Once
a year in winters and on the middle of the continually rising and falling
stark yellow sands of the great Thar Desert,
the empty sands around
Jaisalmer come alive with the brilliant colour, music and laughter of the
Desert Festival. The festival is organised by the tourist
authorities as tourist entertainment around January-February.
The
very rich and colourful Rajasthani folk culture is on show here for a few
days. Rajasthani men and tall beautiful women dressed in their brightly
costumes dance and sing lingering ballads of valour, romance and tragedy.
Traditional musicians attempt to outdo each other in their musical
superiority.
The high points of the festival are - snake charmers,
puppeteers, acrobats, folk performers do rapid trade. Camels, the lifeline
of the desert, play a foremost role. Proud moustached villagers, dressed in
their ethnic best come astride their picturesquely caparisoned camels to
join in the camel dances and competitions of camel acrobatics, camel races
and décor, camel polo, tug of war and the like.
The tourist
dances, turban tying competitions and tug of war are big draws and laughter.
The Mr Desert competitions, which are focused around the length of
moustaches by and large, attract many hopefuls.
| » Places to
Stay in Jaisalmer |
Being one of the major cities of Rajasthan, Jaisalmer is well
equipped with standard and luxurious hotels as well as budget
accommodations. There is a good choice of budget hotels to choose from. Many
hotels provide hot water and styled toilets.
Jaisalmer has got extreme climate. Best time to visit from
October to February.
Shop for exquisitely carved wooden boxes in tiny curio shops.
Traditional rugs, handwoven blankets and shawls in typical Rajasthani color
and weave are also available. Mirror work, embroided article silver jewelry.
Trickles and curios are other boys of Jaisalmer. The shopping spots are
within the fort and include sadar Bazar, sonaron ka Bass Manak Chowk,
pansari bazar, Gandhi Darshan, Seema gram, Rajsthani Govt. shop and Khadi
Gramodyog Emporium.
Air : The nearest airport is Jodhpur (285
km)
Rail : Jaisalmer is 290-km from Jodhpur
via Pokhran, Dechu and Balesar or 330-km from Bikaner via Pokhran and
Phalodi. It is well connected by train with Jodhpur and other major cities
of the country by a meter gauge line.
Road : A
good network of roads joins Jaisalmer with Jodhpur and many other
destinations in and around Rajasthan.
