Khaba Fort Jaisalmer: Location, History and Visit to Museum
Khaba Fort may be the smallest fort of Jaisalmer, Rajasthan. Much of it is damaged and in ruins. The restoration work is still on and it will be a while before it is restored back to its old glory!
History and stories associated with this fort are interesting and that makes the visit very worthy. The visit to Khaba Fort was part of Experiential Tourism from Suryagarh Resort.
One more fort in Jaisalmer, the largest one: The Jaisalmer Fort
History of Khaba Fort
Almost 200 years ago Khaba Fort and its surroundings was populated by Paliwal Brahmins, a community of Rajasthan. But suddenly one night in the year 1825, due to some mysterious reason they vacated the village. Some say it was overnight desertion of the fort and its surroundings.
There were around 80 families then in these regions. No research on this has yielded any fact about how this sudden disappearance took place or where they went. There are unverified rumors that they moved on to Jodhpur and settled in some place beyond that.
There are stories of how the Paliwal Brahmins before leaving the village cursed the place saying no one would ever be able to inhabit the villages. And to this date there are just ruins, not a sign of life as far as the eye can see.
Paliwal Brahmins since 1291 were prosperous residents of Kuldhara village of Jaisalmer. Till date it is a mystery that why after residing there for 7 centuries they vacated the place overnight.
Legend around desertion of Kuldhara Village
Rajasthan has several interesting legends. One I mentioned on how Kiradu Temple complex came to be known as haunted. This legend is on why Paliwal Brahmins left the Kuldhara villages. The story is:
A minister or Dewan of the kingdom saw the young daughter of the village chief. Bewitched by her beauty he desired to marry her. The girl’s father refused to give his daughter in marriage to him.
This angered the minister and forced the village chief for marrying off his daughter. He gave a deadline for marriage after which he would forcefully enter the village and take his daughter.
The chiefs of all 84 villages met that night. To safeguard their pride and honor they decided to leave the villages in the dark of the night.
Visit to Khaba Fort Jaisalmer
The ruins of some of those deserted villages are visible from Khaba Fort. The remains of the village looks like a well planned settlement with a temple surrounded by several houses.
Strangely none of the houses in the ruins have roofs! The walls are crumbling and no effort is there to maintain them. The whole area has an eerie deserted look and it was just fore noon. You can well imagine the condition middle of a new moon night!
Our guide further told us Khaba Fort was the Sarai Fort (fort at the frontier). The traders who entered Rajasthan via the Silk Route trade stayed inside this fort for a night. Only after they paid taxes they were given the permission to go ahead for trade.
Restoration work is on in the fort. The window frames half made and a couple of guards man the fort. At a distance is the Pakistan border, our guide told us. I looked in the direction he mentioned, all I saw was vast stretch of land with nothing mention worthy in sight!
Museum at Khaba Fort
Today Khaba Fort houses a geological museum with display of fossils. In addition there are various kinds of rock formations too. There are explanatory boards with the display and it is a learning experience.
Location of Khaba Fort Jaisalmer
Khaba Fort can be reached by road. You can drive to the place from Jaisalmer. It is 35 km west of Jaisalmer.
Also check: Jaisalmer Places to Visit and Things to Do
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I love historical ruins, especially those of forts and stories of entire villages being abandoned without any knowledge of why. It’s so intriguing to read about such mysteries and there are so many in India, aren’t there? Rajasthan is amazing, I can’t believe that I only visited Jaipur and Udaipur when I was a teenager and haven’t been there since, considering I come from Delhi! Khaba Fort and it’s surrounding abandoned village looks like the perfect kind of place that I’d want to explore!
Wow… I’ve been to Jaisalmer but had no idea about this fort. It is a wonderful structure, as all forts are in Rajasthan. I wish I had known before reaching the place. Need to do better research… he he.
How fascinating that the people of Khaba Fort would desert their home after seven centuries! Mystery will definitely draw in more tourists. I loved my time in Rajasthan. India is one country where you continue to discover new places to see!
I’ve seen some of Rajasthan’s forts in Jaipur, and I must say I’m impressed! I’ve never been to Khaba Fort but I would love to go so I can see the ruins and the museum. Its history is interesting.
A small fort maybe, but looks like quite a nice site to visit, if you are in the area already. How curious to read that the inhabitants vacated the village and we don’t really know why!
This place is very interesting! Thanks for sharing its history I am really wondering about their mysterious reason why they vacated the village. Though ruins remained and no signs of life in there, is still beautiful. I wonder how busy and nice this place was once they lived there 200 years ago. Thanks for sharing this very informative post Indrani!
Such a mystery! I find stories like this fascinating. I wonder if we’ll ever know for certain why they left? Either way, it must have been very interesting to walk around the ruins.
I absolutely love to learn about legends, especially about the places I want to visit. What an interesting one to explain why Kuldhara Village was abandoned!
I have been to Rajasthan but never heard of it, another interesting place to add to my list for my next visit.
I have never heard of this place. It looks so neat! I particularly liked the legend about it. Crazy.
I love all these forts and legends in India, Khaba reminds me of Bhangarh Fort near Jaipur where there are also legends of curses and fears. I would love to visit what is left of it, and hopefully it remains as it s and doesn’t get further damage
There are so many forts around which can be saved if administration pays attention. There are two forts in my town which are just counting their days and that too when our own MLA heads the archaeology department.
Very important place to a history
How interesting it would be to explore the deserted fort. I’m sure there are plenty of interesting stories that those walls could tell.
It looks like a good part has been restored and worth a visit!
Thanks for the heads up on this. I was in Jaisalmer last year, but missed out on this. The history sounds very intriguing indeed; if I go back, will be sure to check it out!
What an amazing story. The area is so deserted, yet beautiful and full of a strong history. Thanks for sharing.
I’ve always been found of History, and discovering ruins and the stories behind is so interesting. So I’ve never been to Khaba Fort, but it looks absolutely mesmerizing!
The history behind all these forts is really amazing and one feels transported back into time on hearing the stories by locals or guides.Out of the forts in Jaipur, Jodhpur, Jaisalmer; I found the one in Jodhpur, The Mehrangarh Fort to be the best.
So beautiful. Thanks for sharing this lovely place. Hope I can visit one day.
Wow! I’m really impressed. This place is definitely going on my bucket list. It’s such a strange story. I always enjoy reading about legends. It’s great you had a guide who could tell you everything. Nice that there’s a museum as well!
It’s always nice to come across posts written about historic and cultural aspects of a destination rather than tourist traps. Well done.
What a beautiful fort and a great story about a fathers love of his daughter.
This looks beautiful! I never got the chance to explore enough in India even though its my home country. this definitely makes me want to take a trip to Rajasthan. thanks for sharing 🙂
I would be visiting Rajasthan in December for a festival, and I will surely add this to my list to visit!
The legend of why it was abandoned is a bit creepy – why did they go and whereee!? I love it. Thanks for the informative info and sweet pictures!
Khaba Fort looks absolutely mesmerizing, and all the mystery surrounding it makes it so much better. I would love to visit and even play detective if I could! I am sure it’s inspired plenty of stories already!
Yet another amazing location you are sharing with us. These forts are so amazing to visit, although I guess not ideal when it is too hot outside!
How come I’ve never heard about it? It’s interesting to hear stories about special forts like this. This is truly beautiful. Thank for sharing!
This is one of the many reasons I love Rajasthan. Almost every place in this state has a rich history and also some intriguing stories behind them. This fort is very interesting, especially with the eerie and deserted look.
Wow another historically intriguing archeological place reminding me there’s just so much to learn about another place. Putting it on the list, thanks!
Rajasthan has always fascinated me with the stories of kings, queens, palaces and their lavish lives that they lived! Though have only been to Jaipur once. It’s on my bucket list. Would love to explore Rajasthan some day in my life!
Jaisalmer is a cool place to visit. I went there in 1989. I wonder if it’s changed. Hey, have you considered making the color of your text stronger? I don’t have great eyes and the light color made it harder for me to read.
Hi Chandi, thank you for the input. I will get it changed soon. Sorry for the inconvenience caused.
The forts are just spectacular in architecture and history. When visiting them you get so much out of them and learn so much. This is a great piece showing the detailed architecture of these iconic structures.
There is always something eerie about old, abandoned ghost towns. Amazing that to this day no concrete information has been uncovered to reveal why the place was deserted.
I agree with you, we have so many places visited in common and Rajasthan is one of them. The history and legends of the amazing states of Rajasthan will never stop to fascinate us.
I love learning through your blog about the myths and legends behind so many places. It seems India is full of these legends. Your trip to the region seemed very interesting.
Love that you dived deep into the history and culture of these ruins. Must have made it that much more intriguing knowing the legends when you visited in person.
The story behind Kuldhara and the curse of the Paliwal Brahmins is so intriguing. If only the ruins could speak, the stories that they would tell would unravel this unsolved riddle.
I LOVE looking at fossils! What a cool location – hopefully I’ll be able to see it once it is fully restored.
Very interesting place ! It still looks very intriguing !
I remember our visit to this deserted village, it was eerie and the history just took me a decades back. I couldn’t help but imagine what would have happened back then!!
Very interesting indeed.
Well, Rajasthan is a land of mystery isnt it? Especially the western part with so many havelis an d villages that have an aura of ancient curses and abandonment around it. I loved reading the tale of this particular place. It just made me more excited about my own trip.
I have never hear of this fort before but it looks absolutely wonderful. Your photos are excellent and your post is really informative. Thank you for sharing it with us.
Even though the vacant of the fort is still a mystery, the deserted surroundings still make the fort look gorgeous. I also interested in the tale that Paliwal Brahmins left the Kuldhara villages due to the forced marriage of chef’s daughter. Would love to visit it someday.
The rugged landscape and the fort is so gorgeous!
This is such a strange but really interesting post. I have never heard of this fort and would have made a point to visit it last year when I was in that area of India. The fort itself is much like the others I visited around Jaipur and Jodhpur but not constructed near as well.
Very cool! Love the story on why the Brahmans left the village. Would be an interesting historical site to visit!
Never heard of Jaisalmer, but I’ve heard of Rajistan. Pinned to my India board since I may be going there in January. Too bad the ruins are not better preserved.
Very interesting. Wonder why they’d left? Climate change?
It looks a fascinating place, but I’m not sure I like what I see of the restoration works…
The little I could see, does not look completely authentic.
I’ll have to try and visit before it no longer resembles the past!
Interesting story with nice pictures ….
I had a feeling that I had read about it recently or it is a deja vu
Sarodh suvecha
This fort is actually not only Historical but It is very popular as a footprint of the Paliwal Brahmins . other forts in History are popular due to their wealth or victory associated with them but this fort does not have any such story like this .
There are so many mysteries in history, this one made me very very curious.,…why did they leave the place all on a sudden? its really amazing to read this post
It’s so great to learn about the depth of Indian history! Thanks for sharing your vast knowledge!
Wonderful….!!! I’m back after a long time and enjoyed the post thoroughly!!!
History is always fascinating…
I was told that there is nothing in Jaisalmer except desert. From your posts I realize that I was thoroughly misguided.
Wonderful post with mindblowing pictures from Indrani, the Traveller. Thanks and compliments.
Jitendra Mathur
Interesting, Beautiful pics. . Thanks for the post 🙂
Great post and interesting history. Thank you for sharing
Wow.. The whole vacating their hard-built fort. Interesting.
A must visit on my next visit. Engrossing post. So many things we are just unaware of.
Lost tales of past. Indian History is so vast. Interesting place.
The history is really fascinating!
Fascinating post and great shots of the fort.