And as here they are very given to color cities, this is the city of gold. The color of the desert sand is maintained in the constructions of houses and shelters, and in the impressive fort that stands on a hill in the middle of a plain. Inside, the fort still houses a small citadel, and around it the rest of the city is distributed.
Nowadays, there are no more caravans that cross this desert, no smelly travelers (or yes ...), but the eternal owners of the deserts remain: the camels! If you have arrived in Jaisalmer it is for a single reason ... the camel safari !!! And taking advantage of the fact that our Mystic hotel offers good options with its Mystic Safari Tours, we tie the blanket to the head and to the adventure!
We left after lunch with a jeep that takes us into the desert, getting closer and closer to the border with Pakistan (we would be 90 km away), and some military fighter-type planes welcome us. We visited a nomadic people, who at this time take refuge in this area, and some ruins of a Brahman village over 300 years old, where only men lived, so it ended so badly ...
Once again in the jeep, we saw in the distance the shadows of some huge bumps ... and as we got closer and closer we realized that it was our camels, giant and imposing, who were waiting for us ready to start the hike! All but Lety's we caught him taking a nap.
Together with those of Ryan (Canadian) and Alex (Turkish), our camels formed a line following the steps of the first, the guide, who led us to our makeshift camp. There we watched a spectacular sunset, and after dinner we warmed around the bonfire between talks and songs (including macarena). And, as in most adventure movies, the romantic part comes. Curled up in our beds, with the fire going out, in the absolute silence, an impressive blanket of stars stretched out above our heads, and we were lucky that these dates coincided with a shower of stars, so we could ask for more than one wish!
If the sunset had been spectacular, the sunrise was no less. We took some pictures, we had breakfast and we waited for the guides to come back with our camels (which at night they leave free, and the next morning they will pick up following the tracks) to start the journey back to civilization. An adventure!
Once showered and rested, we went for a walk around the town. It is a super quiet place, with its cows, goats, camels, dogs ... and friendly people. Here we saw the blankets with magical powers, the milkshakes with other powers (there is also the version of chocolates, in case you want to take them to the desert and hit the father's party), and the sodas at 5 cents ... In addition, there are several mansions or "Havelis" with spectacular facades.
We leave here with wonderful memories and head to one of the sacred cities of India: Pushkar
Update 2016: when we made this trip to India we were less mature and responsible travelers than we are today (luckily) so today we would not do the camel safari again. Yes we continue to recommend the desert excursion (sleeping) but we would do it by car (as far as possible) and walking.
USEFUL INFO
Safari: We did it with the Mystic Safari Tours. It leaves at 14.30, some interesting stops are made with the jeep and it is ridden on a camel for about an hour, to the camp. There they give you dinner and they put the beds to sleep in the open (you can ask to sleep in a tent for a fee). The next day he has breakfast and another little camel horita. Then jeep that takes you to the Mystic hotel. Here they give you a room for a couple of hours so you can take a shower and rest. The price of this option is 1,500 INR.
Where to sleep: We slept at the Mystic Jaisalmer Hotel.
Where to eat: This same hotel has a good vegetarian restaurant. We also recommend the hotel restaurant Shahi (near), with a beautiful terrace and wonderful views.
How to get? From Jodhpur by night train that takes 7 hours. The sleeper costs INR 180 per person. The station is quite close, although as always, given the tuctucs prices we recommend catching one to the hotel.
