Tanot Mata Temple: the BSF border shrine near Jaisalmer

The Tanot Mata Temple stands in the far west of the Thar desert, in Jaisalmer district, Rajasthan, only a short drive from the India–Pakistan international border. It is a shrine to the goddess Tanot, a form of Aavad (Awad) Mata linked in Charan tradition to Hinglaj Mata, and it carries a story the army and local people have told for decades: that during the 1965 and 1971 wars, Pakistani shells that fell around it did not go off. Today the Border Security Force (BSF) looks after the temple.

The Tanot Mata Temple is a goddess shrine about 120 km from Jaisalmer city in Rajasthan, close to the Pakistan border. By widely told accounts it survived heavy shelling in the 1965 and 1971 Indo-Pak wars. The BSF now maintains it and keeps a small museum of defused shells on the grounds.

About the temple and quick facts

The Tanot Mata Temple is a small desert shrine to the goddess Tanot, set in Tanot village in Jaisalmer district, Rajasthan, near the India–Pakistan border in the Thar. The goddess is worshipped as a form of Aavad (Awad) Mata, whom Charan tradition connects to Hinglaj Mata. According to Wikipedia’s account, the shrine is attributed to the Bhati Rajput king Tanu Rao, and the goddess is remembered in the Charan tradition as a predecessor of Karni Mata of Deshnok.

What draws most visitors is not architecture but a modern story of war and survival. The temple sits in open sand, ringed by border infrastructure and run by soldiers rather than a large priestly establishment. It is best treated as a half-day trip combined with the Longewala battle site rather than a destination on its own.

The 1965 and 1971 war accounts

The temple’s fame rests on a widely told belief that Pakistani shells aimed at it during the 1965 and 1971 wars failed to explode. This is tradition recounted by soldiers, pilgrims and the press, and it should be read as faith and memory rather than independently proven fact. It deserves to be told respectfully, because for the troops who held this ground it was a source of real courage.

According to the account summarised on Wikipedia and in several news retellings, during the 1965 war the area around the shrine was heavily shelled — about 3,000 bombs are said to have been fired toward it — yet the rounds that landed close by either missed or did not detonate. In the 1971 war the same stretch of desert saw the fighting at Longewala, where Pakistani tanks became bogged down in the sand and were attacked from the air. These events are history; the specific belief that the goddess shielded the shrine from exploding shells is the tradition attached to them.

Keep the two threads separate in your own mind. The dates, the units and the loss of Pakistani armour at Longewala are documented in military and press accounts. The claim of unexploded shells around the temple is a belief carried by the people and soldiers who were there, and it is told here as such.

The BSF, the shell museum and Vijay Stambh

The Border Security Force maintains the Tanot Mata Temple today and keeps a small war museum on the grounds. After the fighting of the 1960s and 1970s the BSF took over the shrine’s upkeep; sources differ on whether this began after 1965 or after 1971, so treat the exact handover date as uncertain. The force expanded the complex and set up a museum that, by multiple accounts, displays unexploded and defused Pakistani shells recovered from the area.

The museum is modest — a room of ordnance, photographs and battle relics rather than a large institution — and it is the main thing to see beyond the shrine itself. A victory marker, often called the Vijay Stambh, is associated with the 1971 victory in this sector; note that the name “Vijay Stambh” is also used for a victory pillar at the Jaisalmer air base, so confirm locally which marker you are seeing. Every year the temple area marks 16 December as Vijay Diwas (Victory Day), the anniversary of the 1971 war’s end.

Behaviour here matters more than at an ordinary tourist site. You are a guest of the force that guards the border, so follow the staff’s directions on where you may walk and photograph.

Longewala battle site nearby

Longewala, the site of a famous 1971 battle, lies close to Tanot off the same Ramgarh road and is usually visited on the same trip. The Battle of Longewala was fought on 4–7 December 1971. According to Wikipedia’s account, roughly 120 men of A Company, 23rd Battalion, the Punjab Regiment, under Major Kuldip Singh Chandpuri, together with a BSF detachment and air and artillery support, held an outpost against a far larger Pakistani column of infantry and tanks.

In daylight, Indian Air Force Hawker Hunters and HAL Marut fighter-bombers attacked the stalled armour. Wikipedia records about 36 Pakistani tanks destroyed or abandoned; an Indian Army spokesperson, as reported by The Tribune, cited 37 tanks destroyed and over 179 Pakistani personnel killed or wounded. Indian losses were light — two soldiers killed, by Wikipedia’s account.

The Longewala War Memorial marks the spot. The official Incredible India listing describes an obelisk inscribed with the names of the fallen, a museum of artefacts and photographs, and guided tours in a quiet desert setting; it gives memorial timings of 8 am–6 pm (as of October 2026). The nearby Jaisalmer War Museum, run by the Army, covers this and other actions in more depth.

Best time to visit the Tanot Mata Temple

The best time to visit the Tanot Mata Temple is October to March, when the desert is cool enough for daytime travel. From April to June the Thar is punishing; Incredible India’s climate data for this area show summer highs well above 43°C, and other sources report Jaisalmer days above 40°C through that stretch (as of October 2026). Winter is the sensible window, though desert nights turn cold.

If you want to join the 16 December Vijay Diwas observance, plan for that date and expect more visitors and tighter movement. The short monsoon brings little rain here; the heat, not the rain, is what shapes the calendar.

How to reach: air, rail and road

You reach Tanot by road from Jaisalmer, about 120–122 km (roughly two hours) via Ramgarh, as there is no rail or air service to the temple itself. Jaisalmer is the gateway: it has the nearest airport and railway station, and both the Longewala memorial listing on Incredible India and other sources name Jaisalmer and Jodhpur as the two usable airports. Flights to Jaisalmer are limited and can be seasonal, so many travellers fly into Jodhpur instead and continue by road or rail.

By air, check live schedules before booking, as the small Jaisalmer airport’s routes change with the season (as of October 2026). If you land at Jodhpur, it is a long but straightforward onward leg to Jaisalmer; our Jodhpur travel guide covers that city as a staging point. By rail, Jaisalmer railway station is the railhead; book the sleeper trains from Delhi and Jaipur well ahead in winter.

From Jaisalmer, hire a full-day taxi for Tanot and Longewala together, since public transport on this border route is thin and timings are awkward. Confirm that your driver knows the border-area checkpoints and the current access position for the day.

Things to see and do

The core of a Tanot trip is three linked sites — the temple, its shell museum and the Longewala battlefield — plus the desert drive between them. None takes long on its own, which is why they are usually combined into a single day out from Jaisalmer.

• The shrine: a simple goddess temple maintained by the BSF; sit for the aarti if your timing allows and follow the staff’s lead on conduct.
• The shell museum: a small room of defused ordnance, photographs and relics on the grounds; the most direct link to the war story.
• Longewala memorial: the obelisk, captured armour and museum at the 1971 battle site, open 8 am–6 pm per Incredible India (as of October 2026).
• The border desert: flat, open Thar with sand and scrub; photography is restricted near forward posts, so keep the camera for the memorial and temple areas.

Suggested two-day itinerary

Two days from Jaisalmer is enough to see Tanot and Longewala without rushing the long desert drive. Base yourself in Jaisalmer and keep the border day as a single, early start.

• Day 1 (Jaisalmer): See Jaisalmer Fort and the havelis in the morning, visit the Army-run Jaisalmer War Museum in the afternoon to set up the war story, and rest early.
• Day 2 (border day): Leave at first light. Stop at Kuldhara on the way out, drive on via Ramgarh to Longewala and then Tanot, see the shrine and shell museum, and return to Jaisalmer by evening.

If you have a third day, add a sunset at the Sam sand dunes, or use it as a travel day to or from Jodhpur. Travellers heading onward to the Blue City will find the route and stops described in our Jodhpur travel guide.

Where to stay

Stay in Jaisalmer, as accommodation near Tanot is basic and limited. Jaisalmer has the full range — budget guesthouses in and below the fort, mid-range hotels across the city, and desert camps near Sam — so it makes the natural base for the border day. Near Tanot itself, expect only simple rooms and dharamshala-style lodging, suitable if you want to be present for an early aarti but short on comfort.

The price bands below are planning estimates and vary sharply with season and festival dates; winter is peak, so book ahead. Reconfirm current tariffs directly with the property.

Food to try

Eat in Jaisalmer, where the food is reliably Marwari and vegetarian-friendly, and carry water and snacks for the border day. On the long desert drive there is little beyond small roadside stops, so plan meals around Jaisalmer and treat anything near Tanot as a bonus rather than a certainty.

• Dal baati churma (baked wheat balls with lentils and a sweet crumbled dish) — the Rajasthani staple.
• Ker sangri (a dry curry of desert berries and beans) — a Thar speciality built for an arid land.
• Gatte ki sabzi (gram-flour dumplings in a yoghurt gravy) — common and filling.
• Ghotua / makhania lassi (sweets and saffron lassi) — easy to find in Jaisalmer.

Budget breakdown

A two-day Tanot trip from Jaisalmer costs roughly ₹6,000–₹12,000 per person on a mid-range plan, driven mostly by the full-day taxi to the border. The figures below are planning estimates for two people sharing, excluding your travel to Jaisalmer, and should be reconfirmed before you go (as of October 2026).

Permits, border access and rules

No special tourist permit is generally required for Indian citizens to visit Tanot, but this is a controlled border zone and access is managed by the BSF, so rules can tighten without notice. Carry an original government photo ID, expect checks on the Ramgarh road, and be ready for the possibility that forward areas are closed on a given day for security reasons (indicative; reconfirm, as of October 2026).

Photography is restricted near border posts and military positions; shoot only where staff permit, which usually means the temple and the memorial rather than the open frontier. Foreign nationals may face additional restrictions in a border district and should check requirements before travelling. Drones are not appropriate in a border zone. When in doubt, ask the BSF or Army staff on site and follow their instruction.

Practical tips and safety

Treat Tanot as a full-day desert excursion from Jaisalmer and prepare for heat, distance and thin facilities. Mobile network can be patchy near the border, ATMs are back in Jaisalmer, and fuel and food stops are sparse on the route, so fill up and carry cash, water and snacks before you set out.

• Documents: carry an original photo ID for everyone in the vehicle; keep it handy for checkpoints.
• Timing: start early to finish the round trip in daylight; avoid being on border roads after dark.
• Heat and sun: in the shoulder months carry water, a hat and sunscreen; avoid April–June midday travel in open desert.
• Conduct: dress modestly at the shrine, remove footwear as directed, and follow BSF staff on where to walk and photograph.
• Solo and women travellers: the sites themselves are staffed by the forces; hire a reputable Jaisalmer operator, share your plan, and keep to daylight for the border leg.
• Health: the nearest reliable hospitals are in Jaisalmer, so carry basic medicines and any prescriptions for the day.

Nearby places

Pair Tanot with the Longewala battle site and, on the way out of Jaisalmer, the abandoned village of Kuldhara. These cluster naturally with a Jaisalmer base, which also opens up the fort, the havelis and the Sam dunes.

Frequently asked questions

Where is the Tanot Mata Temple located?

The Tanot Mata Temple is in Tanot village, Jaisalmer district, Rajasthan, in the Thar desert close to the India–Pakistan international border. It is about 120–122 km from Jaisalmer city, roughly a two-hour drive via Ramgarh. It is a controlled border zone maintained by the Border Security Force (as of October 2026).

Did Pakistani shells really fail to explode at Tanot?

By widely told belief, around 3,000 Pakistani shells fell near the temple in the 1965 war and did not explode, and the goddess is credited with its survival. This is a tradition recounted by soldiers and press, retold respectfully here, rather than an independently proven fact. The Longewala tank losses, by contrast, are documented history.

Who maintains the Tanot Mata Temple now?

The Border Security Force (BSF) maintains the Tanot Mata Temple today and runs a small museum of defused shells and battle relics on the grounds. Sources differ on whether the BSF took over after the 1965 or the 1971 war, so treat the exact date as uncertain. Entry to the temple is free (as of October 2026).

How do I reach Tanot from Jaisalmer?

Reach Tanot by road from Jaisalmer, about 120–122 km via Ramgarh, as there is no rail or air link to the temple. Hire a full-day taxi to cover Tanot and Longewala together. Jaisalmer has the nearest railway station and a small airport; Jodhpur, farther away, usually has more flights (as of October 2026).

What is the best time to visit the Tanot Mata Temple?

October to March is the best time to visit the Tanot Mata Temple, when the Thar is cool enough for the long desert drive. Avoid April to June, when Jaisalmer-area highs rise well above 43°C per Incredible India climate data. Nights in winter can be cold, so carry a layer (as of October 2026).

Is a permit needed, and can I take photographs?

No special permit is generally required for Indian citizens, but this is a border zone where the BSF regulates access, so carry a government photo ID and expect checks. Photography is restricted near forward posts; shoot only where staff allow. Foreign nationals may face extra restrictions, so reconfirm before travelling (indicative, as of October 2026).

Last updated and sources

Go to Tanot if you want the human story of the 1971 border more than a grand temple; it rewards a respectful half-day combined with Longewala. Plan it for October to March, from a Jaisalmer base.

Last updated: 22 October 2026. Fees, timings and permits change — reconfirm with official sources before you travel.

Sources: Incredible India, Longewala War Memorial (Ministry of Tourism); Wikipedia, Tanot Mata Temple and Battle of Longewala (used to trace underlying press and book accounts); Jaisalmer War Museum; The Tribune report on the Longewala memorial and Army figures; Drishti IAS and Vajiram & Ravi current-affairs notes on Tanot Mata (secondary); climate figures from the Incredible India destination page. The unexploded-shell account is attributed throughout as widely reported belief and tradition, not proven fact. Accessed October 2026.