Another day, another early start. This time the local bus was waiting for us in front of the hotel, which made the commute easier. It was still cold but not as cold as the local train. The chair were very comfortable also and between sleeping and snaking on Chocopie biscuits, the 8 hours ride from Jaisalmer to Jodhpur passed faster.
Prepare your trip to India with the Lonely Planet guides. Click on the photos see the more details:
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We arrived in Jodhpur in the afternoon and we didn’t have a lot of time before arriving to the hotel and leaving for the Mehrangarh fort. We were to have only half a day in the second biggest city of Rajasthan and the plan was to zip-line at sunset. I hesitated because of my fear of flights but in the end I told myself that it’s a once in a lifetime opportunity to “fly” above a fort in India so I did it.
The zip-line centre is located inside the fort and by doing this at sunset you get to wonder around a bit alone, without the tourists inside, at the end. Flying Fox has been operating in Jodhpur for over 10 years now and they appear even in the Lonely Planet as one of the best activities in the area. They have 6 zip-lines that sum 300 meters in total and pass over 2 lakes. We also trekked through the Rao Jodha eco-park while going from one zip-line to the other and enjoyed stunning views of the fort. The adventure comes with a high prices though, 1800 rupees, which for India is a fortune.
The training was simple and fast, we got to test how the equipment works in a beautiful garden, between two trees. Then we climbed some stairs and arrived on an edge of the fort, our starting point. The first line was going over a lake and the distance to it was pretty high. My heart was jumping out of my chest and my hands were already sweaty. I waited and see how everyone else was going while I couldn’t seem to get the courage to be next.
And there is was…. my turn. I didn’t think I got the chance to take a deep breath as the guide pushed me and the journey begin. I screamed and then I opened my eyes and saw the beautiful sights around. It felt that I was sliding very slow, even if it probably took less than a minute to get to the other side.
I started to get used to it by the last line, which took us back to the fort. It was a great experience and an awesome feeling!
At the end we enjoyed the sun setting down over the city. About Jodhpur I can’t tell you a lot due to the fact that we only spent an afternoon there. It is not known why the city is painted blue: some people believe that the color is associated with the Brahmin Caste, India’s priestly caste, and the people living in the blue houses belong to it; other people believe that painting the house blue was a way to keep termites away, due to the chemicals in the paint.
Our guide mentioned that a scene the Batman Dark Knight Rises was filmed at the fort.
*Pictures taken with Samsung Galaxy S4
My boyfriend told me about this and it’s one of the things he regrets the most not doing on his first trip to India! We will definitely have to do it on our trip together! It looks awesome! Thanks for sharing!
This is beautiful! Definitely on my bucketlist. Ziplining to this amazing view is just breathtaking! Though I feel like I’ll be scared a bit. Haha
Oh yeah! I do remember that location in a scene in The Dark Knight Rises. It’s really an amazing place. The zipline looks fun too, seeing the cityscape of Jodhpur above seems to be an eye-candy. I hope I could visit this place in the future soon 🙂
Seems like a beyond amazing experience. I’ll have to add this to my bucket list (even though i’m afraid of heights)
Me too, but it was worth 🙂
Joanna,
I am not comfortable with speed, and scared of heights. So the idea of zip lining is alien to me. BUT, Mehrangarh Fort looks magnificent!
It was the same for me, I was so scared, but the people I was with encouraged me and I did it in the end. It was so much fun, even if I screamed and felt my heart beating very fast. Unfortunately I didn’t have time to visit the fort too, we only had half a day in Jodhpur and by the time we finished the zip line the fort was already closed.
Wow! Your shots are amazing! The adrenaline rush zip lining can give is just BLISS. Hehe. I was hoping you’d have a video of you zip lining, hehe. Cool.
Unfortunately I don’t have a video, just a few pictures. It not a good idea to bring cameras or any other things that can fly from your hand on a zip line 🙂
Wow JoannaI had no clue there was zip-lining here. As usual I believe you are the better than the best when it comes to travelling through India
I had no idea either that you can zip line on top of a fort, haha! It’s a great experience, you should try it once 🙂
Good for you for conquering your fear of heights! I would sure love to immerse myself in the same experience if only I were as brave as you. I’m deathly scared of heights.
I am also very scared of heights, I can’t even look down from the fifth floor. But this time I tried to conquer my fear and just let go. And it was awesome! 🙂
As usual, beautiful post and beautiful photos! Thank you!!
Your images look completely breath-taking; it almost feels as if I’m there! I have always wanted to travel to India, reading this has made me ‘bump’ it up on my list! ^_^ Keep up the amazing work!
Thank you, India is a country with so many amazing things to see in!