Jaisalmer
Jaisalmer, nicknamed The Golden City, is a city in the north-western Indian state of Rajasthan, located 575 kilometres (357 mi) west of the state capital Jaipur, in the heart of the Thar Desert.
Jaisalmer, nicknamed The Golden City, is a city in the north-western Indian state of Rajasthan, located 575 kilometres (357 mi) west of the state capital Jaipur, in the heart of the Thar Desert. It serves as the administrative headquarters of Jaisalmer district. Jaisalmer is a former medieval trading center and the historic capital of the kingdom of Jaisalmer, founded in 1156 by Rawal Jaisal of the Bhati clan of Rajputs. Jaisalmer stands on a ridge of yellowish sandstone and is crowned by the World Heritage Site, Jaisalmer Fort, a sprawling hilltop citadel supported by 99 bastions. This fort contains a royal palace and several ornate Jain temples. Many of the houses and temples of both the fort and of the town below are built of finely sculptured yellow sandstone. The town has a population, including the residents of the fort, of about 78,000. Jaisalmer ranked 9th on Booking.com's Top 10 The Most Welcoming cities in the world. It is the only Indian city on the list.
Adapted from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Worth seeing in and around Jaisalmer
3 places within 25 km that the world writes about, in the order of how widely: the ones a visitor has heard of first, then the ones only a local would name.
- 01Jaisalmer Fort
Jaisalmer Fort is situated in the city of Jaisalmer, in the Indian state of Rajasthan. It is 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.
200 m · fort in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan, India · Wikipedia - 02Gadisar Lake
Gadisar Lake is an artificial lake in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan, India. It was built by the founder of Jaisalmer, Rawal Jaisal Bhati in 1156 AD and later rebuilt by his successor Rawal Gadsi Bhati around 1367 AD. The lake is located about 1.5 km from Jaisalmer Fort.
800 m · lake in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan, India · Wikipedia - 03Jaisalmer Folklore Museum
The Jaisalmer Folklore Museum is a natural history museum located on the banks of Garsisar Lake, in Mehar Bagh Garden, Jaisalmer, in the Indian state of Rajasthan. The museum was founded by NK Sharma.
500 m · natural history museum in Rajasthan, India · Wikipedia
Ranked by the number of language editions of Wikipedia with an article on each, from Wikidata; the sentences are the openings of those articles, CC BY-SA 4.0.
What Wikivoyage says to see
One of the most magnificent attractions is the Jaisalmer Fort known as the "Sonar Kila" due to the yellow stone it was built out of.
- 01Jaisalmer Fort
Also known as the “Sonar Quila” or "Sonal Kella" or "Sonar Kila" as pronounced differently in parts of India.
- 02Gadisar Lake
This is a rainwater lake which supplies water to the city.
- 03Jaisalmer War Museum
A museum displaying India's modern military history.
- 04Jaisalmer Folklore Museum
- 05Sam Sand Dunes
These sand dunes are around 50 km from Jaisalmer city but one has to go there to have this altogether different experience.
From Wikivoyage: Jaisalmer, CC BY-SA 4.0. Not yet checked by us.
Things to do
Just chill, Jaisalmer is a lovely and very relaxing place. Plan at least two days and add time you want to have in the desert. Go for a stroll, visit the palace and do the camel safari (trips available from a few hours to 14 days). If you do not feel remotely attracted to camels, try a jeep safari into the desert to see the scenery and watch the sun go down.
From Wikivoyage: Jaisalmer, CC BY-SA 4.0. Not yet checked by us.
Where to eat
Lots of local eateries which offer sumptuous lunches and dinners for a measly ₹20.
- 01Anchal Sweets
Artist Hotel Restaurant Near the sunset view point - in the middle of the Jaisalmer artist colony.
From Wikivoyage: Jaisalmer, CC BY-SA 4.0. Not yet checked by us.
Getting to Jaisalmer
- Stations
- Jaisalmer Airport, 7 km · Jaisalmer railway station, 1.4 km
- Ahmedabad → Jaisalmer465 km · quickest by road, 10h 30m · ₹4,360–5,450
- Jaipur → Jaisalmer484 km · quickest by road, 9h 18m · ₹3,980–4,970
- Rajkot → Jaisalmer515 km · quickest by road, 13h 2m · ₹5,050–6,300
- Plan a tripFrom anywhereThe planner compares every way there from wherever you are.
Road and air are today’s quick answer; timetabled trains, buses and ferries load on the results page from the operators’ feeds.
No local-transport research exists yet for Jaisalmer
Our researched notes are written from a sourced entry: every shared taxi, boat and village bus with its operator, its rule, its fare and the year we saw it, and what could not be confirmed. Nobody has done that work for Jaisalmer. What is above is what we hold from open sources; nothing here pretends to be more.
- Get inThe train does not leave from the Station New Delhi next to the Backpacker-Ghetto "Main-Bazar", but a 15-min auto-rickshaw ride north from the Delhi Jn - Station.
- Get inVarious tour operators and travel agencies offer chauffeured car-taxi services; these are charged on a per-kilometre, per-day basis.
- Get inDistance |- | Agra | 800 km |- | Ajmer | 440 km |- | Bikaner | 330 km |- | Jaipur | 570 km |- | Jodhpur | 300 km |- | Mumbai | 1140 km |- | New Delhi | 800 km |- | Udaipur | 575 km |} Another option is to arrive by camel; Jaisalmer is famous for camel trips.
- Get inThe most grueling is the 14-day trip from Bikaner.
- Get inWhen booking a few days in the desert on a camel, remember to shop around in order to get the quality you pay for.
From Wikivoyage: Jaisalmer, CC BY-SA. Not yet checked by us; that article was last edited 2026-09.
- 01821 km
- 02881 km
- 03910 km
- 04976 km
- 051,028 km
If you know how people move in Jaisalmer – the stand, the rule, the fare – tell us, and the note gets an entry.