A son of Rao Jodha and his fort
As the Rathores spread across the desert, brothers and cousins took grants of land, each with villages, wells and grazing. Rao Karamsji took the country on the eastern edge of the Thar, between Jodhpur and Nagaur, and in 1523 he began a fort at Khimsar. His descendants, the Karamsot Rathores, have held it ever since.
A thikana seat: like Rohet and Chandelao, Khimsar was the seat of a thikana, a noble estate that owed soldiers and loyalty to Jodhpur in return for its land. Our note on rawlas and thikanas explains how they worked.
- Begun
- 1523
- Builder
- Rao Karamsji, eighth son of Rao Jodha
- Clan
- Karamsot Rathores
- Also spelt
- Khinvsar
- District
- Nagaur
- On the road between forts: Khimsar lay between Mehrangarh in Jodhpur and Ahhichatragarh in Nagaur, and armies and governors passed through. The family's history records that the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb stayed here while in the Nagaur region.
- From fort to house: over the centuries the family added wings and courtyards, and the old defensive fort slowly became a home.
- Still the family's: the fort remains the ancestral home of the Karamsot line, and members of the family still live in part of it.
- After Independence: like the rest of the nobility, the family lost its estates, and it opened the fort to guests to keep it standing.
How the hotel works today
The brand: the hotel is run with ITC Hotels as the Welcomhotel Fort and Dunes, Khimsar, so service and facilities follow hotel standards rather than a homestay's.
The family: part of the fort is still the family residence. Their private side is not part of a stay, but their presence keeps the house connected to the town.
- Two places in one: the fort itself, and the dune village among the sand about eight kilometres away. They are run together, and you can stay at either or both.
- More than a village fort: compared with Rohet Garh or Chandelao Garh, Khimsar is larger, with more facilities, several places to eat and a spa.
- What that means: more comfort and choice, a little less of the intimacy of dining with the family. For many guests, especially families, it is the right balance.
Inside the walls
Built for defence: thick, plain outer walls of local stone with round bastions at the corners, from which archers and later gunners covered the approaches.
Softer inside: courtyards open one into the next, with arched verandas, carved balconies and jharokhas, the screened windows from which the women of the household watched the courtyards below.
- The pool: the swimming pool sits inside the old walls, framed by the fort, the former stables and domed chhatris. On a hot afternoon it is the best place in the district.
- Old rooms and new: rooms in the historic fort have thick walls, old furniture and small windows over the town. Rooms in later wings are lighter and more spacious, and often better for families.
- The ramparts: climb up at sunset to watch the town below, with cows coming home, temple bells and children flying kites from the roofs.
- Read the details: our architecture guide explains bastions, jharokhas and chhatris in plain words.
The dune village
The huts: round cottages modelled on the thatched huts of a Marwari dhani, a desert hamlet, with earth-coloured walls outside and hotel comforts inside.
The setting: gentle dunes, khejri trees and a small lake. Nothing else in sight but sand and sky.
- Distance from fort
- About 8 km, roughly fifteen minutes
- Style
- Round huts modelled on a desert dhani
- Setting
- Low dunes, khejri trees and a small lake
- Best for
- Couples and a second night
- Do
- Sunrise, sunset, camel rides, dinner outside
- The evenings: a fire, folk musicians and dinner under the stars, then silence.
- The mornings: tea on the sand as the light comes up over the dunes, which is when the desert is at its most beautiful.
- How we use it: our favourite plan is one night in the fort and one in the dunes. With one night only, we arrange sunset on the sand and dinner back at the fort.
- Not Sam: these are the rolling dunes of the desert's eastern edge, not the great sand seas of Sam near Jaisalmer, and they are far quieter.
Eating at Khimsar
Many settings: the fort has several places to eat, including a cafe in an old watchtower, a rooftop and dinners on the ramparts. The dune village has its own restaurant by the lake.
Ask for Marwar: laal maas, mutton fiery with red chillies, and safed maas, cooked gently in cream and ground nuts. The old game recipes are now made with mutton and chicken.
- The desert table: bajra roti with garlic chutney and buttermilk, ker sangri, gatte in yoghurt curry, kadhi, and in winter bajre ki khichdi, millet slow-cooked with lentils and ghee.
- Nagauri methi: Nagaur district is famous for its fragrant fenugreek, dried and sold across India as kasuri methi. You will taste it in the curries and parathas.
- Sweets: churma, crumbled wheat fried in ghee with sugar, and lapsi, a broken-wheat pudding made for celebrations.
- Cooking and thali: the hotel offers cooking sessions and a Rajasthani thali. Our ker sangri piece explains the desert's great vegetable dish.
Spa, pool and slow afternoons
The spa: the fort has a spa, Vishranti, offering massages and therapies, along with a sauna. Treatment menus change, so we confirm what is offered on your dates.
The pool: a swim inside the sixteenth-century walls, with chhatris above, is the great afternoon pleasure here.
- Keeping active: there is a fitness room, and space for outdoor games and tennis for families who need to burn energy.
- Morning yoga: the ramparts at sunrise are a fine place for it, with the town waking below.
- More wellness: our spas and Ayurveda page explains longer wellness stays across Rajasthan.
Blackbuck, chinkara and desert birds
Blackbuck: males are black and white with corkscrew horns, females and young a soft fawn. They graze the open fields around Khimsar, often close to villages.
Why they survive: largely thanks to the Bishnoi, whose faith forbids harming animals and cutting green trees. Read about Bishnoi conservation.
- Chinkara and nilgai: the small Indian gazelle keeps to rougher scrub and dunes, while the big blue-grey nilgai wander the farmland.
- After dark: desert foxes and jackals come out at dusk, and peacocks call from the trees around the fort.
- Winter birds: larks and wheatears on bare ground, harriers over the fields and, in good years, sandgrouse coming in to drink at first light.
- How we drive: slowly, on village tracks, at a distance, and never chasing anything for a photograph. Our jeep safari in the Thar explains our approach.
Slow things to do at Khimsar
A jeep drive into the dunes
- When: late afternoon, across farm tracks and sand to a dune with a wide view.
- Why: tea and the sunset, and blackbuck in the fields on the way back.
A camel ride at sunset
- How: a short, gentle ride with local herders who know their animals well.
- Longer rides: our camel safari page describes longer journeys for keen riders.
A village walk
- What you see: a potter at his wheel, a farming family's courtyard and a tanka, the covered underground tank that stores monsoon rain.
- Etiquette: accept tea, ask before photographs, and give nothing to children.
Breakfast on the ramparts
- The plan: take breakfast to the top of the fort, watch the town wake up, and do nothing at all until lunch.
Dinner under the stars
- Where: on the dunes or in a fort courtyard lit with lamps, with musicians and a fire.
- When: a moonless winter night, for the best stars. Our stargazing page tells you what to look for.
Places to combine with Khimsar
Nagaur and its fort
- Distance: about 42 kilometres, under an hour.
- Why go: Ahhichatragarh, restored by the Mehrangarh Museum Trust, with painted palaces, water channels and fountains, and a Sufi shrine that has drawn pilgrims for centuries.
Osian and its temples
- Why go: Hindu and Jain temples of the eighth to twelfth centuries, a hilltop goddess and dunes of its own.
- How: an easy half day, lovely on the drive between Jodhpur and Khimsar.
Merta and Meera Bai
- The story: Merta was taken by Rao Duda, another son of Rao Jodha, and his granddaughter was Meera Bai, the princess-poet devoted to Krishna, whose songs are still sung across India.
The marble of Makrana
- Why go: the quarries whose white marble went into the Taj Mahal and Jodhpur's Jaswant Thada. Our marble craft page explains the trade.
Deshnoke and Bikaner
- Heading north: the Karni Mata temple at Deshnoke lies on the road to Bikaner, about three hours away, with the red fort of Junagarh.
When to stay
Winter: sunny days, comfortable dunes from late afternoon and cold nights. You will want a shawl on the ramparts and a fire in the dune village.
Summer: severe heat and dusty afternoon winds. The thick walls and the pool help, but we plan only very early and very late outings.
- Best months
- October to March
- Loveliest
- February and March
- Coldest nights
- December and January
- Hottest
- April to June, often over 40°C
- Big event
- Nagaur Cattle Fair, month of Magh
- Monsoon: July to September can bring dramatic storms and a quick green flush as farmers sow their bajra.
- The fair: the Nagaur Cattle Fair, held in the Hindu month of Magh, usually January or February, fills the fairground with camels, bullocks and herders. Khimsar is a calm base for it. We confirm the dates each year.
- Festivals at home: Diwali, Holi and Gangaur are celebrated warmly in the town.
What most visitors miss
The bastions up close: walk the outer walls and look at the round bastions and the narrow openings for archers and guns. The fort was built for war long before it was built for guests.
The town at dusk: from the ramparts you hear the call to prayer and the temple bells at the same moment, a reminder of how communities share these desert towns.
- How long to allow
- Two nights
- Best hour on the ramparts
- Sunset
- Best hour for blackbuck
- Dawn and dusk
- Bring
- Binoculars, a shawl, a scarf
- The tanka: in any village nearby, ask to see a tanka fill its apron of plastered ground. It explains how people have lived here for centuries.
- The khejri trees: look at how the farmers leave them standing in every field. Their pods are sangri, their leaves fodder, and their roots hold the sand.
- Nagauri bullocks: the white bullocks of this district are prized across Rajasthan. You will see them pulling carts and ploughs on the drive.
- The first light in the dunes: guests who sleep in the dune village and get up for sunrise talk about it for years.
Who will love it, and who won't
Tired city travellers: after busy days in Jaipur or Jodhpur, Khimsar gives you no queues, no touts and no crowded monuments.
Families: children love the ramparts, the pool, the camels, the dune huts and spotting blackbuck. The newer rooms and short drives make it easy.
- Couples: the dune village, with its fire and stars, is one of the most romantic nights in Marwar.
- The curious: in a single day you can meet a farming family, see how rain is stored and watch blackbuck beside a Bishnoi village.
- Not for you if: you need constant activity, shopping or a choice of restaurants in town. Outside the hotel, Khimsar is a small place.
- In high summer: unless you love heat, choose somewhere else entirely.
How Khimsar fits our journeys
Desert triangle: our desert triangle journey ends with a night at Khimsar after Bikaner, before returning to Jodhpur.
Village Rajasthan: in the Village Rajasthan journey, Khimsar has two nights between the Shekhawati town of Alsisar and the family fort of Rohet.
- From Jodhpur: a palace night at Umaid Bhawan Palace or RAAS Jodhpur followed by Khimsar gives you the city and then the desert.
- Towards Bikaner: many guests drive Jodhpur, Khimsar, Nagaur and Bikaner as one unhurried loop, staying at Laxmi Niwas Palace in Bikaner.
- Compare: our guide to luxury hotels in Jodhpur sets Khimsar beside the other village forts.
Getting there
Arriving: we meet you in Jodhpur and drive out, often stopping at Osian on the way.
- From Jodhpur
- About two hours by road
- Nearest airport
- Jodhpur (JDH)
- To Nagaur
- About 42 km, under an hour
- To Bikaner
- About three hours
- To Jaipur
- About five to six hours
- Leaving east: Jaipur is reached by way of Merta and Ajmer, a long but interesting drive.
- Planning: our guide to road distances and drive times helps plan each leg.
What we tell friends before Khimsar
Stay a full day: a single night after a long drive shows you very little.
Split the stay: one night in the fort, one in the dunes, if you can.
- Pack warm: between November and February, desert nights are colder than visitors expect.
- Bring binoculars: for blackbuck and birds, and a scarf to keep sand out of your face on the dunes.
- In villages: ask before photographs, especially of women, and accept tea if it is offered.
- In temples: cover shoulders and knees and remove shoes at every shrine.