Jodhpur – a city of forts and palaces

The city of Jodhpur lies in the centre of Rajasthan and is a large city with a population of over one million. While I have been to the capital city of Jaipur many times, it is only when I came to Jodhpur that I could feel the spirit of the royal clans of the desert that the state of Rajasthan is famous for. While Jaipur is a busy capital city, Jodhpur has still retained its original wilder character. Beyond Jodhpur the Thar desert stretches for hundreds of kilometers and further ahead lie many smaller towns and hamlets such as Jaisalmer and Pokhran.

The Mehrangarh fort is situated on top of a hill overlooking the city of Jodhpur and offers majestic views of this blue walled city and the desert beyond. During the days of the Maharajas, different cities were painted in different colours. While Jodhpur is predominantly blue, Jaipur came to be known as the pink city because of its pink coloured walls.

The fort houses a museum that is well stocked with artifacts and records of its history, every stone  of the fort seem to tell us stories of its glorious past. The royal chambers have a ceiling designed with pure gold and walls richly carved in oriental designs.

Another important attraction is the Umaid Bhawan Palace and is definitely worth a visit. The palace has three parts consisting of the residence of the royal family, a luxury hotel and a museum. The museum hosts an interesting collection of vintage cars that belonged to the royal family.

Jodhpur is the central stop-over in the famous Indian desert road trip with Jaisalmer to the west, Bikaner to the north, Udaipur to the south and Jaipur to the East.

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