7 Day Safari

Itinerary

Day 1 – Arrival Day

• Our representative will greet you at the airport and take you to a beautiful resort hotel in the historic city of Bhuj.
• Upon arrival, we will serve a welcome drink and get you settled in your accommodation.
• There will be some time to rest and relax after your long flight.
• In the afternoon we will do some local sightseeing around Bhuj, before returning to the hotel for dinner.

Day 2

• We start our ride at the edge of Bhuj, heading out after breakfast to meet the horses and set off.
• Today, as every day, the camp team will head out to gather supplies, arriving at the lunch spot to set up tents and get to work cooking your delicious meal.
• We will ride at approx. 3 hours to the lunch spot, where we will eat and rest for an hour, before continuing on to our overnight location in Devpar.
• Tonight our accommodation will be at a beautiful heritage property in Devpar, once a small palace, now a boutique hotel. We usually have this property to ourselves.
• Upon arrival, the grooms take your horse while you settle into the hotel, relaxing in the courtyard, taking in the beautiful features of this 110-year-old haveli.
• Dinner will be served in the courtyard.
  The kitchen at Devpur serves delicious, home-cooked Kutchi meals, and a cooking demonstration can be arranged for interested guests.

Day 3

• Setting out from Devpar in the misty morning, we ride Northeast, towards Nirona.
• Along the way we pass through varied terrain, from lush green farmland, where you will see local people working the land in traditional ways, oxen pulling ploughs, camels grazing along the track, to wide open areas of dry scrubland and rocky hills.
• The team will set up lunch halfway, then overnight camp near Nirona village.

Day 4

• In the morning we will visit the village of Nirona, famous for the workmanship of its traditional artisans.
• Perhaps the most famous is Rogan art, a unique and intricate form of freehand painting on textiles using natural dyes, made famous when Indian Prime Minister Modi gifted a Rogan art ‘Tree of Life’ to Barrack Obama on his official visit. Rogan art is a tradition which has been passed down through one single family in Nirona for over 300 years and can only be found here.
• In addition to Rogan art, we will visit traditional craftsmen working with leather, metal, and wood, giving you a glimpse of traditional village work which carries on now as it has for hundreds of years.
• Unlike the commercialized experiences of many ‘craft villages’ Nirona still retains its original charm. These are real craftsmen, working in their home studios without fanfare, using the same traditional techniques as their forefathers.
• We will then saddle up and ride out for the hills of Dhinodar, where peacocks roam and leopards prowl…
• Dhinodar Hill is an inactive volcano, offering spectacular views across Chhari Dhandh wetlands towards the Rann, with a shrine at the top and the 12th-century Hindu monastery of Than at the bottom. The monastery itself is a fascinating, well-preserved site with many interesting stories and legends about its foundation and features.
• We will visit the monastery, before taking a ride around the foothills of Dhinodar, where we will camp overnight.

Day 5

• To day we descend from the rocky hills of Dhinodhar, riding North across green farmland out onto the dry open plains to reach the Chhari Dhandh Wetlands Reserve.
• Home to vast numbers of migratory birds, including flamingos, cranes, painted storks and spoonbills, amongst others, the wetlands and nearby grassland also attract chinkara (Indian gazelle), Nilgai, blackbucks (antelope), Indian wolf (rare), golden jackals, caracal, desert cats and desert foxes.
• The best time to watch the birds is at sunrise or sunset.
• Upon arrival at Chhari Dhandh, the grooms will receive the horses while we explore the reserve by jeep, staying to enjoy the sunset, before heading to KCRC resort camp on the edge of the White Desert.
• We will take dinner at KCRC and spend the night here in luxury Swiss tents.

Day 6

• Rising early, with tea or coffee served at your tent, you will find your horse prepped and ready, awaiting you in the half-light.
• We will take a short ride out into the White Desert, where we stop to watch the magnificent sunrise over this unique landscape.
• Breakfast will be served here, at a stunning location out on the salt flats, a surreal and otherworldly dining experience to start the day.
• After breakfast there will be plenty of time to explore this unique landscape and take some great photos before heading back to KCRC.
• There will be some time to rest and freshen up before lunch.
• In the afternoon, we will go by jeep to visit Rann Utsav desert festival, a three-month-long celebration of Kutchi arts & a culture that takes place every year in the White Rann.
• We will return to KCRC for a farewell dinner, followed by an evening of traditional music and dance performances.

Day 7 – Departure day

• Optional morning activities can be arranged for guests with later departure time, for example, for guests leaving after 12 noon, a morning trip to Kala Dungar can be arranged, or perhaps a visit to the market at Rann Utsav for some last minute shopping and souvenirs.
• Transfers to Bhuj will be organised based on suitable timing for your onward travel plans.