Jodhpur stands at the edge of the Thar desert and was citadel of the ancient Marwar kingdom.This bustling desert city is the second largest city in Rajasthan after Jaipur and has landscape dominated by the massive Meherangarh Fort topping a sheer rocky ridge. The old city is fenced by 10 km long wall with eight Gates leading out of it. The new city is outside the walled city. Rao Jodha, a chief of the Rathore clan, founded the city in 1459 and it is named after him. The Afghans drove the Rathores out of their original homeland Kaunaj and they fled to this region around Pali a short distance from present day Jodhpur. A manoeuvre lead to marriage between Rathore Siahaji and the sister of a local prince that helped the Rathores to establish and strengthen themselves in this region. In fact they flourished so well that managed to oust the Pratiharas of Mandore, just 9 km of present day Jodhpur. By 1459 a need for more secured capital lead to the founding of Meherangarh Fort on its rocky perch and Jodhpur was thus founded by Rao Jodha.

The Rathores enjoyed good relations with the Mughals and Maharaja Jaswant Singh (1678) supported Shah Jahan in the latter's struggle for war of succession. Only problematic relationship they had was with Aurangzeb. After Auranzeb's death Maharaja Ajit Singh drove out Mughals from Ajmer and added it to Marwar. In the reign of Maharaja Umed Singh Jodhpur grew into a fine modern city. The quintessence of Jodhpur was its valour and equestrian skill. Polo has been the traditional sport of the Jodhpur nobility since medieval times

Climate

Summer : Max 42.2 degree C to min 36.6 degree C
Winter : Max 27.5 degree C to min 15.5 degree C
Rainfall : 31.87 cms

How to get there

Air: The Jodhpur Airport is 5 km away from the city center it has daily flights to Delhi, Mumbai, Udaipur and Jaipur. The Telephone Number of the Jodhpur Airport is : 2512617 Airlines connect Jodhpur with Jaipur, Delhi, Udaipur and Bombay.
Rail: Jodhpur is well connected by train from Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata. Jaisalmer, Bikaner, Jaipur, Abu Road, via Ahmedabad Barmer and Udaipur via Marwar. The booking office Number is: 2636407
Road: A convenient mode of travel to Jodhpur is by road.The main highway between Jodhpur and Jaisalmer is via Agoli and Pokaran.Well connected by bus from Agra, Ahmedabad, Ajmer,Delhi,Jaipur,Jaisalmer and Udaipur. By road Jodhpur to Agra 577 kms, Ajmer 198 kms, Barmer 220 kms, Bikaner 240 kms, Bombay 1073 kms, Delhi 592 kms, Jaipur 343 kms, Jaisalmer 290 kms, Mount Abu 264 kms, Udaipur 275 kms, Ranakpur 175 kms. Regular bus services available from Jodhpur to Ahmedabad, Ajmer, Jaipur, Udaipur, Jaisalmer, Bikaner, Ranakpur and Nathdwara.