How's life inside India's oldest living fort? And why is it called so?

Most forts in India are museums now. You buy a ticket, walk through empty courtyards, admire old cannons, and leave with a few photographs. But Jaisalmer Fort is different. Inside its massive sandstone walls, people still wake up every morning, open shops, cook meals, run guesthouses, and carry groceries through narrow medieval lanes.

That is why Jaisalmer Fort is called India’s oldest “living fort.”

Built in 1156 AD by Rajput ruler Rawal Jaisal, this magnificent structure seems to appear like an ethereal mirage out of the Thar Desert. While most historical forts tend to lose their residents with time, the Jaisalmer Fort continued to be inhabited even after all this time. Thousands of people continue to live in the Jaisalmer Fort till date, making it one of the rare examples of a living fort.

Which, needless to say, makes the experience completely different.

Living the life of a town inside a fort

Right as travellers step in through the massive gates of this fort, the atmosphere becomes far from what one expects of a historical monument. Motorcycles make their way down streets too narrow for two people to walk abreast. Kids chase each other past Jain temples dating back several centuries.

There are:

• family homes
• temples
• handicraft shops
• restaurants
• guesthouses
• small hotels
• tiny courtyards
• local markets

The fort does not pause for tourism because daily life continues inside it.

This is what makes it quite peculiar. While most monuments act as preservers of history by design, Jaisalmer Fort is a preserver of history by accident, due to the fact that nobody ever left the monument.

Why is it called the Golden Fort?

Another name for Jaisalmer Fort is Sonar Quila, which means the Golden Fort because of its golden-coloured sandstone architecture. The Fort looks honey-coloured during daytime, but at sunrise and sunset, it looks deeply colored in gold against the desert backdrop.

It gained popularity further when the name was used in the famous Bengali film 'Sonar Kella' by filmmaker Satyajit Ray.

But the structure was built for much more than just beauty. Its sandstone walls, balcony carving, courtyards, and lattice work served to protect residents from the harsh desert climate before air conditioning was even invented. Many traditional houses within were able to stay naturally cooler than their external temperature.

The fort was once a complete city

For hundreds of years, Jaisalmer Fort was not just a fortress, but the city as well. Its geographical position on the medieval trading route that linked India to Central Asia made it rich beyond measure. Caravans loaded with silk, spices, fabrics, opium, and valuable goods used to pass through this desert city all the time. The ruling family got richer taxing this commerce.

The fort even went on to develop a complex defensive mechanism with 99 bastions of which most survive until today. Perched on Trikuta Hill, the fort provided rulers with panoramic views of the desert and arriving caravans.

Not like other abandoned forts in India, the economy here never died because the fort housed people.

Life inside a UNESCO World Heritage Site

Jaisalmer Fort has been there for centuries when modern plumbing and hotels, cafes, and tourism were unheard of. Several sections of the foundation of Jaisalmer Fort have been adversely affected due to leakage. Conserving experts keep expressing their worries about infrastructure strain resulting from rising tourism activities. This contradiction, however, is what makes Jaisalmer Fort unique.

Jaisalmer Fort is not stuck in time; it is loud, bustling, commercial, spiritual, historical, and lively all at once. Jaisalmer Fort maintains a perfect balance between heritage and survival. Few places on earth do this anymore.

What visitors will always remember

Visitors come to see a beautiful fort but remember the ambience instead.

The sounds of ringing temple bells reverberating through narrow sandstone passages. The sight of havelis carved into golden beauty under the glow of the sun. The vastness of the Thar Desert as viewed from rooftops. The elders gossiping outside the walls of houses far older than several countries.