What to See in Jaisalmer, India: Free Audio Guide

Looking for things to do in Jaisalmer? Rajasthan’s Golden City rises from the Thar Desert around a living hilltop fort, with yellow sandstone architecture, historic museums and desert landscapes to explore. Its warm, changing light and finely carved stonework make Jaisalmer one of the most distinctive places to visit in Rajasthan. Neywo offers a free audio guide for Jaisalmer with 8 narrated places, available in 11 languages.

What to See in Jaisalmer

Jaisalmer Fort

Jaisalmer Fort is the city’s defining sight, rising from Trikuta Hill above the sandy expanse of the Thar Desert. Built in 1156 by Rawal Jaisal, the ruler from whom the city takes its name, it is regarded as the second-oldest fort in Rajasthan.

Unlike a purely historical monument, Jaisalmer Fort remains a living urban community: nearly one fourth of the old-city population still lives within its walls. For most of its roughly 860-year history, the fort was Jaisalmer itself; settlements outside the walls are said to have appeared only in the seventeenth century as the population grew.

The fort’s massive yellow sandstone gives it a changing appearance. In daylight, the walls have a tawny, lion-like color, while at sunset they seem to turn honey-gold and blend with the desert. This explains names such as Swarn Durg, Sonar Quila and Golden Fort. The fort is also known as Sonar Kella, a Bengali name popularized after Satyajit Ray filmed his famous Bengali movie of the same name here.

Jaisalmer Fort became part of the UNESCO World Heritage listing Hill Forts of Rajasthan in 2013. Within the fort are a royal palace, ornate Jain temples and the Jaisalmer Fort Palace Museum.

Ganesh Pol

Ganesh Pol is one of the gate buildings within Jaisalmer Fort. It forms part of the fort’s historic entrance sequence and offers another detail to notice while exploring the citadel’s sandstone architecture.

Jaisalmer Fort Palace Museum

The Jaisalmer Fort Palace Museum occupies a historic building inside the fort. Its setting makes it a natural stop during a visit to the citadel, adding a museum experience to the streets, gates and architecture of the living fort.

Jaisalmer Folklore Museum

Near Garsisar Lake, the Jaisalmer Folklore Museum occupies Mehar Bagh Garden. Founded by N. K. Sharma, it brings together photographs, traditional costumes, jewellery and other glimpses of Rajasthan’s cultural heritage.

The collection also includes fossils, ornaments made for horses and camels, and a group of paintings. Videos featuring musical instruments and traditional dances add an audiovisual dimension, connecting the objects with the performance traditions of the region.

Gadsisar Lake

Gadsisar Lake provides a different setting from the fort’s busy lanes and sandstone walls. The Jaisalmer Folklore Museum is located at the lake, making the area a useful place to combine an outdoor stop with a look at local cultural heritage.

Jaisalmer War Museum

A little way outside the city, on the Jaisalmer to Jodhpur Highway, the Jaisalmer War Museum presents the military history of the Desert Corps of the Indian Army. Known popularly as JWM, it was conceived by Lieutenant General Bobby Mathews and constructed by the Desert Corps.

The museum was dedicated to the nation on 24 August 2015, during the Golden Jubilee commemoration of the 1965 India Pakistan War. Its exhibits cover operations in 1965 and 1971, including vehicles and equipment captured during those conflicts.

One of the most striking displays is an Indian Air Force Hunter aircraft, presented as the aircraft that destroyed enemy tank columns during the Battle of Laungewala. The museum also has a souvenir shop and cafeteria. At the Honour Wall, the names of gallantry award winners form an important memorial feature.

The Thar Desert

The Thar Desert, also known as the Great Indian Desert, surrounds Jaisalmer and extends across India and Pakistan, with most of its Indian area lying in Rajasthan. Its landscape is more varied than a simple sea of sand: sandy plains, rolling dunes, low eroded hills and scattered vegetation create a wide, open terrain.

The region’s climate is marked by extremely hot summers and cooler winters. Most rainfall arrives with the southwest monsoon, although the yearly amount is usually less than 500 millimetres and long periods of drought are common. Water is carefully stored in natural and man-made reservoirs for the dry season.

The Luni river system is the desert’s only major inland river system. The landscape itself has developed over a very long period, shaped by changes in the monsoon, dust accumulation and the evolution of regional river systems. Exploring the desert around Jaisalmer reveals a setting that is both arid and remarkably varied.

Jaisalmer and its sandstone heritage

Jaisalmer began as a medieval trading center and became the historic capital of the kingdom of Jaisalmer. Founded in 1156 by Rawal Jaisal of the Bhati clan of Rajputs, it later became the administrative headquarters of Jaisalmer district.

The city stands on a ridge of yellowish sandstone crowned by Jaisalmer Fort, whose citadel is supported by 99 bastions. Many buildings in the fort and the town below use finely sculptured yellow sandstone, creating a remarkably unified architectural landscape. The city is also known for beautiful havelis and groups of Jain temples built between the 12th and 15th centuries.

Jaisalmer lies in western Rajasthan, within the Thar Desert. The district belongs to the Marwar region and the Jodhpur Division; during British rule in India, the area was governed by the princely state of Jaisalmer.

Explore Jaisalmer with Neywo

Neywo’s free Jaisalmer audio guide includes 8 narrated places, with narration in 11 languages. The app tells the story of each place as you reach it, at your own pace, with no group and no schedule. It is a self-guided way to explore the fort, museums and desert city while keeping your attention on the streets and landmarks around you.

Jaisalmer is part of India, and it can also be combined with other Rajasthan destinations such as Jodhpur, Jaipur or Udaipur. Download Neywo and explore Jaisalmer with its stories playing as you discover the Golden City.