Jaisalmer is an amazing 3-5 km long city, which you can visit and see a LIVING FORT, where still 3000 plus people live, and then there is a DSESRET which is the only actual destinations in India, where you can enjoy desert safari, like on camel or dune bashing in Jeep, along with night stay in one of many camp resorts, along with a day at LONGEWALA, a border area, which tells about the might of Indian Army in from 1971.
For travellers planning to visit Jaisalmer, here are a few important things to know:
- The best months for Jaisalmer tourism are from September to March.
- The period from Diwali to New Year sees the highest tourist crowd.
- Every year, the BSF organizes the Jaisalmer Desert Festival, which is a must-see.
- We recommend at least 3 days full to truly explore Jaisalmer, or a 3 days/ 2 night trip.
Below, we’ve shared a detailed 3 days Jaisalmer travel itinerary, curated & refined through our experience of serving more than 3,500 travel groups in Jaisalmer since 2016.
How to arrive in Jaisalmer?
So you can plan to reach Jaisalmer from your home city via TRAIN, as Jaisalmer Railway Station (JSM) is connected with all Tier 1 & Tier 2 cities of India.
Arrive in Jaisalmer via FLIGHT. Jaisalmer Airport, which opened in 2022, is very active from September to March, as you can now get direct flights from Delhi, Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Mumbai, and Hyderabad, etc.
And by ROAD, as you can reach Jaisalmer quite comfortably via the national highways in Rajasthan, which are very well connected with Delhi & Mumbai.
Where to stay in Jaisalmer?
Plan 1 night stay in a desert camp at SAM SAND DUNES, which are a 45-50 km drive from Jaisalmer city, and the other 2 nights in a hotel, resort, or haveli in Jaisalmer city. So now let’s start with our 3-day Jaisalmer itinerary details:
Day 1: Your arrival in Jaisalmer
Take a train or flight to reach Jaisalmer from your home city, and try to arrive in Jaisalmer by morning or noon. After your arrival, we suggest reaching your booked hotel, as we arrange airport & railway station pick-up for our guests.
1.1 Hotel Check-in
After your arrival, check in at your booked hotel in Jaisalmer city, where you have two options.
First, book a nice deluxe to 5-star rated hotel situated outside the Jaisalmer Golden Fort or on the outskirts of Jaisalmer city, like Fort Rajwada, or plan your stay in a hotel or homestay inside Jaisalmer Fort, like Hotel Garh Jaisal Haveli.
Day 1: Half-day Jaisalmer Sightseeing
Vyas Chhatri
As most travellers arrive in Jaisalmer in the afternoon, we suggest planning your sightseeing tour from 3 pm (after lunch) until night.
Start your Jaisalmer sightseeing tour from Vyas Chhatri, famous for its centuries-old cenotaph dedicated to Ved Vyas, the sage who wrote the great epic Mahabharata.
Gadisar Lake
Later, you will visit Bada Bagh, a royal cenotaph garden dedicated to the late Kings of Jaisalmer, and in the evening visit the beautiful Gadisar Lake, an artificial water reservoir surrounded by ghats, temples & beautiful cenotaphs.
By night, you will attend the puppet show at NK Sharma‘s (a popular historian of Jaisalmer) museum, plan your dinner at a restaurant inside the fort like The Trio, and rest for the night at your booked hotel.
Day 2: Jaisalmer Fort and Sam Sand Dunes
Jaisalmer Fort night view
After your complimentary breakfast at the hotel, will will spend:
- Morning to 3 pm: Jaisalmer Fort tour
- 3 pm to next day breakfast: Sam desert activities & desert camp stay
By morning, you will first come to the entrance gate of Jaisalmer Fort, and here you can even try the Fateh ki Kachori.
In this living fort, around 3000 residents lives inside and your 1st stop will be the Havelis of Jaisalmer.
These havelis that are 400–600 years old, and were built by wealthy merchants & officials of that time Maharaja of Jaisalmer.
Patwa Haveli
The Fort was built my Maharaja Jasal, after whom the name of the city Jaisalmer came to existence. Notable ones include:
- Patwon ki Haveli
- Nathmal ki Haveli
- Salim Singh ki Haveli.
The fort also features centuries old Jain temples, as Jains were a prominent business community during Jaisalmer’s royal era, and other popular temple to see inside Jaisalmer Fort is Laxminath Temple, dedicated to Shree Hari Vishnu & Maa Laxmi.
Fort Cannon Point
After visiting these haveli, temples, museums, don’t miss the Canon Point, a popular spot offering panoramic views of the golden city.
Restaurants/ Cafe inside Jaisalmer Fort, or very near:
When you are inside Jaisalmer Fort, do plan your lunch here, as there are many cafe, rooftop cafe, restaurants with amazing Rajasthani & Continental cuisine, filled with Indian, Asian, European, American travellers. A few which we suggests are:
- KB Cafe, near Patwa Haveli
- Shri Jee Excellency Restaurant
- The Big Tree Cafe Rooftop
- Mugs4Buds, Gadisar Lake
You can enjoy lunch at one of the many heritage havelis turned into hotels or rooftop restaurants.
By 4 pm, you will exit the fort to continue your journey by road till Sam Sand Dunes.
Tour to Sam Sand Dunes
Sam Sand Dunes
By around you will checkout from the hotel (for guests who have planned 3 night stay in Jaisalmer, carry only 1 night luggage for Sam desert stay) and leave for Sam, which is 45 km drive away.
By 4:45 pm, you will arrive at your booked desert camp & check into your Swiss Camp room or Cottage.
Jaisalmer Desert Camp
On arrival, you will be welcomed with a traditional tikka ceremony accompanied by dhol beats.
From 5:30 pm, you will start your Jaisalmer desert safari activities where you will head out to the Sam Sand Dunes for:
Jeep Safari at Sam dunes
- Camel Safari
- Jeep Dune Bashing
- Paragliding with Jeep
- Quad Biking &
- See sunset at Sam sunset point
By 7:30 pm, you will return back to the Desert Camp and attend the:
Kalbeliya dance & music
- Live kalbeliya music
- Rajasthani dance performances
- traditional mehndi art, &
- buffet dinner
End your evening around a bonfire with cultural performances under the desert sky. Overnight stay at your luxury camp in Sam.
Best Camps in Sam Jaisalmer:
- Winds Desert Camp
- Damodra Desert Camp
- The Trio Desert Camp
- The Serai Luxury Camp
And if you find the Jaisalmer 3 days itinerary helpful, the also checkout our Jaisalmer Tour Packages from 3 to 5 days.
Day 3: Longewala Post, Tanot Mata and Evening Jaisalmer Sightseeing
War Museum
On Day 3, you will first check out from the desert camp after your complimentary breakfast and leave for the Indo-Pak border at Longewala.
Longewala, or Longewala Post, is now a popular place of interest where you will visit:
- Tanot Mata Temple
- Longewala Post, where the 1971 Indo-Pak War took place
- Longewala Museum
From Sam (your desert camp), we will first arrive at Tanot Mata Temple, which is 110 km away and less than a 2-hour drive. Here, you will first fill out the BSF permit form to get entry to the Longewala Post tour.
Longewala Post Museum
In the permit form, you need to mention details like your name, address, contact number, Aadhaar card, driver details, etc. Please note:
- Non-Indian travellers are not allowed to visit Longewala.
- Mobile signals will be unavailable at Longewala.
We suggest first visiting the Longewala Post and then the Tanot Mata Temple.
At the post, you will be dropped at the main entrance gate, which says Welcome to the Indo-Pak Border, and this is the exact place where the Indian Army stopped the Pakistani tanks, as seen in the famous Hindi movie Border (1997).
Here, you can even walk to the last point near the border and a watchtower that offers a 360-degree view of the entire border area. Note: There is no entry fee here; you just need to carry the BSF permit.
After exploring the Longewala Post, you will return to the Tanot Mata Temple, which is very popular among the locals of Jaisalmer.
Tanot Mata Temple
According to local belief in Jaisalmer, Tanot Mata protected the region during the 1971 Indo-Pak War. It is said that during the conflict, numerous bombs, rockets, and artillery shells were fired from across the border, with many landing inside and around the Tanot Mata Temple.
However, devotees believe that the divine power of Tanot Mata rendered these explosives harmless, and none of them detonated, saving the temple and the surrounding area.
Tanot Mata Temple inside view
As an expression of gratitude, a unique tradition has been followed by many women of Jaisalmer since 1971. They visit the Tanot Mata Temple, apply mehndi (henna) to their hands, and leave handprints on the temple walls.
These handprints are considered a symbol of faith and thanksgiving, honoring the goddess for protecting the temple and the people during the war.
After the darshan of Mata, you will head back to Jaisalmer city and, en route, visit one more site that showcases the bravery of the Indian Army: the Jaisalmer War Museum.
The JWM is located 13 km from Jaisalmer Golden Fort and is open till 7 pm. So, you can easily reach here by 5 pm, spend an hour exploring the museum, and see war exhibits like captured tanks, vehicles from the 1965 and 1971 wars, a wall with the names of Param Vir Chakra and Maha Vir Chakra award winners, display halls, a souvenir shop, and a cafeteria.
After exploring Jaisalmer War Museum, come back to the city, have dinner at one of the many restaurants/cafes in Jaisalmer, like:
Restaurants in Jaisalmer city for dinner:
- D’Desi Aroma Pure Veg. Restaurant
- Green Park Restaurant
- The Trio Restaurant
And after dinner, rest for the night at your booked Jaisalmer city hotel.
Hotels in Jaisalmer city:
- Jaisalmer Marriott Resort & Spa
- Storii by ITC Hotels
- Fort Rajwada
- Hotel Golden Haveli
- Hotel Fifu
- SKK The Fern
After this, your 3-day tour of Jaisalmer is complete, and on Day 4, you can plan your departure from Jaisalmer.
This is our Jaisalmer Itinerary for 3 Days, or 3 full days. You can also plan your return on Day 3 evening, but then you have to skip the Longewala Post visit, which we don’t suggest.
