Pokaran, with its red-sandstone fort and superb havelis, is a quiet, seldom-visited desert town 110km east of Jaisalmer, situated at the road and rail junctions between Jodhpur, Bikaner and the west.

Once included in the territory of Jodhpur, it passed into the huge state of Jaisalmer after Independence. Pokaran became the unlikely object of world attention in May 1998, when five nuclear bombs were detonated at the army test range 20km northwest of town.

Previously, a few tourists used to stop here en route to or from Jaisalmer, but despite the Indian government's insistence that there has been no ground-water contamination, most wisely stay on the bus these days, and hope the dust blowing through the windows isn't radioactive.

Pokaran N-tests

 

Jaisalmer | The Town | Arrival and info | Shopping | Restaurants | Moving on from Jaisalmer | Camel trek | Around Jaisalmer | Akal Fossil Park | Amar Sagar, Sam and
Barra Bagh | Barmer | Khuhri | Lodurva | The Lovers of Lodurva | Phalodi and Keechen | Pokaran | Pokaran N-tests | Gadi Sagar Tank and the Folklore Museum | Havelis | Jaisalmer Fort

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