Jaysalmer nicknamed "The Golden City", is a town in the Indian state of Rajasthan. It was once known as Jaisalmer state. The town stands on a ridge of yellowish sandstone, crowned by a fort, which contains the palace and several ornate Jain temples. Many of the houses and temples are finely sculptured. It lies in the heart of the Thar Desert and has a population of about 78,000. It is the administrative headquarters of Jaisalmer District.

Tourism

While Jaisalmer may always have been remote, it is filled with many artistic structures and monuments of local historical importance. Jaisalmer's medieval mud fortress and walled township make it a popular tourist destination. The surrounding desolate landscape evidences a stark, austere beauty. Camel safaris through the nearby desert dunes are popular with tourists; competition for business is fierce. A few quiet days spent wandering around the town and the surrounding desert can be a wonderful way of unwinding from the chaos of larger Indian cities.

Visitor attractions

Jaisalmer Fort: Built in 1156 by the Bhati Rajput ruler Jaisal, Jaisalmer Fort is situated on Trikuta Hill and had been the scene of many battles. Its massive sandstone walls are a tawny lion colour during the day, turning to a magical honey-gold as the sun sets. The famous Indian film director Satyajit Ray wrote a detective novel and later turned it into a film – Sonar Kella (The Golden Fortress) which was based on this fort. This is a living fort and about a quarter of city's population still live inside the fort. The main attractions inside the fort are: Raj Mahal (Royal palace), Jain temples and the Laxminath temple.

Havelis: The main havelis in Jaisalmer are:

Patwon-ki-Haveli: Guman Chand Patwa (and later by his five sons), a wealthy merchant belonging to powerful Oswal Jain community and banker who had over three hundred trading centres from Afghanistan to China. This ornate five-storey complex took fifty years to complete. This is the largest, the most magnificent, and the most elaborate of Jaisalmer havelis.

Salam Singh-ki-Haveli: It was built by the scheming Prime Minister Salam Singh in 1815. It has a beautifully arched roof capped with blue cupolas and carved brackets in the form of peacocks.

Nathmalji-ki-Haveli: Built by a Prime Minister of princely state of Jaisalmer. Its facade is a riot of ornamentation: flowers, birds, elephants, soldiers, a bicycle and even a steam engine.

Jessul Kot: Built by Dammodar Singh Chouhan, He named Haveli because During the British Raj, Jaisalmer was spelled as “Jessulmer”

Simla Haveli: this is a 500 year old building in Jaisalmer fort.

Haveli Shreenath: Prime Minister House Of Jaisalmer This beautiful 450-year-old haveli was once inhabited by the prime minister under the maharaja. The gorgeous archways, alluring alcoves, sizeable rooms opening onto small balconies and rich ambiance must have been grand back in the old days.

Shree Nath Fort Jaisalmer: Heritage Haveli Hotel in Jaisalmer. Shree Nath Palace is a wonderful example of an old Rajasthani haveli, set in the golden fort of Jaisalmer.

Mehra haveli: Built by Gopikishan Mehra, Mayor of Jaisalmer city. He named Haveli after his grandmother Parwati Davi Parwati Sadan

it also attract en number of tourist every year

Jain heritage of Jaisalmer

Jaisalmer city has been enriched by its Jain community which has adorned the city with beautiful Jain temples most notably the temples dedicated to 16th Tirthankar Lord Shantinath and 23rd Tirthankar Lord Parshvanath. Jaisalmer boasts some of the oldest libraries of India which contain rarest of the manuscripts & artefacts of Jain tradition. There are many Jain pilgrimage centres around Jaisalmer like Lodarva, Amarsagar, Brahmsar and Pokharan.