Sightseeing in Jodhpur

The awe inspiring Mehrangarh Fort takes pride of place as the first destination on any visitor’s list. From the outside its wide, high walls and sheer cliffs appear unassailable, imposing and austere, but once inside you discover several lavishly decorated palaces, with intricate carved ‘jalis’ and panels that take your breath away. Seven heavily fortified gateways led to the palaces, armoury and royal chambers. Few of these gates remain but the palaces are impressive in their variety and ornamentation.
The notable ones are the Phool Mahal (Flower Palace), with its beautifully painted walls, Moti Mahal (Pearl Palace) with its Shringar Chowk (coronation seat) featuring peacock armrests and gilded elephants, Sheesh Mahal (Mirror Palace), the Sileh Khana, the Umaid Vilas and the Daulat Khana. At the Daulat Khana, visitors get to see a rich and varied collection of royal memorabilia, fine Rajput miniatures and Ragmala paintings.
The Mehrangarh Fort Palace Museum and the Umaid Bhawan Palace Museum house a fine collection of royal memorabilia, armours and arms, bejewelled howdahs, palanquins etc.

Jaswant Thada, a few metres below the fort, is the site of the white marble royal cenotaph of Jaswant Singh II and four of his successors. The Mahamandir, dedicated to Lord Shiva is an architectural wonder, built in 1812, with 84 intricately carved pillars. As it was outside the city walls it was given its own protective fortifications, a sign of those turbulent times!

The Umaid Bhawan Palace was built during the 1920s and '30s as a famine relief project when Maharaja Umaid Singh started a food for work program. The palace took 16 years to complete- no wonder, then that with its 347 rooms, it is one of the largest private residences in the world.

The present ruler converted it into a fine luxury hotel with an in house museum while retaining the use of one wing as the private residence of the erstwhile royal family.