Jaisalmer: Gadisar lake

I’ll be honest with you: I’ve seen a few different names for this lake: Gadisar, Gadsisar, Gadisagar and so on..

But what’s in the name! This oasis (only symbolically, it’s actually a water conversation tank, contrary to what you might expect) of greenish blue waters is a welcome break from the craziness of the crowds of Jaisalmer in Rajasthan, India.

It’s a refreshing change of colours in midst of the vast expanse of desert all around!

 

Temples around the lake

You’ll often see migratory birds enjoying the lake too!

Due to proximity to Bharatpur bird sanctuary, migratory birds also often flock to this lake. So, taking binoculars with you may not be a bad idea!

Location: Near ‘Tillon ki Gate’ in Jaisalmer
How to reach: Take an auto rickshaw.

Monday Morning Spice: Rajasthani folk-dance

Here’s a new section for a dreary Monday morning…. something to inspire you to travel and explore! 

This week, I bring you a video of a traditional folk dance presented by Rajasthani girls, while we were camping in the middle of the desert near Jaisalmer (India).. Enjoy!

This next video (not the greatest video quality, apologies!) is of one of the dancers bending backwards, all the while dancing to the beats of the music, and picking up a razor blade with her eyelid! Impressive!

This dance is known as the ‘kalbeliya’ dance, performed by dancers from a tribe of the same name. Here’s, some more information about it on wiki.

Have a great week ahead! 🙂

Wednesday Wanderings: Sam sand dunes, Rajasthan

Sam sand dunes are a particularly heavily-touristy and popularized sand dunes located out on the outskirts of the city of Jaisalmer, about 40 km from the main town. They are especially popular because of close distance from the town, which encourages a lot of tourists to visit them at sunset time to see the sand glowing golden with the diffused light of setting sun.

Although I had a mixed experience there (mostly due to overcrowding and the fact that there’s a road going next to the dunes whereas I had imagined the dunes to be in middle of nowhere – reachable only by a camel safari) when I visited them last November, the dunes still provide an interesting and lively scene: there are camel races happening around, local girls dancing in traditional wear to entertain groups of tourists, overpriced water and cold drinks being haggled on with foreign tourists.

I enjoyed the place for the photographing opportunity it provided me. Here is one of my favourite pics from that evening..

Camel racer, showing his moves, at sunset.