Stone ruins
And streets.
Dinesh Valke from Thane, India — CC BY-SA 2.0 · कृष्ण कान्त शर्मा — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Dinesh Valke from Thane, India — CC BY-SA 2.0 · कृष्ण कान्त शर्मा — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Pinakpani — CC BY 4.0 · Archan dave — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Pinakpani — CC BY 4.0 · कृष्ण कान्त शर्मा — CC BY-SA 4.0
An abandoned village about 18 km south-west of Jaisalmer, founded around the thirteenth century as a prosperous settlement of the Paliwal community and completely deserted by the early nineteenth century, for reasons no one knows for certain. Explanations vary: dwindling water, an earthquake or, in a famous local legend, the cruelty of Jaisalmer's minister Salim Singh, which drove the villagers to leave together in a single night, giving the village its air of mystery in folk tales. The ruins of stone houses and carefully planned streets remain as witnesses to village life; the Rajasthan government restored some houses and developed the site for visitors in the 2010s, and walking among the silent ruins in the desert is a moving experience. Foreign visitors pay about ₹100, plus a vehicle fee, per visitor guides, and it's open by day only. It lies on the road to the Sam dunes, so it fits easily into a desert trip.
And streets.
Gone in a night.
A desert trip.
About 18 km south-west of Jaisalmer
No one knows for sure: perhaps dwindling water or an earthquake, while a local legend says the cruelty of Jaisalmer's minister drove the villagers away in one night.