Jaisalmer Travel Guide

Built in 1156 and rising out of the Thar desert in yellow sandstone that turns honey-gold at sunset, Jaisalmer Fort is one of very few forts anywhere still inhabited. Thousands of people live within the walls, alongside havelis, Jain temples, shops and guesthouses. That is also its problem: the medieval drainage was never built for this population, and water seepage is actively damaging the foundations. Visiting is fine; many conservationists now suggest staying outside the walls rather than in them.

Timings

Open access; museums around 9:00 AM – 6:00 PM

Ticket

Free to enter · palace museum approx. ₹250 (Indian), ₹500 (foreign)

Time needed

3 – 4 hours

Best time

Sunrise and sunset

Commissioned by the Patwa family of brocade and opium traders in the early 19th century, this is really five connected mansions built over about fifty years. The jharokhas and jaali screens are carved so finely that the sandstone reads as lace. One wing is a government museum, others are privately held and separately ticketed. The upper floors give you rooftop views across the golden city to the fort.

Timings

Around 9:00 AM – 6:00 PM

Ticket

Approx. ₹100 – ₹250 depending on wing

Time needed

1 – 2 hours

Best time

Morning light

The most accessible stretch of true dune desert near Jaisalmer, and consequently the most commercialised. Sunset camel rides and 4x4 dune-bashing run every evening, followed by camps with Rajasthani folk music and dance. It can feel like a tourist production — for genuine silence and stars, ask for Khuri or the further dunes instead. Sleeping out in a desert camp remains worth doing regardless.

Timings

Best 4:00 PM onwards for sunset

Ticket

Camel ride approx. ₹500 – ₹1,500 · camps ₹2,000+

Time needed

Half day or overnight

Best time

October – March

Built by Maharawal Gadsi Singh as Jaisalmer's water supply, this artificial lake kept the desert city alive for centuries. Sandstone ghats, chhatris and small temples line the edge, and in winter it fills with migratory birds. Pedal boats are available. The ornate Tilon Ki Pol gateway at the entrance was, by local account, built by a courtesan and nearly demolished by the offended royals — who were talked out of it when she added a Krishna temple on top.

Timings

Sunrise – sunset

Ticket

Free · boating approx. ₹100 – ₹500

Time needed

1 hour

Best time

Sunrise

Six kilometres north of town, Bada Bagh is a terraced garden of chhatris — domed cenotaphs marking the cremation sites of Jaisalmer's rulers, from the 16th century to the 20th. The last is unfinished; the dynasty ended before it could be completed. Wind turbines now line the ridge behind, which purists dislike and photographers rather like. At sunset the sandstone goes deep amber and there are far fewer people here than at the fort.

Timings

Around 8:00 AM – 6:00 PM

Ticket

Approx. ₹100 (Indian), ₹200 (foreign)

Time needed

45 minutes – 1 hour

Best time

Sunset