Jodhpur

Spread the love

Jodhpur is also known as the “The Blue City”, “Sun City” and “Gateway to Thar”. It is the 2nd largest city in Rajasthan and is famous for its mighty Mehrangarh Fort, Ummaid Bhawan Palace (famous for hosting many lavish weddings), blue houses and shopping streets.

The magic lies in the old city with hundreds of shops, guesthouses, eating joints and vendors which make it a chirpy bustling city, especially near the iconic clock tower in Sardar Market.

Jodhpur was historically the capital of the Kingdom of Marwar. It’s origin dates to the year 1459 AD when it was founded by Rao Jodha, the Rajput chieftan of the Rathores. The Rathore kingdom was also known as the Marwar and was the largest in Rajputana.

The city was built as the new capital of the state of Marwar to replace the ancient capital Mandore, the ruins of which can be seen near what is now the Mandore Gardens. The people of Jodhpur and surrounding areas are hence also commonly called as Marwaris.

I traveled to Jodhpur in mid November 2019, during a circular 9 days road-trip of Rajasthan starting from New Delhi covering 4 cities.

How Can You Reach Jodhpur

Road distance between Delhi to Jodhpur is around 580 Kms. But the best and easiest way to travel to Jodhpur is via flight. Jodhpur Airport is just 5 Kms from main city.

This airport is well-connected to other major cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Ahmedabad and Pune (number will keep on increasing). From airport you can hire a Taxi or an Auto who will barely charge INR 100-150 to drop to a nearby city hotel.

Second option is of Train. From New Delhi it will take around 11 hours (580 Kms) by train.

You can also reach Jodhpur via Bus or Car if you are travelling from nearby cities. Many private operators run ultra-luxury buses to Jodhpur.

2 Days Itinerary in Jodhpur

Even in a tight schedule, you should have 2 full days dedicated to Jodhpur. If that is not possible, you can arrange 1 full day and one half day.

Day-1 :

After breakfast, hire a full day taxi (or travel in your car with GPS like we did) and follow the below plan.

1. Ummaid Bhawan Palace

Witness to many grand and lavish weddings, this palace situated at the highest point in the city, was the first in our list.

The 347-roomed massive palace is named one of the largest private residences in the world. Built in the year 1943, a part of the palace still serves as a residence to the former royal family, while other two parts of the palace are converted into Taj Palace Hotel and Museum.

The museum is open to the public, while the hotel is only accessible to the guests and the entry to the royal family’s residence is prohibited.

Once you enter the museum, you can ask a properly dressed museum staff to accompany you as a guide (they may approach you on their own, as happened in our case). We paid him INR 200, there are no official rates.

After palace museum, proceed to Car Museum on the side of it (no separate ticket required). From there you can have a good view of the palace and click photographs. Around 10-12 well maintained vintage cars kept inside glass cages.

Do not spend more than 2 hours at Ummaid Bhawan (if you are overall short in time).

Tickets: Entry to museum is 30 INR for Indians, 10 INR for children (5-11 yrs) and 100 INR for foreigners.
Opening Timings: Open on all days (10 am to 4:30 pm)

After Ummaid Bhawan, proceed towards Jaswant Thada, which is almost on the other side of the town. It may take you somewhere around 45 mins (depending on traffic). We had our lunch on the way.

2. Jaswant Thada:

Built by Maharaja Sardar Singh of Jodhpur State in 1899 in memory of his father, Maharaja Jaswant Singh II, and serves as the cremation ground for the royal family of Marwar.

Inside Jaswant Thada, you will find portraits of the Rathore rulers.

Located near Mehrangarh Fort, this place overall is magnificent and definitely not to miss. The view of the Mehrangarh Fort from this place is eye-catching.

Also, while entering the premises after ticket counter, the pond on the side and its surroundings are mesmerizing. You can sit at the balcony type areas arranged with table and chairs and enjoy tea/snacks. Further it has beautiful garden and many small and neatly carved shelters (called gazebos).

We spent around 60-90 minutes at this place.

Tickets: 15 INR for Indians and 30 INR for foreigners. Photography and videography charge are 25 INR and 50 INR respectively.
Opening Timings: Open on all weekdays (9 am to 5 pm). Closed on all gazette holidays.

Now proceed towards the ancient capital of Marwar’s, which is now preserved as Mandore Gardens.

3. Mandore Gardens

Located just 9 KMs away from Jodhpur City Center, one word to describe this place is “Magnificent”.

Mandore, belonging to the 6th century, was Marwar Kingdom’s capital before Jodhpur was established. It has a government museum, a ‘Hall of Heroes’ and a temple to 33 crore Gods. Various artifacts and statues found in the area are housed at the museum.

The architectural splendor of the bygone era is clearly evident here. The charming collection of temples and memorials are eye catching. The gardens house the Chhatris (cenotaphs) of many rulers of Jodhpur state.

Ravan temple is another attraction at Mandore. It is believed to be the native place of Ravan’s wife Mandodari. Ravan is treated as son in law among some local Brahmins.

We spent around 120-150 minutes here for a complete experience. We had to change sitting places many times here because of monkeys. Remember to keep your camera battery fully charged, you will regret otherwise.

Tickets: No fee for Garden entry. INR 50 for Museum
Opening Timings: Open on all days. 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM

Once we come out of Mandore Gardens, enjoyed lemon-soda (shikanzi) on one of the carts just next to entry/exit gate. INR 25 per glass.

Now you need to end the day with some shopping. Jodhpur will offer you some very cool and cheap handicrafts, saris and artificial jewelries. The best place for this is Sardar Khan market near clock tower.
I was travelling with my own car, route towards Clock Tower from Mandore Garden was via narrow and busy streets and it was almost impossible to find a parking space there. We even got stuck at one the narrow lane, locals helped us getting out from there.

One thing we experienced almost in every city (part of our Rajashthan trip), locals were extremely polite and helpful in all circumstances. Looking at my car’s Delhi number plate, they actually treated us as their own guest.

One of the local suggested to go further till Gulab Sagar pond which was around 2 kms away (fortunately we got parking space there), took an auto and came back to Clock Tower.

But but but, the view of Mehrangarh Fort from Gulab Sagar parking was mind-blowing. I took photographs in day time when we arrived at parking and then again at night time, when we were leaving. See below

4. Clock Tower & Sardar Market

Clock Tower is a famous landmark in the Old City. It was constructed by Maharaja Sardar Singh during his tenure between 1880 and 1911. The clock tower offers a good view of the fort, get to the first floor and enjoy the view.

Sardar Market is adjacent to Clock Tower where a wide range of products are sold. You can find handicrafts, saris, spices, vegetables and a lot more. There are over 7000 shops and you can have a great shopping experience here.

The market is bordered by triple-arched gateways at its northern and southern ends. The narrow, winding lanes of the old city spread out in all directions from here. Just like us, get in to any lane and you will find all kinds of stuffs being sold. We reached here empty handed and were going back with almost 4-5 big size bags.

Splurge yourself in the shopping till the core. Super cheap prices, we spent around 2 hours exploring the complete market on all sides.

Once satisfied with shopping, head to any local restaurant to enjoy Rajasthani food. Post dinner, back to hotel and take rest and prepare for Day 2.

Day-2:

Today was the second and final day of this trip. We still had one of the main attraction yet to cover for which Jodhpur is famous for. Yes you are correct, it is Mehrangarh Fort.

Finish your breakfast by 8:00 AM and proceed towards the fort. Morning time is extremely recommended, as you can avoid the huge rush as the day proceeds. I reached at the entrance at around 9:10 AM and mine was 5th car in the parking, no queue for security checkpoint and same for entry tickets.

5. Mehrangarh Fort

One of the largest forts in India, built in around 1459 by Rao Jodha, the fort is situated 410 feet (125 m) above the city and is enclosed by thick walls. Inside its boundaries there are several palaces known for their neat carvings and expensive courtyards. The imprints of the impact of cannonballs fired by attacking armies of Jaipur can still be seen on the second gate (kept just after the ticket counter post entrance).

There are seven gates, which include Jayapol (meaning ‘victory gate’), built by Maharaja Man Singh to commemorate his victories over Jaipur and Bikaner armies. There is also a Fattehpol (also meaning ‘victory gate’), which commemorates Maharaja Ajit Singhji victory over Mughals.

The museum in the Mehrangarh fort is one of the most well-stocked museums in Rajasthan. In one section of the museum, there is a selection of old royal palanquins (palki). The museum showcases the heritage of the Rathores in arms, costumes and paintings.et to

Post museum, do not forget to reach the end of the fort after a little walk, where you can see the cannons placed in all directions.

The path leading to the main fort area from entry gate/ticket counter is very very steep. For old age people, it will be very tough. Be aware of the same.

Tickets: 60 INR for Indians and 400 INR for foreigners. A trip to museum (a must visit) will cost another 70 INR for Indians, 600 INR for foreigners plus 100 and 200 INR for photography and videography. Discounted prices for senior citizens and students.
Opening Timings: Open on all days (9am to 5pm).

Within Mehrangarh Fort, there is a famous temple of Chamunda Mata, who is worshipped as the Isht Devi of the royal family.
Founder of Jodhpur, Rao Jodha brought the idol of Goddess from the old capital of Mandore in 1460. Worshiped and visited by many devotees in and around Jodhpur, at the time of Dussehra, this Fort become full of devotees.

It is believed that the temple was built by Rao Jodha at the time when he was building the fort here. The hill where he chose to build this fort was occupied by the hermit (saadhu) but he was removed from there, as a result, he cursed the king that his fort will have a shortage of water always. To balance this curse by the saint he built the Chamunda Mata Temple inside the fort to protect the fort and its people. From that day Goddess Chamunda was the main deity of the Rajputs here.

A human stampede occurred on 30 September 2008, at this temple, in which 224 people were killed and more than 425 injured. But that is the only tragedy happened at this place till date. This should not be an excuse to avoid this place.

If you reached Mehrangarh Fort before 9:30 AM, you will be free by 12:00 PM maximum. Get to the hotel, check-out and head to the below spot.

6. Kaylana Lake

Located at 9 Kms from city center, it will take around 20-30 minutes to reach the lake.

This is an artificial lake, which was constructed in the year 1872 by Pratap Singh. This lake is a birdwatcher’s paradise. You could sail on a boat if you aim to add some breathtaking photographs to your collection. The view of sunset would be stunning if you get a chance to wait till evening.

If you are visiting Rao Jodha Desert Park (another attraction which we skipped) after Mehrangarh Fort, then you will definitely get a chance to view the sunset. If skipping Desert Park, go to your hotel, checkout, have lunch, take rest and then come here in late afternoon.

Tickets: No tickets for visiting.
Opening Timings: Open on all days (sunrise to sunset).

This much from my side. Rest up to you to explore more if you have more time.

Wish you a very Happy Journey.!!!

Published by Shivam Singh on April 13, 2020April 13, 2020

How Can You Reach Jodhpur

2 Days Itinerary in Jodhpur

2 Comments

Prabal · August 22, 2020 at 10:14 am

Shivam Singh · August 22, 2020 at 9:07 pm

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Shivam's Blog

Rishikesh – Riverside Camping

Kinnaur Roadtrip

Day 6: Sangla to Sarahan

Kerala

Poovar Island, Thiruvananthapuram

Jodhpur

Published by Shivam Singh on April 13, 2020April 13, 2020

How Can You Reach Jodhpur

2 Days Itinerary in Jodhpur

2 Comments

Prabal · August 22, 2020 at 10:14 am

Shivam Singh · August 22, 2020 at 9:07 pm

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Related Posts