Balsamand Lake Palace

Jodhpur

by la_vish

Jodhpur - The home of the Rathroes - the awesome princely state of Rajasthan. They conquered Marwar or Maroodesh, land of the sand after the fall of Delhi and Kannauj. In 1459 AD, Rao Jodha, chief of Rathore clan of Rajputs, who claimed descent from Rama, the epic here of the Ramayana, laid the foundation of Jodhpur. A high stone wall protects the well-fortified city. The wall is nearly 10km in length and has eight gates facing various directions.

Places of Interest: Mehrangarh Fort, Jaswant Thada, Umaid Bhawan Palace, Government Museum, Girdikot & Sardar Market, Maha Mandir Temple

Excursions: Mandore Gardens, Kailana Lake, Balsamand Lake & Palace, Sardar Samand Lake & Palace, Dhawa(Doli) Forest Area, Osian, Phalodi - Khichan.

Fairs & Festivals: Marwar Festival.

Umaid Bhawan Palace: Built by Maharaja Umaid Singh (1929 -1942) and named after him, this exquisite palace is also known as Chittar Palace because of the local chittar sandstone used. It is a splendid example, of Indo-colonial and art deco style of the 30s.

A blue city sojourn

by abi_maha

"A "slipper" of a journey..."

We landed in jodhpur after a very interesting bus journey (almost in a small 4 by 6 cube!!...is called a sleeper bus in these parts) thru the night from jaipur... we started from jaipur at arnd 10:30 in the night and though the bus started with 75% occupancy and by the time we woke up in the mid of the night (the motels here blare music all night long and really loud!) to take a well deserved break, the bus was 125% full...we had to jump over loads of sleepin bags to make it to the door!!

the road to jaipur wasnt as bad as described in some sites but the bus ride wasnt giving the road much compliments...thank god for a friendly traveller who woke us up and told us the exact stop to get off which was bang opposite to our hotel...

"An early entrance"

The first thing that u notice abt jodhpur is that it is so quiet in comparison to Jaipur! and of course the sheer color difference! i realized that this place is called the blue city for a reason!!! :)

We came in at around 6 AM tired, weary, rattled to the bone but happy to set foot into solid ground. our reservation was in Hotel Mapple Abhay Days at Paota Circle, but the room was not available for the next 2 hours! so we spent the time in the lobby sliding and sleepin in the comfy couches!! :)

Once we got the room, we got ready and were good to go! :)

"Trip around the city"

Being the laid back couple we are known to be ;) we headed to only two places in this entire day. First stop was The Umaid Bhavan Palace- not much to see or do here, be prepared for a morning with no food etc. Quite a bit of shopping to do outside the Palace gates. This was a quaint palace with only a small section open to the public, the other part is now a Hotel. A quick tour later we saw the vintage Cars on exhibit outside the palace, as expected AJ was thrilled with the same!
Then we headed off to Mehrangarh Fort- where we spent nearly 8 hours!! We din even realise the time fly by!! Definitely one of the highlights of our Rajasthan trip!
The next day we made a trip to Mandore Gardens- very badly maintained, sad really to waste such a pretty place. The Balsamand Lake Palace is now a Hotel, so don't make the same mistake as us by heading here for a boat ride!

Mehrangarh Fort - Huge Walls

by Willettsworld

The fort is pearched some 125m (410ft) above the city and looks very dominating as you approach it from the winding road below it. As you look up you'll instantly over-ruled by its walls which measure 6 to 36 meters high and from 3 to 21 meters thick, enclosing an oblong space of about 457 meters in length by 228 in breadth at its widest part.

Umaid Bhavan Palace

by Canadienne

This palace contrasts nicely with the Mehrangarh Fort, as it was a late addition to the city, built in 1929. The stylized design (Art Deco and Rajput influences) lends itself perfectly to its present use as a hotel (part of the palace is open as a museum and a third section is still home to the maharaja's grandson).

It's a lovely walk up here from the market ~ carry water with you ~ and the perfect reward for the trek is a drink or meal in The Pillars (see the restaurant tip of the same name).

Zenana Deodi/womens Palace

by RAJASTHANBYCAR

In the old time, Zenana deodi was the main entrance of the "Zenana" and remain the oldest part of the Mehrangarh fort.
it was a space reserved for the women but opened for the visitors.Women of jodhpur usually come from the city and spent a lot of time discussing with the maharaja's wife's.