Jaisalmer

We love Rajasthan.  The food, the people, the architecture and accommodation options all combine for a great Indian experience.  We have had the good fortune to spend time in the other major Rajasthanii cities except for Jaisalmer and Bikaner.  Jaisalmer was next on our list but the 4.5 hour drive from the nearest airport meant that we needed a 4 day weekend to complete our mission. A combination of Indian Independence Day and Dahi Handi ( Krishna’s birthday) provided the opportunity.

The golden walls of Jaisalmer Fort

Jailsalmer was a key town on the Silk Route from Asia to the Middle East and its position in the Thar Desert made it strategically important.  This importance was reinforced with the construction of a sandstone fort on a prominent rock ridge by by the Bhati Rajput Maharawal Jaisal Singh in the 12th Century.  The Bhatis, apart from occasional conflicts, managed to maintain their Princely State despite the Muslim invasion that established the Delhi Sultanate and their successors the Mughals and the British

Some of the bastions complete with carved boulders and cylinders to trundle down onto the attacking tourist hordes

Unlike the other major Forts in Rajasthan, which are museums or high end hotels, Jaisalmer’s Fort is a ‘living fort’ with four thousand residents living in homes in the narrow lanes.  By means of an example our Hotel Manager came from a long line of soldiers loyal to the Maharawal and as a result of the family’s service, they had been given a small home in the Fort.

In addition to the shops, restaurants and tourist Havelli’s, the Fort contains some spectacular Jain Temples and the Maharawal's Palace. The Jain temples were amazing with intricately carves figures and scenes decorating the walls of the golden sandstone temples.  They featured Lord Rishabha in his Buddhaesque pose, with eyes opne and a gentle smile.   The other walls carried carvings of a more traditional Hindu design. The Maharaja’s Palace was not as spectacular as those in Jaipur, Udaipur and Jodhpur but the audio tour provided a good historical context. It does get hot and I would recommend going early.

In the desert,
demand for water pots is high

The Fort forms the citadel of the City’s defences with 99 bastions which still contain the carved boulders and cylindrical logs of the parapet designed to be trundled down on anyone attacking the Fort.  The remainder of the town was protected by a wall and several gates.  Unfortunately the structural integrity of the Fort is at risk. Increased tourism and accommodation within the forts result in increased water requirements which combined with poor pipes for the waste water means that there is significant seepage into the foundations which has been undermining the walls of the Fort.  Fortunately, poor monsoons in recent years have slowed the decay but a permanent solution needs to be decided upon. Some recommend not to stay inside to Fort due to this issue.

The stone work is amazing

Beyond the wall of the fort are many spectacular Havelli’s with intricately carved exterior on the second story of the structures which reflect the wealth of the merchant classes before trade on the Silk route collapsed when ports such as Mumbai opened and the Suez Canal was completed.  There are five buildings constructed by a family of Jains that are fine examples of the stone carver’s art. The Family dealt in gold, silver and opium and had 350 stores in across India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and China.  The Havelli had an Accountants room complete with opium filter and pipe.  I wonder how many accounting errors were identified in audits?

The daily water delivery

The walk to visit them is great fun as you weave your way through the maze of streets from the Fort entry. Every street is a menagerie with camels, cows, pigs and dogs living their lives on the streets.  Ada loved patting the cows and photo cataloged those residing near our Havelli.

Gadisar Lake and the Amar Sagar at sunset.

The towns’s water supply was provided by Gadisar lake.  This reservoir was constructed in the 14th Century by Rawal Gadsi Singh and is decorated with shrines to Amar Sagar, mausoleums and ghats along its foreshore. It is full of large catfish, who are fed with bread and form a disgusting writhing mass in the lake when you throw in bread. The shrines also formed a great backdrop for Kate to do some yoga of an early morning.

Life goes on as it has for a thousand years

We stayed at Pleasant Havelli, a new building in a good location just off Ghandi Chowk.  It was basic but clean, good food and a great view of the Fort from the roof top restaurant.  The service was very attentive with the Manager, Krishna, ensuring good service from the staff and it was a bargain given that it included breakfast.  

Local girls in the Dahi Handi parade

We were In Jaisalmer over Dahi Handi and there were no human pyramids as is the case in Mumbai. In Jaisalmer is was relatively low key with a parade through the main street featuring decorated camels, ladies and girls in their best saris with yogurt containers on their head.  The feature were children dressed up on the back of trucks depicting scenes from Krishna's life, in particular the stories of his theft of yogurt on which much of the Dahi Handi celebration is based.  We saw the children in the morning and again in the evening almost 7 hours later, still dressed and actively playing out their roles.

So much of life in Jaisalmer is
about moving water

In the afternoons we took Ada for a swim after lunch.  The first day we went the Mandir Palace which had a nice pool in a secluded courtyard which cost 400INR for adults and 200INR for children and it was 5 minute walk from Pleasant Havelli. On the Sunday we travelled a couple of kilometers from the City wall  to Gorbandh Palace where we had a nice lunch and a swim for a similar costs. Another great spot to relax and have a meal is the all new (location anyway) Blue Café, a few doors down from Pleasant Havelli. Lovely fresh cooked food and attentive service.

No trip to Jaislamer is complete without riding a camel in the Thar Desert.  I know it is a little clichéd but, like riding in a gondola in Venice it is a great experience.  Just like Venice, it was Ada who was the driving force for the camel ride, and I was happy for her enthusiasm as I had a great time.  

We chose to go to the village of Khuri, the other option being Sam sand dunes. Kate is not enthusiastic about riding large mammals, so she decided to give this a miss.  We organized a ride out to the dune for sunset over about an hour and a half.  Having grown up in inland Australia, I love the dry heat and cooling breeze of a late afternoon.  It is even better when riding on a camel in sand dunes. 

Nothing better than arid country at sunset

Even the ships of the desert need to relax now and then

Although the process of the camel standing with you on its back was a little unnerving, Ada thought the ride was great and had fun rolling down the fine sand dunes outside the village.  

We saw many wild peacocks, wells and ladies returning from the wells with water for the evening.  Kate was doing what wives have done for a millennium when men folk (and Ada) set of on camels, she went jewelry shopping in the village!

















Now Khuri is a very basic village with a mixture of small stone buildings and adobe huts with thatched roofs.  Despite this she managed to find the jeweller who was tucked away making basic gold and silver jewellery. We drove back after sunset to Jaisalmer for a final meal on the hotel roof.