Exploring the best of Jodhpur in 2 days - The Most Romantic City 2022 | Rajasthan India
- nishidixit2030
- Jan 26, 2022
- 4 min read
Read on if you are looking for inspiration or a must-do checklist to experience the 'Blue City of India' - Jodhpur. Wherever we go, we love to immerse ourselves in that place, experience the local vibe and evolve by looking at things from a new point of view. Our choices are not your run of the mill five-star properties but boutique experiences with a local twist with equivalent luxury.
Meharangarh Fort - Magic is in the air. This fort always makes me feel like a Maharani :D
“Mehrangarh fort was constructed in 1459 by the Rathore dynasty of Jodhpur. We fell in love with the mammoth, royal structure, the first time we set our eyes on it. This fort, stands tall on a hill top, is the center of attraction of the city with the old, blue city of Jodhpur surrounding it.”
6 things that you need to cover in order to fully experience the blue city, Jodhpur -
Location, location, location!
Grand history and majestic views
Adventure
Shooting for The Dark Knight Rises
Food paradise (especially for spice lovers)
Paint the town blue - the artsy angle
1) Location, location, location!
For the two of us, given our super hectic work lives, every trip is planned very carefully, after a lot of research so that it provides us with a perfect, rejuvenating, enlightening break . One of the most important parameters that we look for is location, location, location! We are very kicked to share a hidden jewel that not many people know about, situated right at the foothill of this gigantic fort - The Raas. The Mehrangarh Fort is, quite literally, right in your backyard!
The French cuisine at this boutique hotel, will steal your heart away. Must try dishes include - black rice, dahi kebab (they literally melt in your mouth) and shimeji mushroom salad. The superb team also organized a special Christmas Eve dinner for us and it was scrumptious. As a sweet surprise, we got to know that a restaurant at this hotel called Baradari, is one of the best rated restaurants of Jodhpur :D (It's not listed on Zomato so it is very easy to miss). Another highlight was the heated, outdoor swimming pool, which is rather relaxing in the biting cold of Jodhpur in the winter months.
2) Grand history and majestic views
Once you have titillated your senses at The Raas, it is time to head out for a meal or even stay at the Umaid Bhawan Palace (Both 'The Raas' & 'The Umaid Bhawan Palace' cost approximately the same - it's your call). Please note that both these properties are always booked during the peak season (Nov-Feb) so please book well in advance (1 month +).
Umaid Bhawan Palace is the home of the erstwhile Jodhpur royal family. A portion of the palace (with 70 rooms) has been leased to Taj to manage (earlier it was under ITC Hotels).
We celebrated our anniversary over a very special quaint dinner at the Umaid Bhawan Palace. As expected at any Taj property worldwide, the hospitality and the sheer niceness of the staff stole the show. It was insane to cut the cake with a 50 year old dagger and tap into delectable royal recipes that are more than 100 years old and have only gotten better with time. The head chef was kind enough to disclose some of these Royal culinary secrets :)
3) Adventure
Here is where we differ from the large majority. Everyone will tell you to take a tour of the palace. Unfortunately, it is super crowded during peak season. We are not a big fan of crowds (especially after COVID). So instead of doing that, we decided to get the best view of the fort and the blue town from afar and zipline around the fort. The Flying Fox, Jodhpur manages the ziplining show in a super safe and exciting manner. Do reach out to them in advance and book a time slot so that you do not have to wait any where.
The sights were incomparable to what we would have observed from inside the fort. And as far as catching up with history, Mehrangarh's wiki page is a great summary. Do go through it to read more about the amazing story of 'Lord of Birds' who cursed the fort and 'Karni Mata' (who is very famous in this area) and how she ensured that this fort stays with Rajput gharana forever.
4) Shooting for The Dark Knight Rises
The picture below is self sufficient. Majorly it was VFX to add to the depth of the well. The backdrop however, was shot in front of the fort. We stood here for long to absorb the fact that Christian Bale was here :D
5) Food paradise (especially for spice lovers)
Jodhpur is known for spicy food preparation (something that we are very fond of - true Indians haha). Must haves include - 'Pyaz ki kachori, Mirchi Wada' from Junta sweets and 'Lassi' from Misrilal, Jodhpuri thali from Umaid Bhawan with secret royal recipes more than 100 years old and pancakes at The Raas (they are the fluffiest pancakes, even better than the crepes that you'll get on the streets of Paris).
6) Paint the town blue - the artsy angle
If you get kicks from colour coordinated towns, you must immediately hire a tuk-tuk and explore the narrow lanes of the old town of Jodhpur. In case, you need an amazing tuk-tuk driver cum guide, please do DM us, we are more than happy to share the contact. The local drivers are well aware of the best lanes and are super friendly to give you a tour.
Summarizing this amazing trip with this beautiful postcard as a takeaway. Also, promising ourselves to never underestimate India and it's tourism potential. We indeed had a super time! Time to get back to work . . .
Until next time!
XoXo
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