DAY ONE: ARRIVAL

Plan to arrive in Udaipur (UDR) by midday for pick-up at the airport and transfer to our hotel. We’ll get into the serene groove immediately with a sunset boat trip around the world-famous Lake Pichola. Fun fact: it’s an artificial freshwater lake!

Udaipur, the “lake city”, spills to the edge of Lake Pichola and the surrounding Aravalli Hills backdrop the city in ochre and purple ridges of the forest. Palaces, temples, havelis and innumerable narrow, crooked, colourful streets are a distinct part of the city’s undeniable charm.

We will congregate at the hotel to transfer to the boat for a dazzling sunset show (if Mother Nature cooperates).

Meals Included: Dinner
Tonight’s Sweet Sleep: Lake Pichola or Udai Kothi

DAY TWO: NARLAI

In the morning we’ll poke around the City Palace Museum complex and have the opportunity to shop. Lunch will be at the hotel or an authentic roadside cafe, depending on the group’s interest. After, we’ll have a 3-hour road transfer out of the city through the Aravalli Hills to Narlai.

Your hotel Rawla Narlai is a delightful 17th century property, which was once a favourite hunting lodge of the Jodhpur Royal Family. It is still owned by members of the Jodhpur family who have invested vast amounts of time, money, love and care into restoring this little gem. Over the years it has transformed from a simple lodge into a stunning, stylish boutique hotel, albeit with all its original character and structure retained. The rooms are scattered all around the property and each varies significantly in shape, size and décor.

You’ll have time to settle into the hotel before making our way to an enchanting dinner by candlelight on the rooftop terrace.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Tonight’s Sweet Sleep: Rawla Narlai
How much further? 3 hours

DAY THREE: MARWARI HORSES

It’s an early bird 6 AM start for those who wish to climb the 700 steps up Elephant Hill to watch the buttery sunrise over the foothills of the Aravalli. It’s worth setting an alarm for – tea and biscuits will be served by a local Rabari shepherd at the top, in the marmalade glow of the new day. For those who prefer sunsets, you are welcome to sleep in!

After breakfast you’re welcome to enjoy all the amenities that your hotel has to offer, or take a walk through the village. The choice is yours.

In the late afternoon, you’ll meet your Marwari horses for a 1 hour trial ride from hotel to Jodha Stud Farm (the horses home), we’ll be privy to a fragrant home-cooked heritage farm dinner served within the ambience of the stable complex. After our unique farm dining experience, we’ll head back to the hotel for an early night in preparation for the miles ahead!

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Tonight’s Sweet Sleep: Rawla Narlai
Time in the Saddle: 1 hour

DAY FOUR: RIDE TO DANTIWARA

After breakfast, we will have a full day ride (30 km / 19 miles) to Dantiwara. Passing through rural villages and following a dry riverbed, we’ll ride through the enveloping plains of the Aravalli hills, India’s oldest mountain range. We’ll stop for an elaborate picnic lunch near a temple before making our way back to our lakeside tented safari camp.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Tonight’s Sweet Sleep: Tented Safari Camp
Time in the Saddle: 6 hrs / 30 km (19 miles)

DAY FIVE: BALI FOREST

Today we have a full-day ride to Perwa in the Bali Forest.

Making our way along the bottom of the Aravalli hills south west to the village of Perwa, we’ll pass villages and rural farmsteads, cutting through the smooth volcanic rock formations. We’ll take five in the shade for a long picnic lunch in a shepherds’ village.

After lunch, we’ll ride along a reservoir wall on a high sand track–it’s impossible to not snap dozens of photos. Here, we’ll have the opportunity to maybe spot leopards at sunset, on a hill near our camp outside Perwa.

Jeeps will transfer us to our camp after a glass of spicy chai. After rinsing off the day, we’ll gather for a decadent meal.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Tonight’s Sweet Sleep: Tented Safari Camp
Time in the Saddle: 6 hrs / 30 km (19 miles)

DAY SIX: LEOPARD SPOTTING

For those who wish to rise extra early this morning, we’ll have another chance to spot leopards at dawn!

After breakfast (and hopefully non-stop chatter about seeing leopards!), we’ll ride to Jawai and onwards to Jawai Bandh reservoir. Hugged by a landscape of granite, caves, kopjes, Acacia scrub forest and sandy-bottomed riverbeds, the leopards roam wild and free in this area with temples appearing like a mirage in the distance.

Lunch will be shared in a cozy clay bungalow where a local family will greet us and introduce us to their Rajasthani traditions.

We’ll jump in jeeps in the late afternoon and begin searching for the cats at dusk…that means there’s no time for catnaps!

Dinner will be served alongside an expansive reservoir. Fret not: experienced security guards will watch over us in case leopards or alligators come a little too close for comfort.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Tonight’s Sweet Sleep: Tented Safari Camp
Time in the Saddle: 4 hrs / 20 km (12 miles)

DAY SEVEN: WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENT 

After breakfast, we’ll drive to Jodhpur where along the way we will visit one or more local women’s empowerment initiatives and NGOs (please note that these are subject to change depending on availability of the organizations to facilitate our visit), such as:

At Ghoomar in Pali, we’ll learn about the self-help women’s initiative which is supported by an NGO called Srijan (Self-Reliant Initiatives through Joint Action). Ghoomar was founded and continues to operate by enterprising women of the Garasiya tribe. Together, they make and sell pulp from the local fruits.

In Jodhpur, the Sambhali Trust is a non-profit charitable organization whose laser focus is on the development and empowerment of women and girls in Rajasthan.

Lunch will be on the road as we travel to Rohet where we’ll also experience a local delicacy, kachori. This spicy deep-fried snack is one you’ll want to replicate at home!

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Tonight’s Sweet Sleep: Jodhpur Hotel
How much further? 3 – 4 hours (driving)

DAY EIGHT: MEHRANGARH FORT

Your morning is at your leisure. Take the opportunity to rest by the hotel pool, get a massage or book yourself a locally guided tour around the old part of this ‘blue’ city.

In the afternoon, we’ll visit the famous Mehrangarh Fort, built in 1459. Here, we’ll learn how the goddess Karni Mata was instrumental in securing the site and was bestowed the honour of laying the foundation stone of the fort. We’ll also gain insight into the lives of the Maharanis (queens) who lived there and the widows who sacrificed their lives. They are memorialized on the wall of the fort where their sculpted handprints remind visitors of their strength. Much has been written about the Citadel of the Sun, for truly, it is one of the most impressive in all Rajasthan. So colossal are its proportions that Rudyard Kipling called it “the work of giants”. Today, it is acknowledged as one of the best preserved fort in India.

In the evening, have the opportunity to go shopping at the local market and antiquities warehouse.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Tonight’s Sweet Sleep: Devi Bhawan

DAY NINE: DEEP INTO THE SAND DUNES 

In the morning, we’ll drive one hour north to Mathania to connect with our beloved Marwari horses again. We’ll mount up on sand dunes and ride until our super scenic lunch at a farmer’s house in the desert. Our horses will enjoy rehydrating drinks from the farmer’s watering hole.

Satiated (both horses and riders), we’ll continue northwest, making our way over the sand and signature pink granite of the area (it was used to build the impressive Meharangarh Fort). We’ll pass small hamlets and farmsteads, taking in the panoramas from the edge of the Great Thar Desert (or Great Indian Desert) of Rajasthan that forms a natural boundary between India and Pakistan.

We’ll stop for a picnic break, stretch and short siesta before heading to our desert camp on the outskirts of Osian. If we’re feeling comfortable and confident, we can canter into camp.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Tonight’s Sweet Sleep: Tented Safari Camp
Time in the saddle: 5 hrs / 25 km (16 miles)
How much further? 1 hour (driving)

DAY TEN: HACRA

Today we’ll saddle up for a full-day ride from Osian to Hacra and travel deep into the sand dunes. We’ll pass by thatched roof huts and be immersed in the scrub of resilient desert vegetation and acacia bushes. We may encounter wild Nilgai (a thin-legged Asian antelope), small chinkara gazelle (also known as the Indian gazelle) and curious mongoose as we descend into agricultural farmland and reemerge at the desert’s edge again.

Fun fact: When alarmed, chinkara gazelles stamp their forefoot on the ground and emit a sneeze-like hiss through the nose. Locally, the name Chinkara translates to “the sneezer.”

We’ll arrive at our tented camp close to the Bishnoi community hamlet of Hacra. Local nature guides will join us when possible to provide more insight into the desert environment and the distinct flora and fauna that surrounds us. Sometimes the camp is visited by joyous locals who are eager to share traditional music and dancing.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Tonight’s Sweet Sleep: Tented Safari Camp
Time in the saddle: 6 hrs /30km (19 miles)

DAY ELEVEN: DESERT RIDE

Today we’ll take a full-day desert ride from Hacra to Cullu! We’ll ride north, where the sand may be deeper but your sturdy Marwari horse has an amazing, determined stamina not known in other breeds. They are genuine desert horses and we are riding in the beating heart of the Marwar district, their namesake!

Lunch will be in the cool comfort of a shady spot near a farm. Our afternoon ride through the desert traverses well-traveled camel paths (that goats like to frequent as well). We’ll be on the lookout for gazelles,  climb sand dunes and give ‘er on long canters before returning to the sanctuary of our tented safari camp.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Tonight’s Sweet Sleep: Tented Safari Camp
Time in the saddle: 6 hrs /30km (19 miles)

DAY 12: LAST RIDE TO KHICHAN

We’ll have a full-day ride ahead of us from Cullu to Khichan. This is our final day of riding (sigh). We’ll be saying grateful goodbyes to our dedicated grooms, tent wallas and talented cooks.

Having created a strong partnership and connection with our horses, we’ll be able to take full and confident advantage of the open landscape with this establishment of trust. We will pass by several farmsteads and villages and observe a distinct shift in landscape from desert sand to pink rock and rolling farmland.

We will arrive at Khichan, famous for the arrival of the elegant Demoiselle cranes that roost here during the winter season (October to March). The birds migrate from the Mongolian steppes and at the peak (December to February) their  numbers reach over 10,000 which is quite a mesmerizing sight to witness!

After heartrending goodbyes to our precious horses, we’ll see them off as they travel home overnight for a well-deserved rest.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Tonight’s sweet sleep: Hotel Kurka Resort
Time in the saddle: 6 hrs /30km (19 miles)

DAY THIRTEEN: DEPARTURE

We’ll have a treasured early morning visit to the nearby Demoiselle crane feeding grounds – what an unmatched sight! The birds will fly over us, dream-like, as we share sunrise chai and reflections on our last day together.

After breakfast, we’ll transfer by road (2 hours) to Jodhpur airport (JDR) for departures. The last 12 days have been an all-encompassing adventure in the company of handsome Marwari horses, sleek leopards, migrating cranes and the newfound kinship with fellow Wild Women. From the desolate dunes to the riotous Pushkar Fair, new spicy bites, comforting cups of chai and the wheee of tuk-tuk rides, what a time it has been!

Heavy hearts will be buoyed by the question, “Where next?”

Wild Women Expeditions offers horseback riding trips in Canada (Alberta), Azores, Peru, Chile and Iceland!

Meals Included: Breakfast

MARWARI HORSE DETAILS

The Marwari or Malani is a rare breed of horse from the Marwar (or Jodhpur) region of India. Known for its inward-turning ear tips, the colours vary between individuals. The height is usually 15.2 to 16.2 hands. Known for their hardiness, the Marwar is quite similar to the Kathiawari, another Indian breed from the Kathiawar region southwest of Marwar. Many breed members exhibit a natural ambling gait. A recent pilot DNA study has revealed that the Marwari are cousins to the Akhal Teke, with some possible Mongolian, Arab and Persian influence over the centuries. They are uniquely adapted to living and working in the desert.

The Rathores, traditional rulers of the Marwar region of western India, were the first to breed the Marwari. Beginning in the 12th century, they espoused strict breeding that promoted purity and hardiness. Used throughout history as a cavalry horse by the people of the Marwar region, the Marwari was noted for its loyalty and bravery in battle. The breed deteriorated in the 1930s when poor management practices resulted in a reduction of the breeding stock, but today, it has regained some of its popularity.

The Marwari is used for light draught and agricultural work, as well as riding and packing. In 1995, a breed society was formed for the Marwari horse in India. The exportation of Marwari horses was banned for decades, but between 2000 and 2006, a small number of exports were allowed. Though they are rare, they are becoming more popular outside of India due to their unique look.