Lodarva, Jaisalmer, Rajasthan India

The golden hued fort is a sentinel to the bleak desert escape from its 80 meter high perch on the hill, housing the entire township within its ramparts. It has an enchanting cow-web of narrow lanes dotted lanes doted with some lovely havelis, three beautiful sculptured Jain temples of the 12th-15th century A.D. and five interconnected palaces.

In the 12 century Mohd. Gauri invaded Lodurva and destroyed the city. Raja Bhoj Dev was also killed. Later Bhoj Dev’s nephew Jaisal built a new fort called Jaisalmer. The only witnesses to its former splendour are the Jain temples here, dating earlier than the ones in Jaisalmer. Also Moomal-ki-Meri, a ruined castle of the beauty princess Moomal, is still there to whisper the immortal love legends of Moomal-Mahendra.