Jaisalmer, nicknamed the Golden City, is our gateway to the Thar Desert and the sixth and final stop on our 3-week North India itinerary before reaching Delhi. Jaisalmer is home to many sights, including a hilltop citadel housing numerous havelis and a fort. The lake below is also well worth a visit. The highlight of all excursions is a multi-day camel safari in the Thar Desert.
Visit Jaisalmer, the golden city of Rajasthan
Visiting Jaisalmer also means visiting its old centre and temples. In this article from our travel blog, we give you all the tips and advice you need for an unforgettable stay in Jaisalmer, and to make the most of your visits in the best possible conditions. As you journey through India, you might find yourself in other cities too. For example, you might want to take a detour to Bangalore, known for its beautiful parks and modern architecture. Here, you can find an array of hotels www.hotelsintamilnadu.com/en/bangalore-hotels-18033/ to make your stay comfortable and convenient. A travelogue with our best addresses for restaurants and accommodation (at the bottom of the page), photos and videos of visits and the city are on the programme to help you dream and, why not, plan your next trip to India. Happy reading!
From Jodhpur
We reach Jaisalmer from Jodhpur by chauffeur-driven car. The journey takes 4 hours 45 minutes and covers a distance of 278 km. We booked an air-conditioned vehicle at our guesthouse in Jodhpur. We take the road through Pokaran. The road is superb. We drive at high speed. We take a break in the village of Deehu, 155 km from Jaisalmer. We set off at 10am and arrived at our hotel at 2:45pm. We'll tell you more about the very nice guesthouse we chose and with whom we organised our safari in the Thar Desert later in this article.
Jaisalmer can also be reached by train from Jodhpur or Delhi. In fact, we travelled non-stop to Delhi in 1st class on a 16:15 journey. Read our tips for booking train tickets in India.
The interior of the train is clean and air-conditioned. We were lucky because when we booked online, we were given the only private cabin for 2 people in the whole train! In other words, the perfect place to rest during this long journey. The other 1st class cabins are all for 4 people, yet the ticket price is the same.
Please note: Seat numbers are distributed randomly when tickets are booked online. Therefore, on paper, you are not guaranteed to travel together if you have booked several tickets. It is therefore only once you have boarded that you can negotiate your place between passengers. In any case, remember to print out a ticket for each passenger, in case you don't end up in the same carriage.
In the city
Here we are in Jaisalmer. We give you the best advice for getting around this city of 65,000 inhabitants.
We stayed 4 days and 3 nights in Jaisalmer, including 2 days and 1 night in the desert. The golden city emerges from the desert like a mirage. We're 100 km from the border with Pakistan and there are no security problems. Only a few low-flying airbursts, probably on a surveillance mission, fly over the golden city at times. Jaisalmer lies on the ancient caravan route that linked India to Asia.
The city's main attractions are the citadel and its fort, the havelis and temples in the old centre and the lake. Jaisalmer is also the starting point for camel safaris.
The alleys of the golden citadel are spotlessly clean.
01. Visiting the citadel and the palace fort: tips and good ideas
A visit to the citadel is one of the most popular attractions in Jaisalmer. The facades of the havelis dating from the 17th and 18th centuries are all chiselled. The architectural detail is truly impressive. It's like being in a setting from the Arabian Nights. Everything is clean and sumptuous. Visits to the Jain Temple and the Fort Palace (Rs 200/person) are proof of this. Both sites are very well preserved and are a must when visiting Jaisalmer.
And the locals? They are just adorable, proud to invite us into their shops to drink a chai or to sit on their terraces to look out over the roofs of the citadel. The citadel is on a human scale and can be visited fairly quickly. Don't miss the viewpoints over the city and the desert, such as the sunrise and sunset points. And who knows, maybe a local will join you to tell you about the history of the town.
Did you know that around 60% of tourists visiting Jaisalmer are French?
It can get very hot during the day in Jaisalmer. This is the desert. In mid-April, when we were there, the heat was getting harder and harder to bear. In fact, April is a month of climatic transition in India. It's the period before the monsoon. This will then cross the whole country in the following months. When we arrived in Jaisalmer, the temperatures were still bearable. After 4 days, it was easily over 40 degrees.
So you'll need to plan your day's visit accordingly.
Good shopping in the citadel
If you're looking to buy silk scarves or cashmere jumpers, we've found a very good address. The prices are very attractive and the quality of the products is top-notch. And do you know why? Because we're in India, and we're working for an exporter. In particular, he exports to France. And yes, the scarves we buy here for a few hundred rupees are sold in France, obviously at a much higher price. The shop and its website offer all qualities of silk, cotton, etc., and a wide choice of models and colours.
Boutique Shayama Cashemere (Mr Sushil Barsa)
Address: Dhundha Para, behind Jain Temple, next to the Sunset Palace Restaurant in the citadel.
For Indian saris, we recommend JK Handicraft in Fort (Mr Jagdish).
02. Gadi Sagar Lake
Whether you're staying in the citadel or in the city, it's easy to get to Gadi Sagar Lake by rickshaw. It lies just below the gateway to the citadel, to the south of the ramparts. If, like us, you are staying in the citadel, the lake can also be reached on foot in around twenty minutes.
In any case, you can't miss the huge gate that gives access to the lake. Once you've reached the lake, contemplate the many temples and oratories that have been built here. Opposite, the lake is a haven for nature and the many animals, including cows, that regularly come here to drink. It is also a haven for many birds. The atmosphere is both bucolic and steeped in history. The star attraction, which Indian tourists love, is a short boat trip on the lake, which is a real haven of peace.
03. Safari in the Thar Desert
We booked a 2-day/1-night safari directly with our hotel (see below). We highly recommend it as they are very good at organising trips off the beaten track in the Jaisalmer region. We asked them for a tour that would take us into the desert, of course, but that would also allow us tomeet the locals, on one condition: not to meet any other tourists during the 2 days. Well, mission 100% successful
We first set off by jeep at around 7.15am, heading west for a short 1-hour drive. Himeet, our driver, is very friendly and speaks English. The icing on the cake is that he comes from a small village of just 300 souls lost in the middle of the desert. He takes us there. We meet his family. We had a good time with the children. Then, after about fifteen minutes on a sandy track, we come to a hamlet with a few huts. Our camel driver and his young sidekick are waiting for us.
While we wait for our camels to be ready, they serve us breakfast.
That's it, our camels are ready. It's now 9am. We accompany them to the trough. As we walk through the village, a local proudly presents us with his latest baby, a young camel that can barely stand on its own two feet. He's so cute!
Temperatures are already starting to soar. We ride our camels along a sandy path for about two hours before taking a break in a traditional village. We take the opportunity to meet a family. The patriarch is proud to show us how he makes a gourd from cloth, leather and a needle. His wife offers us goat's milk chai, milked in front of us. The best chai of our entire trip We manage to exchange a few words with the family thanks to our camel driver, who acts as interpreter. The scene we are witnessing is timeless. It was like being in the TV programme "Rendez-vous en terre inconnue". The hut and the whole village are very rustic. Everything is built from natural elements like wood and earth.
We wanted a change of scenery. And we've got it!
We're really at the end of the world, and also very close to Pakistan.
After this truly enriching experience, we set off again for a 30-minute camel ride in the bush of the Thar Desert. We start to encounter animals such as foxes, herds of wild deer and goats.
Eagles and vultures are never far away.
It's midday now. We take a break for a few hours in the shade of trees with fine leaves that the camels and goats love. An iguana also keeps us company during our lunch and the little nap that follows. Lunch is prepared the old-fashioned way. Our camel driver prepares an excellent thali, unfortunately too spicy, while his sidekick prepares the dough for our future chapatis. A goat herder invites himself for lunch. A moment of sharing.
To quench our thirst in the almost unbearable heat, we carry a large number of bottles of water. Luckily! It was so hot that from mid-afternoon onwards, we only drank boiling water. Not very pleasant!
At around 5pm, we set off again for the camp. We reached the camp at around 7pm. Night falls. We set up camp on a dune to admire the sunset. Two beds are hidden a little lower down in the bush. Our camel drivers set them up. Shortly afterwards, the meal is ready. A few harmless beetles fight in the sand for the smallest crumb. We don't eat much, too exhausted from the day.
We quickly fall asleep in our meat bags. The temperature finally drops. It soon gets very cool. At last we can breathe. Our camel drivers have provided everything, even blankets, and a dog, probably from a neighbouring community, joins us during the night, settles under our beds and stands guard.
We're in for a great night under the stars!
The next morning, we got up with the first light of the sun. It's still cool. It had been an excellent and restorative night.
After a quick breakfast (chai, dry cakes and melon), we set off on our camel safari to the next village. Temperatures have soared. It's already very hot and it's only 8am. A whole host of wild animals escort us during the last hour of the camel ride, just like in a real maharaja's tale!
We leave our camel drivers at around 9am. Our jeep driver joins us and we set off to explore the surrounding area in the direction of Jaisalmer. We're very lucky and once again come across many animals, including birds (eagles and vultures) as well as large iguanas, although the latter are far from resembling the Komodo dragons we were lucky enough to see in Indonesia.
We then stopped again at the home of our driver, who spoke to us from the heart about the region and its inhabitants. He tells us that the people here don't have much to live on, but they're happy because they're free. His wife offers us a chai. The children take photos. A real treat!
We then set off again in the direction of Jaisalmer. At the side of the road, we come across a few families and elderly people walking for miles in the sun to reach the nearest well. Our driver, who seems to know a bit about everyone, doesn't hesitate to pick them up and take them forward. A man with a big heart. It's also a way for us to meet more locals of all ages.
We reached our guesthouse around midday. This safari will remain engraved in our memories for a long time. These 2 days have been a real change of scenery, but also a rich source of encounters.
We highly recommend this safari in the Thar Desert if you're travelling to Rajasthan.
Other information and advice if you want to go on safari in the Thar Desert
The cost of the 2 day/1 night safari is Rs 2300/person through our guesthouse. You can also find safaris for around Rs 1500/person with equivalent or lower services. It's important to choose the right agency before taking the plunge and to compare with at least 2 or 3 other establishments. And lastly, not all agencies offer tours off the beaten track.
A safari in the Thar Desert can last from 1 day to 5 days. When looking for a safari, make sure you avoid the traditional tourist circuits. Otherwise, your safari is likely to be spoilt by vendors and merchants along the way.
We each have our own camel, which is not necessarily the case with some agencies.
For meals, make it clear that you don 't want spices, otherwise you'll regret it. The Indians in the region eat extremely spicy food. Our camel driver proved this to us by pouring a whole pot of red chillies into his dish during our lunch break on the first day of our camel safari. And he ate it all with a smile
Like us, prefer a camel driver who speaks a minimum of English.
If you're travelling to Jasailmer in April, like us, expect to endure very high temperatures. Cream, sunglasses and protection for the whole body are essential. Bottled water is provided in sufficient quantities, but there are no coolers on the horizon. That will be our only drawback on this safari.
Where to eat in Jaisalmer
The best thing about Jaisalmer is eating on the terraces of the hotels and guesthouses in the citadel. There's something for everyone. From Indian dishes to simple sandwiches, there's plenty to choose from. Here are some of the establishments we tried out during our stay in Jaisalmer.
Hotel Shreenath Palace (Haveli)
Feel free to climb onto the terrace of this haveli at any time of day. The restaurant at Shreenath Palace offers excellent thalis, which you can savour while admiring the tangle of roofs and terraces of the citadel's buildings all around you. The highlight of the evening is the view of the Jain temple right next to the hotel. We ate there in the evening after dreaming of watching the sunset from the sunset point.
Otaro Restaurant
This is the restaurant in the Desert Boy's guesthouse where we chose to stay. You can eat on the 1st floor, at ground level, on low tables. Otherwise, you can simply climb up onto the terrace. You can then eat at the table, sheltered under parasols.
The sunset over the Thar desert is exceptional from the terrace of this guesthouse.
Where to stay in Jaisalmer? 
We stayed at the Desert Boy's guesthouse. As its name suggests, this is not an establishment reserved for men. We bumped into a French couple on a long-haul trip and some Italians visiting Rajasthan with friends. The establishment is located in the citadel in a quiet alleyway. All the rooms are different and decorated with Rajasthani artefacts.
Some rooms overlook the desert.
Most of the rooms we visited did not have air conditioning. But don't forget that we're in a haveli and the walls are quite thick. So it's not that hot once you're inside your room. The water is cold, but given the temperatures outside, that wasn't a particular problem for us. In any case, remember to save water, as we're in the desert, but it's also a question of the citadel's survival.
In fact, many travel guides to Rajasthan advise against staying in the citadel. We opted for this solution anyway, as we were in the low season. A shopkeeper told us that the citadel receives an average of 3 busloads of tourists a day during the low season, compared with thousands during the high season. It's easy to understand the problems this can cause.
Practical information about Desert Boy's guesthouse
Address: On Fort, Vyasa Para - Jaisalmer (Citadel)
Telephone: 00 91 2992 253091 (Arvind) or 00 91 9571600986 (Pappu)
Very good bedding and quiet
WIFI throughout the guesthouse
The guesthouse organises safaris in the Thar desert, which we highly recommend (see above).