EXPERIENCE RURAL RAJASTHAN WHILE YOU TRAVEL FROM UDAIPUR TO JODHPUR VIA JAWAI AND RANAKPUR : Our Udaipur, Jawai and Jodhpur tour invites you to soak up the splendours of Ranakpur and Udaipur while also explore Jawai hills and leopards at Jawai bandh in rural Rajasthan. It pairs perfectly with our Rajasthan Desert Experience. It’s lovely all on its own, too, particularly for those who’ve already dipped their toes into India on a previous visit and would like to explore the beauty, charm and nature of Rajasthan and its countryside in more depth.
Jawai, in the Pali district of Western Rajasthan, is a remarkable place. In a countryside that has been changed almost beyond recognition by two decades of explosive economic growth, electrification here is patchy, the crops of mustard and wheat painstakingly harvested by hand.
In 1946, Maharajah Umaid Singh of Jodhpur broke ground on a dam on the river Jawai, the most significant incursion of modernity into the landscape. The land around the dam is known informally by the river’s name. The rich river-bottom soil, which for millennia has supported clans of Rajput farmers, is broken by dramatic solitary hills, stark uninhabited granite peaks, almost all of which are marked by a shrine or temple.
Through this country wander semi-nomadic herders of the Rabari tribe following ancient routes that take them south into Gujarat and east into Madhya Pradesh. And in the hills live dozens of leopards, predators who by day watch the humans go about their business, and by night come down to hunt, stalking the streets of their villages and killing their livestock. The leopards’ conspicuous presence is due to a unique relationship with the Rabari villagers. The Rabari, a tribal caste of cattle semi-nomadic herders and shepherds believed to have migrated to Rajasthan from Iran via Afghanistan a thousand years ago, are devout Hindus. In particular, they’re devotees of Shiva—the god of wild things, who’s clad in a leopard skin. The Rabaris believe that a goat being killed by a leopard is a blessing from Lord Shiva. Keeping their livestock safe from leopards is easy for them as they know every movement pattern of these cats. But the fact that Shiva wears a leopard skin and sits on a tiger skin means for them that leopards are on a higher pedestal than tigers, and hence should be treated with respect.
Around the world, from the savannas of Kenya to Brazil’s Pantanal wetlands, when big cats pose a threat to poor communities, the same sad story prevails: Cats kill valuable animals. Occasionally they kill people, often children, who are small enough to be carried away. And then people kill the cats. Every year leopard attacks many people across India some deaths and other left wounded. Yet in Jawai no one has been taken by a leopard for over 150 years.
Hans Overeem & Yvette Seppenwoolde, Netherland
Thank you so much for making our stay so interesting and enjoyable. you made a fantastic birthday party for Sarah. We will never forget sitting around the fire under the stars listening to the enchanting music of Rajasthan.
John & Sarah, Bristol, England
We enjoyed every moment of all the time we spent with you and your family. This was the real Rajasthan that we Marwaris had wanted to see for a very long time. The warmth and APNAPAN you showed us by having us as a guest in your house, was really special to us and we would cherish these moments and memories for all our lives. Thanks from the bottom of our hearts.
Divya & Chanchal Agarwal, Banglore, India
Thank you for all the kindness, good food and a lot of stories that give more insight and understanding of life and history in India. We love the quietness and peace if the desert an unforgettable experience.