Dhruvmakwana1998, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Patwon ki Haveli
Five merchant mansions in yellow sandstone, carved with a fineness that is difficult to credit in stone rather than wood.
What the traders built
Jaisalmer's wealth came from the caravan routes, and the men who financed them built downward from the fort rather than inside it. Patwon ki Haveli is five adjoining mansions raised by one family of brocade and jewellery traders, and it is the finest carved stonework in the city.
Explore Patwon ki Haveli on the map
City locations, drawn from our published destination data. Attractions, hotels and restaurants are not mapped yet.
What to look at
The exterior is the reason to come; the interiors vary a great deal in what has survived and what has been restored.
The facade
- Tier upon tier of jharokha balconies, each with a different screen pattern, cut from the same yellow sandstone as the fort above. The stone is soft when quarried and hardens in air, which is what allowed carving this fine.
The first haveli
- The largest and most elaborate of the five, and the one most visitors mean when they say Patwon ki Haveli. It is the best preserved and holds a museum of household objects, textiles and photographs.
The upper terraces
- Worth the stairs: from the top you look across the rooftops of the old town with the fort standing above them, which is the view that explains the town's layout.
The other four
- In varying states, some restored and some not, and open in part. The contrast between them is the more honest picture of what happens to a merchant house over two centuries.
Getting there
It sits in the lanes below the fort, and walking is both the only practical way and the better one.
On foot
- Ten to fifteen minutes downhill from the fort's main gate through the old town. The lanes are narrow, stepped in places and easy to lose, which is part of the point.
By road
- Vehicles reach the end of the lane and no further. A driver will drop and wait.
With Salim Singh
- Salim Singh ki Haveli is a short walk on, and the two are almost always seen together as one hour or two.
When to go
The carving needs raking light, and the desert decides the season.
Season
- November to February. By April the middle of the day in Jaisalmer is punishing and the lanes offer little shade.
Hour
- Morning. The facade faces so that early light rakes across the carving and picks out the depth; flat midday sun erases it.
How long
- An hour for the main haveli and the terrace. Two if you take in the others and walk the lanes between.
Worth knowing
A few practical things about a building that is five buildings.
Which one you are in
- The five are separately managed and separately ticketed, and not all are open. Establish at the entrance which one you are buying, because "Patwon ki Haveli" is used for all of them.
Stairs
- Steep, narrow and uneven, with low doorways throughout. The terrace view is worth it and is not step-free.
Shopping
- The lane approaching it is a run of textile and craft shops and the pressure is steady. It is also where the good bandhani is, so it cuts both ways.
Photography
- Shoot the facade from the lane opposite rather than head-on beneath it — the tiers only read as tiers from a slight distance.
Nearby
The rest of the golden city.
Frequently asked
Plan your journey
Our travel designers turn knowledge and inspiration into a journey crafted entirely around you.
Plan My Journey →