5 day trip to Jaisalmer

My husband and I just got back from a 5 day trip to Jaisalmer to end 2018 and welcome the New year 2019. While planning my itinerary I realized there are very less resources on the internet available to plan a 5 day trip to this beautiful town. I think the main reason being usually people do not stay for more than 2-3 days at Jaisalmer.

So here goes our itinerary which was well spaced out and not too hectic.

Day 1 – Our flight landed in the morning and we took a taxi to our hotel which was less than half an hour away. (While on the flight don’t miss to look out of your window when you’re close to landing, you would tend to see stretches of windmills below). We didn’t want to waste the day and got out at 12:00pm to tour the city. Depends on where you are staying within the city, it is quite small and can be traversed on foot.

Patwon Ki Haveli

Patwon Ki Haveli

We first headed to see the Patwon Ki Haveli and with the help of a guide learnt a lot about the palace and its history. There is a small courtyard in front of the Haveli where you can stop and relax and listen to some local Rajasthani folk street singers. Being lunchtime we headed to KB café which was highly recommended but unfortunately when we reached they had a waiting time of 20 minutes. We landed up at eating at another café which wasn’t that great. Post lunch we headed to the next Haveli which was Nathmal Ki Haveli, since the Haveli is occupied by its owners you can only view it from outside which was a pretty site but could be skipped.

Vyas Chatri

Vyas Chatri

We then caught an auto-rickshaw and headed to Vyas Chatri which was 15 minutes away. This cemetery (cenotaphs) is a hilltop of beautiful golden sandstone structures and not very touristy so quite peaceful. 

Gadisar Lake

From here you can head by auto-rickshaw to Gadisar lake which was an artificial lake constructed to supply drinking water to the city of Jaisalmer. Now it isn’t used anymore for supplying drinking water and you can catch a boat ride to enjoy the view of the setting sun.

Opposite the road from the lake is a Desert Cultural Centre where you can catch a puppet show at 6:30pm and 7:30pm daily. After which we headed back to our hotel Pleasant Haveli and enjoyed a quite candle light dinner under the stars.

Pleasant Haveli

Pleasant Haveli

Pleasant Haveli

Day 2 – Morning post breakfast at the hotel we headed to Jaisalmer Fort. 

Jaisalmer Fort

Don’t forget to get a guide to explain the history and anecdotes of the fort. 

Jain Temple

Jain Temple

The Jain temple inside is a must-see for the intricate architecture which is quite mind blowing. (Note the temple closes to visitors at 12:00pm so please plan your visit accordingly). Post which we visited a 400 year old house which was converted to a museum. 

Golden City

We stopped for lunch at Dessertboys café which had a very cute garden filled with Bougenvillas and an even more beautiful view of the golden city of Jaisalmer from the fort. Even though it’s a vegetarian place, the food was quite delicious. We then headed to get a taste of some local bhang (marijuana) which is sold legally in Jaisalmer.  The government authorized shop at the entrance of the fort sold bhang in various options (Tandai, banana Lassi, etc.). We then decided to return to our hotel and have a siesta. Post a short nap headed to Bada Bagh in an auto-rickshaw which is a garden filled with ornate cenotaphs dedicated to the royal family.

Mandir Palace

We then returned to the city and went to Trio restaurant at Mandir palace but all tables being booked, headed to Saffron restaurant at Nachna Haveli. They had some live Rajasthani music which kept us entertained during dinner.     

Day 3 – Since we were heading to the dessert today we had to checkout at 10:00am and had free time up to 2:00pm. So we wandered back to the Havelis and thought we’d just laze around at the Patwon Haveli courtyard and listen to Rajasthani folk music. We realized we hadn’t visited all the 5 Havelis on day 1 and thought we’d explore one more on our own. 

Vampire Bats

What I loved about this Haveli was that there weren’t much tourists inside so we had the Haveli to ourselves. We soon figured why not many visited, when we found pathways with vampire bats on the ceilings. They were spooky and interesting at the same time making this Bat-Haveli my favorite one. It also has by far the best view of the Jaisalmer fort from its rooftop.

Marwari Thali

We then headed for an early lunch to KB café (this time since we were early we got a table). We shared a Marwari vegetarian Thali which was one of the best we’ve had. Our hotel Pleasant haveli had then arranged for a non-touristy trip to the dessert. 

Abondoned Village

They took us in their 4 wheel drive car to the desert. On the way they stopped at Kuldhara which is an abandoned village. It was quite interesting walking amongst the remains of the village which is believed to be haunted as well. After an hour they stopped at where our camels were ready to take us for a ride to our sand dunes. 

Thar dessert camel ride

The one hour journey was quite interesting since we spotted foxes, deer, wild camels and other creatures on the way. bonfire and were cooking our meal. After a hearty meal we sat by the fire enjoying the star-studded sky. The helpers put out mattresses on the sand and blankets to keep us warm. We slept literally under the stars and was one of the best new-year eve experiences ever.

The highlight was when we reached the dunes, they were just gorgeous and we couldn’t have enough of them. We perched ourselves on top of one sand dune and stared into the horizon looking at the sun set in front of us with hot chai in our hands. Some time after the sunset it starting getting really cold and we walked back to our little makeshift camp. The helpers had started a bonfire and were cooking our meal. After a hearty meal we sat by the fire enjoying the star-studded sky. The helpers put out mattresses on the sand and blankets to keep us warm. We slept literally under the stars and was one of the best new-year eve experiences ever.

Day 4 – after some hot chai and a warm breakfast we headed back to the city. You can choose to take a camel-ride or a jeep ride back. The hotel was nice enough to give us a room to shower and freshen up and post lunch hired a taxi and headed to winds dessert camps.

Winds Dessert camps

The camp was around 45 minutes away from the city and had these nice Swiss luxury tents. We reached and caught a shot nap. They had planned a camel ride to the sand dunes but since we had our bit of camel fun already we skipped it. In the evening they had arranged for live Rajasthani music and dance around a bonfire which was delightful followed by a good spread of local delicacies.

Day 5 – We had applied for a pass to visit the India-Pakistan border the day before. (Note: no foreign nationals allowed, only Indians). 

Longewala Post

So our taxi driver picked us up at 10:00am and we headed to Longewala post which was two hours away. A half an hour visit highlights the battle of Longewala with the help of a museum, and a short movie.

Tanot Mata Mandir

Tanot Mata Mandir

 We then carried on to Tanot Mata Mandir where we hear about the miraculous tale of how the Pakastani tank bombs that were fired at the temple didn’t explode and protected the soldiers. 

India-Pak Border

India-Pak Border

We then had a quick hunger stop for some Maggi noodles and then carried on to visit the India-Pakistan border which awoken the patriot in both of us. On our long drive back we stopped at a local dhaba at Ramgarh and enjoyed some good vegetarian food. We reached the hotel late in the evening and after freshening up headed to Trio for dinner.

View of Mandir Palace from Trio 

Day 6 – caught the flight out of Jaisalmer 😊