Jaisalmer - A story beyond the desert - Anirudh V - Travel and Commercial Photographer/Filmmaker A travel blog about the golden city

Start of the journey

It was a pleasant day or it was going to be one. Time,7:25 in the morning, and I just woke up inside the tent and my friend just came inside and told me that it’s time. I checked the time again and I thought, it can’t be… not at this time. When I stepped outside, I could see the long-stretched horizon and the vast desert surrounding me. There was nothing to block the view and I could see it clearly, the golden colors along the horizon. yes, the sun is about to rise.

The journey started from Indore as a road trip with two of my friends (and amazing photographers – Don’t believe me? Check their Instagram for proof 😊) Mansi (@macro_mansii) and Imran (@photoartist_imran) and now here I am at Jaisalmer – The golden city. Called as the royal desert town of Rajasthan, Jaisalmer is situated in the far west side of India. Close to Indo-Pak border, this town is home to yellow sandstone buildings, majestic fort, beautiful lake, never-ending desert sand dunes and many more.

Even though this town has a lot to offer, in my journey, I was very excited about my first-time experience of the desert. And in this blog, I’ll show you the beauty of Jaisalmer which is more than just a desert.

Change of plans

Back to my tent, the sun has already risen above the horizon and all the vibrant colors disappeared. Now the sky is in its shade of blue and the sun is heating up fast. But I was lost in the thought that it might be my first time seeing a sunrise without going to any vantage point. I checked the time again, it was almost 7:45.

Time to get ready and take part in the Jaisalmer desert festival! Well, that was our initial plan, to cover the Jaisalmer desert festival.

A man in traditional Rajasthani cloth — Lost in the thought

The first day of the festival was to be held at a stadium near to Jaisalmer fort. We reached there and fought through the crowd to get a front seat, eager to see what’s happening.

There was loud Rajasthani music playing and I could see on the stage that turban tying and long mustache competition were going on. The interesting part of these competitions are, both Indians and foreigners took part in it alike.

A foreigner dressed in the Rajasthani dress — Dress to suit the smile

A lady in the traditional Rajasthani cloth and other similarly dressed ladies in the background — Style and the smile

It was entertaining for us in the first but that didn’t last long. There was an immense urge to go out of the crowded area and to visit other places. So, we changed our plans to wander outside the festival and to explore other places Jaisalmer had to offer.

The man-made beauties

Gadisar Lake

Gadisar Lake, the man-made water reservoir had already made an impression on me while I googled the place and I would say it has stood up to my expectations.

I entered through the main gate and saw the lake with the beautiful temples and shrines surrounding it. But the moment I saw the other side of the lake, a strong desire rushed through me to reach the other side.

A view of the temples and its reflections in the lake and a man under the tree looking at it in the foreground — A view from the other side

After some exploration, I found my way to the other side following some small pathways.

I especially like this side of the lake because it is far less crowded with people and more crowded with camels, birds and trees 😉. There were lots of birds flying around me and wild camels feeding on the tall trees. I think one can spend some peaceful time in these serene surroundings and get lost for some time.

A camel feeding off from a tree — Taking a bite

A flock of pigeons flying off from the lake in the foreground and the view of temple in the background — Take off and enjoy the view

Jaisalmer fort

Located in the heart of the city, one wouldn’t (and shouldn’t) miss Jaisalmer fort. Unlike other forts of Rajasthan, Jaisalmer fort houses shops, museum, shops, restaurants, shops, residential accommodations, shops, hotels, etc. (did I mentions shops?😉 ha ha..yes… I wouldn’t be surprised if your luggage gained few KGs after visiting the fort)

A view of the fort from inside — A view from within

When I started exploring the fort, I felt like there is a world inside this fort. Walking inside the fort was like solving a maze. You take a walk, observe, take a turn and next thing you know you are at your starting point again.

When you start solving the maze inside the fort and reach some corner vantage points, you could get a long glimpse of the entire city which will look like a big maze again. Alternatively, you could also visit any of the many restaurants inside the fort. The view from these restaurants are great but the food… well, not so much!

A couple entering the fort through the big gate — The big entry

A canon pointing to the view of the city and the desert — The maze of city and desert

View of the golden city from the fort — View of the city

Patwaon-Ki-Haveli

With enough time to explore the desert part, we thought of exploring some more places in the city. So, we decided to visit Patwaon-Ki-Haveli which is one of the popular Haveli in Jaisalmer.

This Haveli welcomed me with its grand architecture, beautiful mirror work and intricate carvings on the facade.

Photo of the inside of haveli showing its architecture — Meet the beauty of architecture

It was not just the inside view which was heartwarming. when I climbed up the stairs there was a good view of the Jaisalmer fort with all the yellow sandstone buildings laid out in front of it. Flocks of pigeons flying over these buildings from every direction.

The sky captured my attention with warm colors of sunset and that light was falling on all the buildings in front of me and made it glow in the golden color. It was not the best sunset I have seen but is definitely a memorable one.

A view of the golden city through a hole — The golden buildings

Flock of pigeons few flying over the sandstone building and few resting on the rooftop — A cozy evening

The sand dunes of Sam

Finally, that day arrived. To leave all the city exploration behind and for my first-time experience of the desert.

All of us jumped into the car and started our journey to Sam sand dunes. It is located on the outskirts of the city and is more like a starting point of the real desert landscape.

On my way, I could see then transformation of the landscape. All the tightly packed big buildings are no more to be seen. Slowly, the land started to look like barren land with nothing to block the wide view of the horizon. And by the time we reached Sam, I could see small sand dunes and camels were all around us that were used for desert safaris.

A man with the camel carrying two passengers through the desert — Into the sea of sand

A man in the front and two camels carrying passengers through the desert — A walk through the golden sand

It wasn’t the prettiest of the desert which I had imagined in my mind. But, as for my first experience, it was more than enough.

The place was hounded by the tourists and the camel owners were relentlessly following us asking us to take a safari. And how can we leave a desert without a camel safari? Without thinking too much, we hired two camels and hoped on them for a ride.

A camel and the owner standing beside it — Want a ride?

They took us into some dunes not so far from the main road. But up there the view was better and the sun was about to set. Splashing the warm colors on to the landscape made the sand look bright golden color. The landscape has its warm tone disguise now. But, not for long though. I could see the moon behind me in its almost perfect round shape waiting for the domination over the sky.

Two people riding on a camel during the sunset hours — The last of light from the sun

Two camels during the sunset hour and the moon on top of them — Sunset and the moon rise

Into the never-ending sea of sand

The desert experience that I had at Sam sand dunes was something, but then my heart was aching for more. So, the next day we decided to visit Khuri.

An old man with the traditional village cloth standing and looking at the camera — The life in the desert

Khuri was more or less similar to Sam sand dunes. But less crowded and less commercialized. After reaching Khuri, we decided to walk into the desert instead of the camel safari. It was fun and difficult at the same time.

A man on the camel with Rajasthani dress walking through the dessert alone — A view from the other side

Even though I really enjoyed the initial stage of walking in the desert, after a while it became less easy and I could feel my tired legs asking me to rest more often.

With my exhausted legs, I kept walking up the dunes hoping for a better view. After some point on top of the sand dunes, I stopped and I looked at the desert, then I realized that all the walk was worth what I was witnessing.

There stood in front of me, the sand dunes, like a sea of golden waves that appears to have no beginning and no end. it felt wonderful to escape from all the bustle and enter a land filled with nothing but endless sand dunes shaped perfectly by the wind and the shiny colors given by the sun. I could see the dance of light and shadows on the land as the sun approached near the horizon.

Photo of the sand dunes with lot of patterns created by the wind — Shaped by wind and colored by the sun

Sand dune photo with the sunlight creating lot of shadows — The dance of light and shadows

A silhouette of a guy and a camel with sunset and its colors in the background — Stop and stare

One more to the collection of memories

It’s hard to describe the feeling of someone who approaches such a landscape for the first time. You can write words and show pictures, but you have to experience it in real to feel it.

In that dry landscape where there is a slow disappearance of all the signs of life, I could spend those moments completely immersed in nature without thinking about life, death, hope, failure, or the future.

It was definitely an evening well spend and one more to the collection of my memories before closing the Jaisalmer chapter of my life for now.

Photo of fireworks at night in the dessert — Night has just started

Thank you!

And congrats that you made it to the end of the blog. That’s it for now, follow my Instagram @fernwehphotoz to get the updates on my latest (mis)adventures 😉

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