Where to Stay in Balotra, State of Rājasthān

What is Balotra known for?

Balotra is called Vastra Nagari for the trade that fills it, hand block printing above all, and the textile works that line the Luni River are what the name refers to. Pilgrims are the other traffic. The Nakoda Jain temple draws worshippers from across India, and at Tilwara a desert and cattle fair fills the calendar once a year.

What are the main landmarks in Balotra?

Temples ring this town. The Nakoda Jain temple is the best known and pulls worshippers from across India, while at Khed stands an ancient temple of Vishnu, the Shri Ranchhod Rai. Jasol holds the temple of Rani Bhatiyani ji, and Sarna has the Khetesvar Palna Dham at the birthplace of Shri Khetaram Ji Maharaj.

Asotra, on the Jalore road, keeps one of the very few temples in India dedicated to Brahma. Inside Balotra itself there are the Nrisingh ji, Mohanraj ji and Hanuman temples.

What is the history of Balotra?

The name comes from a person. Balotra is said to be named for Valoji, also given as Balaji, a Siha Rajpurohit. The older power in this country sat a few miles off at Khed, which was the capital of the Rathore in western Rajasthan and set the terms for the whole district.

Rao Sihaji, founder of the Rathore line, took Khed from the Guhil Rajputs early in the thirteenth century and planted his standard there, with his son Asthanaji beside him. Balotra itself was held by the Morsiya for more than three centuries afterwards. Its modern shape is administrative: the town belonged to Barmer district before Balotra district was carved out around it.

Where is Balotra?

Balotra sits on the bank of the Luni River in western Rajasthan, on the dry ground that runs out towards the desert. Jodhpur lies to the north-east and is the city Balotra looks to, while Barmer district continues south-west and Jalore lies south. Water is the constraint here.

The Luni River is what allowed a textile trade to settle in a country this arid, and the villages of Khed, Jasol and Asotra sit within easy reach around the town.

What is the climate of Balotra?

Balotra lies in the subtropical belt of western Rajasthan, on the desert margin, so the year turns on heat and the monsoon rather than on cold. Summers run long and dry. The rains, when they come, decide what the Luni River carries, and the desert and cattle fair at Tilwara is timed to the season rather than to the calendar of a wetter place.

How do you get to Balotra?

Jodhpur is the gateway. Trains and buses run between it and Balotra at frequent intervals, and the nearest airport is there too, so almost every arrival passes through it. Balotra Railway Station has direct trains to Jaipur and Chandigarh as well.

Road services, both private and the state carrier, reach the rest of Rajasthan and beyond.