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This tour is specially for those tourists who want to experience the adventure of being "off the beaten track" among the colorful desert people of Rajasthan. The tour will allow you to share the fascinating culture of these friendly people and show you the beauty and tranquillity of the vast desert.
We are the only travel agent who visit this area of the desert and we have our own base camp established in Bhikhodai, one of the desert villages, this means we will see no other groups and we can enjoy the untouched wilderness of the desert and visit the people in their natural surroundings.
Day to Day Itinerary
We offer you two different ways to reach the desert base camp Bhikhodai. If the whole group is in agreement then special requests can be adhered to and alterations of the route can be made.Day 1:
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1:
We will leave Jaisalmer by jeep at 10 a.m., Roughly 1 ½ hour later we will be at the Hindu Temple Shri Bhadaria, where it is said, that the ground on which it is built is holy and magical. Here you will also have the chance to meet and may be speak to the famous guru, Baba Shri Bhadariya maharaja, (founder of the temple). You can meet him only for a few minutes, because he greets 100-200 people daily. Nevertheless it will be a very impressive experience. Traveling further we will make a lunch break in Pokaran, afterwards we will join the tours visiting the Pokaran fort, a fortress built from red sandstone protruding from a desert of yellow sand. Within the walls of the fortress, there are small streets with houses and balconies decorated with parrots, elephants and peacocks. For those wishing to one can visit the families here and see the clay molders at work making their clay pots and dishes. After an hour drive, at around 5.45 PM., We will arrive at desert base camp Bhikhodai, we will see the sunset at dunes and evening we will have dinner around the campfire. It is left up to the tourist whether they sleep in base camp or close by on the dunes. |
Option
2:
We will leave Jaisalmer at 10.00 am. by jeep and stop at Devikot village for tea and snacks, further on the next stop will be at a historical Hindu goddess temple called Degrai Durga temple, which is situated in the middle of the desert peace. Close to a water tank, you can watch birds, camels, cows and few villagers wandering the desert in search of food and water for their livestock, next stop will be at base camp Bhikhodai, but we will have enough opportunity to see three villages on the track. This track is a sandy, lacking gravel road. It is adventure of wildlife and desert environment. At base camp you will be served lunch at 2.30 p.m., Then in evening you can manage on your own either have a walk to close by villages, meet local families, their houses, cattle, natural surroundings or you can relax at sand dunes watching the sunset. Then you will be back to base camp and sit around campfire, dinner will be provided. You can sleep on the floor of base camp or close by on the sand dunes with silence of the desert and covered by the blanket of moon and twinkling stars. |
Day 2: We leave base camp after breakfast and head across the desert dunes. Each person has his/her own camel which allows you to take a small amount of hand luggage with you. The remainder of the luggage, bedding, food etc. Is carried on a camel cart. As the majority of our visitors have never ridden on a camel before, the camel driver have been told not to ride for toolong a period during the day. Typically, we will ride the camel for an hour or so, and then stop off at a friendly village or home for half an hour, sometimes enjoying a cup of tea, sometimes just enjoying the welcoming smiles of the family. The colorful clothing of the women of the desert and their superb jewelry is fantastic complement to the tall, brightly turbaned men. Around midday, we stop for lunch and we can learn how Chappatis are made, lunch and dinner are typically rice, vegetables, Chappatties and Dal (a lentil dish, high in protein). After a break of 2-3 hours, we continue on the camels in the afternoon. At night we sleep among the dunes away from civilization. We will have our evening meal with the camel drivers under the brightly starred sky. The camel drivers can often be persuaded to sing us a few of their old folk songs in exchange for some of ours!
Day 3: This follows a similar pattern as we make our way back towards the base camp at Bhikhodai, where we again spent the night.
Day 4: After breakfast, we will take you to the village to catch your onward transportation. Many people choose to continue on to Jodhpur from the desert, but we will help you with arrangements to destination you choose.** We prefer an advance booking which allows us to insure the best possible service. It is important we respect the environment which means we do not want large groups { i.e. More than 12-22 }
And also want to space our trips so as to minimize our impact on the every day desert culture.Please contact us for up-to-date prices:
M.S. Vyas
(617) 983-4090
thartreasures@yahoo.com
- English speaking guide or tour leader
- Transport by jeep and camel ride
- Clean, comfortable and warm sleeping arrangements at dunes with mattress and blanket
- Breakfast -- toast with butter/jam porridge with milk/curd
- Lunch -- rice, vegetable and chapaties
- Dinner-- rice, Dal Chapaties, chips, pakoda, rice pudding or sweet halwa
- Tea/coffee, fruits and mineral water.
Does not include:
- Soft drinks, alcohol, personal activities
- Transport from village Bhikhodai to your onward destination.
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