep safari gives the thrilling of a roller coaster ride in the desert. Most of these jeeps are open from the top to give you full excitement. When the jeep speeding up and jumps from one dune to another, everyone will indeed shout in thrill. This roller coaster ride ended up at a place where we could get the best view of the sunset.
Colourful cultural evening: Imagine yourself sitting in an open desert camp under the night sky with evening snacks, pakoda& tea. At the same time, the local musicians make the ambience with a mix of soulful melodies. Yes, this is how the evening cultural program starts. The soulful melodies are followed by folk dance, jhoomar, clay pot dance and many other dances performed by the local dancers. Dinner with delicious Rajasthani thali.
Tanot Mata Temple: Religious places have a great significance in a country like India, not only the religious significance but also have historical importance. Tanot Mata Temple is one of them, as this temple remained unaffected despite the heavy bombing during the Indo-Pak war.
