Best places to see in Jodhpur

Best places to see in Jodhpur, the Blue City can be covered in 2 days, spending time on feasting on sights and flavours both. In this capital of the Marwar rulers/ Rajputs, royalty is still alive and vibrant in the Jodhpuri food, architecture and craft. This Jodhpur travel guide provides an itinerary of places to visit in Jodhpur in 2 days.

This post covers:

1. How to reach Jodhpur
2. Places to visit in 2 days in Jodhpur
3. Going around in the city
4. Places to eat
5. Where to stay
6. Shopping
7. Experiencing culture 

JDH Urban regeneration project aims to restore the walled city of Jodhpur to its former glory and create “Brand Jodhpur”.
You must be wondering how did it come about to being a Blue City? It was the brahmins in Jodhpur who colored their homes Indigo to differentiate their houses from the other residents. This gradually became a practice and before long the whole old city (walled city) had indigo painted houses which lends Jodhpur its name. Erstwhile Indigo plantation in Jodhpur is supposed to be the reason behind the choice of blue colour.

This trip was part of our longer road trip in Rajasthan where we covered Jaipur, Ajmer, Jodhpur, Udaipur, Kota, Mt Abu, Ranakpur, Dilwara, Ossian and Jaisalmer. While this is just the Jodhpur travel guide, youcan take a look at my other posts to see what else to see in Rajasthan.

How to reach Jodhpur

Direct flights regularly operate between Jodhpur and most of the major cities of India like Mumbai, Delhi, Udaipur, Bangalore amongst others.
If you’re coming from within Rajasthan, train and road journey is highly recommended. Rajasthan prides itself in the quality of road network and driving around Rajasthan is a pleasure. Most of the state highways are toll roads and very well maintained.

Places to visit in Jodhpur in 2 days

Mehrangarh Fort
Jaswant Thada
Mandore Gardens
Umaid Bhawan Palace
Ghanta Ghar/ Clock Tower (more for food than seeing the clock tower itself)

Mehrangarh Fort (Around 2hrs) –

This is one of the best places to see in Jodhpur and thus covered right in the begining of this Jodhpur travel guide. This huge fort offers a great vantage point to see why Jodhpur is called the blue city. In the movie Dor – the place where Gul Panag is shown looking at the Blue city from somewhere high above is most probably the Mehrangarh fort.  We had opted for an audio guide for the tour of Mehrangarh fort and it served us pretty well. The fort is still fairly intact, of which some part has already been converted into the museum while the rest is in the process of conversion. It has seven pols (gates) progressing from the exterior wall into the citadel, which is no longer a living fort like Jaisalmer. Mehrangarh fort boasts of an enchanting museum that has myriad collections of objects used by the erstwhile kings including Palanquins (also called howdahs some of which had been presented by the Mughal rulers like Akbar), baby cradles (different for both boys and girls and some of which were made in a western style with cherubs and cupids) which are displayed in the Jhanki Mahal, various kinds of daggers, swords and scabbards, Shringar objects for the ladies and a whole collection of miniature paintings. The fort also has small courtrooms for various purposes (public hearing, dinners and entertainment etc). Through Surajpol, the seventh gate, is Singhar Chowk, where a marble throne has been used for centuries in royal coronation ceremonies. The Jhanki Mahal (mentioned above) is also known as the Palace of Glimpses for it is here that the ladies of the Zenana would look out through stone lattice screens without themselves being seen. The tour ends at the female bay or the Zenana Deodi.

Jaswant Thada –

The views of Jodhpur city from Jaswant Thada are amazing and thus its amongst the places to visit in Jodhpur in 2 days. The cenotaph dedicated to Jaswant Singh, made in the finest quality white marble is a spectacle in itself. Situated a little before Mehrangarh fort, it stands out due to its impeccable while translucent marble (one can see a wee bit of sunlight entering the Thada through the marble at some places) and its fine architecture.

Mandore Gardens –

At one point in history these would have been one of the best places to see in Jodhpur but unfortunately, not anymore. The experience of visiting Mandore Gardens was not as I had initially thought it would be, and the worse part is that the reason for this is actually the poor maintenance of such a cultural and historical masterpiece which is in a dilapidated condition and has been left by the Development Authorities to decay and perish. While discussing the reasons for the same with our hostess in Jodhpur, she suggested that since Mandore Gardens were under the jurisdiction of the Government authorities it is in such an unkempt state as against the Mehrangarh fort or the Jaswant Thada which still belonged to the royal family and thus were impeccably maintained. That apart, Mandore gardens house a beautiful temple surrounded by lush green gardens. It could easily become one of the must see places in Jodhpur, if only better maintained.

Umaid Bhawan Palace –

A very small part of the palace is open for public viewing as a museum. A large part is being used as a residence even today and another given out to Taj to manage the Umaid Bhawan Palace hotel. The museum has myriad displays including the history of the palace, the love for flying in the ruling clan, crystal and glass crockery used and the ancient and pretty artistic clocks on display. Overall, its one of the most lavish palaces that can be seen in Rajasthan.

Ghanta Ghar or the Clock Tower –

Apart from the old time feeler that it gives to the visitor, Clock tower and its adjoining areas are more famous for eating and shopping; Janta sweets is famous for its Pyaz ki kachori and Kadhi Kachori along with its jalebis. National Handloom (close to the Janta sweets) is one of the best places to shop for regular Rajasthani handicrafts and Tie-Dye fabrics and clothes. Jodhpur is especially famous for its Tie-n-Dye fabrics which can be seen in the most lively of colors and beautiful patterns.

Toorji ka Jhalra – 

A stepwell built in the 1700s is playing a crucial role in solving Jodhpur’s water problem today, not of scarcity but that of abundance. In the states of Gujarat and Rajasthan, it is an age-old tradition that Royal women would build public water works. These stepwells (over 100 in the city of Jodhpur alone) are in the present day preventing waterlogging just as well as they were quenching thirst in the past.
Jodhpur is today facing a problem of plenty in the case of water supply. It receives over 350 lack gallons of water per day which is sufficient for the population of Jodhpur. As people used more of tapwater, the ground water table kept rising. In addition it was found in the Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) study in 2015, that water from the old drainage and sewerage system of the walled city also seeps down into the ground further adding to the grounwater levels. At some places in the walled city, water can be found at a depth of just 3mtrs today.
After long years of neglect, these stepwells are now being maintained well and being used for domestic and recreational purposes. With the help of its citizens, Jodhpur today is reclaiming, refurbishing and reusing its stepwells.

You can read more on Jodhpur stepwell preservation initiatives , here. 

Back to the touristy me –
Toorji ka jhalra has many a cafe and shops surrounding it (known as the stepwell square) and this entire area is getting a facelift, thanks to the JDH project.

Going around in Jodhpur

• Uber and auto rikshaws both could be options for going around within Jodhpur
• The areas around Clock tower and stepwell chowk are very crowded and entry of cars and cabs is restricted, so a three wheeler would be best option.

Stay

Back then we had stayed at Indreshan – another homestay found through web search. its more of a feeling of staying with a Rajsthani family with all modern amenities than a palace or a haveli feel. The hostess (we never got to meet the host – he was out on business) is an extremely sweet lady who helped us with directions, eating joints and even places to visit, she forewarned us even about the Mandore gardens too.

When doing some research for a friend, I would recommend Raas Jodhpur and of course if you have the budget, Umaid Bhawan Palace. There are many more havelis in Jodhpur one could stay at and a good starting point to search them would be airbnb.

Restaurants

• Risala at the Umaid Bhawan Palace Hotel
  Great ambience, ok food (frankly I’ve never sort of liked the food of Taj Hotels much, ITC being my personal favourite especially for North Indian). The security at Umaid Bhawan beats even that at the airport. We were stopped at 3 different points (we were in a car with the number starting from RJ), since it was assumed that we were localites. To maintain the premium positioning of the restaurant, they charge a cover charge of INR 1500 per head and exercise their discretion in allowing the localites coming to the restaurant. Nevertheless the whole ambience and great service adds to the experience in its own special way.
• Mishriwala (makhania lassi)
  This lassi shop next to the Clock Tower serves the very famous Makhania Lassi which is a favourite amongst locals and tourists alike.
• Mehran café and Mehran Terrace
  The café restaurant in the Mehrangarh fort, recommended only for snacky food when one is famished after the whole tour of the Mehrangarh fort. There is another restaurant in Mehrangarh fort – the Mehran Terrace which is highly recommended on various websites, but the locals there had a different view. Due to paucity of time we never got an opportunity to try it out.
• Janta Sweets
  It is “the” place for having the much revered pyaz kachori, kadhi kachori and mirchi wada in Jodhpur. The combination of kachori with kadhi is specific to Jodhpur and no other city in Rajasthan can boast of the same. Another kachori delicacy found only in Jodhpur is the Mawa Kachori which is served with hot chashni (sugar syrup) poured over the kachori which has a filling of sweet thickened milk and dry fruits.

(For newbies to Rajasthani food, a Kachori is a sort of stuffed deepfried patty made of whole wheat; the stuffing varies from potatoes, onions, dried lentil mixture to the sweetened thickened milk)

Shopping

Besides kachoris, Jodhpur is famous for its woodwork. Carved tables, side tables, antique doors along with the famous Indian Thakat and Jali furniture.  Clock tower is the best place where one can shop for antiques like crystal cut wine glasses, treasure chests, bandhni dupattas and dresses.

Stepwell Square (locally known as Toorji ka Jhaalra) also has a few handicraft shops. Although I found some of it more expensive compared to what we were able to get in Udaipur. Some of it quite unique and the value really varies from person to person.

Experiencing the culture

Each place in Rajasthan has its unique culture and place in the history. Jodhpur though being the second largest city in Jaipur, is much less touristy and commercialized than Jaipur and Udaipur. Staying in one of the havelis or refurbished and upgraded haveli (like Raas) gives you the true feel of the city of royals. Everything in Jodhpur is rich and seeped in tradition: the food, the furniture and of course the warmth of people!