Since quite some time I have been thinking “what an amazing experience it will be drive through the Rajasthan deserts and barren lands”. I have only seen those in movies but to do it on my own is something I have always been dreaming for. Unfortunately because of our professional life, it is not always an easy job to plan such kind of trips. But then you get a chance and you have to reap the advantages then and there on. Exactly that is what I did, and made a quick plan of visiting Jodhpur, Jaisalmer during the republic day leave on 2012. Took two additional days leave and planned the whole trip. And as we found out later, it was not a bad decision at all. Here’s a small description on the entire trip that I had and I hope this will be really helpful to those who are actually planning for such trips. Although 5 days is a bit tight for visiting these places, I tried to cover the maximum things that can be visited within this schedule.
JODHPUR (Day 1)
Major Places to visit in Jodhpur
1) Jodhpur Fort
2) Jaswant Thada
3) Mandore Garden
4) Nai Sarak and clock tower
Jodhpur was our first destinations. There was no as such difficulty reaching the guest house. Got freshen up, took rest for 2 hours after such a long drive, and then in the evening, went to the Nai Sarak market. The market is at the heart of the city and is the most visited and known market of Jodhpur. The market is also known for its famous Rajasthan handloom shops.
Jodhpur City View
Nai Sarak, Jodhpur
We finished some shopping there and came back, had a nice dinner and went to sleep early. The next day we got up around 8 AM and had our breakfast in the guest house itself. We started around 10 AM in the car and directly reached the Jodhpur fort. The fort is situated just in the middle of the city. On the way you can take some wonderful snaps of the fort. It looks really beautiful.
Jodhpur Fort
Close-up view of the Jodhpur Fort
Government appointed guides are available inside the fort at very nominal rates. The amazing architecture of the fort along with the explanation from the guide makes the fort visit really enjoyable and something worth to visit.
Jodhpur fort inside view
After visiting the fort, we went to the Jaswant Thada just opposite to the fort. It’s a mausoleum built with white marble and is an absolute beauty.
Jaswant Thada
Having your own car has its own advantages. Everything in jodhpur is so organized with proper parking and guidance. People in Rajasthan are generally very cooperative and humble. One really have no problems out there.
From Jaswant Thada, we directly headed towards the guest house since it was on way to our next destination (Umaid Bhawan palace) for a lunch. After finishing our lunch, we headed towards the Jodhpur palace (The Great Umaid Bhawan Palace). Nothing beats the jodhpur palace, half the Palace is leased out to ITC for Hotel. The maintenance is awesome, the palace, the museum, the vintage cars all are simply mind blowing. Another interesting thing to watch in the palace is the small clock room. And one finds clocks of all different designs and from different places here. Starting from early 19th century, all sorts of clocks are present here. Took around 2 and half hours there, and then had a nice kesarwaalakulfi in the cafeteria within the palace.
Jodhpur Palace
Inside the Umaid Bhavan Palace
The next point to visit in Jodhpur was the Mandore garden entirely on the opposite side of the town. It was around 5 in the evening and we were exactly on schedule as per our plan.
One of the exhibits inside the museum
Vintage car, Jodhpur Palace
Vintage car collection, Jodhpur Palace
On way, we again visited naisarak There is a clock tower at the end of naisarak and you will find misrilal’s famous lassi corner (the guide in the jodhpur fort told us the lassi is famous) . It’s more of like “sweet curd” but worth trying.
Ghanta Ghar
After trying lassi, we headed for Mandore garden, parked our car in the parking visited the garden. It’s a beautiful garden (a park I should refer to it rather)
More interesting to note is the fact that the garden is full of langoors all around and they are very quite. You can even take snaps of them from very proximity. They will do their work and you yours. No interference. The garden has few old abandoned temples with beautiful architecture which are worth noticing. Could not really understand why they were abandoned.
Langoors in Mandore garden
Abandoned temples in the Mandore Garden
One will really enjoy here. After hanging around for 2 hours in the garden, returned to the guest house, had a nice dinner and then nice sleep for next day’s journey.
Note: If you are in your own vehicle, take some time to take a drive around the city, so that you get an idea of the city design and plan in addition
Best time to visit: November->January