Jaisalmer is a small town, with
population just over 18 000 it’s easy to explore on foot. A day will be
enough to see all of its tourist attractions like the magnificent
Jaisalmer fort and the lovely Haveli’s. Yet the reason why to stay in
this town longer is camel safaris. There are many tour operators who will gladly arrange a tour in the Thar Desert. The camel safaris are cheap a day in the desert
will cost somewhere around 1500 Rs for one person. They are well
arranged and the only duty you will have is to enjoy your safari.
A typical camel safari
lasts two days; you leave on the morning and come back next day on the
afternoon, although a longer trip can be arranged. The good thing is
that most hotels will not charge you for the night on safari and that
your big backpack can be left in the hotel for safe keeping. There are a
couple of popular safari routes in the desert that lead through some
villages.
Rajasthan tour operators will show you pictures from the safari with huge sand dunes, don’t be fooled though. The Thar Desert around Jaisalmer
is anything, but big sand dunes. Mostly you will see very rocky surface
with some vegetation in form of shrubs, cactuses and camel trees. There
are sand dunes but they are nowhere as magnificent as the dunes shown
in pictures. On the safari most likely you will meet some locals, but
they are quite used to western tourists, as the routes are very touristy
and most likely you will meet other groups from different tour operators. There are some locals who go around the desert selling Coke and Pepsi at the popular safari rest places.
The longer safaris are most likely to go
off the beaten track. The sleeping and eating on the safari is very
well organized. When I was on the camel safari
there I really enjoyed the food that was cooked on open fire and
sleeping on the sand dune under the sky. The guides or camel men as they
are sometimes called all speak English and most definitely will take
good care of you.
The camels are well kept. Though it gets
kind of annoying at the end of the second day to sit and dangle on the
camel’s back and people with sea sickness probably will have problems
adjusting. In case you can’t take the ride of camel’s back any more, you
are free to walk.
The two day camel safari
might not be the adventure of your life, still it is a well spent time.
You will get to know a little piece of rural India. The nature of the
desert is amazingly beautiful and the camel safari itself is a very enjoyable and relaxing activity. It is particularly good when tired of all the monuments, forts and museums the only thing you want is to get away from it all, the camel safari Jaisalmer is a good chance to relax and to get an insight on another side of Indian culture and lifestyle.
