The Sairafort Sarovar Portico is a good hotel with excellent staff. The restaurant serves both vegetarian and non-vegetarian food. The local cuisine options are authentic and made just the same way as you would get dining at a restaurant elsewhere in Jaisalmer.
Tidy and hygienic as expected of a hotel. Shower enclosure was clean and had good water pressure.
Tidy and hygienic as expected of a hotel.
The hotel has a central courtyard that guests can use.
The hotel has a central courtyard that guests can use. The fort like look and feel really works.
The hotel has a central courtyard that guests can use.
The fort is heavily commercialised with guides thronging the entrance offering their services. They will mostly leave you alone once you ignore them enough. It can become irritating though.
Some of the "attractions" inside the fort will charge you money if you have anything other than a cell camera. This is over and above the entrance fee. These "fees" are a perpetual hazard in this city. You will feel nickel and dimed. I know I did.
Probably the best place to have good coffee in Jaisalmer is inside the Fort at Kuku Coffee Shop.
Probably the best place to have good coffee in Jaisalmer is inside the Fort at Kuku Coffee Shop.
Bada Bagh was the absolute worst experience of my trip. The guards were rude and despite deciding that I did not wish to proceed inside after an argument with them, they refused to return my money.
One of the so called "guards". These people are basically private thugs.
Dining room of a merchant's house that's been converted into a museum. These people don't charge you extra if you show up with an actual camera. There is however an entrance fee, as expected.
Kuldhara, an abandoned village lies on the road to Sam (pronounced "some") sand dunes. There's an entrance fee of course and place closes by 6pm. So no sunset or sunrise or moonlight pictures here. Some guides will hound you here as well.
A street inside the abandoned village. They are restoring some areas and inadvertently turning it into a made up abandoned village.
Gadisar lake was one of the best and peaceful experiences of the trip. It has temples lining the banks, where people come to visit and generally relax. There's nothing to do here, probably why it was peaceful to begin with. There is NO entrance fee here and nobody freaks out looking at your camera.
The "Desert Safari" outfits are another example of aggressive sales tactics. The claim is they will take you across "three deserts" which are only just a couple of dunes a few KM from the highway.
Although scenic and gets crowded on good days, still feels like a rip off. I visited after a few days of rain, so the sand here is rather wet.
The Jaisalmer War Museum is well laid out and under the open sky. There are two halls with exhibits and the usual collection of army machinery for display.
Jaisalmer Fort by night with all the exterior lights switched on.
Street inside the fort. This street sees a lot of bike and rickshaw traffic as this is a "living fort" with people having their ancestral homes inside.
Four days is definitely waaay too much time for spending in Jaisalmer if you are here just for the "bucket list" tick off. If you are more the adventurous kind and like to roam around doing odd things and exploring, there are many nooks and corners to visit.
