By road
~340 km from Jaipur
North India · Rajasthan
Jodhpur, Rajasthan
The blue city beneath a giant fort · ~340 km from Jaipur
Getting there
By rail
Jodhpur Junction (JU), in the city
By air
Jodhpur Airport, in the city
Best time to visit
October to March — desert sun is gentle then
Don't miss
Mehrangarh Fort
Jaswant Thada
Umaid Bhawan Palace
Clock tower market
Things to do
Zip-lining over Mehrangarh's walls
Blue-city walks
Bishnoi village safari
Where to eat
What to pack
Sun protection, shoes for fort climbs and old-city lanes
A quieter corner
Toorji ka Jhalra stepwell café corner at dusk
About Jodhpur
- Desert
Where it is
Jodhpur is the second-largest city in Rajasthan, set in the Thar Desert in the historic region of Marwar, with Mehrangarh Fort on a rocky ridge above the old town.
History
Rao Jodha, chief of the Rathore Rajputs, founded Jodhpur in 1459 and began Mehrangarh Fort the same year as the new capital of Marwar. The Rathores ruled for nearly five centuries, and in the 20th century Maharaja Umaid Singh built the vast Umaid Bhawan Palace, completed in the 1940s, shortly before the state joined Rajasthan.
People
Jodhpur's people speak Marwari, the Rajasthani language of the region, and Hindi. Villages nearby belong to the Bishnoi community, known for protecting trees and blackbuck, and the city is a centre of India's handicraft industry and of the traditional shoes known as Jodhpuri mojaris.
Known for
- Mehrangarh Fort
- The blue-painted houses of the old city
- Umaid Bhawan Palace and Jaswant Thada
- Mirchi bada and makhaniya lassi
- Handicrafts and Jodhpuri mojari shoes
Did you know?
Jodhpur gave its name to jodhpurs, the riding breeches introduced to England in the late 19th century by Sir Pratap Singh of Jodhpur's ruling family.
We haven't written a guide for this place yet — you can still plan a trip here.