Mehrangarh Fort, Jodhpur is one of the largest forts in forts. It is also the most magnificent fort in Jodhpur, infact, in the whole Rajasthan. The fort is amongst the popular tourist places in India. It is situated on a 150 m high hill. It was founded by Rao Jodha in 1459. The Mehrangarh Fort can be reached from the city, 5 kms below, through a circular road.

Seven gates have to be crossed to reach the fort. The gates still bear the marks of the various battles fought in the bygone era. Its second gate still stands witness to canon ball hits by attacking armies of Jaipur during wars. One of the gates is Jayapol, meaning victory. It was built by Maharaja Man Singh to commemorate his victories over Jaipur and Bikaner armies.

To the left of the Mehrangarh Fort complex is the Jaswant Thada of Jodhpur, Rajasthan. It is a 19th century royal cenotaph built in commemoration of Maharaja Jaswant Singh II, the 33rd Rathore ruler of Jodhpur. The son of Maharaja Jaswant Singh, Maharaja Sardar Singh, in the memory of his father, built the Jaswant Thada. The cenotaph has two more tombs within it. Near to this are the royal crematorium and three other cenotaphs.

Famous Jaswant Thada in Jodhpur, India is an example of architectural brilliance in India. It is a white marble memorial, built out of intricately carved sheets of marble. The carving shows the genius of the sculptors. These stones are extremely thin and polished. As a result, the outside surface of the monument emits a warm glow when the sunrays fall on its surface. There is also beautiful marble jali work on the cenotaph. You can have some nice views from the terrace in front of the cenotaph.

Umaid Bhavan Palace in Jodhpur, India is one of India's most imposing and recent palaces. Umaid Bhavan palace of Jodhpur, Rajasthan was built by Maharaja Umaid Singh. It is named after him only. He utilized the services of a well-known Edwardian architect, Henry Vaughan Lanchester for the construction of this palace. It contains three hundred and forty seven rooms.

Jodhpur's Umaid Bhawan Palace was actually built for the welfare of the people. The purpose was to give employment to the people of Jodhpur during a long period of drought and famine. The construction of the palace utilized approximately one million square feet (90,000 m²). Another special feature of the palace is the use of a special type of sandstone, called Chittar sandstone, giving it a special appearance. Umaid Bhavan palace of Jodhpur is a fine example of Indo-Saracenic architecture. Over three thousand artisans were employed in the construction of this palace.

The Rai ka Bag Palace of Jodhpur, Rajasthan is another tourist spot for you to visit on your trip to Jodhpur. The queen of Maharaja Jaswant Singh-I, Hadiji, built this palace. It is situated near the Raika Bag palace railway station. Famous Rai Ka Bag palace in Jodhpur, India was constructed in 1663. It was amongst the favorite palaces of King Jaswant Singh-II. Most of the time he stayed in the octagonal bungalow of Rai Ka Bag palace.

In 1883, Swami Dayanand Saraswati came to Jodhpur. The arrangements for his public audience were made in the public ground of this palace only. He gave his sermons there itself. Even Jaswant Singh used to listen to Swami Dayanand in this palace only. At present the palace houses the income-tax office.

Mandore was the ancient capital of Marwar, before the formation of Jodhpur. It lies towards the north of Jodhpur, just 8 Kms from the main city. Historically, this place quite rich and holds importance. Besides that, there are a number of other things in this famous excursion of Jodhpur, Rajasthan that attract tourists.
The most known attractions of Mandore are:
Mandore Gardens : The extensive Mandore gardens, with their high rocky terrace, are a popular local attraction.
The Hall of Heroes : It is dedicated to various deities and fabled Rajput folk heroes. There are sixteen huge figures, carved out of a single rock and painted in bright colors.
The Shrine : This is the shrine of 330 million Gods, filled with brightly colored images of various Hindu Gods and Folk Deities.
The Royal Cenotaphs: The cenotaphs of Jodhpur's former rulers are set in beautifully landscaped gardens of Mandore.

Jodhpur Nehru Park is another one of the popular gardens of Jodhpur. The park is covering an area of 14 acres. Nehru Park was developed as a park for children. The famous Nehru park of Jodhpur, Rajasthan was inaugurated on 7th September 1966 by the then Chief Minister, Shri Mohan Lal Sukhadia. The park reflects the beauty of nature through its fountain, pond, swings, flowerbeds, trees and plants, etc.

Earlier there was a pond named Bakhat Sagar pond. But slowly and gradually the pond deteriorated with the city's dirty water getting collected there. In order to solve the problem, its upper portion was converted into Bakhat Sagar residential colony. The lower portion of the pond contains the Nehru park now.

One of the popular gardens of Jodhpur is the Jodhpur Umed garden. It is spread on an area of 82 acres. The famous Umed garden of Jodhpur, Rajasthan was developed by Maharaja Umed Singh. It is named after him only. The garden has five separate gates around it to facilitate entry to the garden from different directions. It has lush green lawns with beautiful roses and other seasoned flowers. Also inside the garden, is a museum, towering Ashoka trees, artistically designed fountains, a library and a zoo.

Viceroy Willingdon inaugurated the zoo in the garden. At the time of its inauguration, the Umed garden had lion, tiger, zebra, ostrich and an emu. There was separate cage made for monkeys. A 'Walk-in Aviary' in the zoo was constructed in the garden in 1978. The aviary houses different types of birds, local, African and Australian parrots, ducks, rabbits etc. All the birds and animals are kept in their natural environment.

Government Museum of Jodhpur, Rajasthan is situated on the High Court Road. It stands in the middle of the Umaid public gardens. The museum building and the garden were developed during the time of Maharaja Umaid Singhji. It encompasses a wide collection of weapons, textiles, miniature portraits and local arts and crafts. Also displayed in the museum are, portraits of rulers and the manuscripts and images of Jain Tirthankars.

Rajasthan's popular Government Museum also has a public library and a zoo, located in the pleasant Umaid Gardens. The museum holds a special attraction for kids. Children get very excited by the sight of stuffed animals, including a number of desert birds in two glass cases, each with a thorn bush. There is also a military section, exhibiting cumbersome wooden biplane models and an extraordinary brass battleship.

Jodhpur is at the edge of the Thar Desert and is the largest city in Rajasthan after Jaipur. Among Rajasthan's many princely settlements, Jodhpur is one of the most distinctive. This five hundred year old settlement was the headquarters of the Rathore Rajput's celebrations for their tales of daring.

The Clock Tower is a popular landmark in the old city. The vibrant Sadar Market is close to the tower and narrow alleys lead from here to bazaars selling vegetables, spice, Indian sweets, textiles, silver and handicrafts. It's a great place to ramble around at leisure.

There are approximately 15 Ossian Jain temples near Jodhpur. The most fascinating one of the Jain Osiyan temples in Rajasthan is the Mahavira temple. It is dedicated to the last (24th) Jain Prophet. The main temple was constructed around 775 A.D. And till about 15th century, the other smaller shrines were being added to the main complex.

The entrance to the temple complex has carvings of beautiful maidens on it. The roof is also beautifully decorated. The terrace on which the temple stands is built up of sandstone. The main Mahavira temple has an inner sanctum and three balconied windows. The main porch of the temple has beautifully ornate pillars. And the second porch, which was later added on, has more stylish construction. The other Jain temples are quite smaller and are uniform to some an extent. Only little differentiation can be seen among them.

Phool Mahal is the most ostentatious among all the palaces inside Mehrangarh Fort. It has a ceiling made of gold filigree work. The furnishings are equally opulent. Maharaja Abhaya Singh who ruled from 1724 to 1749 brought the gold from Ahmedabad in Gujarat as spoils of the war after his famous victory over the rebellious Mughal governor, Sarbuland Khan. The Phool Mahal also has several royal portraits, beautiful paintings adding to the ambience and Raag Mala.

The other attractions in Phool Mahal, such as the paintings, portraits and raga mela, were the contribution of a later king, Jaswant Singh.

At some point of time in our life, we all want to stay at a place overlooking a water body, preferably a sea. The Jodhpur Balsammand Palace in Mandore, Rajasthan offers you this kind of comfort. This palace is built on a hillock facing Balsammand Lake. This popular excursion of Jodhpur, Rajasthan was constructed in 19th century and is made up of sandstone.

Maharajah Sur Singh of Jodhpur, as a summer pavilion, built this palace encircled by hills. The Balsammand Palace of Jodhpur, Rajasthan is beautifully carved. Allowing the cool breeze to blow into the palace are the latticed windows. The lakeside, in front of the palace, has domed structure that provides fabulous views of the lake. The gardens get water from an artificial waterfall, bringing down water from the reservoir.

Guda bishnoi is approximately 25 kms from the main city of Jodhpur. The Guda Bishnoi village of Jodhpur, Rajasthan is scenic beauty marked with Khejri trees and deer. Also in the village is the Guda Bishnoi Lake. It is an artificial lake, perfect as a picnic spot. A person interested in exotic wild life & nature should definitely visit this village.

The Bishnoi community inhabits the village. The villagers are staunch worshippers of nature in all its forms, specially the sanctity of plant and animal life. They even pray to the green trees and animals that inhabit their land. In this world of exploitation everywhere, they make every effort to conserve the environment. Another fact about the Bishnoi tribals is that they worship Lord Vishnu and are vegetarians.

The Jodhpur Jaswant Sagar Dam lies in Pichiyak village between Bilara and Bhavi of Jodhpur district. It was constructed, in 1892, by Maharaja Jaswant Singh. The water from Jaswant Sagar Dam of Jodhpur, Rajasthan is utilized for irrigation purposes in Jodhpur. The greenest part of Jodhpur receives water from this dam. Also available here, are boating facilities have for tourists. It is nice place for those who love boating or wading around in water. Also, a visit to the Jaswant Sagar Dam will serve as an educational trip for the children.

The Jodhpur Machiya Safari Park lies on the way to Jaisalmer. It is about 1km from Kaylana Lake. It is a must see place for those interested in wildlife. The main fauna of the Machiya Safari Park of Jodhpur, Rajasthan includes, deer, desert fox, monitor lizard, blue bulls rabbits, wild cats, mongoose, monkeys, etc. There is also an exclusive bird watching point from where you can see a large number of birds. Thus, serving as a good place for bird watchers too. The safari park also has a fort inside its complex. The fort also gives a nice view of the sunset. Machiya Safari Park is an interesting place to visit with kids.

Pali city near Jodhpur, Rajasthan is named after the Paliwal Brahmins. They were once the inhabitants of this area. However the civilization of the ancient Pali city was highly evolved. The land of Pali was leased to the Paliwalis by the then chief of Mandore. Paliwalis were priests formerly. But after getting the leased land, they cultivated it diligently, abandoning their former priestly profession.

Jodhpur Pali City also has two temples. The temples of Somnath and Naulakha are very old. Naulakha is a Jain temple having elaborate carvings. While Somnath temple is devoted to Lord Shiva. This temple is known for its handsome bulling having exquisite moldings. A good place to visit for someone historically inclined.