Tanot Mata temple was 120 kms from our stay in Jaisalmer city and if you are traveling from Jaisalmer, the usual route goes via Ramgarh (which is a 2 hours drive). We were unaware about the road construction on this route, so it took us around 3 hours to cover this distance. The route had too many diversions and a large portion of the stretch was broken or uneven, but the views on both sides were lovely in the second half of the journey.
We reached the temple by 12:30pm. It is the last civilian point in India towards border. There are a few shops outside the temple and an open parking space. You should carry your own food as the shops only sell juices, Maggi, chips n stuff. The temple has a mini museum, a small stall for selling souvenirs and fairly clean washrooms.
Why is Tanot Mata Temple famous?
During 1965 Indo-Pak War, several bombs were dropped on this temple, but none could harm it. Some of those bombs are still at display inside the temple. This temple is maintained and managed by Border Security Force of India and the BSF personnel offer prayers (Aarti) every evening.
There is one more once in a lifetime experience - to visit BP 609 (Border Pillar 609) which is approx 20 kms from the temple. It is in sand dunes area from where one can see the border fences. One has to take permission from Jaisalmer Headquarter or from the office inside the temple. Earlier it was easy to get permission but now a days it's really your luck. We were not lucky enough to go there, but will try again with more information.
After spending an hour there, we left for Laungewala Border. As soon as we left the temple, we landed on a bump free, straight and serene route. This journey is actually a driver's delight. Even if you are not driving, the views on both sides of the road are mesmerizing. It is the best road in India I have travelled till date. We even saw some super cars racing on this route.
The distance between Tanot Mata Temple and Laungewala is about 50 kms. It took us just half an hour to cover this stretch.
As we were too hungry, so headed straight to Laungewala Cafe - the last cafe of India towards this border. They had Rajma Chawal, Chhole Bhature, Samosa and a few drinks. The cafe also had some selfie spots and a very interesting weather forecast technique board.
Laungewala War memorial has battle History Room, War Trophies Room, Sand Model Room and Laungewala Audio and Visual Theatre.
Fee for the audio-visual theatre - INR 40
At the entrance there is a captured Pakistani Sherman Tank and a captured Pakistani T-59 Tank at the end. Some tanks can also be spotted lying stuck in the surrounding desert.
After visiting all the rooms and watching a short movie showing how the battle of 1965 was fought (mostly through clips of Bollywood's movie Border), we headed for our next adventurous day. Watch Jaisalmer Series on my YouTube Channel - RovitaS
Watch the full video of Tanot Mata and Laungewala on our YouTube Channel- RovitaS
(Travel vlog attached below)
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