A camel ride into the desert, endless sand dunes, dinner under the stars. Live your 1001 Arabian Nights dream right here in Jaisalmer!
I had always wanted to visit Jaislamer and go on the desert safari. Since we had to go to Jodhpur for a friend's wedding, we extended our trip and went to Jaisalmer for 3 days.
The moment we exited the railway station, we were swarmed by tourist operators throwing offers at us for the desert safari. After deciding on the desert safari package, we set off to the desert at 2 in the afternoon. We were joined by 6 more people - 4 foreigners and 2 people from Pune. This was the beginning of an unforgettable experience!
An hour long car ride took us into the desert. We could see many wind turbines on the way to the desert.
After an hour, we reached a random spot in the desert where there were camels and their caretakers waiting for us. We each chose our camels and sat on them. My camel was named Michael Jackson.
During the camel ride, we could only see the wind turbines, then the rocky terrain with bushes. The sand dunes were nowhere in sight.
A camel ride sounds fascinating, but it also very tiring, and sometimes even scary. If you're scared of solo riding, you can ride a camel in pairs. Note that you should wear comfortable clothes for the camel ride - loose pants and jeans should do. Avoid shorts if you're going to the desert during summers - the scorching sun will burn your skin. We went in November and I didn't have any problem wearing shorts. Dresses and skirts are just very difficult and awkward to wear while sitting on a camel.
After about an hour, my legs went numb and we were all exhausted by just sitting on our humped friends. We wished that the ride would end soon. Throughout the ride, my camel stopped here and there to graze!
I was getting a bit disappointed only to be pleasantly surprised when we finally reached the start of the endless sand dunes!
We settled on a random sand dune and went about exploring the dunes. We were just a few kms away from Pakistan. The views were spectacular!
Our guides had prepared tea for us and we all huddled together for the evening snacks and happily talked with our new foreign friends.
The caretakers had left the camels to go around to graze. We sat in the big dunes to watch the sun go down. And we witnessed a glorious sunset as the sky turned from blue to pink to purple. I have seen numerous sunsets from the mountains and the beaches, but the sunset I witnessed here? It had a charm of its own. It left us spellbound.
We then prepared dinner. It was a simple dinner of daal, mixed veg, roti and rice. My friend made some spicy tomato chutney, which took our foreign friends by surprise!
By the time we had started preparing dinner, the sky had turned black. The black canvas of the sky was painted by the thousand stars. We spent a good time recognizing the constellations and planets. We spotted Orion, Cassiopeia, Mars, Jupiter and so many more. It was a magical night.
Our guides had prepared blankets for our night. They laid them down on the sand, and we made our way to our beds to sleep. We lay awake to see the shooting stars, and made a wish upon the stars. After a long time just stargazing, I finally went to sleep.
I woke up to see that our guide had prepared morning tea. I went and joined all our group members for our breakfast - bread, jam and Maggi.
We soon packed up and mounted our camels for our return journey. We left behind a day to never be forgotten.
After we reached our car, we headed to our next two stops. First we stopped by an oasis. It was huge and I had always wanted to see an oasis in a desert.
After that we finally headed back to our hostel.
It was an experience of a lifetime - one I'll always cherish.
PACKAGE DETAILS
Our package costed INR 3,500. It included -
1. The transfer to the desert by car
2. The camel safari
3. Dinner and breakfast in the desert inlcuding water
4. Trip to Kuldhara and stop at the oasis
5. Jeep safari
6. Jasialmer Tour Guide
7. Our room at our hostel
TIPS FOR AN UNFORGETTABLE DESERT SAFARI
1. You'll get tons of options so take time to choose the package. They all differ - some are just half day safaris, some are overnight safaris. Go for the overnight safari as the night sky in the desert is just spell bounding.
2. The best time to go on a desert safari is November to March, as the Rajasthani summers are unbearably hot.
3. It will be hot during the day but at night, the temperature drops considerably. Pack some jackets, sweaters, shawls or cardigans to keep yourselves warm.
4. Carry sunscreen and a hat. Enjoy!
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