DEVGAMAN

North India · Desert

Jaisalmer

Golden sandstone fort alive on a Thar desert ridge

26.91° N · 70.91° E
Jaisalmer Fort's golden sandstone bastions above the desert town at sunset

Photo: Gérard Janot · CC BY-SA 3.0

Best months to be here

  • January — a best month
  • February — a best month
  • March
  • April
  • May
  • June
  • July
  • August
  • September
  • October — a best month
  • November — a best month
  • December — a best month

Best: Oct–Feb

At a glance

State
Rajasthan
Region
North India
Kind of place
Desert · Medieval
Ideal stay
2 days
Altitude
225 m
Coordinates
26.91° N, 70.91° E

Jaisalmer glows because everything in it is cut from the same yellow sandstone, from the 99 bastions of the fort to the lattice screens of the havelis. Rawal Jaisal founded the fort in 1156 on the caravan route between Sindh and Delhi, and the Bhati rulers and Jain merchants who prospered on that trade built the town's finest stone: the Jain temples inside the fort, carved between the twelfth and sixteenth centuries, and Patwon ki Haveli, five houses joined into one from 1805 onward, their balconies dense as lace. Nathmal ki Haveli was carved by two brothers working from opposite ends, and the halves do not quite match.

Gadisar Lake, the town's old reservoir, is best at dawn when catfish crowd the ghats. Bada Bagh's royal cenotaphs and the abandoned village of Kuldhara, emptied in the 1820s, lie on the road west to the Sam dunes, 42 km out, where the camel rides and folk music happen at sunset; Khuri, to the south-west, is quieter. The Desert National Park nearby protects the last great Indian bustards.

Jaisalmer is a frontier town too: Tanot Mata temple and the Longewala battlefield of 1971 are two hours toward Pakistan. The Desert Festival every February brings turban-tying, moustache contests and camel polo to the sands.

What not to miss in Jaisalmer

  1. Jaisalmer Fort's Jain temples and Raj Mahal
  2. Patwon ki Haveli's carved balconies
  3. Gadisar Lake ghats at sunrise
  4. Bada Bagh cenotaphs
  5. Kuldhara abandoned village
  6. Sunset on the Sam or Khuri dunes

Best Oct–Feb

Best time to visit Jaisalmer

October to February; the Desert Festival is held in February around the Magh full moon.

Give Jaisalmer 2 days and it repays the time; with fewer you are choosing between Jaisalmer Fort's Jain temples and Raj Mahal and Patwon ki Haveli's carved balconies. We build the hours around the weather — early starts when it is hot, long afternoons when it is not.

  • Ideal stay — 2 days
  • Season — Oct–Feb
Plan a trip here

On the ground

Things to do in Jaisalmer

The days we would actually plan for you, in the order that suits the light.

  • Overnight camel safari with a dune camp under the stars
  • Walk the fort's lanes at first light before the shops open
  • Jeep run to Tanot Mata and the Longewala war memorial
  • Folk music and Kalbelia dance at a desert camp
  • Birding for great Indian bustard in the Desert National Park

At the table

What to eat in Jaisalmer

  • Ker sangri
  • Ghotua laddoo from Dhanraj Ranmal Bhatia
  • Dal baati churma
  • Panchkuta
  • Makhaniya lassi

On the thali here

A Rajasthani plate of baati with dal and gheeVegetarian

Rajasthan

Dal Baati Churma

Rajasthan on one thali: hard wheat baatis baked in embers until they crack, drowned in ghee, eaten with panchmel dal of five lentils and churma crushed with jaggery. You break the baati by hand, spoon dal over it, then finish sweet. Eat it at a Jaipur haveli lunch or a Jodhpur family kitchen.

Getting there

How to reach Jaisalmer

Jaisalmer Airport (JSA) has winter flights from Delhi and Jaipur; Jaisalmer station has direct trains from Jodhpur, Jaipur and Delhi; Jodhpur is 285 km by road.

Airport pickups, station transfers and the driver for the days here are all part of what we arrange — including the hour you should leave, which is usually earlier than you think.

Travel tips from our trips

  • Avoid staying inside the fort; unmanaged drainage from hotels is damaging its foundations, so stay in the town below
  • Sam dunes are crowded; choose a camp 15 to 20 km from the main strip, or go to Khuri
  • Carry warm clothes for dune nights from November to February, when temperatures drop near 5°C
  • Flights to Jaisalmer are seasonal; check that your dates are covered or plan via Jodhpur
  • Roads to Tanot and Longewala pass army areas; carry ID and follow photography restrictions

Next door

Near Jaisalmer

Places that join Jaisalmer without a long drive — the way a real week is built.

Mehrangarh Fort rising above the blue-painted houses of old JodhpurFort
Themes:HeritageCultureFoodPhotography

Rajasthan

Jodhpur

Blue houses beneath Mehrangarh, the desert's most commanding fort

Ideal stay
2 days
Best time
October to March; the Rajasthan International Folk Festival at Mehrangarh falls in October
Junagarh Fort in Bikaner with its red sandstone ramparts and carved balconiesCity
Themes:HeritageFoodCultureOffbeat

Rajasthan

Bikaner

Camel country of red sandstone forts, bhujia and rat temples

Ideal stay
2 days
Best time
October to March; the Camel Festival is held in January

1 journey

Tours that visit Jaisalmer

All journeys
Mehrangarh Fort rising above the indigo-washed houses of Jodhpur10 days · 9 nights
Themes:HeritageCulturePhotography

Easy · Best Oct–Mar

Royal Rajasthan Grand Circuit

Ten days from Jaipur's bazaars to the dunes and back to Lake Pichola

Route: Jaipur → Pushkar → Jodhpur → Jaisalmer +3 more

Group
2–10 (private)
From
₹1,18,000 pp

Before you ask

Questions we are asked about Jaisalmer

When is the best time to visit Jaisalmer?
October to February; the Desert Festival is held in February around the Magh full moon. On the calendar that is Oct–Feb. We build Jaisalmer into a journey inside that window wherever we can; when your dates are fixed outside it, we re-plan the hours of the day around the weather rather than talk you out of the trip.
How many days do you need in Jaisalmer?
We plan 2 days in Jaisalmer. That is enough for Jaisalmer Fort's Jain temples and Raj Mahal, Patwon ki Haveli's carved balconies and Gadisar Lake ghats at sunrise, at a pace that still leaves room for a long lunch. Add a day if you are continuing to Jodhpur and Bikaner.
How do you reach Jaisalmer?
Jaisalmer Airport (JSA) has winter flights from Delhi and Jaipur; Jaisalmer station has direct trains from Jodhpur, Jaipur and Delhi; Jodhpur is 285 km by road. We arrange the transfer and the driver as part of the journey, so you are met on arrival instead of negotiating a taxi at the gate, and the timings are set around when Jaisalmer is at its best rather than around the clock.
What is Jaisalmer famous for?
Jaisalmer is a desert in Rajasthan, North India, best known for Jaisalmer Fort's Jain temples and Raj Mahal, Patwon ki Haveli's carved balconies and Gadisar Lake ghats at sunrise. Travellers come for heritage, adventure, photography and culture, and most give it 2 days.
Is Jaisalmer good for families?
Jaisalmer is planned more often for heritage, adventure, photography and culture than as a family stop, but it works well at a slower pace. 2 days, an early start and one unhurried afternoon is the shape we would suggest, inside the Oct–Feb window. Tell us who is travelling and we will pace it around them.

Photograph of Jaisalmer: Gérard Janot · CC BY-SA 3.0

All destinations

Jaisalmer, planned by hand

Shall we begin?

चलिए, शुरू करते हैं

Tell us how many days you have. We will build Jaisalmer into a journey that suits them.