Camel treks in India

Camel Treks in India come in many guises. The most popular – certainly the image that is conjured up by the phrase – is of brightly turbaned men leading camel trains across scrubby desert interspersed with giant sand dunes with a romantic looking desert castle in the background. This is the classic camel trek or camel safari of Rajasthan which are conducted in the Thar desert beyond Jodhpur and all the way to Jaisalmer and Bikaner where the desert plunges into Pakistan. For all it’s clichéd images, this remains a fantastic experience. There is nothing that can match the camels ability to navigate across these inhospitable lands and open up a magical realm of desert communities, wonderfully colourful nomads, amazing if austere scenery and an unimaginable wealth of wildlife. The Rajasthani’s are a naturally large-hearted and hospitable folk to which qualities they bring tremendous style and panache. Typically an overnight camel safari will camp in the middle of the dunes somewhere with not another tourist in sight and under the glitter of desert skies, you will be treated to superb music and food lit by mashals or flaming torches.

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But camel safaris or treks are available across Rajasthan and can go from just a couple of hours to several days. One of the best places to head out into the country-side is in a remote corner of southern Rajasthan where the landscape – while arid, is broken by jagged, rocky hills which are the haunt of leopards and hyena amongst other wildlife. It is a fantastic place to experience the Rajasthan that is rapidly disappearing under the press of 21^st century development. This is still a place where the seasons dictate the pace of life; where a group of nomads on the move – with their sheep and goats, swaying camels loaded with baggage, straight-backed women clothed in bright swirling clothes and white clad, scarlet turbaned shepherds still evoke a timeless way of life – and it is entirely fitting that it should be explored from atop a camel!

Rajasthan in Luxury -  There are so many definitions of ‘luxury’ in travel. For me luxury is not the sybaritic interpretation of extreme almost redundant comfort, but the joy of discovering some out of the way treasure that exceeds one’s expectations. For years I had been hearing about the medieval attractions of the Rajasthani town of Bundi. But Rajasthan is so abundantly gifted with beautiful places and charismatic cities that it’s taken me some time get round to Bundi. I finally made it in early October and what a revelation it was! A blue painted town snugged down within it’s medieval walls within a narrow valley dominated by steep but rounded hills which are in turn protected by stone walls snaking across their contours, their sinuous length anchored by impressive looking bastions. But what instantly holds one’s attention and really makes Bundi is the superbly imposing mass of palaces that rise in beautifully symmetric tiers from near the base of the hill that looms over the town. As we walk into the narrow entrance, the palace complex lies almost somnolent in the high Sun of forenoon. There are hardly any tourists here. We are met by a wiry middle-aged man who introduces himself as Mr. Bhatti. He is our guide. And for the next hour and a half he leads us through the various rooms, courtyards, corridors, staircases, audience chambers, bed chambers on a wondrous fairy tale tour. It is beautiful, smaller than the exterior suggests – and empty! Over the centuries Bundi developed a unique and to my eyes extraordinarily graceful school of art. Everywhere we found the walls of the various rooms sumptuously decorated with the most magical paintings most often rendered in subtle shades of blue and green with just hints of other colours adding counter-point to the frame. The detail, the vigour, the observation and the skill and beauty of the artists drew you irresistibly into the world that they were illustrating.

Rajasthan in Luxury with IndianExplorations.com

I didn’t have a chance to wander through the entire walled town of Bundi but I would love to spend a night there climbing to the top of the hill and exploring the fortifications at first light and sunset and also pottering through the various palaces looking for what secret places the slanting light of early morning may unlock.

Bundi with IndianExplorations.com

There are no large hotels, thankfully, within Bundi. The town and its streets are too narrow for that. There are a couple of charming heritage hotels though my favourite being the Braj Bhushanji Haveli (mansion) owned by a family that has contributed a prime minister and several ministers to the erstwhile princely state. It is the most authentic, retaining all the art and décor of a traditional small Rajasthani mansion. The rooms are generous, beautifully decorated and extremely comfortable. Best of all it is authentic perfectly complementing the town and it’s magnificent castle.

Luxury Rajasthan with IndianExplorations.com

Rajasthan Holidays – My friend Balendu Singh is one of those annoying characters who does everything better than I can: he owns a lovely small hotel called Dev Vilas just outside Ranthambhore Tiger Reserve which, despite his protestations seems forever full. At least I can never get a room there. Of an evening you will find Balendu holding court either by the swimming pool or on the expansive terrace just above it. He is an historian, naturalist, hard-headed conservationist, no mean photographer and a thoroughly entertaining raconteur of Rajput tales, jokes and history. Charming, knowledgeable and warmly hospitable, it’s no wonder his fan club keeps growing and I can’t get a room in his hotel. Balendu belongs to the growing tribe of Rajput aristocrats who have taken to the hospitality business with such enthusiasm, zest and style that it is now possible to explore the very depths of beautiful and untouched rural Rajasthan, staying in some of the most spectacular forts and palaces that have been rescued from crumbling ruins by their owners and converted to some of the most beautiful and stylish heritage hotels you can imagine. This takes luxury travel in India to another dimension altogether. Because not only are you treated to the creature comforts and superb local food but you have the company of the owner who treats you as a personal guest spending time and often guiding you around his or her area, providing insights that are impossible to gain from the formulaic efficiency of an ‘industrial’ 5 star hotel. You come as a guest and leave as a friend – for the Rajputs that is more than just a catchy tag line.

Mihir Garh with IndianExplorations.com

Rajasthan Holidays with IndianExplorations.com

Rajasthan in luxury to me means a remote camp deep in the stark, arid rocky country of southern Rajasthan peopled by a handsome and colourful race of shepherds called the Rebaris where the descendants of the erstwhile feudal barons have negotiated an innovative arrangement with the shepherds to help protect the local wildlife and where you can ride a lean, hardy local breed of horse looking for wildlife that includes leopard and hyena far from any national park or sanctuary. This is the India that is under threat of extinction before the march of 21^st century ‘development’. See it before all that remains is tourist ‘theme parks’.

Bespoke India is really where our heart lies. I mean, here is this incredibly vast and varied country, with so much choice of highly individual accommodation, so many options of activity in the same destinations as to be able to cater to virtually every individual taste. How can you package that? Why would you want to? A bespoke holiday allows you the luxury of choosing the most appropriate accommodation for each area. In Agra we unequivocally recommend the sumptuous Oberoi Amar Vilas. It is almost extravagantly indulgent but in an utterly appropriate manner, for Agra was the capital of the Great Mughals and every single room of this magnificent hotel enjoys uninterrupted views of the Taj Mahal – the central attraction that draws people to Agra from every corner of the globe. The Amar Vilas is built in sandstone and in a style that is a modern iteration of the grace and grandeur of Mughal architecture replete with filigreed stone work, screens, courtyards full of fountains and flowers. Perfect base from which to explore the marvels of Mughal architecture that grace Agra. On a package ‘luxury’ tour you would then willy-nilly be locked into similar opulence everywhere your itinerary takes you. And you will have a safe and predictably fantastic time – but it just could be that when you get to Jaipur for instance, rather than automatically stay at the Oberoi Raj Vilas you would take our recommendation and stay instead in the Samode Haveli – a nobleman’s converted town house which affords you the luxury of stepping out of a historic building bang into the middle of the crowds, colour and bustle of Old Jaipur – which is what you have actually come to Jaipur to see and experience. Samode Haveli is an authentic part of old Jaipur in a way that the Raj Vilas for all its extraordinary beauty and luxury, simply is not. A bespoke holiday allows you the choice.

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But it isn’t just about accommodations, its about people. The most extraordinary experiences for a traveller are when you connect with someone local on a human level and go away with insights about a culture and society that is impossible in large commercial establishments. One of the least ‘stylish’ small hotels that we use for example also is a highlight in terms of experience for people we have sent there. Simply because the experience here is so extraordinary, so remote, so authentically exotic – looking for leopards and wildlife that live amongst a stark rocky landscape at the edge of the desert and inhabited by a hardy, extraordinarily colourful shepherd tribe. The family you stay with are descendants of the feudal barons of the area who can trace their lineage to the mid-13^th century.  And they are the warmest, most gracious and hospitable people you can hope to be hosted by anywhere. It isn’t for everyone – but that’s what bespoke means. Understanding what you want and then designing the holiday to your tastes.

Luxury Rajasthan with IndianExplorations.com