Jaipur to Jaisalmer Desert Drive

This drive runs west across Rajasthan from the Pink City of Jaipur to the golden fort-town of Jaisalmer on the edge of the Thar Desert, taking in Pushkar's holy lake and the blue city of Jodhpur on the way. The land grows drier and emptier as you go, ending in dunes and a living sandstone fort. It is a journey of forts, palaces, camel country and big desert skies.

Jaisalmer exists because of a road that no longer runs. Rawal Jaisal moved his capital to this sandstone outcrop in 1156, and for centuries the town taxed camel caravans crossing between India and Central Asia. That money is still visible in the havelis, carved to a fineness that makes no sense in a town this remote until you understand what was passing through it. The trade died twice — first when sea freight through Bombay took the cargo, and then finally when Partition closed the land routes west. Jaisalmer spent decades as a garrison town before tourism arrived. Jodhpur's logic is the reverse: a defensible rock chosen first, the city gathering under it afterwards. Mehrangarh was begun in the fifteenth century and the old town grew in its shadow, which is why the lanes below the fort are medieval in width and the traffic in them is a daily comedy. Pushkar is older than either as a place people came to. The lake and the temple to Brahma are the draw, and Brahma temples of any consequence are close to unique in India. As for why Jodhpur's houses are blue: one account says it marked Brahmin households, another that the pigment was mixed into limewash to deter insects. Guides assert both with total confidence. It has never actually been settled.

Pushkar's lake and bazaars, Jodhpur's Mehrangarh Fort and blue old city, and Jaisalmer's living fort and Sam sand dunes.

Good, mostly single- and two-lane state highways with long open stretches; distances between towns are large, so carry water and fuel up when you can.

Break the drive at Pushkar and Jodhpur rather than doing it in one go. Carry water and sun protection, fuel up in the bigger towns, and time Jaisalmer for a sunset at the fort or the Sam dunes. Avoid long desert stretches after dark.

Order is Jaipur, Pushkar, Jodhpur, Jaisalmer, and do not compress it below three nights on the road. Jaipur to Pushkar is the short leg, well under half a day. Leave late and arrive for the evening at the ghats rather than the middle of the day, when the lake sits under white glare. Expect someone to press a flower into your hand at the water and then produce a receipt book for a donation. You are allowed to say no. Pushkar to Jodhpur is the long dull middle. Jodhpur earns a full day — Mehrangarh in the morning, the old city late in the afternoon when the light finally gets into the blue. Jodhpur to Jaisalmer is the emptiest stretch. Livestock wandering onto the road at dusk is the real hazard here, not other traffic. On the driving: these are decent two-lane highways with long overtaking straights and very little between towns. Fill up in Ajmer, Jodhpur and Pokhran rather than trusting the next pump to exist. Do not drive the western legs after dark. One firm position — do not book a room inside Jaisalmer Fort. Around four thousand people live in it, the Geological Survey identified seepage from that occupancy as the cause of its structural failure in 2010, and dozens of buildings inside the walls have already collapsed. Sleep below and walk up.