With the beginning of the end of the stay at IIT Delhi, a laid back journey, far from the mundane undergraduate life, was becoming direr each day. With a travel itinerary which had been penned down a month in advance, a group of 11 friends rolled out on the journey to the Thar. It was the last week of March, a time when most desert resorts are on the verge of rolling up their camps, when we went to explore the dunes of the Thar Desert. We boarded the overnight Mandor Express from Old Delhi railway station and set forth for the 5 day trip, Jodhpur, the blue city being our first stop.
Early next morning, the station guest house at Jodhpur became a 2 hour halt before we started exploring the narrow streets of Jodhpur. The mighty Mehrangarh Fort stood firm on the city plateau gazing watchfully at each of the princely city’s houses. Places to visit in Jodhpur included Mehrangarh Fort and Umaid Bhawan Palace. We boarded the local auto-rickshaws and headed towards Jaswant Thada, one of the “to do” places that had been marked in our itinerary. From a distance, the monument looked like a temple built on the banks of a lake. But the main attraction that it had to offer was the iconic view of Mehrahgarh Fort. All the clichéd photographs of tourists posing in front of the Fort are mostly clicked at Jaswant Thada. It was this place that gave us the first of many musical flavours of Rajasthan that we would experience on our journey. An elderly man with wrinkles laced all over his face was playing an interesting modification of the violin. He proudly called it Raavan Hatha. The melodious tune of “Padhaaro Mahare Desh” mesmerized all of us and we savoured the tune throughout our trip. Next stop was Mehrangarh Fort itself which came with its own set of historic significances. The boundary all around the fort was a reminder of the attacks that the fort has endured in the past. Most part of the fort has been converted into museum and it takes a couple of hours to scan through all of its rooms. Some scenes from the movie The Dark Knight Rises have been shot here.
View of Jodhpur City | Mehrangarh Fort
After spending a couple of hours at the fort, we had lunch at a restaurant famous for its Rajasthani cuisine – Gypsy, but 4 pm was a bit late for lunch and the restaurant’s Rajasthani cooks had called it a day. We thus had to suffice with the usual courses which were quite delicious. Next stop was the Clock Tower (more popularly known as Ghanta Ghar). It’s a bazaar in the centre of the city with all kinds of traditional and indigenous items on sale by the local vendors. We spent only a couple of minutes at this place since it had nothing unique to offer. Late in the evening we boarded the train to Jaisalmer.
If Jodhpur is the Gateway to the Thar then Jaisalmer, the Golden City lies in the lap of the Great Indian Desert. Jaisalmer essentially comprises of the Jaisalmer Fort with the small city landscape all around the fort trying to make its mark on the Jaisalmer city map. There are plenty of places to visit in Jaisalmer to spend a couple of days in town. There are ancient Hawelis as well which lie closely beside the fort. Our train had reached Jaisalmer before the break of dawn and we were guided by our tour operator from KK Resorts to a local hotel. After a light sleep of a couple of hours, we started our excursion to the famous Patwon ki Haweli. The Hawelis, which now lie abandoned, are said to be home to some of the richest merchants in the past. Every carving on the sandstone speaks of the marvel of the artisans who carved the patterns. The architectural awe also gives a golden hue to the city. We had Dal Baati Churma at a local restaurant near the fort and then started off towards Sam village, home to the sand dunes and the camel safari.
Patwon Ki Haweli (Jaisalmer)
Atop Jaisalmer Fort
We hired two motor bikes to experience the 40 km drive on the state highway to Sam. To rent a bike in Jaisalmer, contact any of the local motorcycle rental shops. We had paid Rs. 1300 for 2 bikes combined for 24 hours. The highway has series of wind mills on one side and barren land on the other. Since the road is mostly narrow throughout the stretch, if hiring motor cycles then helmet is a must. As we drove towards Sam, we could see the sand dunes rise royally in the distance, adorned with vast stretches of infinite sand spreading in lateral directions. It was an hour’s drive to KK Resorts near Sam village. We quickly took to our camps and then went out to greet the sand dunes. With the sun about to set and the orange-ish backdrop of the Thar sky, it was a perfect setting to relax and to ooze out the tiredness of the city life. We climbed the mini mountains of sand and like men of battle, marched on the knife edged top. We jumped off the dunes one after another like a weak canon aimlessly shooting balls. It had been a tiring day; after dinner we relaxed on the porches of our tents, sitting in the Rajasthani muddas and embracing the calm of the desert.
En route to Sam village from Jaisalmer
Fellowship of the wannabes
Early next day we went for camel safari. It was a short ride and lasted only for a few minutes. We had expected the desert to stretch out till the boundary of Pakistan, but were disappointed to realize that the dunes were more like a patch of sand spread in a few acres of land. In the afternoon, we left for Jaisalmer city to visit the Jaisalmer Fort. En route we took a detour to the deserted village of Kuldhara (15 kms from Jaisalmer). Rumours have it that the village is a ghost town. On visiting the place, the antique houses did look scary and reminded us of the Indus Valley Civilization.
Kuldhara Village
Jaisalmer Fort is more than just a fort, it’s a mini town. With dwellings inside for the locals to reside, and shops and restaurants and temples, almost all of old Jaisalmer city lies inside the boundaries of the fort. With the recent infrastructure development of course, the city is spanning far beyond the walls. The last stop of the day was Gaddisar Lake. Like any other lake in India, it offered boats on hire. We relieved the boatmen of their duty and took the bars ourselves. With 8 of us in 2 different boats, we couldn’t avoid having a friendly boat race. Late at night we left for Udaipur. The journey comprised of an overnight train to Jodhpur and a 6 hour bus ride thereon.
I had heard of Udaipur for the Taj Palace island hotel in the middle of Lake Pichola and the City Palace, but the city had much more to offer. Guarded by the Aravallis from almost all sides, and with lake views from all of city’s house’s rooftops, it does justice to its nickname – the city of lakes. There are plenty of hotels in Udaipur near Lake Pichola. All the places to visit in Udaipur are mostly located around this lake itself. We booked 3 rooms at Hotel Anjani. The hotel offered a beautiful view of Lake Pichola from its roof top restaurant and also had a swimming pool. In the evening we went to the sunset point beside the lake. It was a beautiful setting. But the most laudable part of the day was the dinner at Natraj Restaurant. I had the best food I have had in my entire life (no exaggeration!). The Gujarati thali that we were served offered many delicacies, the best one being bundi (sweet dish) with mini pearl like gulab jamuns. The day was made.
Next day, we visited the City Palace. Unlike other forts that we had visited, this palace was built on the banks of a lake (Pichola) rather than a hill top. After being defeated by the Mughals, Maharana Udai Singh II had to flee from Chittaur; he later built the city of Udaipur in the 16th century. Maharana Pratap was his son and ruled the city after his death. The City Palace is embedded with the history of Mewar and the paintings and artifacts on display mesmerized all of us. Being the last day of our holiday, we chose a high end restaurant to have lunch at – Ambrai. The restaurant was yet again situated right beside Lake Pichola. It offered a beautiful view of the City Palace and the Lake Palace hotel. Excerpts from Ram-Leela have been shot right next this restaurant. We boarded the evening train (Chetak Express) back to Delhi.
City Palace beside Lake Pichola (Udaipur)
We all had seen the white capped Himalayan peaks, the endless blue seas down south and the green rain laden hills of Sahyadris, but the golden hue of the Great Indian Desert adorned with forts and palaces makes Rajasthan a must visit place. It adds another feather to the beautiful Indian landscape.
Photographs by Ambrish Rawat
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