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Monday, January 24, 2011

Jaisalmer (Rajsthan)

2:21 PM Posted by shyamsukh

3 comments:

shyamsukh on January 24, 2011 at 2:22 PM said...

Jaisalmer
Gorbandh Palace, JaisalmerA giant sandcastle rising from Trikuta (three-peaked) hill, Jaisalmer is a breathtaking sight, a Golden City, an Age of Chivalry mirage in the middle of a barren desertscape. No place better evokes ancient desert splendour and exotic trade routes. Ninety-nine huge bastions encircle the narrow streets of the fort, still inhabited, with elaborate houses, splendid temples, magnificent gateways and a beautiful palace, all carved out of the same gleaming golden sandstone. The inhabitants once worked for the local. Despite the commercialism it’s impossible not to be bewitched – this is a like a castle from a dream. Spreading from the fort is the old city, containing lavish sandstone havelis with carving as delicate as lace, and all around the scrub, dunes and villages of the Thar desert.

Founded in 1156, Jaisalmer’s strategic position on the camel-trade routes between India and Central Asia brought it great wealth. The merchants and townspeople built magnificent houses and mansions, exquisitely carved from wood and sandstone.

Jaisalmer experienced its share of sieges and sackings, with an inevitable Rajput jauhar in the 13th century after a siege that lasted eight years. However, it escaped too much harm from the Mughals. On good terms with Delhi, the 17th century saw another golden age, with more grand palaces and havelis.

The rise of shipping and the port of Mumbai (Bombay) resulted in Jaisalmer’s decline. Today it’s an important stop on another lucrative trade route – tourism rivals the military base as the city’s mainstay.

The massive fort that rises above the city is entered via the First Fort Gate. Within the fort walls is a warren of narrow, paved streets complete with Jain temples and the old palace of the former ruler – it’s small enough that you’ll never get lost for long.

shyamsukh on January 24, 2011 at 2:24 PM said...

Other Useful Information

* Around Jaisalmer
* Sights

Around Jaisalmer
GO UP
Lodhruva
About 15km northwest of Jaisalmer are the deserted ruins of Lodhruva, the ancient capital before the move to Jaisalmer. (admission Rs 10, camera/video Rs 50/100; opens 6am-8pm)

Sam Sand Dunes
A desert national park has been established in the Great Thar Desert near Sam village. One of the most popular excursions is to the sand dunes on the edge of the park, 42km from Jaisalmer

This is Jaisalmer’s Sahara-like desert, with huge, silky, undulating folds of sand. It’s best to be here at sunrise or sunset, and many camel safaris spend a night at the dunes. This place has become a massive tourist attraction, so don’t count on a solitary desert sunset experience.

One tragic consequence of dune-hungry hoards is the debris and rubbish lying around. Please don’t contribute to this problem.

Khuri
Khuri is a small village 40km southwest of Jaisalmer, with its own desert sand dunes. People in Jaisalmer like to gossip that Khuri has become commercial and is best avoided, but it’s likely they have a vested interest in you going elsewhere – it remains a peaceful place, with houses of mud and straw decorated like the patterns on Persian carpets. There are plenty of camps of mud huts and camel drivers eager to take you on the dunes, but no shop-lined streets or pancake restaurants. Once the excitement of sunset is over, you have desert solitude and the brilliant star-studded sky at night to look forward to.

Pokaran
At the junction of the Jaisalmer, Jodhpur and Bikaner roads, 110km from Jaisalmer, the Pokaran Fort (admission Rs 50, camera/video Rs 30/30; opens 7am-7pm) is a red sandstone place, the colour of dusty berries, and shelters a tangle of narrow streets lined by balconied houses. It dates from the 14th to 17th centuries and once had charge of 108 villages; part of it is now a heritage hotel. There’s not much to see, but a stop here breaks the journey between Jodhpur and Jaisalmer.

Khichan
This small village is 10km east of Phalodi (where there are places to stay), which is 135km from Jodhpur and 165km from Jaisalmer. From late August/early September to the end of March you can witness masses of demoiselle cranes circling noisily and then descending on the fields around the village at around 7am and 5pm to feed on grain (600kg per day!) spread around by the villagers.

Sights
Jaisalmer FortJaisalmer Fort, Jaisalmer
The fort is a warren of narrow streets carved from sandstone, harbouring a palace, temples, and hundreds of deceptively simple-looking havelis. Built in 1156 by the Rajput ruler Jaisala, and reinforced by subsequent rulers, the fort crowns the 80m-high Trikuta Hill. About 25% of the old city’s population resides within the fort walls, which have 99 bastions around their circumference. It’s an extraordinary, resonant experience to wander around the lanes inside this living museum. Sadly, the tourism trade is threatening the fort – suffering from pressure of numbers and government indifference, it is on the World Monuments Watch list of 100 endangered sites worldwide.

The fort is entered through a forbidding series of massive gates leading to a large courtyard. The former maharaja’s elegant seven-storey palace (Indian/foreigner Rs 20/70, camera/video Rs 50/150; opens 8am-6pm summer, 9am-6pm winter)

shyamsukh on January 24, 2011 at 2:25 PM said...

Havelis
Jaisalmer has some incredibly fine sculpted sandstone buildings which were built by wealthy merchants.

Patwa-ki-Haveli
Most magnificent of all the havelis, its stonework like honey-coloured craggy lace, Patwa-ki-Haveli (admission Rs 20, camera/video Rs 20/20; opens 9am-6pm) towers over a narrow lane. It was built between 1800 and 1860 by five Jain brothers – brocade and jewellery merchants. It’s most impressive from the outside, but the fort view from the roof is superb, and the interior evokes 19th-century life.

Salim Singh-ki-Haveli
This private haveli (admission Rs 15, camera/video Rs 10/50; opens 8am-6pm, to 7pm May-Sep) has an amazing, distinctive shape – narrow for the first floors, the top storey spreads out into a mass of carving, with graceful arched balconies surmounted by pale blue cupolas. It was built about 300 years ago; part of it is still occupied. Salim Singh was a fearsome prime minister when Jaisalmer was the capital of a princely state.

Nathmal-ki-Haveli
This late-19th-century haveli (admission free; opens 8am-7pm) was also a prime minister’s house and is still partly inhabited. It drips with carving, and the first floor has some beautiful paintings, which used 1.5kg of gold.

Gadi Sagar
This stately tank, south of the city walls, was once the water supply of the city and there are many small temples and shrines around it. Waterfowl flock here in winter. Boating (8am-9pm) costs Rs 10 to 100 for 30 minutes.

Tilon-ki-Pol
The attractive Tilon-ki-Pol that straddles across the road down to the tank is said to have been built by a famous prostitute. When she offered to pay to have this gateway constructed, the maharaja refused permission on the grounds that he would have to pass under it to go down to the tank, and he felt that this would be beneath his dignity. While he was away, she built the gate anyway, adding a Krishna temple on top so the king could not tear it down.

Museums
(admission Rs 10; opens 10am-5pm), which has interesting information on Rajasthani culture, as well as textiles and traditional instruments. There’s a nightly one-hour puppet show (admission Rs 30, camera/video Rs 20/50) at 6.30pm.

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