[abhikb]

Prologue:

Our last Jungle visit was back in 2018 when we visited the Home of Asiatic Lions- Sasangir (Link to Tlog: https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/trave...tic-lions.html (Sasan Gir: The home of Asiatic Lions)) which was one of the few visits we had made over the course of the time into the wild. Since then we couldn’t make any trip to the wild, however, we did try a single day visit to Velavdar though a few months back (Link to Tlog: https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/trave...onal-park.html (Jungle Trails, Blackbucks, Sunset and a bunch of Thars | Day’s trip to Velavdar National Park)). Even though that was a fun filled single day outing it was nothing compared to what you can experience in a core jungle.

One fine day, a few of our old friends had come down for dinner at our place, the last few months had been very hectic & exhaustive for some reasons and had taken a heavy toll on us. Hence, a break from usual galore was quite inevitable and much needed. Just a casual discussion over dinner led to a conversation towards planning a weekend getaway. Being on the western part of the country we have very limited options during summers as most of the places are unbearably hot and best avoided during this time. After weighing down different options, we decided to explore Jawai this time, moreover the summers are ideal time for a jungle safari since the vegetation has tried out which leads for better visibility of spotting the wildlife.

About Jawai Bandh:

Jawai Bandh (dam) is located around 310 Kms from Ahmedabad, it is situated near the Sumerpur town in Pali district. Its a combination of Small villages and Habitats which have been thriving around the dam for a long time now.

A few more details about Jawai Bandh as per Wikepedia is as follows:

The dam was built by Maharaja Umaid Singh of Jodhpur.

The idea of building a dam over River Jawai was conceived in 1903 as its flooding waters caused heavy damage in Pali and Jalore district during monsoon. It was finally given shape in 1946. The project was to construct a dam across the river, creation of water reservoir, which could be used for water irrigation and hydel power generation.[4] The work started on 12 May 1946. By 1951, when first 5-year plan was launched, nearly 124 Lakh Rupees were already spent on this project. The hydel project was suspended, since sufficient pressure was not likely to be available through out the year, after meeting the irrigation demand. Revised estimated cost was revised to Rupees 300 Lakhs. Project completed in 1957.[4]

This dam covers an area of 500 km2. This is the biggest dam in western Rajasthan. The dam has the capacity of 7887.5 million cubic feet and covers an area of 102,315 acres (414.05 km2) of cultivable command area.[5] Its height is about 61.25 feet (18.67 m). Sei dam and Kalibor dam are the feeder dams of the Jawai dam. The catchment area of the Luni River at the dam site is 720 square kilometres.[3]

It is the main water supply source for Pali district. If there is sufficient water in the dam, then some villages of Jalore district and Pali district get water for irrigation from the Jawai dam, which was the main aim in making this dam

This place is famous for Leopard sightings, there are about 30 Leopards at present (Not official count) of which 7-8 Leopard sightings are regular. Apart from this it can be a paradise for bird lovers since different types of bird species can be seen in and around including migratory birds which can be spotted winters. The Dam also has a large number of crocodiles which can be easily spotted once you visit the backwaters, they can be seen lying around.

The Weather here is mostly dry and is best visited during December-March, one can pick there stay in Sumerpur or in Bera. Both Swiss Tents and Resorts are available here which can be booked online or by directly calling the property whichever is suitable.

Place of Stay:

Since it was summer time and we would be travelling with our Little one Ayona, we decided to look for a resort rather than a Swiss tent arrangement. After checking google and a calling up a few people, we zeroed down on Jawai Castle Resort located in Galthani and Fateh Pratap Resort located between Sumerpur Town and Jawai dam.

We spoke to both the resort and booked Jawai Castle Resort for Rs. 7500 per Room night including breakfast. However, on the day of visit we had to later shift to Fateh Pratap Resort which costed us around Rs. 6500 per night with breakfast. (Read on to find what happened).

Fateh Pratap is a newly built resort and is on the main road from Sumerpur that leads to Jawai bandh. Few amenities such as swimming pool and tents are being developed and is expected to get completed in 2-3 months. The manager Mr. Rajender Singh is a gentleman and took good care of us supported by his assistant Mangilal a young lad in his early 20s. The room service and everything was prompt and they even have generators since, there are frequent power outage in this area.

Safari and Other arrangements:

Bhpian Khalil_khan has lot many local contacts there and helped us in finalizing the Safari and what all things we can do there. He connected us t his trusted fellow there, a young lad called Govind Singh Ranaut who is local Rajput of that area.

We spoke to Govind, who conveyed that Safari is either done in early morning 5:30 am or late evening at 5 pm. We chose to opt for 2 evening Safaris since there isnt anything else to do, it would have been ideal to have 2 evening Safari during our stay there. Then my dirty mind came into play, I casually asked Govind if I can take my Thar inside, he said for the Jungle Trail its better we do it in their Gypsy but during the dam visit he said he will take us in the Thar and shall also assist in some off road experience . Hence, the plan was set, each Safari costed us Rs. 4,000 and the off road experience being complimentary.

Itinerary & Route taken:

Day-1: Ahmedabad to Jawai
Evening Safari

Day-2: Stay at Jawai
Drive around and explore nearby places in the morning time and then do the second Evening Safari and drive to Jawai dam.

Day-3: Jawai to Ahmedabad
Return journey with a detour to Hathmati hill station

Route:

Onward journey:

Ahmedabad-Mehsana-Palanpur-Abu Road-Sirohi-Sumerpur-Jawai

Return Journey:

Jawai-Sumerpur-Sirohi-Abu Road-Ambaji-Idar-Hathmati hill station-Himmatnagar-Ahmedabad

Road Conditions:

The onward journey was planned via the usual Ahmedabad-Abu Road route (NH), people who have used this route might have experienced traffic Mehsana, this time also it was no different. However, good part is Post Mehsana the roads have broadened from 4 lane to 6 lane which has made cruising a lot more comfortable. There isn’t any issue driving upto Jawai. Food options are limited after crossing Palanpur hence one needs to plan accordingly.

The return journey needed us to take the State highway from Abu road towards Ambaji and then Idar. Upto Himmatnagar there isn’t much of an hassle, however, Himmatnagar-Ahmedabad stretch is still pathetic with lot many diversions and incomplete flyover works which has now been going on for years. Apart from this there isn’t any hassles.

Key attractions/Places covered:

1) Jungle Safari during the evening for Leopard sightings.
2) Jawai dam backwaters and crocodile sighting. Good trail to experience mild off roading here.
3) Ranakpur forest trail followed with a visit to the dam.
4) Hathmati hill station sunset view overlooking the Hathmati river.

Drive Statistics:

We had an option of either taking my Thar 700 or my friend’s XUV300, the later was a more comfortable option but then having a 4x4 as your travel companion certainly enhances your travel experience, biggest challenge was to accommodate luggage, but as can be seen in the picture above it got managed pretty well

1) Total Distance Covered: 905 Kms
2) Number of Days: 3
3) Onward Journey time: Approx. 6 hours including lunch and bio break
4) Return Journey time: 8 hours including lunch break, evening snacks break, bio break and stopover of 1 hour at Hathmati hill station.
5) Vehicle: Mahindra Thar 700 CRDe (3507)
6) No. of Travellers: 4 adults + 1 toddler

[abhikb]

Day-1, Ahmedabad to Jawai and Evening Safari for leopard sighting:

An ideal start for a Road Trip is generally with the first light of the day, this trip didn’t require since we had decided to indulge in Jungle Safari only for the first day. Hence, we decided to start at 8 am from home. Generally before a start of a road trip it’s hard to catch some good amount of sleep due to the excitement seeping in, Ayona also seemed to be experiencing the same as she didn’t want to sleep the previous, her normal sleep time of 11 PM got stretched upto 1 PM. Well we can’t blame her for this, she’s been doing road trips since she was 2 months old and is born to a road trip lover parents. We were accompanied by my childhood buddy Rushi and his wife Dhruti. In order to ensure Ayona gets the required sleep time, I texted Rushi that will delay the start by a hour. On a normal day, alarm clock with repeated snoozing is required to wake up but when it comes to road trip we wake up without ab alarm. Both of us woke up and got ready in a hour, after we were done with the breakfast we woke up Ayona from her sleep and just told her we are going on a road trip, she just jumped into my lap to get freshen up and be ready.

It was around 8:30 AM, as we started our journey from home, many would know that Thar CRDe has peculiar habit of eating away coolant and at times it would function normally. Not taking a chance bought a 1 Ltr bottle of coolant from a nearby shell bunk in case required. Picked our friends who reside half and hour away, set the GPS to Jawai castle resort, called up Govind to inform we have started and there we were to answer the call of the wild.

We took SG highway till Adalaj circle and turned towards the Mehsana-Abu Road highway. As usual there was traffics all along and we had to move slowly, in order to avoid getting stuck further in Mehsana we took the bypass route which was relatively empty and led us straight before Unjha. From here till Palanpur, you can spot a few Jeep builders and modifiers. The highway has been extended from 4 Lane to a 6 Lane after Mehsana which is a boon now as we could cover distance quite faster. Our friends bhpian Khalil_khan and bhpian Sportsmedicine were taking regular updates over phone on how we were progressing and ensured that the local arrangements are taken care off.

Once we crossed Abu road we decided to stop at Highway side restaurant for lunch. It took about a hour to wind up and get back on the road. Govind called to inform us that we enter through Sumerpur city else we would be lost in the village roads, he also dropped the meetup location for Safari. By 3pm we had entered into Sumerpur and in no time were on the gates of Jawai Castle Resort.

Here lied the big surprise, the gates of the resort were closed and there was not a single soul to be found. Me and Rushi went around checking and came across the care taker who was surprised to see us, he conveyed that the resort has been closed for renovation since 1st April and there’s not a single staff or anything available. I showed him the booking confirmation mail from the Resort (Luckily hadn’t booked it online), the care taker asked us to get the Thar inside and park it till the time he would arrange for a call with the owner.

The owner Mr. Jaswant Singh was a gentleman and apologized for the issue, since they weren’t getting any bookings in April they had decided to use the Window for renovation and erroneously missing our booking. He immediately ranged up a few places and called me back to offer Fateh Pratap resort and a couple of more places. We decided to switch to Fateh Pratap since it was already shortlisted by us during the Hotel search. Mr. Jaswant Singh refunded the advance amount paid to him and kept a check on us till the time we checked-in at Fateh Pratap. One should be angry for such carelessness however at times an over prompt reactive actions helps.

It was already 4pm when we checked in at Fateh Pratap, wasting no time we decided to get freshened up and leave for the Safari as early as possible. We reached to the location shared by Govind at around 5pm and hoped onto his Gypsy to set sail for the Safari. The Jungles here are dry and has less vegetation with Rocks and small hillocks all around. These Rocks and Hillocks make up into a Cave type arrangement which provides the necessary shelter to the animals. Ayona was excited as a small Tod as she was experiencing a Gypsy Safari for the first time. Once inside we reached to a spot where there had been sighting in the morning Safari, a mother leopard and her 4 cubs.

We and few more Gypsies silently waited, leopards are generally shy animals and prefer to remain in isolation. We waited and waited but they didn’t show up, alas we decided to proceed ahead. All this whole Govind was in continuous touch with the spotters and other Gypsy drivers in case anyone finds something. After roaming around for couple of hours they finally got a call from a spotter that a pair of leopard has been located near a hillock. Govind rushed the Gypsy towards the spot and we again had to wait for sometime till the time it showed up. However, the sun had already set which meant no chance of photography as we were not carrying DSLRs. Anyhow, at times enjoying the moment is the best you can do.

Few moments later, we could hear the growling of the leopard which meant that it is about to come outside. It came out of the cave and sat on top of the hillock, yawning and growing for a while. Then it decided to take a closer look at us so decided to get down the hillock, all this while it was continuously getting camouflaged and behind the dry thorns and was in & out of the caves.

Ayona waiting for the sighting

We spent a good 30-45 minutes soaking in the sight before deciding to move out, I was wishing if we can spot a Hyena (haven’t spotted one in any of the jungles so far). However, this time also we had to return empty handed as far as Hyena spotting is considered. Govind took us back to the meeting point, picked our Thar, some refreshments for the night and reached the resort. After getting freshen up it was a typical adda session with friends over dinner till late night.

Day-2: Ranakpur Jungle Trail & Dam, Jawai dam for some crocodile spotting & Off-roading and Evening Safari:

Generally with no decided plans for the morning and a tiring previous day one would prefer to wake up late, but staying in the jungle area means you get to experience another level of beauty in the early morning. I woke up and checked the clock which ticking 6am, casually went out of the room, to see the beautiful sunrise and the sound of birds chirping all around . Hence, decided to sit outside doing nothing to soak in the sight and hear the sound of the birds. It’s rare to get such experiences in urban life hence one must not miss such opportunities.

Casually checked on Google if there are any places to visit nearby, also checked with the resort manager and Govind, nothing fruitful came out. We decided to head to Ranakpur to see if we can spot any good location. We were served breakfast and coffee to start the day, once finished we drove out around 10-10:30am.

This being the start of the summers, it was unbearably hot outside, all the river crossings and vegetation had dried up and it was completely dry all around. We put Ranakpur dam on GPS and drove for about 1-1.5 hours following the same. At a point we had the Rakanpur-Khumbhalgarh Safari gate on the left and dam on the right, however, couldn’t find a way to reach the dam.

After contemplating for sometime, we spotted a few tractors coming out of the jungle, we thought of taking the trail and since we were traveling in a Thar and I have fair bit of experience driving off-road it didn’t seem to be much of an issue, moreover, what worst could happen, I was already carrying a D Shackle and Tow strap, would catch hold of a tractor wala and ask him to tow incase we get stuck.

The narrow trail took us to an open drying Greenland portion where we could locate a few small streams of river and the the dam was more visible now. Anyhow, asked a few locals working there on how to reach the dam, they showed us a village road nearby which would take us to the top of the dam. We took that track and in no time climbed the top of the dam following a narrow trail. The view from the top of the dam was beautiful and mesmerizing, even though it was heat was scorching, we still spend some 15-20 minutes there, a must visit place during sunrise or sunset.

We started our return journey back to Jawai to our resort, called up the resort manager and ordered our lunch on phone so that by the time we would reach there the food would be ready. Post lunch retired to the room for some rest, tried putting Ayona to sleep but then as it happens with every toddler, the FOMO makes them restless and wouldn’t sleep for a minute at all.

After a while called up Govind to ask about today’s plan, he said he would first take us to the Jawai dam for some crocodile spotting and then inside the jungle for leopard spotting. As done on the first day, we reached the meeting location at 5pm. I asked Govind if I can bring my Thar along with his Gypsy till the dam, he nodded affirmative. So my friends sat in the Gypsy while me, wife and Ayona were in the Thar. Few minutes down, Ayona starts crying frantically and continuously saying she wants to sit in the open Jeep (Gypsy). We tried consoling her a lot but she won’t listen a bit, anyhow I waved at Govind and asked him to stop. Then we tried shifting Wife and ayona into the Gypsy, but then she wants both her mother and father in the Gypsy, seeing all this Govind said “Sir, you drive the Gypsy and let me drive your thar”, my expressions were , as what best can happen when you get to drive an open Gypsy on a off-road trail. We exchanged the cars and the first thing that hit me was the hard old non-power steering in Gypsy. Anyhow, we drove to the banks of the water body near the dam. Then had to walk a bit to spot and locate the crocodiles.

Learning from the previous experience, we asked Ayona does she wants to sit this time, her obvious choice was the open Gypsy and her father as the driver, so the arrangement was set, I asked Govind to take us out through a 4X4 track and he did it happily. The Gypsy will more easy to drive on the off-road track than the Thar, only downer being the non-power steering. There was a rocky hillock which was required to be climbed, while I tried first tried in 4H and then had to engage 4L, Govind took the Thar out in 4H, regular practice results in perfection.

Once the tarmac the gypsy behaves like a different creature, it’s slow, bumpy and gear shifts are pretty hard. Probably, Gypsy and MM550 both date back to the same time, the later got an upgrade in the form of Thar CRDe which was not only modern but also carried the retro Jeep appeal. The Gypsy on the other hand didn’t receive any worthy upgrade, in 21st century Maruti had been selling it without Power steering, AC and all 4 leaf spring suspension.

Anyways we parked the Thar outside the jungle entry point and then all of us sat inside the Gypsy for leopard sighting. As usual during daylight we couldn’t spot anything as the sun started to set the chances were more of spotting them. After waiting for sometime We could spot a mother leopard along with her two cubs. All 3 of them were quickly hoping here and there to hide in the bushes, the mother leopard went and sat at a distance while the cubs played hide and seek inside the bushes for more than a hour. Anyhow it was a pleasant sight to watch them in their natural habitat, all this while we just sat in the vehicle and were happily gazing at the small family we were seeing in front of us.

It was 7:30pm when we decided to drive out and head back to the meeting point, paid the money to Govind and headed back to our resort. The last night before starting a trip is the most exciting one whereas the last night before end of the trip is the most sad one. Yet we were thinking to utilize the next day by visiting anything enroute. Post dinner we retired to our rooms since it was already late and we were dead tired.

Day-3, Jawai to Hathmati Hill station and back home:

The previous day was quite tiring hence, all of us woke up quite lazily that morning. Initially we didn’t have any plan and it was a mere return drive back home. The breakfast was also done lazily and then we headed back to our rooms in the resort. I then casually started searching google and GMaps incase something comes to the notice and can be taken up while driving back home. Spent searching for sometime and then came across a place called Hathmati hill station, these GMaps has enabled the facility to display photos of the place uploaded by google users. Discussed with the others about the place as we then decided to leave for the location in about a hour.

We could leave the resort at around 12pm to be precise, the overall stay cost for 2 rooms and food bill came to Rs 31,000. While getting out of Sumerpur, ranked up the Thar to the brim, the FE figures came to 12.5 Kmpl, although it was a bit low but then with my sedate driving style I could extract 15 Kmpl on the highways, but then me and my friend were taking turns to drive, coupled with the scorching heat it may have hampered the FE figures.

We took a halt for lunch near Mount Abu, the restaurant had good amenity but the service was pathetic which resulted into a wastage of 1 hour. Hathmati hill station is located on the banks of Hathmati river in Himmatnagar district, we had to take the Abu-Ambaji-Idar route to reach this place. It’s a small hill station located in the tribal part and you get a good sunset view from the hill top. For those who enjoy driving pleasure, it does have 6-7 hairpin bends. We reached there a hour before the sunset around 6pm. It offers a good view from the hills top overlooking the river and quite country side.

From here it needed a small drive downhill through the jungle and then had to return back using the Himmatnagar-Ahmedabad highway. The road conditions are pathetic with multiple diversions due to ongoing flyover works which has been going on for years now. The earlier time needed for this stretch was barely 1hr 15 minutes but these it takes more than 2 hours to cover.

[Aditya]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[Sa!lor]

Great travelogue, Jawai is an experience in itself, Gypsy safari's through hilly terrain, unique stay locations and hospitality is something that needs to be experienced. Also jawai is the only place where leopards are so comfortable around humans and hence highest chance of sighting.

[abhikb]

Originally Posted by Sa!lor

Great travelogue, Jawai is an experience in itself, Gypsy safari's through hilly terrain, unique stay locations and hospitality is something that needs to be experienced. Also jawai is the only place where leopards are so comfortable around humans and hence highest chance of sighting.

Hey buddy, yes you are right, moreover chances of sightings are more here and it’s altogether a different, rather than being thick green and bushy, it’s more of rocky terrains and sand bed.

[streetfighter]

Nice travelogue. I am thinking of a drive to Udaipur and Jawai (from Mumbai) in mid-August 2024. Is this a good time and will the Leopard safari be open during this time?