This was not my first visit to Jaisalmer; it has now become a second home. It was a sudden trip to the Golden city and turned out to be one of the most memorable one. It was a business photography trip and I started from Gurgaon with my friend/colleague for Jaipur.
We decided to make it a break journey to make most out of it. And I believe it’s well said “Safar khoobsorat h manzil se bhi’’ means the way is more beautiful than the destination.
The journey was broken down in two parts i.e, Gurgaon to Jaipur Jaipur to Jaisalmer. Day 1, we started from Gurgaon post 12 pm and reached Jaipur by 8 in the evening. We were in no rush, enjoying the drive, and as I said, enjoying the way more than chasing the target to just reach Jaipur and trust me it gives so much of excitement through the journey and keeps one full of energy. It definitely works for me.
My friend is a wildlife photographer, while on the go he taught me about various varieties of birds he was able to spot. We were driving, stopping for tea breaks, and taking pictures wherever we found nice frames. The evening went well by chasing the setting sun in our direction of motion, it was the most beautiful sight of the day.
We reached Jaipur, and stayed at my aunt’s place. It was her birthday that day, I took a cake for her to celebrate. We celebrated her birthday, she got so pumped up to see me. And I thought it’s not a bad idea at times to club family and work trips together.
My aunt is a doctor, an artist and she cook amazing food. After a beautifully cooked meal I called my day off as tomorrow was going to be a big day.
I woke up before my alarm clock, we left from Jaipur at 5:30 am to start our journey towards the Golden city. It was an early morning of late October and once more I could experience the timeless sleeping beauty of Jaipur city. Deepawali was round the corner and the city was looking gorgeous with lights decoration everywhere.
Jaipur to Jaisalmer
Drive from Jaipur to Jaisalmer is around 560 km through National Highway 11 and around 11 hours. It is a beautiful drive. And the most amazing part of the drive is that the highways roads keep on getting narrow when it is passing through any village or farms and again gains its width as it crosses that stretch.
You will encounter interesting names of places on the way to Jaisalmer, few of my favorites are Nagaur, Chacha, Phalodi, Lathi, Bhagoo ka Gaon etc. The roads were well maintained at most of the places.
On this trip I got an opportunity to live like old times when phone did not have internet, when there was no google maps. As we crossed Jaipur, we did not get internet access until 2:30 pm due to some Government entrance exam in Rajasthan. The internet services were disabled in the state from 7 am till 2:30 pm in order to avoid instances of cheating during examination.
We almost reached Jaisalmer by asking people (where ever we got anybody other than a goat :P) or following the sign boards as people use to travel few years ago. As we were approaching Jaisalmer, we got to spot a lot of species of birds. Beautiful creatures which I never saw in Gurgaon or around especially the sharp raptors.
My furry friends
Food recommendations
On the drive we found many dhabas (small restaurants on highway) the safest options to order in food are paratha (so many options such as onion, potato, paneer etc) curd, buttermilk, poha. I seriously think poha is the best, the most interesting part is that method of preparation of poha would be slightly different at different dhabas and yet everyone makes it quite good.
And when you are in the city, please make sure you don’t waste your appetite on the wrong food choices. Do try dal pakwaan, onion kachodi (in Golden fort market) and Ker Sangri.
Note: For those who don’t take too much of chilli would need to request for less spicy food in advance, as Rajasthani food has chilies on a higher side 😊
Breakfast options-Aloo paratha, Poha and masala omlet
By 5 pm we reached Jaisalmer and witnessed a beautiful sunset, the sky looked golden with the sun setting down and the city was shining golden in the low intensity sunset light. Reached the city and looked for a property to check in. Since the tourist footfall was not too much the time, I visited it. Got nice and clean accommodations even in small hotels.
So, if you are someone who loves the adventure of finding a hotel after reaching your destination especially when you are going in off season, it can give you a lot of experience as well as freedom to choose at moment.
Later went for a short walk just to see the fort in night light and to check out the market and street vibe, everything seemed to be less crowded and quiet. The city was holding on to the same royal charm as it had before.
Day 1 in Jaisalmer
We were in Jaisalmer for a photography project and checked in to our new destination for today @Hotel Gaji. The view from the hotel room was nice, I could see the entire fort from the beautiful Rajsathani style ‘jharoka’ or balcony. The terrace gave an even beautiful sight of the fort and I did not miss the sunrise next morning from it.
Beautiful Rajasthani architecture @Hotel Gaji
We head out to explore the city. If you are in Jaisalmer and you have less time then please make sure to visit Patwon ki haveli, Golden fort, boat ride and sunrise at Gadisar lake. Don’t forget to bring some healthy food for the ducks at the lake 😊. And sunset is seen best from Bada bagh through the windmill park. That place is itself an amazing landscape to be in.
Golden hour at Lake Gadisar
Shot from Patwon ki haveli and Golden fort in my backdrop
Jaisalmer from Golden fort
Handmade puppets by local artisans at Golden fort
Bada bagh
Sunset at Bada bagh
And the day ended with a nice view of the Golden fort from the terrace of the property where I stayed Hotel Gazi. It was basically dinner with view 😊 Had a good meal and good sleep.
View of Golden fort from Hotel Gaji
Day 2 in Sam dessert
The day started with a gorgeous view of the sunrise from the hotel’s terrace and the fort looked stunning in morning hues. In fact could capture sunrise and moon at the same time. Followed by a nice breakfast. The best thing about Rajasthan is the hospitality, the kitchen staff so friendly and kind they cooked such good food as per my requirement. I felt really happy 😊 and at home.
Sunrise view from the hotel's terrace
It was time to leave for Sam dessert exploration and the drive towards Sam is even beautiful. It’s a beautiful road for cycling and its eco-friendly too. On the way to Sam, I explored Kuldhara, abandoned village in the Jaisalmer.
Amar Sagar is a village on the way to Sam dessert and use to have a rain water lake. Amar Sagar lake was another lake to visit in Jaisalmer however, due to low rainfall, it was dry at the time I visited. The villagers are still dependent on rain water harvesting to fulfill their major water requirements. The locals told me that they have a well in the village which is helping them to sort the water crisis for now.
The village has a Jain temple made by Patwas of Jaisalmer. It has a beautiful architecture and a well-maintained garden. It is a paradise for macro photographers as well as people who love to see and known about ancient architecture.
Amarsagar Lake and temple
This took me by surprise
The drive in Sam is just breath-taking. Beautiful roads and boundless dessert on both side of the road gave me adrenaline rush. We were driving at ease; it was a long and straight road, I could see for kilometres, I was looking out of the car’s window to feel wind in my hair. And all of a sudden, I saw two men on motor bike riding parallel to us and they started to ask where are we heading. They also started to tell us that they have a camp and they can show us around and insisted a bit more.
It was not something that had happened to me before, we respectfully replied them that we would not need it and escaped the situation. Later, I discussed it with locals at the camp and got to known that there are few camps which don’t have web presence and this is how they get clients. As per the locals it was a marketing/sales pitch for them on the motorbike ;/
Sam dessert-Marvin dessert camp
The camp was quite in the interior from the main road. We drove through the dessert land while following the google map location. Once I felt that how can there be anything, this place looks so remote, are we driving in the right direction. We kept on following the directions and finally I saw the camp site surrounded by the dunes.
Marvin dessert camp site
It was an absolute feeling of solitude to me; I loved the location. There were few houses of locals near the camp and I feel lucky to interact with them. And to share their basic struggles of living in the dessert. And also got to understand that they don’t have to put in lot of efforts to see sunrise, sunset or stars.
Long exposure shots taken from camp site
I was super excited for the evening in Sam, to see the sunset followed by star studded sky. I feel so blessed to see those beautiful dunes. The dues looked like a painting with all those details painted by the wind, the ripples on the sand. You can avail parasailing, camel safari and jeep safari in dunes. Since I don’t connect with troubling the animals for my adventures, I choose do a creative photo shoot with the camel. I prefer the ripples on sand which are created by air rather than the jeep tyres. I enjoyed being in the dessert with this beautiful camel named Jonny, I made sure that I don’t trouble him during the photoshoot. And he behaved really friendly with me.
Jonny and his friend Ali
Camel and jeep safari at Sam
While enjoying the sunset
(special thanks for set up to Marvin dessert camp)
Found this hut in the dunes, it was just the perfect spot (and that's Jonny in the backdrop)
In the dunes
Sun-soaking
The sight of sunset was just mesmerizing, the sky turned orange and the sun seemed to slow down in a pleasant like a soothing glowing ball of light. The landscape turned magical with the flying birds, and the magical golden tint in sky, the dunes were getting colder with the sun getting down. Slowly the night sky took over and the entire landscape changed. My words would not be doing entire justice to this magic nature plays, I was just sitting there calmly and trying to preserve as many memories as I could.
Mesmerizing hues at sunset
With the night taking over, the sky got filled with billions of stars. I followed many shooting stars, constellations, Mars, Venus, Pole star etc. I just lied down on the luke warm sand and gazed at the night sky, there was a beautiful silence. And I can still revisit these travel memories, this is what one really earns from being with nature.
After getting back to Marvin dessert camp, I enjoyed Rajasthani feast with cultural performance by Kalbelia artists. And this is how my content creation trip to Jaisalmer concluded.
Shot taken by SkyView app
Rajasthani cuisine in candle light
Hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it 😊
Thank you for reading. Keep travelling and be sync with the nature 😊