Jaisalmer is a magical place in the middle of Rajasthan’s Thar desert, 100 miles from the Pakistan border. The city was founded as a trading post in approximately 1200 AD and was home to incredible riches in the past. When Bombay eclipsed it in the 1800s as the trading center for eastern India, the city’s growth slowed and today is home to only 30,000 people with an economy centered around tourism.
The center of the city is a fort built atop a hill, which I was surprised to learn is still home to approximately 5000 people.
Jaisalmer Fort view from our hotel's rooftop terrace
The winding alleyways of the fort are the location of the city’s Jain temples. These temples are incredible, ornately carved open air structures. People say that these temples provide some of the world’s best example of sandstone carving.
Jain Temple inside the fort
Some statues inside one of the Jain temples
The fort (and Jaisalmer’s economy) is at risk. With added tourism, increased humidity because of greening in the desert, and lack of draining during monsoon season, the fort is at risk of collapsing. We noticed of number of wall sections that were recently reconstructed or currently under construction.
Winding streets inside the fort
The city is remote and is only accessible by train or automobile (there is no airport). It is still primarily Indian tourists, though we saw more Western tourists than we were expecting.
View of Jaisalmer from an outlook in the fort
