Jaisalmer Trip Itinerary
Jaisalmer, also known as, the Golden city, situated amidst the Thar desert, is one of the most beautiful cities of India. My trip to Jaisalmer was one of the greatest sojourns of my life.
I planned a three-day trip to this city with my family, from Feb 22, 2021, to Feb 24, 2021. I believe three days are more than enough to explore Jaisalmer as we covered all the tourist locations of Jaisalmer, very comfortably and without being in a hurry.
It was a little too hot even during this time for outside travel, so if you ever decide to plan a trip to Jaisalmer, do it between Nov — Jan.
I travelled to Jaisalmer from Jaipur, and both the cities are around 565 km away from each other. That meant, a journey of approximately 12 hours whether you choose to travel via bus or train. There is no airport as of now in Jaisalmer and the nearest airport is in the city of Jodhpur.
Due to COVID-19 travel restrictions, since only a limited number of trains were running, I couldn’t find enough seats to book for my family, so I decided to book tickets in a sleeper bus for an overnight journey.
We boarded the bus at 8:30 PM on the night of Feb 21, 2021, and reached Jaisalmer at 10 AM, on the next day of Feb 22, 2021. We had already booked a stay in Jaisalmer for one day and one night and a taxi for all three days. We reached the hotel, freshen up, had brunch and were ready to explore the exquisite regality Jaisalmer had to offer.
Let me now tell you the day by day plan you should follow to enjoy Jaisalmer.
DAY 1
- We first went to Jaisalmer Fort. Now, as a resident of Rajasthan, I have visited Jaipur city palace and Udaipur city palace and went to the fort thinking it would be a similar experience, but I was taken aback as I have never seen a fort like this one in my life. This fort is a complete city in itself. I would advise you to hire a guide or else you will not be able to explore this marvel.
It took us about 3 hours to complete our tour of the fort after which the guide took us to Patwon ki Haveli which is around 10 mins of distance from the fort on foot.
- Patwon ki Haveli is a set of havelis and are an example of the exquisite sandstone architecture because of which Jaisalmer gets the name of Golden city. Again, you will need a guide to understand as to why these are of historic importance. We finished our tour of havelis in an hour and then took some rest in the haveli’s seating area.
- Our next stop was the Jaisalmer War Museum. After the tour of the fort and the Havelis in excruciating heat, we were tired and wanted to go back to the hotel to take some rest, but the closing time for the museum is 5 PM IST, so we decided to first visit the museum and then take a break. You’ll have to pay a minimal ticket fee to enter the museum and then you can explore the complete museum. You will not need a guide here, just follow the arrows marked on the pathway and you will be able to cover it.
After this, we headed back to our hotel for a much-needed break. had some tea and light snacks, rested for half an hour, and got ready to leave for our next destination. - We then went to Gadisar Lake, which spans a 3 km area. We booked a rowing boat for 6 and then witnessed sunset in the middle of the lake. The rower told us all about the lake and its historical importance.
After we finished, we came back to the ghat to check out some traditional accessories being sold.
We then went to a rooftop restaurant with a beautiful view to have a peaceful dinner.
DAY 2
- We checked out of the hotel and had a light breakfast and reached our first destination for day 2 — Bada Bagh. Here as well, I will suggest you book a guide or else it will just be some random chhatris without understanding their historical importance. We spent around half an hour here, and then left for our next destination.
- Our next destination was the Longewala War Museum which is one of its kind. The movie Border is based on the attack that took place here. The Pakistani tanks and jeeps are kept exactly where they left them and fled. They will show a 17-minute documentary which is worth watching, you’ll have to pay a nominal fee to watch it. After that, we had lunch on the way before heading to the next spot.
- Next, we went to Tanot Mata temple. It is believed that the temple protects itself as no bomb dropped in its premises has ever blasted. The soldiers hold immense reverence for this temple; hence it is a must-visit.
- After this, we headed to the tents we booked in the Sam district to enjoy the dunes and Thar desert. We reached there at around 5:30 PM IST.
As soon as we reached and got inside our tent, we had some tea and light snacks and then went for a Jeep safari. Jeep safari is a must. You will not have half as fun if you do not go on a Jeep safari. The Jeep then left us in the middle of the desert where we climbed on camels for camel safari. On camels, we went to the sunset point and witnessed the sunset amidst the desert. It was a surreal experience. On camels, we went back to where the jeep left us, and the same jeep again took us to our tents.
We then had snacks and sat in the open area with a bonfire where the local artists performed Kalbelia, sang Rajasthani folk songs, and performed stunts for us to enjoy. We then had dinner and went to sleep to start day three afresh.
DAY 3
- We woke up at 6:30 AM IST and took a camel cart to the middle of the desert to witness the sunrise. We then returned to our tents, had breakfast, and checked out.
- We then went to the Khaba Fort from where you can see the abandoned villages of Kuldhara. We spent not more than 30 minutes there and went to Kuldhara.
- Then we went to see the remains of Kuldhara where again you’ll have to pay a minimal entry fee but is worth a visit. We again finished the visit in around half an hour and had a soft drink outside the village to beat the heat.
- After this, we went to see Amar Sagar Jain temple on the way which was the last destination of Day 3. Another Jain temple you might wish to add in your itinerary would be Lodhruva Jain temple.
We then went back to the same hotel and rested there for an hour. Since we were leaving from Jaisalmer at 5 PM IST, we had some time to kill and hence we went to explore the streets of Jaisalmer on foot. I would recommend all who visit Jaisalmer to explore the inner city. Only then you will truly understand why it is called the Golden city. Most of the houses have sandstone architecture and are yellow in colour and appear golden as they reflect sunlight.
Then we took our luggage, boarded our bus at 5:30 PM IST from Jaisalmer and reached Jaipur at 6 AM IST on Feb 25, 2021.
I would like to emphasize that we were able to cover all of this without any fatigue or hurry.
We took our sweet time to explore each location properly, had fun and clicked a lot of pictures.
I hope this article gives you an idea of how to plan a trip to Jaisalmer. 😄
