Indian neighbors Sharda (L), 45, Sopa (C), 52, and Kosholi, 50, talk on steps outside their homes in Jodhpur.REBECCA CONWAY/AFP/Getty Images
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An Indian child runs past the owner of a horse-drawn cart as he waits for customers.REBECCA CONWAY/AFP/Getty Images
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Indian workers carry brooms for sale along a street in the old quarters of Jodhpur.REBECCA CONWAY/AFP/Getty Images
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An Indian resident hangs washing to dry from the roof of her home.REBECCA CONWAY/AFP/Getty Images
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Items belonging to Indian Hindu devotees sit inside a temple courtyard. REBECCA CONWAY/AFP/Getty Images
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An Indian boy sleeps on a wall.REBECCA CONWAY/AFP/Getty Images
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Houses below the walls of Mehrangarh Fort in Jodhpur old quarters.REBECCA CONWAY/AFP/Getty Images
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An Indian resident performs chores on the balcony of her home.REBECCA CONWAY/AFP/Getty Images
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Indian tailor Abdul Hakim, 75, stitches clothing inside his workshop.REBECCA CONWAY/AFP/Getty Images
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An Indian resident collects water from a clean drinking water supply tap.REBECCA CONWAY/AFP/Getty Images
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Pots used to store water.REBECCA CONWAY/AFP/Getty Images
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A mother walks her daughter home from school in the Blue City. david_baxendale/Flickr
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A man folds some textiles.davydemaline/Flickr
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Little kids peer down over the busy streets. lfphotos /Flickr
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Two men congregate by a wall covered with painted handprints.Corinne Moncelli/Steve McCurry/Magnum Photos/Flickr
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A pink tree on a blue rooftop.marieetnatha/Flickr
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An outdoor living space that keeps with the color scheme. Steffi/Flickr
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The markets come alive with every color of the rainbow. fabulousfabs/Flickr
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A man wheels a cart through the city streets. prasenberg/Flickr
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Resident dries and folds textiles on a rooftop. Steffi/Flickr
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A girl flashes a smile at the marketplace.mikealex/Flickr
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A woman surrounded by food and goods. marinalwang/Flickr
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Mehrangarh Fort is one of the oldest forts in India. It was built around 1460, and looms over 400 feet above the city of Jodhpur. baxiabhishek/Flickr
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A royal bedroom inside the massive and intricately designed Mehrangarh Fort, where part of The Dark Knight Rises was filmed.REBECCA CONWAY/AFP/Getty Images
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An alleyway between closely set blue buildings. tomm/Flickr
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Laundry sways in the breeze on outdoor clotheslines. nathan_gamble/Flickr
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Monkeys roam the streets, sometimes stealing the hanging laundry. garrettziegler/Flickr
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An automatic rickshaw — or tuk-tuk — used for city travel. magtravels/Flickr
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An old woman sits in her doorway. A. Vahanvati/Wikimedia Commons
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A folk singer practices with Mehrangarh Fort in the background. Premaram67/Wikimedia Commons
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Men outside their shop in the Blue City. david_baxendale/Flickr
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A view of Mehrangarh Fort from a restaurant rooftop. The blue tint the city emanates at night is thought to be bright enough to repel bugs. A. Vahanvati/Wikimedia Commons
32 Photos That Take You To The Heart Of Jodhpur, India’s Blue City
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Located in the Thar Desert, the dynamic city of Jodhpur, India breaks the starkness of its surroundings with intense punches of color.
The metropolis is cloaked in blue not just for aesthetic purposes; the hue historically demarcated the residence of the Brahmin, a caste of priests and protectors, and thus was meant to deter looters should the city ever come under siege.
Others outside the Brahmin apparently enjoyed the blue aesthetic, because almost all homes in the old city have the shade splashed onto their walls. Behind and before the city's azure walls, Jodhpur residents live life in full color – and at full speed. Marketplaces abound in the city, and someone is always ready to sell you hand-crafted goods.
Lonely Planet describes the Blue City as "a tangle of winding, glittering, medieval streets, which never seem to lead where you expect them to, scented by incense, roses, and sewers, with shops and bazaars selling everything from trumpets and temple decorations to snuff and saris."
If you can't make it out to experience the Blue City for yourself, the photos above will give you a taste of its unmatched vibrance.
An All That's Interesting writer since 2013, Erin Kelly focuses on historic places, natural wonders, environmental issues, and the world of science. Her work has also been featured in Smithsonian and she's designed several book covers as a graphic artist.
Based in Brooklyn, New York, John Kuroski is the editorial director of All That's Interesting. He graduated from New York University with a degree in history, earning a place in the Phi Alpha Theta honor society for history students. An editor at All That's Interesting since 2015, his areas of expertise include modern American history and the ancient Near East. In an editing career spanning 17 years, he previously served as managing editor of Elmore Magazine in New York City for seven years.
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Kelly, Erin. "32 Photos That Take You To The Heart Of Jodhpur, India’s Blue City." AllThatsInteresting.com, August 29, 2016, https://allthatsinteresting.com/jodhpur-photos. Accessed August 15, 2025.
