Every year in winter, the empty sands of Thar desert come alive with brilliant colours, music and laughter, thanks to the famous annual desert festival of Jaisalmer. Started around 25 years back to promote the place and its culture, this festival is today, the second biggest festival of the state.

The high points of the festival include snake-charmers, puppeteers, acrobats and folk artistes. Camels, the lifeline of the desert, play foremost role in making the festival truly special. Proud moustached villagers, dressed in their ethnic best come astride their picturesquely caparisoned camels to join in various competitions that involve the ship of the desert like camel dances, camel acrobatics, races, decor, camel polo and the like. The tourist dances, turban-tying competitions and tug of war are big draws at the festival. But the best attraction of the festival is definitely the Mr Desert competition aimed at the villagers with the biggest moustaches.

“Special efforts have been made to make the Maru Mahotsav or the desert festival (scheduled for February 9 - 21) special. The tourist influx is quite high this year,” says tourism official Daleep Singh Rathore. “The gradual transformation of this desert town into the present Jaisalmer has taken many years. It has come out from a rather dull and snoring spot in the desert (as described by a famous writer) and has grown tremendously to become a well-known travel destination,” says local hotelier Raghuveer Sharma.

Rajasthan’s forests, valleys, mountains and lakes amalgamated with history, art and culture have always been an attraction for tourists. To witness the desert and its life in true colours, Jaisalmer is the ideal town in Western Rajasthan. The name Jaisalmer (Jaisal & Meru) literally means the fort of the king Jaisa atop the hill. This beautiful place rests our memory on the classic film by Satyajit Ray titled ‘Sonaar Kella’. And this film played a major role in wresting the popularity the Golden Fortress of Jaisalmer enjoys today. 

From the heart of the Thar desert, Jaisalmer and its commanding fort welcomes the visitor. The place has an interesting legend associated with it. Lord Krishna had foretold that a descendant of Yadava clan would build a kingdom atop the Trikuta hill. The forecast came true in 1156 AD when Rawal Jaisal abandoned his fort at Lodurva and founded a new capital which later came to be known as Jaisalmer.

The Bhatti Rajputs were the feudal lords and their major source of income was the taxes levied on the merchants carrying caravans laden with silk, spices and dry fruits from Egypt, Persia and Central Asia that crossed the territory. At the same time, they also established aesthetic and elaborate havelis and mansions using the best artisans available at that time. For many years, this place remained untouched by outside influence. But the developments in the trade and the opening of ports saw a decline in the caravan crossing.

The rough desert and the varied historical and cultural ingredients are characteristics of Jaisalmer.The forts and monuments bear testimony to the kings that ruled the land with aplomb and presents an ecstatic landscape to the traveller, providing him with sweet memoirs of warmth and hospitality of the place. Jaisalmer Fort is the second oldest in Rajasthan after Chittor and it is so beautiful that it looks straight out of a fairy tale. The narrow lanes are strewn with magnificent havelis and temples. 250 feet tall and reinforced by an  imposing crenellated sandstone wall which is 30 feet high, it has 99 bastion, 92 of which were built between 1633 and 1647. Wells within the fort are still used to provide a regular source of water. Exploring Rajasthan, with such splendid fascinations is an enchanting experience indeed.