Jaisalmer Guide
The Havelis of Jaisalmer
Jaisalmer havelis compared: Patwon Ki Haveli's five merchant houses, Salim Singh Ki Haveli's flared top storey and Nathmal Ki Haveli's mismatched facade, all a short walk apart.
Jaisalmer sat on the caravan routes across the Thar, and in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries its merchants and ministers spent their fortunes on havelis: tall townhouses in golden sandstone, carved so finely that the facades look like lace. Three in the old town below the fort are open to visitors, all within a short walk of each other.
Patwon Ki Haveli is the largest, a row of five houses built by the Patwa family of traders, one of them now a museum of period interiors. Salim Singh Ki Haveli, built for a powerful prime minister of the state, is known for its flared top storey and peacock brackets. Nathmal Ki Haveli, built for another prime minister in the late nineteenth century, was carved by two brothers who each took one half, which is why its two sides don't quite match.
Go in the morning, before the lanes get hot and crowded. Together the three take about two hours.
3 Sights
The Havelis of Jaisalmer, One By One
Open any of them for its history, what to look for and how it fits into a day.
Good To Know
Visiting The Havelis of Jaisalmer
Which is the best haveli in Jaisalmer?
- Patwon Ki Haveli, for its scale and its restored interiors. If you have time for one more, Nathmal Ki Haveli's facade can be admired from the lane outside.
How many havelis are in Patwon Ki Haveli?
- Five, built side by side by one merchant family in the first half of the nineteenth century.
More in Jaisalmer: every sight in Jaisalmer
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