Desert
Thar Desert
Also known as Great Indian Desert
The Thar Desert covers much of western Rajasthan and extends into Pakistan.
West of the Aravalli hills, the land flattens into the Thar, or Great Indian Desert – a landscape of rippling sand dunes, rocky plains and scrub that stretches across western Rajasthan and into Pakistan. Watch the sun set from the Sam or Khuri dunes near Jaisalmer and the sand glows orange, then purple, as camel herders lead their animals home.
The Thar is one of the most densely populated deserts in the world. Its people have adapted to scarce rainfall with ingenious water-harvesting structures such as step-wells and tankas, and its cities – Jaisalmer, Bikaner, Jodhpur and Barmer – grew rich on the old caravan trade.
The desert is also home to specialised wildlife. The Desert National Park near Jaisalmer protects one of the last strongholds of the critically endangered great Indian bustard, along with chinkara, desert foxes and many birds of prey. The Indira Gandhi Canal has brought irrigation to parts of the region.