RAJASTHAN – Pokran & Jaisalmer

Pokran

• A remote town in the Thar Desert region, near Jaisalmer
• The area served as the test site for India’s first underground nuclear weapon detonation.
• Not many foreign tourists travel here but there is an interesting 14th century citadel.
• “Pokran” means “place of 5 mirages.”
• When we visited it was packed with enthusiastic visitors on holiday from Gujurat.

Jaisalmer

• The Golden City, stands on yellow sandstone close to the Pakistan border.
• It is now a UNESCO World Heritage site.
• There is a Fort built in 1156 and the famous Indian film director Satijit Ray wrote a detective novel which became a film − Sonar Kella (The Golden Fortress).
• About 20 000 people still live within the walls.
• There are also 7 ornate Jain temples, built between the 12-15th centuries.
• Water is scarce and most wells are about 75 m below the surface.
• Tourism is the major industry and some of India’s oldest libraries are found in Jaisalmer.