Jaisalmer Favorites

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Favorite thing: One can not imagine if he can get opportunity to stay in national monuent/museum the golden fort of jaisalmer , this fort is having palaces many famous temples and ninenty nine bastions covering the area more than 2km squre , it is claimed to be more than 500 years old , if one gets opportunity to stay in old beautiful building on the rampart with all modern facility ,, is it not the amaizing ,,, yes it is the reason every touist likes to stay in the fort where few restaurants and guest houses are there run by native resedents to make their both hands fold as in jaisalmer except then tourism no big industry is there ,, now yellow stone cutting small plants are there and government offices are there for employment, in past this jaislmer was dry port the traders from Afgan Iraque Iran and from other countries used to come India through jaisalmer by camels ,,, and this area was prosperious ,,, many fields are there they were growing many types of grains/ food through water storege tanks (anicuts, dam like) but now only tourism is the main source of natives which is impecting the jaisalmer in all respect ,,,, so that many up to five stare hotels have come in to the force here,,,, the main thing is these big hoteliers are angree with the hotel business in the fort ,,, they are jeleous and the offer tourists to write about this that fort is in danger so not stay in the fort and not staying in the fort is batter for the health of this fort ,,,, they forget the law of nature ,,, one day every thing has to get old and the charmer will not leave if the son leaves the father if he becomes old ,,, if father is sick old the due care is done ,, the repairing etc is done by the government to maintain the fort ,,, is the local and national government fool ? why they are not stopping the running guest houese in the fort , is the government lame and unwise , can not think good for the life of fort ,, they have invested millions of rupees to construct a under ground sevrage pipe line , it is working very much well ...so it is my humble request and suggestion not see the one face of coin and say your comments in the favour of big guns in force /obligatory or in m iss understading

Fondest memory: A nice memorable camel safari afrranged by desert haveli guest house , deep in to the thar deser,,, tasty indian food cooked in the desert,, charming sun rise ,, camel riding ,, sleeping under the starlit / wonderful moon ,,, campfire dancing with natives , folk musiic ... wonderful sun rise with hot indian tea..... all the memorable camel safari through the indian villages of vivid culture , cast and traditions a good way to see all through this simply the camel safari it should be said a trip to the desert culture and tradition ... I enjoyed very much..

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Favorite thing: i stayed in jaisalmer and enjoyed the city as well as the camel safari deep in to the thar desert , actually i was not intrested in safari but when i came to know by the other tourist what they ecperienced after the trip what thay described it was away farom my mind and thinking , i was in trouble wheather shoul i go or not my inner soul called me and fordced me to go and what i realised there in the field is wonderful i saw the nature from very near and the life of animals and the desert persons , the memorabel camel man jagdish who is regular camel driver for the hotel desert haveli guest house who managed for me this best royal camel safari trip , my inner awakend by this trip what is the soul of sand i could realised, i can request every one who comes to jaisalmer atleast he should visit desert camel safari one daay or more up on time but it is enjoying and creative trip

Fondest memory: the golden stone fine caurving work which is most lovely

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Favorite thing: This mighty fort is in trouble. The infastucture is struggling to cope. Being home to not only a quarter of the population of Jaisalmer, it also is first choice for tourists looking for accomodation. The drainage system cannot handle the demand, and part of the walls have already collapsed. There are many hotels outside the walls of the fort, and it is a good idea to stay there rather than inside the fort itself.
Staying outside the walls of the fort poses no problem to visitors- Everything in Jaisalmer that is worth seeing within the Fort is close to nearby hotels and guest=houses outside the fort.
Staying in a hotel outside the fort gave us a magnificent view of it at sunrise and sunset.

Fondest memory: Staying OUTSIDE the walls of the fort, and being able to see it at sunset- gleaming like a jewel

Favorite thing: Throughout India you'll come across some funny signs with great phrases or spelling mistakes on them. This one amused me as why should children only have beer and not adults or is it a case that the beer is made out of the local children?!! "English wine" is a phrase for whisky & gin - spirits in other words.

Favorite thing: HH Maharajadhiraj Maharawal BRIJRAJ SINGH is the ruling Maharajah of the princely state of Jaisalmer since 1982.

He was born 13th November 1968, succeeded to the throne on 13th March 1982 and married 28th January 1993, HH Maharani Sahib Raseshwari Devi, daughter of a Rana of Nepal, Shri Sahadev Shumsher Jung Bahadur.

for more info on the Mahajarahs of Jaisalmer, go to http://uqconnect.net/~zzhsoszy/ips/j/jaisalmer.html

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Favorite thing: Tragically by the late 20th century, Jaisalmer was on the verge of collapse. Within the fort's monumental walls, alongside the intricately carved temples, palaces and havelis of the former rich and powerful merchants live more than 2,000 people, descendents of Maharawal Rawal Jaisal's entourage.

Paradoxically increased consumption (and therefore waste), due to growing tourism and population, put unbearable pressure on the city’s aged infrastructurewith with water being piped in at a daily rate of some 120 litres per head - at least 12 times the amount originally used meant that the old drainage system, – open gulleys at the sides of streets intended for a time when waste water was minimal was no longer adequate– water become the enemy
What resulted was similar to what happens when you tip a bucket of water over a sandcastle? Jaisalmer, built of dry sandstone on foundations of clay, sand and rock, began to crumble.

Water, seeping through the decaying drains and penetrating the hillside, saturated the foundations of the fortress city, resulting in subsidence and cracks in buildings. Palaces and havelis came tumbling down! In places the retaining wall at the base of the hillside burst apart, while some of the bastions became unstable. After the devastating monsoon of 1993, some 250 historic buildings fully or partially collapsed, including the oldest existing Rajput palace, the Rani-ka Mahal, or Maharani’s Palace. Further damage resulted from the after effects of the Gujarati earthquake in 2001, when several more buildings suffered substantial damage.

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Favorite thing: With the fall of the Mughal Empire in the mid 1700s, commerce shifted to the sea ports, and the age of camel caravans drew to a close. The opening of the Suez Canal and the creation of Pakistan in 1947 further accelerated its demise. Isolated, a five-day journey on camel from the nearest city, Jaisalmer, having grown wealthy on the proceeds of the trade routes, slipped into obscurity, frozen in its medieval history.

Today, walking through the narrow cobbled streets, evidence of the city's rich trading past is everywhere. The ancient fort, the second oldest in Rajasthan, and perhaps the oldest still-inhabited citadel in the world, soars 90 meters above a maze of streets, squares, palaces, and clusters of dwellings, all in the local golden yellow sandstone. Atop the Trikuta (triple-peaked) hill, where, as legend has it, a Brahmin hermit related to Jaisal the prophesy that Krishna and Arjunaruler would one day build a fort, life goes on, almost as it has for centuries.

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Favorite thing: Jaisalmer is one of the India's most precious jewels. Fortified in golden stone, it rises like a mirage from the barren Thar desert of Rajasthan, its 99 bastions silhouetted against the sky, this remote settlement was renowned for the valour of its rulers, the ferocity of its warriors - during British rule it was the last to sign a treaty with the British - and for the aesthetic sense represented by the architecture of the palaces and havelis of its successful merchants.

Founded in 1156 A.D. by the Rajput ruler Rawal Jaisal a Bhatti Rajput, and located on the western edge of the barren Thar Desert, Jaisalmer was India's gateway to the silk and spice routes and a flourishing trading outpost for 700 years. Camel caravans heading towards Arabia, Persia, and Central Asia, laden with silks and spices, would have seen Jaisalmer, shimmering in the desert haze much as it appears today.

Jaisalmer grew in strength (with territories annexed from the bordering districts of Bikaner and Jodhpur) and riches (by levying taxes on caravans passing through Jaisalmer to Delhi). Its location on the main trade route linking India to Egypt, Arabia, Persia, Africa and the West assured its prosperity, reflected in the magnificent havelis the townspeople built. Wood and sandstone mansions with intricate carvings can be seen elsewhere in Rajasthan, but nowhere are they quite as breathtaking.