The Golden City — a living medieval fort rising from the Thar Desert, 3,000 people still living in its sandstone lanes, and camel safaris into a sea of dunes at sunset
Jaisalmer (pop. 90,000) in western Rajasthan is built entirely from local yellow Jaisalmer sandstone, a warm honey-gold limestone that gives the city its nickname 'Sonar Quila' (Golden Fort). The Jaisalmer Fort — a UNESCO World Heritage Site — is one of the largest fully inhabited castles in the world: approximately 3,000 people live within the fort walls, their homes, guesthouses, shops, and temples unchanged in layout from the 12th century. Outside the fort, Rajput havelis (merchant mansions) like Patwon Ki Haveli and Nathmal Ki Haveli display some of Rajasthan's finest carved stonework. Th…
Jaisalmer was founded in 1156 by Rawal Jaisal, a Rajput ruler of the Bhati clan, who abandoned his previous capital at Lodurva and built a new fort on Trikuta Hill, a rocky ridge rising from the desert plain. The city's prosperity came from its position on the caravan trade route between India and Central Asia — the major route from Delhi to Kandahar passed through Jaisalmer, and Marwari merchant clans grew wealthy taxing this traffic, funding the extraordinary carved havelis that are the city's other great attraction. Jaisalmer declined after the 17th century as sea trade superseded overland…