Mumbai -Jaisalmer – Jodhpur – Mumbai: December 2018
Aptly named as “Queen of Thar”, Jaisalmer is as beautiful as I had visualised – every particle of sand, every nook and corner, every building, every food item has a story to tell.
Where is it located?
- Country – India
- State – Rajasthan
How to reach here?
One can reach here by road, rail, or air. Jaisalmer is well connected to all major cities and towns in India.
Best time to visit
October to March would be the ideal time to visit Jodhpur. The weather is pleasant during the day and chilly at night. Temperature varies between 10 deg Celcius to 24 deg Celcius.
March to June is very hot during the day (sometimes as high as 42 deg C), but pleasant during the nights. During July to September, it is monsoon elsewhere in India, but Rajasthan receives very little rain, so it is still summer-like here, with pleasant bearable heat and pleasant evenings.
What did we do?
Day 1 – Reach Jaisalmer around 1 pm. Take it wasy today. Take a walk around the fort and nearby areas and enjoy the city and its street foods. Stay at Jaisal Club – 22 Dec 2019.
Day 2 – Check out and reach the desert camp around 4 pm. Enjoy the camp, take a dune bashing ride and enjoy sunset in sand dunes Stay at Jaipur desert camp – 23 Dec 2019.
Day 3 – Check out from desert camp, visit Tanot mata temple, Longewala war site. Overnight in Jaisalmer. Stay at Dev Villa – 24 & 25 Dec 2019
Day 4 – Lodhurva – Kuldhara – Khaba fort – Desert safari – Sam sand dunes – sunset
Desert adventure
Stay at the “Jaipur desert camp” – 23 Dec 2019
We had booked the Jaipur desert camp a month prior to our visit. We reach the camp site at 3 pm. Schedule is – afternoon tea, jeep safari in the sand dunes, camel ride in the sand dunes, return to campsite post sunset evening tea/coffee and mirchi wada-snacks on return from the safari, Rajasthani music and dance program with bonfire (8-10 pm), dinner at 10 pm.
Tanot mata mandir / Longewala war site
Jai mata di / Jai Hind
A true event which occurred in 1971 during India-Pak war. A true story of valiant Indian soldiers and blessings of Tanot mata in Jaisalmer. These are the 2 banners welcoming us. Top picture says “welcome to Laungewalal yudh (war) sthal (location)”. The second one reads “world famous shri tanot ray mandir, jaisalmer, managed by – border security force” and a history associated with it.
Just remember there is no food availability at any of these places, carry enough supplies with you, the only place to eat is Ramgarh on your way back to Jaisalmer. We managed a very late lunch at 3 pm.
Sonar Killa / Golden fort
The day is spent roaming about the streets of Jaisalmer fort. Its actually a city within walls built as fort to protect the subjects from consistent attacks from across the border. The king and the queen would stay inside the fort whereas his brothers / sisters and other family members had their own palaces and forts built outside this fort.
Food is not an issue here as there are eateries everywhere, inside the fort as well as outside the fort. Just outside the fort near the market, there is a yummy Dal pakwan wala, road side coffee seller, kadiyal dudh and much more… And….Dhanraj Ranmal Bhatia is not be missed in any case. Read all the way till the end of this page to know what to eat and where.
Lodhruva – Kuldhara – Khaba Fort – Desert National Park – Sam Sand dunes
Yet another happening day of the trip. Lodurva temple is closed due to solar eclipse. Kuldhara happens to be a beautiful experience especially if you like ruins and have the ability to recontruct and build the city with your imagination and experience the life back then (I do this quite often).
Khaba is not a great big fort, could be avoidable if you are short on time, do not to plan to specially visit it. Its on your way to the sand dunes so might as well include it in your itinerary if you are heading to the dunes.
Desert national park safari would be a beautiful experience only if you are equipped with professional cameras and binoculours, a book of birds, and only if you are bird watcher.
If sand activities attract you, Sam Sand dunes are beautiful, just to sit in the sand with hands and feet submerged in it and watching the sun go to the other side of the horizon is an unforgettable romantic moment.
Things to do
- Restaurants we visited for Lunch / Dinner
- Jaisal club – excellent food, freshly made after order. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
- Jaipur desert camp (breakfast and dinner included in the package) – average food, but its a desert camp, so what more can you expect.
- Cafe kaka ( a small time fast food joint at the Hanuman circle) – average food, but right in the middle of hanuman chauraha, when you are really hungry and dont know where to go.
- Cafe Kaku (near the sun set point) – excllelent food, mind-blowing view of golden fort, clean washrooms. thats all you want after a long day sight seeing. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
- Jaisal Italy (Inside the fort premises – right at the main entrance) – excellent food, good ambience, roof top as well as indoor seating. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
- A dhaba in village Ramgarh – very good authentic Rajasthani cuisine, dont remember the name of the dhaba. We reach here at 3 pm, after a whole morning in Laungewala and Tanot mata, this comes as the yummiest meal we have ever had
- Highway dhaba on our way to sand dunes – Again I do not remember the name, but it was a Dosa center. We went for south Indian cuisine this time.
- Snack munching places – we used to have all of these snacks below everyday. Trust me, the taste will linger into your mouths long after you are back home
- Dal Pakwan – SIMPLY AMAZING – NOT TO BE MISSED – any roadside stall. Do not hesitate because it is road side, just go for it.
- Papdi chat – any road side stall
- Moongdal kachori / Onion kachori / Mawa Kachori / Mirchi pakoda (Dhanraj Ranmal Bhatia is the best, but kachori everywhere in Rajasthan is mouthwatering) MIND BLOWING – IRRESISTIBLE – stomach gets full, but the tongue will demand more.
- Sweets – Malai Ghevar, Carrot halwa, Ghotua laddoo, Rabdi, Moongdal halwa (sweets tried only Dhanraj Ranmal Bhatia) – SUPER YUMMY. no further words to describe the flavour and tastefullness of all the desserts here.
- Hot masala milk – early morning and night (tea stalls near the hanuman chauraha), they also have another unique milk delicacy called Firni milk – They have glasses filled in with almonds and needle like thin unsweetened noodles called firni, hot milk is added into it and a porridge like consistency obtained in the glass, it is then had with a spoon. Worth trying once. Maybe you will like it.
Jaisal club – Jaisalmer
- Highly recommeded.
- small little club with very few rooms reserved only for guests from associated club members. We got rooms due to its affilitation with Jolly Gymkhana, Ghatkopar, Mumbai
- Neat, clean, tidy, spacious rooms
- Mini Fridge, TV, Tea kettle etc such regular appliances.
- The property is old but very well maintained.
- Manager, Mr Deora is the most helpful person
- Excellent food. A nice outdoor garden and terrace, pool table, they have a music system too, in case any group party has to be organised, so we went into our rooms just to sleep and get ready.
- Located in the outskirts of Jaisalmer, called industrial area. 30 mins walk to the fort from here.
Jaipur Desert Camp – Jaisalmer
- Located in Kanoi – which is a little away from the dunes, which are in Sam
- Good rooms – good service – bed tea provided on request – average food
- average rajasthani music program.
- good dune bashing – desert safari – camel ride facilities – all included in the price we booked the room.
- None of the desert camps offer pick and drop off to Jaisalmer (40 mins distance from Jaisalmer to Kanoi), so plan to book your own vehicle accordingly.
- Would have preferred a camp closer to Sam sand dunes or Khurri sand dunes, would have loved to just be able to walk to the dunes and enjoy the Great Indian desert anytime.
- Provided extra snacks for kids as dinner was very late. Extra beds, blankets all facilities good.
Dev villa – Jaisalmer
- Highly Recommended
- Beautiful property, neat clean rooms and bathrooms.
- good breakfast, provides bed tea as well if needed.
- very helpful staff – the owner and his brother who manage the hotel are very cooperative.
- Haveli style decor – facade has lots of jharokhas – rooms are modern.
- no outdoor seating – garden – lawn etc. We hardly spent time in the hotel though, so it didn’t matter.
- Gave us contact number of a tempo traveller – totally satisfied.
- 15 – 20 mins walk from the fort.
- Located near a happening center called Hanuman Chauraha / Hanuman circle.
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