Voyage 361

Sam dunes: A 40 km excursion from Jaisalmer city is the desert village of Sam, which has a band of sand dunes about 2 km in length. Through this stretch there are dozens of resorts offering swiss tents and cottages. The dunes starts getting crowded as the sun goes down and be prepared to be chased by the tenacious camel owners offering short rides across the sands. Sunset at Sam dunes If you get annoyed and lose your mind, then you’re probably going to miss the spectacular sunset over the desert. So sit back and enjoy the sunset. Dunes of Sam Having stayed in one of the resorts it was a great experience with evening folk music and dance performances. It was a total paisa vasool. One of the resorts at Sam offering Swiss tents Kanoi dunes: The next day morning was something which we were more excited about, which is the sand dunes jeep safari. They take you out to the sand dunes near Kanoi where the over three bands of sand dunes of over 3km in length. They are much b

After a delightful experience at the Mehrangarh fort, we then moved towards Jaswant Thada, which is just about a kilometer away. Jaswant Thada: Jaswant Thada is another wondrous monument. It is basically a royal cenotaph built in commemoration of Maharaja Jaswant Singh II during 19th century. The memorial is entirely built with white marble and is intricately carved, watch-out for the beautiful marble jali work on the cenotaph. Jaswant Thada Intricately carved marble jali window Cenotaphs built around Jaswant Thada in white marble stone Spectacular views of Mehrangarh fort from Jaswant Thada Umaid Bhavan Palace: Our last attraction in Jodhpur was the Umaid Bhavan Palace built by Maharaja Umaid Singh between 1929-43. The place is standing on top of the Chittar hill, and is built with golden-yellow sandstone, makrana marble and Burmese teak. Umaid Bhavan Palace It was one of the largest private residences in the world with 347 rooms, before it was segmented in

The blue hues of the city is due to its vivid blue-painted houses around the Mehrangarh Fort often perceived from an aerial view from the fort. The colossal Mehrangarh Fort Blue city as seen from the fort The city has to offer a very few but fascinating attractions, first of which we explored was the Mandore gardens . It is often neglected and skipped by many tourists, but i feel it is one of the must visit if you are an aesthete. Mandore Gardens Inside the Mandore Garden there are cenotaphs, built with red sandstone in the style of Hindu temple instead of the typical of Rajasthani chhatri-shaped cenotaphs. Some of them are four stories high. Mandore Gardens Mehrangarh fort & Palace: The next day morning we were most excited to visit the mighty Mehrangarh fort, we started early and took the trek route instead of the usual roadway, so that we could enjoy the views of the fort and the city at various altitudes. Mehrangarh fort After reaching the fort gate

Rajasthan is one such destination in India where backpacking can still be relaxed. Not familiar with Backpacking? it’s nothing but carrying a single backpack for the whole trip, using public transport for commute, often a long duration trip and experiencing local flavors and culture. Out of the endless list of tourist attractions in Rajasthan, we limited our destinations to the western desert plains of Rajasthan covering Jodhpur, Jaisalmer, Bikaner with an inclusion of Jaipur. This part of Rajasthan is mainly stocked with forts, palaces, havelis, Jain temples and Cenotaphs. Apart from numerous monuments, the never ending Thar desert is definitely a must visit and for shopaholics there is a lot to explore and foodies will get lot many dishes to fulfill their appetite. As a tourist in Rajasthan, one would feel welcomed, as they say locally “ Padharo Maare Des ”, which means “ Welcome to my land ”. We started our journey from the blue city and then traversed through the golden city &