In December 2019 I finally made it to India. We started in New Delhi, headed over to Agra, moved on to Varanasi, flew cross country to Jaipur, and finished in Jodhpur. In previous posts, I talked about how I feel about India - before and after my trip -, how I prepared myself for this trip, which cities I visited, what I saw and experienced in these places.
Last but not least on our itinerary came the blue city: Jodhpur.
Jodhpur was founded in 1459 by Rao Jodha, way before the pink city of Jaipur (1727), and it is known for its blue painted buildings around the Mehrangarh Fort. There are many theories on why the buildings were painted blue. The most popular one is that it protects buildings from heat. Another theory says that the color is associated with the Brahmins (cast of priests and teachers). Jodhpur is also called the Sun City due to its climate and location in the Thar Desert. The sunny and bright weather is present all year long.
From Jaipur, we took the train to Jodhpur. This time we sat in the “C1” carriage, which provides regular, comfortable, clean, upright seats (no beds or benches). We took an early departure at sunrise and arrived five hours later around 12 pm in Jodhpur. It was a smooth ride.
In Jodhpur, we faced a familiar situation: Uber cars would not pick up from the train station, so the only transportation option is a tuk-tuk. So we haggled again with a driver and off we were to our accommodations. For the last city on our itinerary, we treated ourselves to a beautiful boutique homestay.
Where we stayed at
The Arch Boutique Homestay is a 200-year-old heritage property, run by a Brahmin family. It is located in the old city of Jodhpur, right next to a traditional stepwell. The oldest clock tower market and Mehrangarh fort are within walking distance. Attached you’ll find one of the highest-rated cafes/restaurants. Interestingly: Non-vegetarian food is not allowed on the property and the property itself can only be accessed by a small car or tuk-tuk. The building itself is full of photographic art.
We absolutely loved it here. The building was historic and incredibly pretty. The private room was clean and spacious with access to a (shared) balcony. The building also had a rooftop terrace and a huge lookout window on every floor, from which you could marvel over the magnificent fort in the not-so-far distance (see picture). We ate breakfast in-house, and one of our dinners on the rooftop terrace.
Where to eat
Breakfast and Dinner at our Homestay: From traditional Indian cuisine to simple international dishes the restaurant at the homestay had a wide selection. For breakfast, I ordered black espresso coffee and cheese toasts. I needed to start my days on a lighter note. The coffee was good and strong and the sandwich was average but sufficient. For dinner, I ordered ginger tea and paneer butter masala with garlic naan, which turned out to be my favorite go-to Indian dish and this one was delicious. Combined with the rooftop view it was pretty spectacular.
Indique Restaurant at Pal Haveli Hotel: This is one of the best restaurants in Jodhpur. It is right next to the famous Sardar Market. On its terrace, you see on the one side the lit-up clock tower and the other side the lit-up Mehrangarh Fort on top of the hill. We did not have any reservation, so we were given a table on the lower terrace level, which was more than fine. I ordered mutton veg korma with garlic naan, of course, and treated myself also with a couple of gin & tonics. The food was superb, again. When it comes to their local cuisine, it is very rare that Indian dishes are short of fantastic. Side note: During my two-week trip I only had one bad culinary experience, every other dinner was exceptionally delicious.
Lunch at Indigo Restaurant: This was the first place we went after arriving in the city. We were walking around when we googled the places nearby and decided to have lunch here since we skipped having breakfast on the train. I ordered ginger tea with honey and a simple sandwich.
Coffee at the Blue Turban: While walking through the Blue City, we stopped here to have a cup of coffee. The cafe was on top of the building, so we got to see yet another historic homestay from the inside. The terrace was empty and we were the only customers. I ordered a latte and we had a well-deserved breather.
What we saw and did
Mehrangarh Fort: This is the main attraction in Jodhpur. The Mehrangarh Fort is on top of the hill named ‘Bakhurcheeria‘. It was built around 1459 by Rao Jodha and is situated 410 feet (125 m) above the city. The fort itself is enclosed by imposing thick walls. The story of the construction of the fort is quite intriguing.
According to a legend, to build the fort Rao Jodha had to displace the hill’s sole human occupant, a hermit called Cheeria Nathji, the lord of birds. Upset about being forced to move, Cheeria Nathji cursed Rao Jodha that the fort would suffer from water scarcity. Rao Jodha managed to calm the hermit by building a house and a temple in the fort very near the cave the hermit had used for meditation. Yet still even today the area is plagued by a drought every 3 to 4 years.
To avert the consequences of Cheeria Nathji’s curse, Rao Jodha had a young man named Rajiya Bambi buried alive to ensure that the new fort proved to be auspicious. In return, Rajiya Bambi was promised that his family and descendants would be looked after by the Rathores. In honor of the promise, even today Rajiya’s descendants continue to enjoy a special relationship with the Maharaja family.A winding road leads to and from the city below. The winding road was intentionally constructed to protect invasion. Elephants, which were used to attack the city back in the day, could not navigate so fast and lost strength and power in their charge. Also, the thick, tall, and heavy doors to the fort were customized with long spikes in the front. No one ever was able to conquer the fort.
On our way to the fort, we got lost and ended up walking first through the Rao Jodha Desert Rock Park, then the Blue City to finally find our way to a side entrance of the fort (the fort has seven entrances). We walked for a very long time before we reached the actual compound, so no wonder the attacking elephants were exhausted or beat. The windy way up is no joke.
The fort is a magnificent example of construction over a period of many centuries (around 500 years). You can see many architectural styles in one place. Once in the fort, you get to walk through a museum with many artifacts from centuries of royal families like palanquins (fancy litter), swords and dresses, paintings, and art. After finishing up with the museum, we try to find the location, where the infamous eagle feeding would take place. The information online about the whereabouts was so conflicting and nobody at the location seemed to be able to help us. So we only got a glimpse of the feast from the foot of the fort.
Eagle feeding on top of the fort.
Rao Jodha Desert Rock Park: The park is adjacent to the Mehrangarh Fort and houses an ecologically restored desert and arid land vegetation. We ended up here by accident (read above) and enjoyed it immensely. We walked through a wide variety of trails, saw many examples of desert plants, and witnessed ecological conservation. It’s a quiet place in nature. The only noise you hear besides birds and the wind is the one of zip-liners’ above your head. The zip line crosses the park's airspace. The park was mainly empty so we had it almost for yourself. A couple of locals, who worked there, were the only ones crossing our way.
Arriving at the other side’s exit gate we were surprised by a gang of viciously barking dogs. Knowing better, we stayed behind the gate and called the park’s security for help. And not just a security guard appeared, but also three fierce women in wonderfully colored saris, who probably heard the barking and saw us hovering behind the gate, came for our rescue.
Speaking of dogs: The dogs in India are super cute, especially the many (Labrador) puppies you will sight. In all of my research about India though I read many times to beware of street dogs. Even my family physician urged me to not touch street dogs, especially to avoid many diseases. Then after arriving here many hostel/hotel/homestay owners warn you to not get too close. Especially if they gang up, it is better to stay far away and change the street side. At one point in Jodhpur while I was walking down the street one stray dog jumped at me from behind and I did freak-a-little. Usually I’m not so sensitive, but I had a (long) skirt on, so my lower legs were bare, and the dog had an open wound on his back. So be careful and watch your back. And have your wet towels and sanitizers with you. Better safe than sorry!
Blue City Walks: When in Jodhpur you need to walk through the old city with its many blue colored buildings. It is a feast for the eyes. After exiting the Rao Jodha Desert Rock Park we walked through the many alleys, stopping at many colorful designed doors, saying hello to many locals, seeing many women in beautiful saris, kids playing, dogs sleeping in the middle of the street because that’s where the sun shines. Besides the unique sights, we felt very comfortable strolling through this part of the city. Everybody was minding their own business while we got “lost” in the streets, having no definite path to follow. It was amazing!
Ghantar Ghar, the Clock Tower in the Sardar Market: This market somewhat separates the old city with the newer city part. It is a busy shopping site for a variety of items including traditional clothes, jewelry, street food and many more. In the center of the market you’ll find the infamous Clock Tower, which is kind of the unofficial reference point for guidance and road directing.
The tower and the market were not so spectacular, but worth a short visit when you check out the city itself.
Toorji Ka Jhalra (Toorji’s Stepwell): Stepwells are wells or ponds in which the water is reached by descending a set of steps to the water level. They may be multi-storied with a bullock turning a water wheel to raise the well water to the first or second floor. Stepwells are examples of the many types of storage and irrigation tanks that were developed in India, mainly to cope with seasonal fluctuations in water availability.
Toorji Ka Jhalra (Toorji’s Step Well) in Jodhpur was built in the 1740s by Queen Maharaja Abhay Singh’s Consort, continuing an age-old tradition that Royal women would build public waterworks. As with all step wells, the steps follow the fluctuating water table down to provide easy all-year-round access.
This one was right next to our homestay. We were so close that I could see the inside of the well from our balcony. Walking down the stepwell, I have to admit that I felt dizzy. It is quite steep and the stone steps are either wet with puddles or so washed off that the surface is very smooth. I had to watch every descending step, but I made it all the way down, which was about four stories. Besides a couple of tourists, there were many young locals. It seems this is a place to chill and meet with friends.
The well itself was incredibly beautiful. I have never seen something like this before. And that it is still being used as a well, well, that’s just damn impressive (pun intended).
Village Tour: On our last day in Jodhpur, before we took our flight back to Delhi and then home, we booked a tour through the villages outside of the city early in the morning. I was expecting some authentic glimpse into the different desert tribes. We paid about 1500 INR (around $20) and were picked up by our guide with a convertible Jeep. First, he drove us through the desert alike area. We saw many peacocks (unofficial official national bird of India) and a couple of antelopes. The drive was really nice: The wind in our faces, the open space, the quietness (after all the noise) was the kind of tranquility we needed.
Our first stop was at a Bishnoi village outside of Jodhpur. A man from the Bishnoi tribe was waiting for us to demonstrate a traditional opium ceremony. Bishnoi is a Hindu religious sect found in the Western Thar Desert and northern states of India. They follow a set of 29 principles/commandments given by Guru Jambheshwar (1451-1536). They are not a caste but a sect. The word Bishnoi (which means 29) refers to the 20 Hindu and nine Muslim principles that the sect observes, a set of rules with reverence for nature at its core. The two most important principles are the prohibition of cutting trees and the protection of wildlife around. While we drove up to their village, we saw peacocks, gazelles, deers roaming around freely and carelessly. The villagers give 10% of their crop back to the wildlife and protect them. Although according to one of the 29 rules it is forbidden to consume Opium, it is popular among the villagers for its alleged healing properties. It is only used on special occasions though, like weddings or welcoming of strangers.
In full disclosure, the whole situation felt pretty staged and was not a chance encounter at all. We thought we would go to the village and just observe the tribe. But we were directed straight to a house, where a family was waiting for us to perform the ceremony. Nevertheless, I was still happy to witness this because I learned about the people and their traditions, even if the act was highly staged for us. I understood, after putting some thought into it, that they somehow needed to separate tourism and their real ceremonies/culture by performing their traditions in a staged frame for outsiders in exchange for money.Our next stop was a Dhurrie weaving “factory”. In a private house, a young man and his sister were working on hand-woven rugs. These loom-woven rugs are made using techniques employed for centuries. The flat-weave design used to create dhurrie rugs makes them both durable and decorative. After showing how the loom works, we were directed to the warehouse, where they kept the final results. At this point, we realized that the tour was more like a sales pitch, an opportunity for local producers to sell their products to tourists. But we kept an open mind and thought maybe the next stops will be different.
Following we visited a pottery shop, where a man was making and selling everything from Ganesh figures (elephant-headed Hindu god of beginnings, remover of obstacles) to ashtrays, pots, candleholders, and decorative birds. First, he showed his craft on the clay table himself, and later I was able to get my hands on clay and gave my talent a try on pottery making. This was really fun and I had to pat myself on the shoulder because I wasn’t so bad at it. After getting my hands dirty there was nothing else to do other than touring the sales section, which I didn’t mind. I bought a small Ganesh figure from the artist himself.
The last stop was unfortunately a full-on shopping tour through a textile factory. And no matter how persuasive the sellers were, I was just not having this. So we ended our tour pretty quickly after.
Jodhpur was a delight. The fact that during our stay the sun was constantly shining, doing its reputation as the “Sun City” full justice, was just the icing on the cake. The old city itself has a very calm atmosphere.
We took a comfortable and easy flight with Indigo Airlines back to New Delhi to start our journey back home.
India was all in all an amazing adventure and I cannot wait to be back soon. Read here how I felt before, during, and after my trip.