Jodhpur City


Overview

State: Rajasthan
Distance: 621 Km SW of Delhi
By Road: 12hrs
Location: In Rajasthan's Thar Desert, Located 335km west from Jaipur and 200 km from the city of Ajmer.

Fast Fact

  • Best time to visit Jodhpur

    October to March is ideal

Jodhpur is the second largest city in the Indian state of Rajasthan. It was formerly the seat of a princely state of the same name, the capital of the kingdom known as Marwar. Jodhpur is a popular tourist destination, featuring many palaces, forts and temples, set in the stark landscape of the Thar Desert.

The city is known as the "Sun City" for the bright, sunny weather it enjoys all year. It is also referred to as the "Blue City" due to the blue-painted houses around the Mehrangarh Fort. The old city circles the fort and is bounded by a wall with several gates. However, the city has expanded greatly outside the wall over the past several decades. Jodhpur lies near the geographic centre of Rajasthan state, which makes it a convenient base for travel in a region much frequented by tourists.

  • Place to visit in Jodhpur

    MEHRANGARH FORT:
    Mehrangarh Fort is one of the most famous and historic fort in India. Located in Jodhpur, western India, this fort has also played host to Indian and foreign films. Filming of the last installment of the Batman Series, The Dark Knight Rises, began on May 6, 2011, at Mehrangarh Fort.

    The fort is situated at a fascinating height of 400 feet (122 m) above the city and an interestingly winding road will lead you to this fort while coming from the city below! Enclosed by daunting thick walls, it holds within itself several palaces known for their intricate carvings and expansive courtyards. Look out for the imprints of cannonball hits by attacking armies of Jaipur that can still be seen on the second gate. To the left of the fort is the chhatri of Kirat Singh Soda, a soldier who fell on the spot defending the Mehrangarh Fort.

    Umaid Bhawan Palace:
    Umaid Bhawan Palace, named after Maharaja Umaid Singh, grandfather of the present owners of the palace, is one of the world's largest resort residences. A part of the palace is managed by Taj Hotels (since 1972) and alongside holds principal residence to the erstwhile Jodhpur royal family. This monument has 347 rooms and dwells within it a museum focusing on the 20th century history of the Jodhpur Royal Family. The opening hours of this museum are 9 am to 5 pm.

    Jaswant Thada:
    The Jaswant Thada is a white marble architectural landmark located in Jodhpur, that will fill your memories with breathtaking beauty. This beautiful monument was built by Sardar Singh in 1899 to commemorate Maharaja Jaswant Singh.
  • Jodhpur Popular Excursions

    Mandore
    Located just 8 Kms from the main city, Mandore lies towards the north of Jodhpur. Historically, this place is quite rich and holds importance. The best things that you can cover in your excursion are the Mandore Gardens having a high rocky terrace, The Hall of Heroes a single rock carving containing sixteen huge figures of the fabled rajput heroes painted in bright colors, The Shrine of about 330million Hindu gods and folk deities, and The Monuments of jodhpur's former rulers sitting on an expanse of a vast green field.

    Kaylana Lake
    Kaylana Lake is an artificial lake located 8 km west of Jodhpur. It was built by Pratap Singh in 1872 because of insufficient water in that region in his time. To this day this lake is the major source of water for the whole city of Jodhpur. Interestingly it's the abode of many lake fish species as well. Kaylana Lake receives water from Hati Nehar (elephant canal) which further connect Indra Gandhi canal. Throughout this journey, this lake creates an extremely fresh environment around it and makes a trip to it worthwhile.

    Balsamand Lake
    Balsamand Lake is a lake situated 5 km from Jodhpur on Jodhpur-Mandore Road. This artificial lake was built in 1159 AD by Balak Rao Parihar. The lake has a length of one kilometre, and a depth of 15meters.It was basically a water reservoir to provide water to Mandore, but the Balsamand Lake Palace was built later as pleasure or summer palace on its shore. The lake is surrounded by lush green gardens that house groves of trees like mango,papaya, pomegranate, guava and plum and many animals and birds like jackal and peacock.

    Sardar Samand Lake Palace
    Sardar samand Lake Palace was built by Maharaja Umaid Singh in 1933 on the banks of the picturesque lake. The Royal Family refuges here for summer retreats themselves. It's an abode to various African trophies and original water-colors by Snaffles and serves as a Art Deco Hunting Lodge. The palace has its own Oriental Garden, boat-house, swimming pool, tennis and squash courts and its large grounds along the lake make for delightful walks.

    Veer Durgadas Smarak
    Veer Durgadas was a renowned personality in the marwar court and the protecter of the kingdom. His massive 36 feet high equestrian statue is located on Masooria Hill, from where an excellent panorama of the city can be taken. The memorial was inaugurated by the honorable Prime Minister of India at that time, Shir Atal Bihari Vajpayee, on 3 October, 1998.

    Dhawa Doli Wildlife Sanctuary
    Situated on Barmer road, Dhawa Doli Wildlife Sanctuary is located 45 km southwest of Jodhpur. The sanctuary is the home to large number of black bucks, cheetal and sambhar, partridges, Desert Rats, desert foxes, neelgai and especially Black Indian Antelopes. Black Indian Antelopes can be seen in a variety of species roaming freely and almost mingling in the Bishnoi village. These antelopes are sacred to the Bishnoi tribe, and they in turn protect them from poachers with a fervor and religious zeal, typical of this tribe. Best time to visit the Dhawa Doli Wildlife Sanctuary is early morning or a few hours before sunset.

    Osian
    Osian Is located 65 km north of Jodhpur, on a diversion off the main Jodhpur – Bikaner Highway. This ancient town of Thar Desert is famous as home to the cluster of ruined Brahmanical and Jain temples dating from the 8th to 11th centuries and was a great trading center in those times. Today, it is a desert oasis with sixteen Brahamanical and Jain temples, beautifully sculpted and designed, most of which have stood ravages of time. The largest of these are Sachchiya mata temple and Mahavir Jain temple, which are both functional. This medieval town is surrounded by rows of sand dunes on western end. While in Osian, watch out for the lovely sunsets and camel rides.

    Phalodi - Khichan
    The paradise for bird watchers and photographers, 75-km beyond Osian brings you to Phalodi, the city of richly carved haveli's and temples. Nearby is a village called Khichan, which is regular host to the flocks of demoiselle Cranes (Locally called Kurjan), which come in thousands due to the amiable conditions and protection given by the villagers. Their duration of stay is about 5 to 6 months, after which they migrate back to their breeding grounds, in March-April. Up to 5,000 kilograms of bird seed are consumed every day by the feeding birds and above 9,000 Demoiselle Cranes flock here from as early as August each year to as late as March of the following year. The village, which has become popular among bird watchers, achieved international recognition when it was featured in Birding World magazine in an article titled, "Khichan - the Demoiselle Crane village". When you visit there, take some time out to listen to the folk songs by the locals based upon these birds!

    Nakoda
    13 kilometers from Balotra, nokada is a village in the Barmer District of Indian state of Rajasthan. Nakoda is a holy place of the Jain religion and is extremely famous world over for it miraculous idol- Mulnayak, a nearly 58 cm high black-colored idol of Parshva in the lotus position. It is considered the main idol of the temple and was installed here in the year 1429 of the Vikram era (1373 AD). In the compound of the temple there is a Dharamshala (disambiguation) (rest-house) with excellent lodging facilities.
  • Jodhpur Popular Festivals

    - Marwar festival
    - Gangaur
    - Teej
    - Nag Panchmi fair
    - Mahavir Jayanti
    - Shietla Mata
  • How to travel in Jodhpur

    The city is very well connected with Road, Rail and Air. It is mostly connected with railways to major metropolitan Indian cities. The railway station is also the originating point for various trains like Jodhpur - Indore Express, Jodhpur - Bhopal Express, Jodhpur - Puri Express, Mandore Express, Suryanagri Superfast Express etc.

    Jodhpur Airport is one of the prominent airports of western India. It was primarily constructed as an Air Force base because of its important strategic location (Jodhpur Airport played the crucial role during Indo-Pak wars in 1965, 1971). It is the most powerful air base in South Asia.
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