Bada Bagh Jaisalmer

About Bada Bagh Jaisalmer
Vital Information for Visitors
Address:

Bada Bagh, Ramgarh Road, Jaisalmer, Rajasthan

Open & Close:

Open on all days – 24X7

Visiting Time:

08 AM – 06 PM

Entry Fees:

For Indians – INR 50

For foreigners – INR 100

Duration:

Approx 1 - 2 hrs

Significance:

Stone built cenotaphs of royal family members

Attraction:

Famous for enchanting sunset view

One of the prominent tourist attractions in Jaisalmer, Bada Bagh is a historical site with amazing view of setting sun. It is often said that a trip to the gleaming ‘golden city of Rajasthan’ is incomplete if the cenotaphs of the royal family are not visited. Located about 6 kms from the main city of Jaisalmer is a garden complex housing royal cenotaphs which is called the ‘Bada Bagh’, literally meaning ‘big garden’. The story goes that the Maharaja back in the 16th century, who was also the one who founded the city Jaisalmer, Maharaja Rao Jaisal, commissioned a dam to create a water tank. As a result of water tank, the desert area surrounding the water body started getting greener. After death of Rao Jaisal, his son decided to build a memorial to honour his father for turning a desert area into beautiful green field. The memorial was built near the dam and a huge garden had been created around it. Although as years have passed, so has the greenery, and now there isn’t any trace of the garden anymore, but the space is still beautiful for its intricately carved cenotaphs built by many from the Bhatti rulers.

These were constructed for rulers, kings & queens of the royal family, when they passed away. Each ruler’s cenotaph has a marble slab with inscriptions about the ruler along with an image of a man on a horse. The cenotaphs are called ‘Chattris’ in Hindi as these are shaped with the tomb like structure on top. It is truly beautiful to see them rising out of golden sand. The tradition of building cenotaphs or ‘chattris’ for the rulers that passed away continued for a long time, until the last one being of ‘Maharaja Jawahar Singh’. His cenotaph remains incomplete. It is believed that while it was being constructed, his son ascended the throne but he met sudden death. Owing to this, people started believing that the ‘chattri’ brought some kind of threat or bad omen and ever since, the construction of cenotaphs stopped in Jaisalmer. Although all cenotaphs are built of the same stone without any color contrast, those vary in size and shape. The size of a cenotaph is indicative of the ruler’s power, prowess and strength. The cenotaphs of more powerful kings or royal family members are bigger in size. While the memorials for the soldiers, kings and princes who fought battles and lost their lives have a little horse and a man to depict the scene, there are cenotaphs for women and the little princesses as well. It is said that these are standing tall to depict the practice of ‘sati’. Sati was a practice performed by Rajput women folks to throw themselves alive into a burning pyre to prefer sacrificing their lives rather than being captive of Muslim invaders.

The entire patch of sand, with crumbled structures & broken figures, although looks abandoned, is filled with stories and memories of those who are no longer there with us. The beauty is truly unmistakable and makes for a beautiful background for pictorial setting for lifelong memories. Bada Bagh’s magnificence, coupled with a gorgeous setting sun, will have anyone stumped.

Jaisalmer Tour Packages

Cultural Rajasthan Tour

Cultural Rajasthan Tour

14 Nights / 15 Days
Destination : Delhi- Mandawa- Bikaner- Jaisalmer- Jodhpur- Kumbhalgarh- Udaipur- Bundi-Ranthambhore- Jaipur

Golden Triangle with Jaisalmer Tour

Golden Triangle with Jaisalmer Tour

6 Nights / 7 Days
Destination : Delhi - Agra - Jaipur - Jaisalmer

Mansions & Havelis of Rajasthan Tours

Mansions & Havelis of Rajasthan Tours

11 Nights / 12 Days
Destination : Delhi-Jaipur-Mandawa-Bikaner-Jaisalmer-Jodhpur-Rohet-Ranakpur-Udaipur-Dungarpur

North India Holidays Tour

North India Holidays Tour

12 Nights / 13 Days
Destination : Delhi-Jodhpur – Jaisalmer- Udaipur- Jaipur- Agra- Varanasi

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