Rajasthan's Jaisalmer attracts tourists with helicopter joyrides over sand dunes

Tourists visiting Jaisalmer in Rajasthan will now be able to enjoy helicopter joyrides over Sam sand dunes in the desert town.

The service that is a initiative of the Rajasthan Tourism Development Corporation (RTDC) was started on Tuesday by a private company on an experimental basis.

Minority affairs minister Saleh Mohammad, state minister for tourism Murarilal Meena and RTDC Chairman Dharmendra Rathore jointly inaugurated the service.

Rathore said that the helicopter joyride has been started from Samdhani, Jaisalmer on an experimental basis and the service will be expanded at a later stage by connecting tourist destinations with the helicopter service.

"There is an ambitious plan to make a tourism circuit by connecting other tourist places of the state through the service. Religious, wildlife and heritage places will be added to this circuit, which will facilitate domestic and foreign tourists to visit more tourist places in less time," he said.

Saleh Mohammad said that Jaisalmer has a different identity in the tourism sector and the new service will add to the attractions of the city.

Appreciating the initiative of RTDC, state minister for tourism Murarilal Meena said that there is immense potential for tourism in Rajasthan and the joyride would prove to be historic.

The minimum ticket rate for a helicopter joyride has been kept at ₹7,000 per tourist.

Joyride service will be provided to about 200 tourists through a maximum of 40 flights per day.

The joyride will be available in two slot packages of 5 minutes and 15 minutes.