Last Updated on January 18, 2019

The name Jaisalmer conjures up a picture of a mysterious desert kingdom with a magnificent golden fort standing high with winding lanes leading down to beautiful havelis full of courageous men and beautiful women. There is history, heritage, royalty, architecture, and culture. But beyond the dunes and the fort and all that history, tucked away is an entire ghost city crumbling from its former glory into weathered stones and dried lumps of mud – the ghost village of Kuldhara.

 

Jaisalmer Fort
Jaisalmer Fort

In and around Jaisalmer

We had already spent 4 days in and around Jaisalmer. In these  4 days, we had already spent more than 1 day in and around the fort, visiting all the havelis, Jain temples, the cenotaphs, and museums.  You could explore the bylanes of this fort city and never get bored.

Royal cenotaphs
Royal cenotaphs

We had driven down to Sam desert and watched the sunset after a camel ride.

Haveli in Jaisalmer Fort
Haveli in Jaisalmer Fort

We had stayed a night on the desert at Khuri and enjoyed every bit of it – the traditional dances and just gazing at the stars from the desert camp.

Inside the fort
Inside the fort

We also had time to visit the Akal fossil park and the Desert national park. We even had time to visit Tanot, a village on the border. But what blew us off was a visit to Kuldhara.

Camel ride at Sam desert
Camel ride at Sam desert

Kuldhara

Just 18 km west of Jaisalmer, on the Sam sand dune road, is the village of Kuldhara.

Welcome to Kuldhara
Welcome to Kuldhara

Once a bustling and prosperous settlement of the Paliwal Brahmins, all the residents of Kuldhara and the 83 nearby villages abandoned their houses and vanished suddenly one night in 1825, having lived there since the 1300s. Nobody knows where they went and no one has ever been sure.

Walking through Kuldhara
Walking through Kuldhara

The Paliwals were very smart farmers.  They knew how to cultivate water-intensive crops like wheat in the desert by identifying areas with gypsum rock layers running under the ground surface to ensure water was retained for the crops. The rulers depended on the Paliwals for much of their tax revenues.

Ruins everywhere... in Kuldhara
Ruins everywhere… in Kuldhara

But then why did they abandon everything overnight and vanish into oblivion?  The story is that the Diwan of Jaisalmer,  Salim Singh, is believed to have developed a lecherous eye for the village chief’s daughter who was stunningly beautiful. He was keen on adding the beautiful lady to his harem or else face the threat of unreasonable taxes. With pride and honour overruling all worldly interests, the chiefs of the 84 villages decided to go away in a single night with whatever they could carry with them leaving behind not just their homes but also a curse. That anyone who tried to live in the village would perish.

A restored house in Kuldhara
A restored house in Kuldhara

A sandstone gate welcomed us just before the village. We had to walk about 10 minutes along a sandy path to reach the village. The first sight of Kuldhara village gives you an extraordinary feeling of stumbling into another world. Sandstone houses or whatever remained of them, neatly constructed on either side of wide dusty roads. All the houses were in a fallen state, but still, you could make out that the Paliwal Brahmins excelled in design and architecture.

A restored house in Kuldhara
A restored house in Kuldhara

Some houses had been restored and we could make out the inner courtyards, kitchen areas, and other rooms.  The village had temples and other chathris prooving that Kuldhara must have been a well-planned settlement.

Courtyards and chathri's
Courtyards and chathri’s

While leaving the village we could feel the sadness and helplessness running through the ruins.  An old city had unpeeled its secrets to us.

Jaisalmer Fort at night
Jaisalmer Fort at night
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34 Comments

  1. Mrinal Paliwal Reply

    Good work, this is exactly the true story behind Kuldhara(As narrated by ancestors ). But something is missing in this true story. Paliwal Bhramin migrated on Rakshabandhn(Rakhi), and even todaythe only Bhramin community, who didn’t celebrate Rakhi.

    For More Info.:Mail at mrinal.pali@gmail.com

  2. Shyam foujdar Reply

    This village is very haunted village.The incident with paliwals became bad.But they could’t leave curse.

    • Yes, the village had a very haunted look. But I still can imagine how flourishing and prospering it must have looked during those days.

  3. i have visited kuldhara and have had the experience of enjoying what appears to be a totally different world….by looking at the house structures one can make out the paliwals were very good designers….i went there on a school trip last year,,by the way nice pics..

    • Thanks Swathi. Yes, Kuldhara was an out-of-the-world experience. Everything was surreal. It felt as if we were trespassing into somebody’s home. And yes they were very good architects.

  4. vamsi garimella Reply

    is that really true that they left the place leaving a curse??
    is it know a tourist spot??
    i’m intrested to see this historical place..
    how to reach the place??

    • To answer all your questions, the story of the curse is very much true.
      Regarding the popularity of this place or the projection of this place as a tourist spot, only hardcore travelers tend to travel all the way to Kuldhara. Normally the tourists only cover the other popular spots like the sand dunes and fort. But there are travel agents and taxi cabs that can take you to Kuldhara. Kuldhara is about 18 km from Jaisalmer.

  5. sandeep bhatt. Reply

    wow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! excellent work of photography. I have seen kuldhara; amazing place.

  6. Alhad Godbole Reply

    Malini,
    I feel, you have also abandoned the story the Paliwals in Khabha- Kuladhra. You could have written a novel also. Anyway, I had a trek of 6 days in this region some years back. I tried to find historical or literary referances of this episode. But unfortunately local authors also have neglected it.
    I became upset after going around these places. I witnessed a sunset from the deserted hillock near one of the abandoned village and my friend captured my image in camera, exactly the way you are sitting at a beach as a ‘fulltime dreamer’. But the differance was that I was lost in 1825 instead of 21st century!

    • The Paliwal story was one among the most touching stories I had ever heard. It was so surreal to walk into their village, I felt as if someone would run out from the their houses and greet me. And I guess there is not many references in literature about this overnight abandonment. We got the story from the old gate keeper. Have I abandoned the story of the Paliwals, Alhad Sir. Then I guess it is time to revisit the place, again.

  7. Diwakar Paliwal Reply

    Thanxx. The history u wrote is really true about our ancestors…

  8. Thank’s : nice place and very interesting story in my knowledge so pls give more information on any of these type of stories in the India..

    • Thanks Anant. Kuldhara was one kind of a place and had one kind of a story. Will sure include these kind of places in my future posts. Thanks again for writing in.

  9. The photos are just breath-taking. I have seen this place but seeing the same thru your lens is another experience, I must thank you. Well I have also heard the same fable as you heard. We went on a bike ride there way back in 2007 when someone told that the film Kachche Dhaage’s (ft. Ajay Devgan, Saif A Khan) climax was shot there.

    • Thanks Manoj for the comments. There is something very mysterious about the location and terrain of Kuldhara. The fable adds to the mystery.

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