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.

#jodhpur #rajasthan #mehrangarhfort #umaidbhawanpalace #thardesert #desertroadtrip

Gajner wildlife sanctuary - a desert experiment

Situated in western Rajasthan 32 kilometers from Bikaner, the Gajner wildlife sanctuary is one of the smallest wildlife sanctuaries in India and boasts of its own hotel and lake in an oasis in the Thar desert. It is home to the endangered Black Buck and a few other species of herbivores and birds.

We were on a long driving trip in the Rajasthan desert and the segment from Jaisalmer to Bikaner had turned out to be especially desolate. It was late afternoon as we were approaching Bikaner where we had a hotel already booked for us for the night. We spotted a road sign of the Gajner Palace Hotel and decided to take a detour. As we got off the highway onto an unpaved track, we came across this old hunting palace of the Maharaja which has been now converted into a hotel. We were so impressed by this dramatic change of scenery that we decided to check in for a day abandoning our pre planned schedule.

The Gajner Palace hotel is well preserved and will pleasantly surprise even the most discerning traveler. While the architecture is impressive and reminds us of the good old days of the Maharajas of India, it is also of a relatively recent era when western influences had already started influencing tastes in India. As a hotel it is very well run, the staff is very caring and the food delicious whether you wish to be treated in the formal restaurant or prefer to be pampered with room service. The lakeside gardens are especially relaxing and offer excellent views of the surrounding scenery. The lawns are quite expansive and ideal for leisurely walks with a camera or if you just wish to listen to the wildlife, you may settle down on any of the benches by the lakeside.

The wildlife sanctuary is more of an experiment in the study of desert flora and fauna and is a welcome distraction to the traveler on a long desert road trip. The hotel offers safari trips in open 4x4 vehicles with knowledgeable guides for company. 

#gajner #oasis #desertroadtrip #rajasthan

Jaisalmer - desert safari.

Jaisalmer was once a thriving desert kingdom in the middle of the great Indian desert. This fort city was an important stop over along the ancient trade route that stretched all the way from the middle east to the far east. But after India's independence and its subsequent partition, four wars and continuing tensions between the two nations have completely wiped out this ancient route. Jaisalmer now stands isolated on one end of the Indian part of the Thar desert. Its economy now depends almost entirely upon tourism and although the golden yellow facade of the ancient castle still shines in the scorching sun, its ramparts remind us of the better days it has seen in the past.

Although geopolitics has changed its economic character, the colorful costumes worn by the local people and their music still leave a strong impression on the mind. In its modern avatar, Jaisalmer offers the complete package for the Indian desert safari. The desert camps at Sam sand dunes and the camel rides are exactly as you would expect. An additional attraction is the nearby Desert National Park which is home to many species of resident and migratory birds, mammals and reptiles, some of which are endangered.

#jaisalmer #desertsafari #desertroadtrip #rajasthan #desertnationalpark

Secret garden in the desert - Manvar

The Manvar Desert Camp is situated near Dechu on the highway that connects the desert cities of Jodhpur and Jaisalmer. We were on a long road trip in western Rajasthan and had decided to spend some time to cool our heels in this desert resort..

We had started from Delhi early in the morning and reached the camp just before dinner after driving a little more than 700 kilometers. We were received with a traditional Rajasthani welcome ceremony and after a sumptuous meal of traditional Laal Maans (red meat) we turned in for the night.

We woke up next morning to the loud calls of peacocks and after a quiet morning tea on the verandah, we decided to explore the premises. The Manvar campus is dotted with stone buildings with thatched roofs and surrounded by a lush green landscaped garden.

Manvar is ideally located for a quiet break if you are planning the famous desert road trip in western Rajasthan. The beautiful garden and the wildlife that flocks to it from the desert form a tiny microcosm that is a remarkable antithesis to its natural surroundings.

#desertroadtrip #jaisalmer #jodhpur #rajasthan #desertgarden #laalmaans #secretgarden