Places to see in Jaisalmer

#EPISODE 5

JAISALMER

From Bikaner, we traveled about 8 hrs and reached Jaisalmer. Among the places to visit in Jaisalmer, we explored places like Gadisar Lake and Jaisalmer Fort.

Before stepping into exploring let us have a quick history of Jaisalmer.

QUICK HISTORY OF JAISALMER

• “THE GOLDEN CITY” of India, because of the yellow sandstone used in every architecture of the city.

• Jaisalmer is approximately 600 km from Jaipur.(west of India).
• This city is named after Maharaja Jaisal Singh, who is the founder of the city.
• “Jaisalmer” – “Hill Fort of Jaisal”
• This city lies on the border of India and Pakistan.
• Being a desert region, it experiences the extreme temperatures.

GADISAR LAKE

Gadisar Lake was constructed by King Jaisal. In those days it reminded the only water source of Jaisalmer.

Gadisar lake has the beautiful gate called “Tilon ki Pol”, which was built by the courtesan called “Tilon”.

I also heard some interesting story from the guide. He said that when the King realized that all the pride would go to the gate rather than the lake, he decided to destroy it. But as Tilon built a small temple “Krishna Mandir” and dedicated to God, none even thought about demolishing it. It is still reminded there.

 

Now all the locals were allowed to feed the catfishes in the lake.

JAISALMER FORT

Jaisalmer fort was built by Maharaja Jaisal. This fort is also called “SONAR QUILA” means “the golden fort”.

It has three layers of the wall. The outer wall has the strong solid blocks of yellow stone. Through the inner walls, the soldiers drop the boiling oils to hurdle the enemies.

The interesting fact is that it is the only “Living/Working Fort” in India. Which means, there are approximately 3000 people resides there.

 

The noteworthy battles, the Jaisalmer Fort had faced was Bhatis, Mughals of Delhi, Rathores of Jodhpur.

There are many temples inside the fort. Some are the Jain temple, Lakshminath temple.

Like all the other forts, it also has different gates. They are Ganesh, Suraj, Akshaya, Hawa gate.

 

It is the second oldest Fort in India. Haveli is present both inside and outside the fort. The largest among all is the  “Patwon Ki Haveli”. The most beautiful among them is the   “Salim Ji Ki Haveli”, named after the prime minister of Jaisalmer Fort.

SAND DUNES  

After exploring the main things of Jaisalmer, we headed to the Sand dunes, where we experienced the camel ride. We went to camel ride at around 5.30. The camel walked on the sand dunes slowly. We passed some distance from the hotel we stayed till the middle of the dunes by watching the sunset. While some of us chose desert safari over camel rides. I heard that it was also equally fun and adventurous.

We came back by 6.30, to the hotel, where some cultural programs started. We sat around the campfire, some people played local folk music, danced for that song on blades and sharp knives. They served some starters and hot tea (chai). Later at night we had dinner and returned to our tents.

The next day, after breakfast, we started to Jodhpur.

In case if you missed the previous episode, click Bikaner.

If you are interested in exploring Jodhpur, then click Blue city now.