Jodhpur: what to see, where to stay and how to get around
Jodhpur grew in the shadow of its fort, inside a wall with seven gates, and the old town still works the way it did: a market at the centre, a stepwell for water, and lanes of blue houses climbing to the cliff. This walk climbs from the market through the lanes and up the ramp into the fort, ending at the marble memorial on the next hill. Half a day on foot, best from eight in the morning, before the heat and the traffic. Wear closed shoes with grip — the fort ramp is steep and polished — cover shoulders and knees for the temples, and from April to June expect 40 degrees by noon.
A short history of Jodhpur
In 1459 Rao Jodha, chief of the Rathore clan, founded Jodhpur and began building Mehrangarh Fort on a cliff that rises about 120 metres above the city. The fort was the centre of the kingdom of Marwar for some five hundred years. Many of the houses in the old city are painted blue, which is why it is called the "Blue City". Between 1929 and 1943 Maharaja Umaid Singh built the Umaid Bhawan Palace, partly to give work to local people during years of drought. In 1949 the kingdom was merged into India, as part of the state of Rajasthan.
The ten best sights in Jodhpur
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1Mehrangarh Fort
Take the audio guide at the gate — it is one of the best in India
2Jaswant ThadaTen minutes below the fort; come in late afternoon when the marble glows
3Umaid Bhawan PalaceOnly the museum wing is open to non-guests; the rest is a hotel and the royal home
4Mandore GardensThe old capital, 9 km north; monkeys everywhere, keep food out of sight
5Toorji ka JhalraA stepwell in the middle of the old town; cafés around it for a cold drink
6Rao Jodha Desert Rock ParkTrails over volcanic rock under the fort; go early, there is no shade at noon
7Kaylana LakeSunset over water at the edge of the desert, 8 km west of town
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8Balsamand Lake
A lake palace turned hotel; ask at the gate about visiting the gardens
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9Guda Bishnoi
A Bishnoi village where blackbuck graze near the houses; go at dawn or dusk
10KhejarliThe memorial to the tree-huggers of 1730; most moving in the Bhadrapad fair
Scan with your phone camera to open the map there
What is an audio walk?
Tours in Jodhpur →A guide in your headphones: open the walk on our site, walk from stop to stop, and at each one your phone tells its story. No guide, no group, and free. This is the first walk in Jodhpur:
Free walking tours in Jodhpur
The blue city on foot
Jodhpur grew in the shadow of its fort, inside a wall with seven gates, and the old town still works the way it did: a market at the centre, a stepwell for water, and lanes of blue houses climbing to the cliff. This walk climbs from the market through the lanes and up the ramp into the fort, ending at the marble memorial on the next hill. Half a day on foot, best from eight in the morning, before the heat and the traffic. Wear closed shoes with grip — the fort ramp is steep and polished — cover shoulders and knees for the temples, and from April to June expect 40 degrees by noon.
- Sardar Market · Riding breeches are called jodhpurs after this city. Sir Pratap Singh, a Jodhpur prince and polo player, brought the cut trousers to London for Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee in 1897, and the English took them up for riding.
- Toorji ka Jhalra · A queen of Maharaja Abhay Singh built this stepwell in the 1740s, when the women of the town fetched water here. For decades it was choked with rubbish and forgotten, until it was cleaned out and restored in the 2010s; the water at the bottom is now clear again.
- Jai Pol · Maharaja Man Singh built this gate in 1806 to celebrate his wars against Jaipur and Bikaner. Further up, on the walls by the next gates, you can still see the dents of cannonballs fired by the Jaipur army.
- Mehrangarh Fort · Beside the Loha Pol gate are small handprints in the stone, left by the widows of Maharaja Man Singh on their way to burn themselves on his funeral pyre in 1843. They are still covered with red powder and silver foil by visitors.
- Chokelao Garden · An 18th-century Rajput garden below the fort walls, laid out in the time of Maharaja Abhay Singh and restored by the fort's trust. Its lower terrace is a moonlight garden, planted with white flowers that were meant to be seen by night.
- Jaswant Thada · Maharaja Sardar Singh built this cenotaph in 1899 for his father, Jaswant Singh II. Some of its marble panels are cut so thin that the sun shines through them, and the whole building glows warm at the end of the day.
Palaces, lakes and planes
Rao Jodha founded the city in 1459 when he moved his court from Mandore to a cliff 120 metres above the plain, and his Rathore descendants still live here, in the palace their grandfather built in the 20th century. This route follows the dynasty around the edge of the town: the queen's lake, the old capital, a medieval reservoir, the art-deco palace and the airfield of a maharaja who flew his own planes. Most of a day by car with short walks. Take a hat and water, since Mandore and the lakes have little shade, and dress modestly for the temples at Mandore.
- Ranisar and Padamsar · These two small lakes at the foot of the fort were the town's first water supply. Ranisar, the queen's lake, was made in 1459 by Rao Jodha's wife Jasmade, in the same year the fort was founded.
- Mandore Gardens · Mandore was the capital of Marwar before Jodhpur. Its Hall of Heroes is a row of brightly painted gods and folk heroes carved out of a single rock wall in the early 18th century.
- Balsamand Lake · The lake was dug in 1159, three centuries before Jodhpur was founded, as a reservoir for Mandore. The red sandstone palace on its bank was added much later as a summer retreat and is now a hotel.
- Umaid Garden · For decades the city zoo stood in this garden. When its old enclosures lost national recognition, the animals were moved out to the new Machia Biological Park, which opened in January 2016, and the garden was left to families and the old state museum.
- Umaid Bhawan Palace · Maharaja Umaid Singh began the palace in 1929 partly as famine relief, to give work to thousands of farmers after the rains failed; it took until 1943 to finish. With 347 rooms it is one of the largest private homes in the world.
- Jodhpur Airport · Maharaja Umaid Singh, a trained pilot, founded the Jodhpur Flying Club here in 1931, the first in an Indian princely state. In the 1930s Jodhpur was a regular stopover for Imperial Airways, KLM and Air France between Europe and the Far East.
The desert that protects its trees
Most people see Jodhpur from its walls and drive on to Udaipur. But the villages around it belong to the Bishnoi, a community that has protected trees and animals for more than five centuries, and the town's old reservoirs sit right at the desert's edge. This is a long day: start on the zip line over the fort in the morning, drive out into the dry country south and west of town, and end at a lake for sunset. Wear light, long clothes against sun and dust; from July to September the monsoon can turn the roads to mud.
- Flying Fox Mehrangarh · Six zip lines, the longest about 300 metres, run over the fort's lakes and battlements for a total of more than a kilometre. It is the one way to see the walls and the blue town from the air, which almost no one photographs.
- Khejarli · In 1730 the Maharaja's men came here to cut khejri trees for lime kilns. A Bishnoi woman, Amrita Devi, hugged a tree and was killed with her daughters, and before it ended 363 villagers had died the same way. It is remembered as the first tree-hugging protest.
- Guda Bishnoi · The Bishnoi follow 29 rules laid down by Guru Jambheshwar in 1485 — the name comes from bis-noi, twenty-nine. Two of them forbid cutting green trees and killing animals, which is why blackbuck and gazelles feed near the houses without fear.
- Rao Jodha Desert Rock Park · Work began in 2006 on rocky ground below the fort that had been overrun by mesquite, an invasive shrub from the Americas. Gardeners cut it out and replanted some 250 native desert species — one of the more patient ecological projects in India.
- Machia Biological Park · Opened in January 2016 on about 41 hectares of protected forest by Kaylana Lake, the park was built to show the dry thorn scrub of western Rajasthan and the animals that live in it, from desert foxes to blackbuck.
- Kaylana Lake · An artificial lake made in 1872 under Pratap Singh, the Jodhpur prince, on land where two old palaces and gardens stood. It still supplies part of the city's water, and the dry hills around it are where Jodhpur goes to watch the sun go down.
Getting to Jodhpur and getting around
- Jodhpur Airport · A civil terminal on an air force base, 15 minutes from the old town; photos of the runway are not allowed
- Jodhpur Junction · Overnight trains to Delhi and Jaisalmer; if a passenger leaves early, this is the place
- Raika Bagh Bus Stand · State buses across Rajasthan; chaotic, so let your driver drop you right at the bay
Cheap eats in Jodhpur
Jodhpur is a snack town, and its street food is fried, sweet and eaten standing up. The local hero is mirchi bada, a fat green chilli stuffed with spiced potato and dipped in chickpea batter; then pyaz kachori with onion, mawa kachori soaked in syrup, and makhaniya lassi, thick as pudding, with butter and saffron. The food is vegetarian almost everywhere in the old town. Eat from busy stalls where the oil is changed often, and drink only bottled water.
- Janta Sweet Home · Mirchi bada and mawa kachori, about 30-60 rupees each
- Shri Mishrilal Hotel · Makhaniya lassi, about 60-90 rupees a glass
- Shahi Samosa · Samosas and kachori fried to order, about 25-40 rupees
- Omelette Shop · Omelettes in bread at the Sardar Market gate, about 60-120 rupees
- Pokar Sweets · Sweets by weight and hot snacks, about 50-150 rupees
- Stepwell Square kiosks · Cold coffee, lassi and a snack beside the stepwell, about 100-250 rupees
Museums in Jodhpur
- Mehrangarh Fort Museum · Allow three hours; the audio guide is worth it
- Umaid Bhawan Palace Museum · A short visit; the vintage car collection is by the gate
- Jaswant Thada · Portraits of the rulers inside, and a quiet garden
- Sardar Government Museum · Old weapons and sculpture in Umaid Garden; dusty but cheap
- Mandore Hall of Heroes · Brightly painted figures of gods and heroes carved from one rock
Nature and day trips near Jodhpur
- Rao Jodha Desert Rock Park · Walks of 1-3 hours; early morning only in summer
- Kaylana Lake · Sunset and boat rides at the desert's edge
- Machia Biological Park · Desert animals by the Kaylana road; best in the cool morning
- Guda Bishnoi · Village jeep tours; ask the hotel for a Bishnoi-run one
- Balsamand Lake · Gardens and peacocks around an old reservoir
Things to do in Jodhpur with kids
- Flying Fox Mehrangarh · Book a slot ahead; minimum age and weight apply
- Mehrangarh Fort · Lift up from the car park saves small legs
- Machia Biological Park · Desert foxes, deer and birds in big enclosures
- Umaid Garden · Lawns and a small zoo corner in the city centre
- Kaylana Lake boats · Pedal boats at sunset; quick and cheap
Where to eat in Jodhpur
- Indique · Rooftop dinner facing the floodlit fort; book ahead
- Jhankar Choti Haveli · A courtyard in an old haveli; Rajasthani dishes and good chai
- Gypsy Restaurant · Unlimited Rajasthani thali, popular with local families
- On The Rocks · Laal maas and tandoori in a garden; a local night out
- Stepwell Café · Coffee and light dinner over Toorji ka Jhalra
- RAAS · A smart hotel terrace below the fort for the last night of the route
Frequently asked questions about Jodhpur
What is there to see in Jodhpur?
The top sights in Jodhpur are Mehrangarh Fort, Jaswant Thada and Umaid Bhawan Palace. The full list on this page has 10 sights, each with a photo and a short note.
How many days do you need in Jodhpur?
Three to four days are enough to see the best of Jodhpur without rushing, including at least one walking tour.
Is there a free walking tour in Jodhpur?
Yes. sleepntrip has 3 free audio walks in Jodhpur, with no guide and no group: your phone tells the story at every stop. The first one: The blue city on foot.
How do you get to Jodhpur and get around?
The main ways are Jodhpur Airport, Jodhpur Junction and Raika Bagh Bus Stand. Full details are in the transport section on this page.
Where to stay in Jodhpur, and for how much?
sleepntrip shows only rooms in Jodhpur that meet nine conditions: a good location, high guest scores, cleanliness, and a price of up to $80 a night for two. Pick your dates and see what is free.
Looking for a hotel in Jodhpur for your dates?
Only rooms that meet nine conditions, up to $80 a night.