A tank dug against the desert
Jaisalmer gets very little rain, and some years almost none. Every drop that fell had to be caught, kept and guarded. Gadisar was the city's answer.
Why a tank: the fort on its hill had wells, but a growing city needed far more water than wells could give.
A natural hollow: the Bhati rulers found one below the town, where rainwater gathered from the surrounding rocky ground, and turned it into a great tank.
The first reservoir: local tradition says Rawal Jaisal, the founder of the city, made it in the twelfth century, and that it was then known after him.
At a glance
- Built
- First tank by tradition 12th century; rebuilt in the 14th
- Built by
- Rawal Jaisal, by tradition; rebuilt by Maharawal Gadsi Singh
- Open
- An open-air lake; we come at sunrise
- Allow
- One to two hours
- Best time
- Sunrise, and the hour before sunset
- Photography
- Welcome; ask before photographing people at prayer
- Getting there
- About 1.5 km south of the fort
- The name: the lake owes its shape and name to Maharawal Gadsi Singh, who rebuilt and enlarged it in the fourteenth century. Gadi-sar means Gadsi's lake, from sar, a lake or tank.
- Six hundred years of water: a brief monsoon storm sent water rushing across the catchment into the tank, and the town lived on that store through the long dry months.
- The ghats: the banks were lined with stone steps so water could be drawn at any level, and temples and shrines rose around the edge.
- Acts of piety: rulers, merchants and ordinary families added pavilions, steps and small temples over the centuries.
- Everyone's duty: keeping the tank clean. In the old days nobody would dream of washing clothes in the drinking water.
- New water: in the twentieth century it came from deep tube wells and later the Indira Gandhi Canal, which carries water from the rivers of Punjab hundreds of kilometres across the desert.
- From lifeline to promenade: Gadisar became a place to walk, pray and sit in the evening.
- Rising and falling: it still fills in a good monsoon. In a dry year the water shrinks well back from the steps, and in a good year it laps at the pavilions.
- Desert water works: villages depended on talabs or tanks; kunds, round covered cisterns fed by a sloping apron of ground; and khadins, fields catching runoff behind earth embankments.
- Masters of water: Gadisar is the grandest example of the desert people's skill in the city. Our page on Kuldhara shows how the Paliwal farmers used the same ideas in the fields.
Tilon ki Pol, the courtesan's gate
The way down to the water passes under a tall, carved yellow gateway. Every guide in Jaisalmer will stop you here, because the story of this gate is too good not to tell.
A famous and wealthy courtesan, remembered as Tilon, gave the city a finely carved gateway at the head of the path to the water. The ruler was offended and ordered it pulled down. Tilon was quicker. She had a shrine to Krishna built on top, nobody would dare demolish a temple, and the gate stands still.
The king's pride: he felt it beneath his dignity to pass under a gate paid for by a courtesan.
Facts to know
- Name
- Tilon ki Pol
- Date
- Usually dated to the 19th century
- On top
- A shrine to Krishna
- Best view
- From the far side of the lake
- Versions vary: you will hear different names and dates from different storytellers.
- Why we tell it: this was a town of strong rules and strong personalities, where wealth, faith and pride were always bargaining with each other.
- Family humour: some of our older relatives still say they would rather walk around the gate than through it, and they say it with a smile.
- The carving: the arch has the same balconies, brackets and screens as the havelis of the old town, and the shrine on top has its own small dome.
- For children: spot the elephants in the carving.
- The view: from the far side of the lake the gate frames the water and the fort behind it, one of the loveliest views in Jaisalmer.
Around the lake, from the gate to the far bank
Gadisar is best seen slowly, on foot first and then from the water. This is the walk we take with our guests.
The ghats below the gate
The path: through the gate it runs down to broad stone steps at the water's edge.
- At sunrise: a few people at prayer, a man sweeping the steps and pigeons settling on the pavilion roofs.
- Sit first: for a few minutes before you do anything else. The water is usually perfectly still at this hour, and the reflections are the reason you came.
The pavilions in the water
Chhatris: small domed pavilions stand on stone platforms in the lake, some joined to the shore and some on their own.
- What they were for: places to sit, to pray and to enjoy the cool air over the water.
- Full or low: when the lake is full they seem to float. When the water is low you can see the platforms and steps that hold them up.
The temples on the banks
Who they honour: little temples and shrines line the edge, dedicated to Krishna, Shiva and other gods.
- Family shrines: many old-town families still pray at a particular shrine, sometimes the one their grandparents used.
- Manners: take off your shoes on the temple steps and step aside for anyone at prayer.
A boat at first light
The boats: mostly simple rowing and pedal boats, rented out on the lake.
- At sunrise: when the water is calm and empty, an unhurried row past the pavilions is one of the gentlest pleasures in Rajasthan.
- Later: the boats are busy, and the lake loses its quiet.
The far bank and the view of the fort
- The view back: across the water to the gate, the pavilions and, rising behind the town, the walls of the fort.
- For photographers: be here in the first golden light, when the fort catches the sun and the lake is still in shade.
Fish and birds
The fish: large ones gather at the steps whenever someone throws food, and many visitors feed them.
- Please don't: throw bread. It is bad for the water.
- Winter birds: ducks and other migrants rest on the lake, and herons and egrets fish along the edges. Bring binoculars.
Local tip
Ask the boatman to row you along the edge, close to the pavilions, before anyone else is on the water.
How a desert tank works
Stand on the top step and look away from the water, at the rocky slope behind the lake. That bare ground is as important as the lake itself.
The catchment: a tank works because of the land around it that sheds rainwater towards it.
The site: builders chose a low point where water would naturally gather.
Holding it: they built up embankments and lined the edges with stone so the banks would not wash away.
Facts to know
- Catchment
- The land that sheds rain towards the tank
- Embankments
- Built up to hold the water
- Ghats
- Steps to reach water at any level
- In drought
- The town rationed water
- The steps: the ghats let people reach the water at any level as it fell through the dry season.
- In drought: in most years the lake never dried out completely, but in drought years the water sank low and the town rationed it.
- More than decoration: pavilions and temples gave shade and rest to those who came for water, and turned engineering into a sacred place.
- Water and faith: in Rajasthan stepwells, tanks and lakes are always lined with shrines, and keeping them clean is a religious as well as a practical duty.
- Further on: in Jodhpur or Bundi, look for the great stepwells. Read our guide to the stepwells of Rajasthan.
- The catchment today: built over in places, with roads and houses where water once ran freely towards the lake.
- Restoration: conservation groups and the town have worked to clean and restore Gadisar, but its health depends on the rain and on what the town upstream sends into it.
- The other side of the story: up on the hill, too much water is now the problem. Our Jaisalmer Fort guide explains it.
Life at the lake through the year
Gadisar is where Jaisalmer comes to breathe. Watch for an hour and you'll see the whole town pass through.
Early morning: the devout, the walkers and the old men who meet here to talk every day of their lives.
Later: schoolchildren on outings.
Evening: families sit by the water, buy roasted peanuts and watch the sky turn pink.
- Newlyweds: couples sometimes come to pray at the lake temples.
- Festival days: the ghats fill with women in bright odhnis, the long veils of Rajasthan.
- Gangaur: in spring, women carry images of the goddess Gauri in procession, and in many Rajasthani towns it ends at a lake or tank.
- The Desert Festival: in February the town is full of musicians and visitors, and the lake is a calm escape. Read about the Desert Festival.
- After a good monsoon: usually in August, the lake is full and the town celebrates the water with prayers and offerings.
- Ask what's on: our guides will tell you what is happening when you visit.
- Small museums: cultural centres around the lake are devoted to the folk life, music and puppetry of the desert.
- Run by enthusiasts: they are modest, and some are run locally rather than by the state. Ask your guide which are open.
Local tip
An hour with someone who has spent a lifetime collecting desert textiles, instruments and household objects can be one of the most interesting hours in Jaisalmer.
The panihari and the songs of water
Ask a Manganiyar singer for a song about water and he will smile, tune his kamaicha and sing of the panihari, the woman who walks to the lake for water. Every desert family knows the tune.
Women's work: for centuries, fetching water was done by women and girls, twice a day, to Gadisar or the village tank.
Pots on heads: often several stacked one on another, cushioned by a twisted ring of cloth, the indhoni.
A place to meet: the walk was hard, but it was where women talked, joked and shared news far from the ears of the household.
- The panihari songs: a young wife at the well, a traveller asking for a drink, a husband away with the caravans, and the longing of the dry months for the first rain.
- Still sung: at weddings and in evening concerts on hotel terraces and village courtyards around Jaisalmer.
- Our evenings: Manganiyar musicians, paid properly and directly, and we often ask for a water song. Read about the Manganiyar singers.
- Pots today: brass and copper water pots are still made and sold in the bazaars.
- Water today: in the villages women still carry it from tanks and tankers.
- Never far from mind: water is rarely far from anyone's thoughts in the Thar, and a monsoon that fails is still a disaster for the district's herders and farmers.
- At dawn: sitting by Gadisar, you sit by the reason the city exists.
Local tip
If you hear a panihari song, think of the steps you walked down at sunrise.
Who will love Gadisar, and how to make it yours
Gadisar is not a grand monument. It is a mood, and it suits some travellers perfectly.
Couples
- The romance: a quiet boat at sunrise, a flask of tea and the fort turning gold across the water.
- Breakfast: we can arrange a simple one at a quiet spot on the far bank. See our Rajasthan honeymoons page.
Families
- What children enjoy: the boats, the fish and the pigeons, and the story of the courtesan who outwitted a king.
- Safety: come early, before the heat, and keep a close eye on small children near the water, as the steps have no railings.
Photographers
Before dawn: arrive with a tripod.
- The classics: reflections of the pavilions, and the fort from the far bank.
- The better pictures: often the people on the ghats, if you ask first.
Who may not love it
- The wrong hour: at midday, with the lake low, the boats busy and the hawkers out, you may wonder what the fuss is about.
- Our rule: we bring guests at dawn, and would rather you skipped the lake than saw it at the wrong hour.
The best hour and the best season
The lake has one perfect hour, and it begins about twenty minutes before the sun comes up.
Sunrise: the water is still, the light soft and the ghats quiet, and the pavilions sit in their reflections as if painted.
How long: arrive just before dawn and stay for an hour.
Then the fort: drive up as it wakes, one of the best mornings in Rajasthan.
Facts to know
- Best hour
- Sunrise, from just before dawn
- Second best
- The hour before sunset
- Season
- October to March
- Fullest
- After good rains, August to winter
- Lowest
- Late spring and early summer
- Before sunset: warm light and families out at the lake, though busier, with water often stirred up by boats.
- The season: October to March. In December and January you'll want a shawl at dawn.
- Winter birds: migrants rest on the lake.
- Water level: depends on the previous monsoon. After good rains, from August into the winter months, the lake is full and at its most beautiful.
- Late spring: it can shrink a long way, and the heat makes anything but an early visit hard work.
- Month by month: our best time to visit Jaisalmer guide.
How to visit Gadisar well
Gadisar is an easy, open place to visit, and a few small choices decide whether you find it magical or merely busy.
Come early: we pick our guests up at their hotel in the dark so they are on the ghats before the sun.
Shoes: ones you can slip off at the temples. Watch your footing, as the steps can be uneven and, near the water, slippery.
- Access: most of the lake edge is reached by steps, so it can be hard for wheelchair users or anyone who finds stairs difficult.
- Still lovely from above: the view from the gate and the top of the ghats. Our accessible travel page has more advice.
- The boat: choose a quiet one at first light, and ask the boatman to keep to the edge so you see the pavilions closely.
- Photography: welcome at the lake. Ask before photographing people at prayer, and keep the camera down inside the temples unless told it's fine. Our photography tips cover dawn light.
- Care for the lake: don't feed bread to the fish, and take your rubbish with you. The lake still has to look after itself.
- Cash: a little, for a cup of chai at the stalls near the gate, and for a donation if you visit a temple.
A sunrise morning at Gadisar, hour by hour
This is the morning we plan most often for guests on their first full day in Jaisalmer. It asks for one early alarm and repays it many times over.
Before dawn
- The pickup: we collect you from your hotel in the dark. From Suryagarh it is a short drive.
- Under the gate: walk down through Tilon ki Pol about twenty minutes before the sun comes up.
First light on the ghats
- Sit and watch: the sky turns from grey to rose, the water lies still and the pavilions sit in their reflections.
- The town arrives: the devout, the walkers and the old men who meet here every day.
On the water
- A rowing boat: past the pavilions while the lake is empty, keeping close to the edge.
- The far bank: afterwards, walk round for the fort catching the sun while the lake is still in shade.
Chai, then the fort
A cup at the gate: chai from the stalls near Tilon ki Pol.
- Up the hill: drive to the fort as its lanes wake and the Jain temples begin their morning worship.
- Breakfast: back at your hotel by nine for a long one, with the best of the day already behind you.
What most visitors miss
Most people come for sunset, take a boat and leave. The lake has quieter corners and better hours.
The silence before sunrise
- The best ten minutes: before the sun appears, when the sky goes from grey to rose and the lake reflects it.
- No sellers: nobody is selling anything yet.
The walk around the far bank
- Leave the gate: most visitors stay near it.
- Walk round: for the best views of the fort and the pavilions, with almost nobody else in the frame.
The carving on Tilon ki Pol
- Look up: everybody hears the story. Fewer stop to study the carving, as fine as anything on the havelis of the old town.
The town's daily rhythm
- Watch who comes: the man who feeds the pigeons, the women at their shrine and the walkers in their morning clothes.
- The real life: they are the lake's daily rhythm.
Nearby sights to pair with the lake
Gadisar is the natural start of a Jaisalmer day. From here everything else in town is a few minutes away.
Jaisalmer Fort
- Straight from the lake: drive up and you arrive as the lanes wake and the Jain temples begin their morning worship.
The havelis of the old town
- After the fort: walk down to the merchant houses, the Patwa cluster, Nathmal ki Haveli and the prime minister's house.
Amar Sagar
Where: a few kilometres west of town.
- What: another royal tank with a small palace, steps and a beautifully carved Jain temple, quiet and green in a good year.
- Pair it: with Lodurva, the old Bhati capital.
Bada Bagh at sunset
- End the day: at the royal cenotaphs north of town, built beside another dam that turned the desert green.
- A perfect pair: sunrise at Gadisar, sunset at Bada Bagh.
Where to stay for an early start
Sunrise at the lake means an early alarm. Choose a hotel that makes it easy, and a pool to come back to.
Suryagarh: our first choice for most guests, Suryagarh is about thirteen kilometres from town on the Sam road. A short drive in the dark, and back for a long breakfast by nine.
The Serai: for couples, The Serai is SUJAN's tented camp on private desert land off the Jodhpur road, about forty minutes away, and worth the earlier start.
Facts to know
- First choice
- Suryagarh, about 13 km out
- Couples
- The Serai, about 40 minutes
- Walk to the lake
- A heritage hotel in town
- On foot: guests who want to walk to the lake can choose a heritage hotel in the town itself.
- Compare them: our guide to luxury hotels in Jaisalmer.
- Plan the day: our Jaisalmer itinerary shows how we fit Gadisar into each day plan.
