'''Jaisalmer''', the "Golden City", is located on the westernmost frontier of India in the state of Rajasthan. Close to the border with Pakistan, the city is known for its proximity to the Thar Desert. Desert Safari in the sand dunes of Jaisalmer is an unforgettable experience.

The city is dominated by the Jaisalmer Fort. Unlike most forts in India, the Jaisalmer Fort is a living fort. There are shops, hotels, age old ''havelis'' (homes) inside the fort area.

Get in

By plane

A military airstrip has recently been opened to limited civilian flights, with Kingfisher offering flights from Delhi. A new, dedicated airport is planned for 2010.

By train

There is a direct train service from Delhi When arriving by train you will pass the station of Pokharan, India's nuclear testing area!

By bus

Bus or car-taxi from Jodhpur or by bus from Bikaner. A daily bus runs to and from Jaipur.

By camel

Another option is to arrive by camel; Jaisalmer is famous for camel trips. The most grueling is the 14 day trip from Bikaner. When booking a few days in the desert on a camel, remember you get the quality you pay for. People who go for the cheapest trips find themselves eating lentils three times a day!

Get around

The walled centre is a pedestrian area; from the gates you can get other means of transport. The Sam sand-dunes are 45 km away from the city. The rest of the city is easily walkable from one end to the other.

See

One of the most magnificent attractions is the Jaisalmer Fort known as the "Sonar Kila" due to the yellow stone it was built out of.

Gadi Sagar is a rainwater lake which supplies water to the city. It is surrounded by temples and tombs of saints. Boat rides are offered. Nearby is the desert cultural centre and a local museum built out of the collections of a local schoolteacher.

  • Sam dunes. 0 Kms west of Jaisalmer. ttp://wikitravel.org/en/Image:04_DesertFestival.jpg. Sam sand dunes

    Do

    Just chill, Jaisalmer is a lovely and very relaxing place. Go for a stroll, visit the palace and do the camel safari (trips available from a few hours to 14 days). If you do not feel remotely attracted to camels try a jeep safari into the desert to see the scenery and watch the sun go down. Below the fort are several magnificent havelis with intricate stone carving. Several can be visited for minimal charges and are well worth seeking out.

    Buy

    The usual: in Jaisalmer this means items made of camel leather, intricate textiles, especially embroidery and silver jewelry. Local advice is to seek out shops outside of the fort for better value and service.

    Eat

    Lots of local eateries which offer sumptuous lunches and dinners for a measly Rs. 20 (approx. $0.45).

  • '''Seema Restaurant''' Just outside the fort. Really good and cheap food (50Rs). The main appeal is everything is made fresh. Only bad thing is the restaurant is a little dingy.
  • '''Artist Hotel Restaurant''' Near the sunset view point - in the middle of the Jaisalmer artist colony. The very best food in town(50Rs). Everything is made fresh. You will get western (also nice Austrian food) food as well as very nice Indian dishes. The restaurant is placed on rooftop and you can enjoy your meal while listening to live performed rajastani music!
  • '''The Trio''' : The name of this particular restaurant might be in the lonely planet book, but very recently my trip to this place has made me form a totally different opinion about it. The food was distasteful with absoutely no consideration for hygeine. The anbience also needs a major facelift ASAP. The service was also not upto the mark for a restaurant of such repute. So make up your mind for a putrid dinner before you think of dining there. cheers.
  • Drink

    Drink delectable bhang lassi at the government authorized shop close to the haveli

    Sleep

  • '''Henna Hotel''', located outside the fort just left of where the market street starts.
  • The guys running this hotel tease tourists with cheap rooms and pressure them afterwards to buy camel safaris at crazy prices (6000 roupies whereas the normal price is around 1000 roupies maximum). The rooms are dirty, cold and there is no hot shower even if they say the contrary. Henna is without any doubt one of the worst guesthouses in india. Be carefull because the hotel might sometimes be recommended by some people in jodhpur (such as hotel discovery) because they get commisssions when they send them tourists.

  • '''Hotel Shreenath Palace''' [http://www.hotelinjaisalmer.com]. The prime minister under the maharaja once inhabited this beautiful 450-year-old haveli. The gorgeous archways, alluring alcoves, sizable rooms opening onto small balconies and rich ambience must have been grand back in the old days.
  • '''Artist Hotel''', [http://www.artisthotel.info], tel: 0091-(0)2992-252082, [mailto:artisthotel@yahoo.com artisthotel@yahoo.com]. Near the sunset view point - in the middle of the Jaisalmer artist colony. Nice and clean rooms for 1 to 4 persons. Built in 1999 to become a place of Culture, Fun, Music and lovely experience. Profits go for social activities. Heli, an Austrian runs the hotel together with people from the musician-kast. Heli, the staff and the artists are always very nice, helpful and friendly - no cheating at all. The restaurant on rooftop offers a fantastic view of the fort - and they serve the very best food in town! Everything is made fresh. You will get western food (nice Austrian food, Swiss roesti, Italian pasta) as well as very nice Indian dishes. Nearly every night there is live music from the rajastani artists - very pure without any feeling of "just playing for tourists". The staff is very nice and will organize everything for you in a perfect way - camel-trips (without cheating!), train tickets, ajuveda massages etc. Really the best place in town! One may be shocked by the so called 'OPEN' and friendly atmosphere. If you are lone traveler and love 'inappropriate' and lousy living condition its fine but is a big 'NO' for families especially who believe in decency and expect minimum level of decency.
  • '''Hotel Suraj''', tel: 09928738269, [mailto:hotelsurajjaisalmer@hotmail.com hotelsurajjaisalmer@hotmail.com]. If you like to enjoy and relax in Maharaja style in a 500 years old Haveli, well decorated as well as clean haveli provides stunning views of Jain temples and the Sunset. This all is possible at an affordable price of 500 to 1600rs. Very relaxed atmosphere. The place only has 4 mini-suites.
  • '''Garh Jaisal''' [http://www.garhjaisal.com] opened in 2006 and overlooks the entrance to the fort. It has an amazing rooftop deck overlooking the city. Each room is decorated like a jewel tone. It is luxury in the fort and you can book directly on their website. A good combination with a desert trip.
  • '''Moonlight-Resort'''[http://www.khojbin.com/Moonlight-Resort_Jaisalmer_Rajasthan_hotel-overview/29/29922005] MOONLIGHT KHURI RESORT is a high class resort with camping facilities, which is located in midst of Thar Desert, 40 km far from Jaisalmer at Khuri village, surrounded by natural sand dunes hence you will highly enjoy your memorable trip with unforgettable experience. We provides you comfortable accommodation in mud cottages Huts and Tents with Camp- Fire, Dinner, Music & Folk Dance & Camel Ride.
  • However, if you fancy a break from the city, just an hour's journey by road back towards Jodhpur is the village of Sodakore where you will find '''Mirvana Nature Resort''' [http://www.mirvananatureresort.com], a tented camp attached to a desert farm. Meals are served under the stars!
  • Thar Vilas. har Vilas. ww.theconsortiumhotels.com.

    Get out

  • '''Sam sand dunes''' Sam is about 40 km from the city. Watch the sunset from the Sam sand dunes. RTDC has limited accommodations (huts) at Sam; or you can chill out at the one of the camps/tents, right in the middle of the desert, organized by many tour operators. You can watch cultural programs and dances organized by RTDC and many private organizers. Highly recommended to spend one night at Sam (early evening to late morning next day).
  • "Khuri Sand Dunes" Just about 45 Km from the city is the village of Khuri. It is equally famous for the sand dunes as sam. However at khuri you are away from the madenning crowd and the hawkers. As khuri is slowly emerging on the tourism map, it still has all the basic necessities but the crowd is non exsitant. That Means you can have a couple of dunes just for yourself and do whatever you feel like there. Khuri also boasts of numerous private Hut/Tent resorts, available at very reasonable rates with accomodation, food, camel safari to the dunes and folk dance thrown in as accompanients.