Golden Sand, Golden Land, Golden Fort and Golden Expanse – the lure of so much gold could not keep me away any longer. I travelled to the Golden City of Jaisalmer to explore the richness of this desert land of India. The Golden City of Jaisalmer is one of the largest cities within the Great Indian Desert – The Thar. Explore the places to visit in Jaisalmer with ‘Footlooseinme.’
Explore the Best Places to Visit in Jaisalmer
While exploring the places to visit in Jaisalmer, let us plunge into the history of this city. The city was named after its founder “Rawal Jaisal” also known as Jaisal Singh. He was the descendant of the Bhati Rajput rulers. The Bhati dynasty is believed to be of Yaduvanshi descent from Mathura. They ruled from Ghazni to Gujarat. The continuous invasion from Central Asia forced them to move Southward and finally build the capital at Jaisalmer.
There is also an interesting story associated with the foundation of Jaisalmer as the capital city of Rawal Jaisal. Once, he was on a survey of a hill and a massive rock rising above the surrounding sand when he met a sage named Eesul. The sage was delighted to know that he belonged to the Yaduvanshi clan. He told him Lord Krishna’s prophecy that a Yaduvanshi would once establish his capital here. He showed the king the spring created by Krishna and the rock on which the prophecy was etched. It is believed, that the rock remains within a well in the Jaisalmer Fort.
The Jaisalmer Fort, better known as The Golden Fort, ’Swarna Durg’, ‘Sonar Quila’ or ‘Sonar Kella’ after the name of a detective novel written by the great Indian film director Satyajit Ray which is based on this fort. He later made a film that became a classic among his followers nationally and internationally. This fort is also one among the six forts in Rajasthan that have been included in the UNESCO World Heritage Site. (Read my previous post on Ranthambore Fort, another UNESCO World Heritage Site.)
Jaisalmer Fort or the Golden Fort is a living fort built on Trikuta hill 250 ft high above the surrounding. Hence it is also known as Trikutgarh. This fort is made of yellow sandstone and is a living fort. Earlier the entire city of Jaisalmer resided within the fort. With the growing population, the city has expanded beyond the fort walls yet around 4000-5000 people still reside within the fort, making it a living fort. There are numerous hotels and restaurants within the fort compound.
This increase in the number of dwellers, and insufficient and inadequate maintenance has become a great threat to this Golden Fort of India. The drainage water seeps into the walls weakening them and causing erosion in the hill. The fort stands on the sedimentary rock base which is severely affected by the seepage from poor sewage. The seismic activity in the Trikuta hill is also a matter of concern. Lack of proper drainage and unauthorised activities are the other causes of concern.
This living fort of Jaisalmer has many attractions within. Apart from the Raj Mahal Palace, which was the residence of the royals, there are seven Jain temples and several Havelis belonging to the wealthy merchants of that time. Every structure here is built with yellow sandstone and most of them are multi-storied. Among these, the most notable havelis are Vyas Haveli, Shree Nath Palace and last but not least the famous Nathmal ki Haveli.
Nathmal ki Haveli was the official residence of the then-prime minister (or the Diwan) of the king. This intricate architecture of the building is a fusion of Islamic and Rajputana styles. This building is unique as it was built by two brothers simultaneously on two different segments. For this reason, even if either side of the building looks similar they are not identical. This Haveli can be identified by two elephants carved on yellow sandstone guarding the main entrance.
The Sonar Quila of the Golden City Jaisalmer is the most important site among the other places to visit in Jaisalmer. This fort on the hill is a walled city in itself within the city of Jaisalmer. The interconnected pathway forms a maze within these walls, leading you to rich and ornate ancient structures. Among them some are residential buildings, some are hotels, some eateries, some shops and some temples.
The other attraction nearby is the Patwon ki Haveli. This was the first haveli erected in the Golden City of Jaisalmer and one of the main attractions within the places to visit in Jaisalmer. This monument, or a cluster of five monuments was commissioned by a rich trader, Guman Chand Patwa for his five sons. This monument exhibits excellent architectural beauty with the exterior having intricate lattice or ‘jali carving’ and interior walls adorned with rich mirror work and paintings. This ‘jali carving’ allows the sunlight to illuminate the interior while the mirror within reflects the light creating an interesting show of lights.
Coming out of the walled city to watch the sunset with the view of the Golden Fort and the golden city. Even if the sun and the sky played a trick on us, creating a haze, we did have a stunning view of the Golden Fort in the golden lights at the Golden hours, post-sunset.
Gadisar Lake and Bada Bagh are the other sunset points in Jaisalmer. Gadisar Lake was first built by King Rawal Jaisal in 1156 to supply water to the city and was then known as Jaisalasar Lake. Later in the year 1367, the lake was rebuilt by Gadsi Singh Bhati naming it Gadisar Lake. There are chhatris and temples within the lake making it a cool, picturesque location within this desert region.
Bada Bagh or Barabagh is again another favourite sunset destination and one of the primary attractions within the places to visit in Jaisalmer. Bada bagh is named after the big mango orchard beside which lies the royal cenotaph of Jaisalmer. The royal chhatris belonged to the descendants of Rawal Jaisal.
Jait Sing II the successor of the clan commissioned a reservoir in the region which helped the surrounding vegetation to thrive and turn the area green. His son Lunkaran built a beautiful garden in that region followed by Chhatris overlooking the lake. In later years many more memorial cenotaphs were added to it making it the royal cenotaph of the Bhati clan.
The other places to visit in Jaisalmer are the Tanot Mata Temple, the India-Pakistan Border at Bawliyan-Bilal check post, Laungewala War Memorial, Sam Sand Dunes, the Dessert National Park and Kuldhara the abandoned village or the Ghost Town. Recently, the government has taken the initiative to develop this region into a tourist attraction. Since then this village has grabbed a lot of attention.
In the 13th century, the Brahmins from the Pali region moved to this place and settled here and came to be known as Paliwals. The first settlers excavated a pond called Udhansar, around which the village grew up. From various inscriptions found within the ruins, it is believed that the Kuldhara was a caste group among the Paliwal Brahmins after which the village was named. Different theories explain the possible reason for abandoning the village.
Lack of water, earthquakes and atrocities by the Diwan (official) named Salim Singh (or Zalim Singh) are thought to be the primary reasons. There is a popular legend that states that Salim Singh the minister was attracted to a beautiful girl from the village and he asked the villagers to hand over the girl to his men. The villagers requested the men to come the next morning and abandoned the village overnight. They also cursed the village so that no one could settle in the village again.
With this interesting legend of an interesting place within the Golden City of Jaisalmer, I end my post. Yes, my pictures will continue to tell more about the city and the places to visit in Jaisalmer. I will dedicate separate posts for Tanot, Sam Sand Dunes and Desert National Park. Stay tuned for my upcoming posts.
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