Jodhpur is
a state in Rajasthan, it was founded by Rao Jodha in 1459.
It is commonly known as the blue city as it has many blue buildings. There is
no real evidence to support why the buildings in Jodhpur are blue, but rumour
says that the Brahmins who lived in the outskirts of Jodhpur painted their
houses blue to differentiate them from the rest of the population.
There are many places to visit in Jodhpur and on our recent visit we stayed over for two nights during which we had the opportunity to visit Mehrangarh Fort, which is situated on the hill tops outside Jodhpur city and overlooks the city of Jodhpur.
The fort was constructed in 1459 by Rao Jodha. It is surrounded by a thick, 10 km long wall with seven gates. The fort has beautiful architecture and intricate sculpting and carvings.
The pink stone architecture is constantly being renovated and repaired to keep it in good condition. Every effort is made to keep the authenticity of the building and the detailing and repairs are all done by master craftsman.
The detailing work on the structure is stunning created all by hand, it indeed was a labour of love and the craftsman must have had astounding skills to create such a magnificent piece of work.
The rooms and courtyards have narrow staircases leading to the royal residence with beautiful porches and carved doorways. The rooms have adorned walls and mosaic floors with intricate patterns and eye catching stained glass windows.
The rooms most famous in Mehrangarh Fort are Moti Mahal (Pearl Palace), Phool Mahal (Flower Palace), Sheesha Mahal (Mirror Palace), Sileh Khana, and Daulat Khana.
The rooms make up part of the museum where the age old treasures are exhibited together with paintings, exquisite collection of palanquins, howdahs, royal cradles, miniatures, musical instruments, costumes, furniture as well as cannons on the fort’s ramparts.
Not far from Mehrangarh Fort is Jaswant Thada, a white marble
memorial built in remembrance of Maharaja Jaswant Singh II. Jaswant Thada is
popularly known as the ‘Taj Mahal of Marwar’. Marwar being another name for Jodhpur. The Jaswant Thada is completely
built with marble stones. It has a unique feature that
the marble stones sets off a warm glow when the rays from the sun catch it.
The
Memorial is built like a temple with domes and pillars and there is a natural
calming aura and ambience with in the rooms. Inside the walls are adorned with
portraits of past rulers and Maharajas of Rajasthan.
There are also beautiful gardens surrounding Jaswant Thada which have gazebos doted around where you can sit and enjoy the tranquility of the place and its surroundings.
There are many other nearby places to visit in Jodhpur if time permits such as such as Mandore Gardens, Kailana Lake, Umaid Bhawan Palace museum, Masuria Hills Garden and Balsamand Lake.
Rao Jodha Desert Rock Park is next to Jaswant Thada. It was created in 2006 to try and restore the natural ecology of a large, rocky wasteland next to Mehrangarh Fort in Jodhpur.
Shopping in Jodhpur is a must, the most popular place to visit
is the Sardar Market near the Clock Tower. Here you you find local as well as tourists walking through
the local market where you can buy anything from fruits and vegetables to
spices, homeware and also clotings. Jodhpur is famous for its handicrafts, pottery, costume jewellery and
dyeing materials. Most popular buys are embroidered leather mojaris (shoes),
painted woodwork, dye fabric, jewellery, miniature painting, and Bandhini
sarees a very unique design and print that Rajasthan is famous for.
Our trip to Jodhpur was indeed very pleasurable, the weather
in February was comfortable and not too hot. Ideally an extra day would have
given us more time to do more sightseeing and catch a Rajasthani folk dance show
too.
Whilst in Jodhpur, I also had the opportunity to meet Neelam
and Nikki from Verhomal spices you can read all about their story in my previous
post here.
To read about my other posts in the India Travels series see the links below.
Wow this place looks amazing from your pictures I need to get out and about more to see all of these stunning places to visit.
These shots are great! Love that you're showing a not so common travel location – thank you for sharing your experience!
It’s exquisite !! The detail is gorgeous…. it looks amazing
Wow what some absolutely incredible buildings the Mehrangarh Fort is just wow I would love to go and explore it myself thank you so much for sharing these beautiful images.
Looks like a fascinating trip. I would love to explore India one day – I have only ever visited Sri Lanka
Looks like a great trip you had, my friend just got back from India and I am so jealous of her photos x
Heard so much about Rajastan and its nice to see it in photos especially of its age old architecture.
The architecture is stunning!! I would love to visit India as it looks different from any country I've been to before!
What a beautiful place to visit! I have wanted to visit India for many years now…… I will get there one day xx
India looks great. You took some amazing photos too
The buildings here look amazing – so intricate and detailed and beautiful. I'd love to visit this part of the world one day.
What an absolutely gorgeous location and the shots capture the area so well. I would love to go to somewhere like this in the future especially to see the beautiful buildings
I loved looking at all of the pictures, I really want to visit now x
What a fantastic place with such great history! It looks like you had a great visit to Jodhpur 🙂
What a beautiful place. I would love to visit India. It's a real feast for the senses by the look of it.
Wow, the fort is amazing. I'd love to visit it someday.
Rajasthan is one of the most beautiful states in North India. Their food is awesome! Loved all the pictures of Jodhpur!
I hope to someday visit India, it looks so beautiful. Your photos are amazing too!
I would love to visit India. My parents just returned from 3 weeks here! It sounds amazing
The pink architecture looks really breathtaking and interesting. Love to visit this place too.
The Rajahastan is my most favorite state in India. The colors, the palaces the Kings and the textiles. It is simply stunning
One thing I love about India is the perfect mixture of both magnificent man-made architectures and natural attractions… not to mention the country's rich and colorful culture
I would love to visit India someday!
For me I have to say that the Rao Jodha Desert Rock Park stands out to me the most and I love that they are doing their bit to preserve the ecology of the large, rocky wasteland next to Mehrangarh Fort in Jodhpur. I also love the markets nearby and how they sell the decorative vases which to me is just stunning!
The suncity, the city of forts and lovely people, yes it is where, I was born. This place is truly magical more so with helping people around.
These shots are incredible. The architecture is amazing and just so much history.
Your pictures look amazing. I would love to visit Mehrangah Fort. It looks so powerful. It is so interesting that there are so many blue houses. And I love that no one knows for sure why is it like that, but there's a story about it.
Looks like you had a wonderful trip! This seems like a lovely place to explore history and historical sites!
These pictures look like they come from a magical land, it looks so pretty and special 🙂
Oh these architecture looks all incredible. I would love to see this place someday.
Wow, India looks like such a stunning place to visit! It will be getting added to my bucket list!
This is RIGHT on the top of our list of places to visit! Oh my sakes. It looks to be so full of magic and joy! What a great adventure.
Amazing infrastructure! The wall details are unique, and nice dig on its historic information. I hope one time to see this.
It is one of my dreams to visit India – I am hoping to go next year! Loved reading this post.