Jodhpur
Former Capital Of The Kingdom Of Marwar; The Blue City Of Rajasthan · Jodhpur, Rajasthan
The second city of Rajasthan and the old capital of the Rathore kingdom of Marwar, founded in 1459 by Rao Jodha at the edge of the Thar Desert and dominated by Mehrangarh, one of the largest and most dramatic forts in India, rising sheer from a rocky ridge above the town. Below it spreads the old city, whose houses in the Brahmin quarter are painted a vivid indigo blue, giving Jodhpur its name as the Blue City; the view of that blue from the fort walls is the image most visitors carry home. Beyond the fort are the white marble cenotaph of Jaswant Thada, the Clock Tower and the Sardar Market at the heart of the old city, the restored Toorji ka Jhalra stepwell, and on another hill the Umaid Bhawan Palace, one of the last great palaces built in India, finished in 1943 and now part hotel, part museum, part royal residence. Jodhpur sits on the classic Rajasthan circuit between Jaipur and Udaipur or Jaisalmer. It is also a food city, famous for makhaniya lassi and mirchi vada, and host each October of the Rajasthan International Folk Festival.
Clock Tower, Sardar Market, Jodhpur, Rajasthan, 342001, India
NO OPENING TIME HERE WAS CHECKED; confirm every time before planning. The typical pattern: Mehrangarh opens daily from about 9 in the morning until about 5 in the evening, with last entry a little earlier; Jaswant Thada and the Umaid Bhawan museum keep similar daytime hours; markets run from late morning until late evening. The trap: arriving at the fort at noon, when the groups and heat peak, and leaving Jaswant Thada until after it has closed. In October the folk festival changes fort evening access.