Visited March 2015
We started from Old Delhi Railway Station at 5:35 PM from train Delhi Jaisalmer Express. The train schedule arrival is at 11:15am but since it was late by an hour, we reached our destination at 12:15pm.
I did pre-booking for 1 night camping in desert along with Camel Safari with “The Thar Desert Tour”, hence one of their representatives (Mr. Annu) came to pick us from the Railway Station.
Day 1: As soon our train reached the station; we got a call from Mr. Annu and in no time we boarded the cab and entered the city. Our booking was from 3pm so we decided to have lunch in the city and then proceed towards desert but since it was Holi, maximum restaurants were closed so we had no option but to head towards desert (Sam Sand Dunes) which was 40 km from city.
Finally we reached our campsite at around 1:30 pm.
Mr. Kamal (with whom I have been in touch for the bookings) accommodated us in one of the tent for the time being. Soon after adjusting our luggage we went to the canteen for lunch which was not included in our package and the same was charged at INR 250 per thali (buffet system). Lunch menu included matar paneer, bhindi fry, aloo ki sabzi with dal, chawal, roti, raayta and sponge rasgulla for sweet dish.
After having our meal we went into our tents as it was pretty hot outside. Our actual tent was ready only around 4-4:30pm as it was Holi and cleaning staff came late.
Soon we got ready for Camel Safari which was scheduled for 5pm but actually started at 5:30pm. After sitting on the back of our camel we headed towards sand dunes.
The ride was for half an hour in which we went climbing the sand dunes and coming down. Initially it was scary but gradually it was exciting.
For next one hour we did some roaming around, some photo-session and some quiet moments in desert as by the time the weather was considerably cool and nice breeze was flowing.
At around 7pm we witnessed the beautiful sunset in desert and after experiencing the same we went back to our camps where we had next activity scheduled “Cultural Event” with evening snacks.
There was a group of local people who presented folk songs popular in them “Kesariya Balam” and “Nimbooda”. We also witnessed the double flute instrument of Rajasthan “Algoza”.
Later on cultural dance and some acts (girl picking up a blade, pin from her eye lashes and girl dancing on iron pins carrying 4-5 water pots on the head).
During the event we were served with evening snacks. And after some time dinner was served (buffet) and at the end DJ was played for people to groove on 🙂
Day 2: The next morning we got up at 8am as that was the time for hot water. Our check-out time from the tent was 11am. Once again we checked-in, this time in railway retiring room of Jaisalmer as we had late night train for Ajmer the same day. The time was to explore the golden city hence we hopped-on a tempo and visited historical sites like
Gadisar lake: It is an artificial lake, built by the founder king of Jaisalmer Rawal Jaisal. We did boating in the lake and fed fish with bread.
Patwon ki haveli: It is a cluster of five large havelis in Jaisalmer. Built in 1805 by Guman Chand Patwa, it took the workers almost 55 years to complete the first haveli.
Jaisalmer Fort (Jain Temple): It is believed to be one of the very few “living forts” in the world as nearly one fourth of the old city’s population still resides within the fort. The fort was the city of Jaisalmer.
After having dinner in Jaisalmer market we proceeded back to railway retiring rooms.
Day 3: Our Ajmer train scheduled departure was of 12:55 am and we reached the city at around 12 noon. We again booked railway retiring room in Ajmer as our train to Delhi was the same night at 2:35 am. After freshening up we went to Pushkar which is around 15 km from Ajmer via cab.
Pushkar is on hills from Ajmer. We reached the place in around half an hour and proceeded towards the kund (small pond) as it is said to take a bath in holy kund before visiting temple. For visiting this ancient temple one has to climb some stairs. Once we reached the temple entry door we could see sanctum of main deity at the center surrounded by places for idol of other god and goddesses.
After darshan we had lunch in a restaurant near temple and soon after lunch we hopped on our cab and started our journey back to Ajmer city. The cab driver dropped us to one of the gates for entry into Ajmer Shariff. We walked for about 10-15 odd minutes and we were at the entry of the dargah. The place had many visitors so we went into a line and had darshan. We spent some time sitting outside the dargah. After darshan we went to Ana Saagar Lake, although it was almost night and dark but the place looked beautiful and the air was soothing.
It was time to be back in our rooms for some dinner and quick rest before our train to Delhi at around 10 am.
How to reach:
By Air: Jodhpur Airport is the closest domestic airport that is functional throughout the year. Major cities have regular flights to Jodhpur. The airport is approximately 5 to 6 hours drive from the city.
By Rail: Jaisalmer is well connected with a wide network of trains covering most of the Indian cities
By Road: There are no direct buses from Delhi to Jaisalmer as the 17-18 hour drive is too time-consuming and quite exhausting