Jaisalmer

Introduction
With the rolling sand dunes and long stretches of barren lands, Jaisalmer carries with it an stereotypical image of a desert city. But it's just the starting for a keen onlooker. It has a lot more worth watching. This princely city was a busy sea port during British era. But all the trade routes were closed due to some ill-fated incidences in or around 1947. It could have remained a secluded desert backwater, if Tourism industry wouldn't have brought this city back on the centre stage. Now it competes well with other hot spots of Rajasthan.


General Info
¤ Location - Western Most in Rajasthan
¤ Highlights - Forts, Havelis
¤ Local Tongue - Marwari, Hindi
¤ Literacy - 64%
¤ STD Code - +91 - 2922


Climate/Best Time
The temperature at Jaisalmer reaches up to 25 ºC to 41 ºC in summer and 7.9 º C to 23.6 º C in winter. Being amidst deserts, Jaisalmer is not fortunate enough to get benefited with the bounties of rain gods. Best time to visit this city is between October to February.


Places to Visit
» Jaisalmer Fort
Dating back to 12th century, this splendid fort is located at an altitude of 30 m on Trikutta Hills. The fort emanating a golden-yellow halo spurred world-famous film director Satyajit Ray to make a movie on it with the title 'Sonar Kella' (the golden fort).

» Havelis
These are nothing but the ethnic, ornate sand stone mansions of the Jaisalmer. Jaisalmer Fort comprises of numerous havelis but the best of them are dotted down in the town. Some of them are Patwon Ki Haveli, Salim Singh ki Haveli and Nathmalji ki Haveli.

» Gari Sagar Tank
Once the water source of the entire town. Its beautiful arched gateway is believed to have been built by a prostitute who added a Krishna temple so that the king could not tear it down.

» Museums
Jaisalmer Folklore Museum, a private institution, is a boasts of a rich collection of handicrafts, depiction of the love story of Princess Moomal and King Mahendra etc. Some other museums are Government Museum, Desert Culture Centre and Museum.


Getting There
Although Jaisalamer has its own airport, maintained by Indian Air Force; airport at Jodhpur (300 km away) is the best option because Jaisalmer airport is operational only during September to March. Local Railway Station at Jaisalmer is at 10 min drive from Gadi Sagar Pol. It takes almost 10 hours to reach the city from Jodhpur. Famous luxurious train known as 'The Palace on Wheels' takes off from Delhi. Main bus stand, near Railway Station, has regular buses being operated from Jaisalmer and Bikaner.