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A Trip4India > Destinations India > Jodhpur Tourism

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Jodhpur Tourism

State : Rajasthan
Area : 75.50 sq kms
Temperature : 42.2°C - 27.3°C (Summers), 27.5°C - 9.5°C (Winters)
Altitude : 230 mts
Rainfall : 31 cms
Language : Marwari, Hindi, English
Best Season : October to March

Among the numerous princely settlements of Rajasthan, Jodhpur is one of the most distinctive. This five hundred year old settlement was the headquarters of the Rathore Rajputs renowned for their tales of bravery. Also known as "The Blue City", the land of royalty is a sparkling gem set in the golden sands of barren desert landscape & is now a major export centre of handicrafts. The light that reflects of the golden sands surrounds a land renowned for its vibrant colours, people in bright clothes and beautiful jewellery, living in city dotted and dominated by towering fort and palaces that rise from sand like a mirage.

Historically speaking, the city was founded in 1459 by a local tribal chieftain - Rao Jodha, the then ruler of the Rathore clan. The very foundations of the city are surrounded in myth. Legend has it that a hermit used to meditate on the rocky hill where the fort now stands. Rao Jodha had him evicted, and was immediately cursed by the furious sage, who decreed that the land would be inflicted by drought and famine from then on.The chieftain and his people, overawed by the damnation, tried to pacify the hermit, but the curse was never completely lifted. To this day Jodhpur remains a dry area, suffering from drought time and again.

Jodhpur is made of lavish palaces, religious temples, delicious food and lively festivals. Of the most popular, you must explore the Umed Bhawan Palace and the Mehrangarh Fort. Umed Bhawan Palace was one the last royal constructions. Today it stands divided into three parts, one converted into a five-star hotel, one the residence of the royal family and one is open to the public which exhibits few pictures, weapons, arms, swords and other artifacts of the royal family.

Maharaja Umaid Singh especially commissioned an artist from Poland to do up the interiors. As the gigantic scale of the palace impresses upon everyone, one might be wonder how the palace came about in the first place. Jodhpur was witness to a terrible famine in the 1920s, and the Maharaja, seeing that the famine was not about to go away in a hurry, ordered the construction in order to provide employment to his stricken people. So, till date Umaid Bhavan Palace stands as the most striking by-products ever of a drought relief program undertaken anywhere!

The Mehrangarh Fort, constructed in 1459 encloses the palace gates, temples, artillery, memorials and armory. The festivals of Jodhpur add further shades to this already colorful land. Among the most popular ones are the festivals of Gangaur, Nag Panchami and Makar Sankranti which is celebrated by having the famous kite fight.

History
The land area which is called Jodhpur today was only a small segment of the grand marwar state before independence. Hundreds of years later and after having undergone the ravages of several Kings and their battles, under the ruling of king Rao Jodha of the Vikram Era (1510), a city was slowly established around the fort constructed by King Rao Jodha. This fort was situated 6 miles south of Mandore on a mountain called Chidiyanath ki Tonk. This city came to be known as Jodhpur or Jodhana or Jodhaji Ki Dhani and was the capital of the Marwar state for five centuries. When Rao Jodha established the walled city, it had four gates. As time passed, the city became congested with increasing population and the boundaries continued to expand. Today that area is called Old City and has a 3 to 8 ft. wide and 15 to 30 ft. high wall around it in the shape of a horseshoe. This wall has six big gates called Chand Pol, Nagauri Gate, Merti Gate, Sojati Gate, Siwanchi Gate and Jalori Gate. These gates earlier had iron sheets fixed with nails.

The foundation of a beautiful palace on the Chittar Hills, now called Umed Palace, was laid by the then Raja Umed Singh on 18 November, 1929. During his reign the biggest hospital in Marwar was made in Jodhpur, with expenditure of 15 lacs, 80 thousand rupees, which is now known as Mahatma Gandhi hospital. On 10th May 1933, Marwar was officially renamed as Jodhpur state.