12 Day Safari Program
Main Road Dhordo Bhuj , India
Verified Listing
Dive into a safari experience with the rich heritage of the Great Ran of Kutch.
This region has stunning forts, ancient heritage sites, rich culture, and incredible wildlife.
All our packages have been meticulously designed to take you off the beaten track through pristine riding terrain, visiting places that are yet to be discovered by hordes of mainstream tourists.
A fleet of vehicles, including jeeps and other support vehicles equipped with daily requirements, will accompany you on the safaris to ensure you have everything you need during your journey.
Day 1 – Arrival Day
• Our representative will greet you at the airport and take you to KCRC Resort Camp in the White Desert. • Upon reaching the resort, you will receive a royal welcome and be shown your accommodation. • Accommodation at the resort is in luxury Swiss tents with permanent fittings to enjoy spacious, fully furnished tents with A/C, ensuite bathrooms, and hot showers. • During the ride, accommodation is based on two people sharing, but first two nights at the resort, you can stay in your private tent at no extra cost to relax and rest after your long flight. • In the evening, we will take the jeeps and head out into the White Desert, giving you your first glimpse of this unique and breathtaking landscape. • We will watch the sunset over the salt flats and visit Rann Utsav Festival before returning to KCRC for dinner. Day 2 – Ride Out
• Rising early, with tea or coffee served at your tent, your horse will be prepped and ready, awaiting you in the half-light. • We will take a short ride out into the White Desert, stopping to watch the magnificent sunrise over this unique landscape. • Breakfast will be served here, at a stunning location on the salt flats, a surreal and otherworldly dining experience to start the day. • After breakfast, there will be time to explore this unique landscape and take some great photos before heading back to KCRC to freshen up and heading out in the jeeps. • We will visit Nirona village, famous for the workmanship of its traditional artisans. • Perhaps the most famous tradition in Nirona 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 passed down through one family in Nirona for over 300 years and can only be found here. • In addition to Rogan art, we will visit traditional artisans 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 retains its original charm. These real craftsmen work in their home studios without fanfare, using the same traditional techniques as their forefathers. • We continue by jeep to the intriguing Fossil Park for lunch, then on to the hills of Dhinodar, where peacocks roam, and leopards prowl… • Dhinodar Hill is an inactive volcano with striking basalt rock formations, offering spectacular views across the ChhariDhandh wetlands towards the Rann, with a shrine at the top and the 12th-century Hindu Than monastery at the bottom. • The monastery is a fascinating, well-preserved site with many exciting stories and legends about its foundation and features. • We will visit the monastery before continuing toChhariDhandh Bird Sanctuary, home to vast numbers of migratory birds, including flamingos, cranes, painted storks, and spoonbills, where we will enjoy the sunset before returning to KCRC for dinner. Day 3
• We set off on our safari adventure, riding across the Banni grasslands, home to many species of wildlife, including chinkara (Indian gazelle), Nilgai, blackbucks (antelope), wild boar, golden jackals, caracal, and desert foxes. • Today, as every day, the camp team will head out to gather supplies, arriving at the lunch spot to set up tents and kitchen before our arrival. • After lunch, we will rest briefly before continuing to Hajipir for overnight camp. Stargazing Night • After dinner, we will head out into the desert with high-powered telescopes and some astronomy experts from Stargazing India to look at the stars. • The Rann of Kutch is recognized as one of the best places to go stargazing. Our experts will help you identify critical features of the night sky, along with an explanation of their significance in both western and traditional Indian astronomy. Day 4
• We ride out from Hajipur, leaving the Banni grasslands and passing through stretches of thorn forest and scrubland, interspersed with small farming hamlets, as we make our way West to Siyot Caves, meeting the camp team halfway for lunch and make overnight camp near the caves. • The caves at Siyot are a series of five rock-cut caves dating from the first century AD. • The enormous main cave was initially used as a Shiva temple, with other smaller caves added as individual meditation cells sometime between the 1st and 6th centuries. Buddhists and Hindu Shaivaites over the centuries have used the site. • Here, you will find no ticket office or tourist development. Just a beautiful, ancient piece of early history, carved into the landscape so that it retains its original sense of peace and tranquillity almost 2000 years later. Day 5
• From Siyot, we continue our journey west, scrubland and thorn forest giving way to the sandy coastal desert terrain surrounding Lakphat. • An impressive sight, Lakphat is a fort town surrounded by 7km of high walls, fortified by ramparts and round towers. • Once a key trading port with 15,000 inhabitants connecting Gujarat with Sindh, its fortune changed when the 1819 earthquake altered the course of the Indus river to flow into the Arabian Sea further north. • Lakphat lost its importance as a port, by 1850, all trade had gone, along with most of the inhabitants. • Today, Lakphat stands alone on the horizon like a fanciful mirage, rising where the sandy Kutch desert meets a salty inlet of the Arabian sea, a sparsely populated ghost town, where just 500 inhabitants live amongst the crumbling ruins of the ancient city with a magnificent fort surrounding them. • We will arrive at Lakphat on time for lunch and stay camped here overnight, leaving the afternoon to explore the fort, followed by a sunset ride along the shore. • The camping experience within Lakphat is wonderfully atmospheric; tents sheltered within the ancient fort walls, lantern light dancing on the old stone as we make our way to dinner, an al fresco feast, sharing our table with the ghosts of a glorious past. Day 6
• After breakfast, we will take the jeeps to visit Narayan Sarovar, Koteswar, and Mata no Madh, continuing to a meeting point where we will rejoin the horses and take lunch. • From there, we ride on to the historic village of Tera, where we will stay overnight in the fort. • Tera was once an estate (jagir) given by the rulers of Kutch to their brethren. Tera Jagir consisted of 41 villages and was one of the largest jagirs of Kutch, with the ruling family residing in the Tera fort. • The approach to Tera is quite striking as we ride down a narrow strip of land between two of the three manmade lakes at the edge of Tera village. • These interlinking lakes are a remarkable feat of ancient engineering. They are fed by canals carrying rainwater from up to 20km away, entering the first lake and progressively filtering as it moves through to the third. Traditionally these lakes provided all the water the village's inhabitants needed, with one for drinking, one for animals to drink, and one for washing clothes and utensils. Even today, we will likely see herds of goats, sheep, or buffalo drinking from the lake on the right or the ladies of the village washing clothes to the left. • In contrast to the vastness of Lakphat, camp at Tera fort is a much more intimate setting. The village lies outside the castle gates, while only the ruling family lives within the fort. • Similarly, when we settle into camp, we will light a fire, close the gates, and have the fort all to ourselves for the night. Day 7
• The area close to Tera is known as Nilaya grassland, home to many species, including peacocks, great Indian bustards, chinkara, bluebells, golden jackals, wolves(rare), and hyenas (rare). • From Tera, we ride southeast, stopping for lunch halfway and camping overnight at a beautiful spot near the river at FotMandev. Day 8
• Continuing east, today we ride to Devpar, stopping for lunch along the way. • 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 9
• Turning south from Devpur, we ride to Roha. • Roha was once the leading jagir of Kutch, ruling 52 villages, and is situated in a stunning location, covering 16 acres on a hilltop 800ft above sea level. • We will explore the fort and take lunch here before continuing south to our overnight camp. • Upon arrival, the grooms will receive the horses while we take the jeeps to ChavdaRakhal. • ChavdaRakhal is a pristine, dense forest reserve, untouched for many years, and still owned by the royal family of Kutch. • There is a lake at its center, home to over 300 crocodiles, surrounded by a dense forest of ancient teak, banyan, babool, and numerous other trees and herbs, where Nilgai and leopards are found. • We will explore the ChavdaRakhalby jeep and return to the overnight camp for dinner. Day 10
• Today, our penultimate riding day, we have a full day in the saddle. • Making our way to the sea like a river, we ride through varied terrain, crossing scrubland and meandering through sleepy villages as the landscape becomes greener and more tropical on the way to the shore. • We stop for overnight camp approx. 15km from Mandhvi. Day 11
• Today, we ride south, leaving the desert behind as palm trees appear alongside small farms growing kesar mangos and dates, salt on the wind as we approach the shore. • We finish our ride with an exhilarating gallop along the water’s edge at Mandhvi, a beautiful 7km stretch of white sand beach. • There is nothing quite like plunging into the ocean after 11 days in the saddle; the horses love it too! • We remove the saddles so you can stroll along the shore bareback, cooling the horse’s legs in the waves. • When you are ready, the grooms will receive the horses. • Our accommodation tonight will be at a beautiful beachside resort. • We will show you to your accommodation and give you an hour to relax, swim and enjoy the beach before lunch. • After lunch, we stroll up the beach to Vijay Vilas Palace. • Built of red sandstone, the palace is a beautiful example of Rajput architecture and has been used as the setting for many Bollywood movies. Once the summer resort of the Maharao, the royal family of Kutch now resides here permanently. • After visiting the royal neighbors, we will return to the resort. • There will be an optional sunset beach ride for those who would like before we reconvene at the resort for a grand farewell dinner. Day 12 – Departure day
• Optional morning activities can be arranged for guests with a later departure time. • Transfers to Bhuj will be organized based on suitable timing for your onward travel plans. What's Included?
Daily Horseback Rides
Approximately 4-6 hours of horseback riding
per day / 30 – 40km
Night Stays
Night stays in locations with a rich and ancient culture, including overnight stays inside some ancient forts.
White Desert
2 nights accommodation in a luxury resort camp in the White Desert
Heritage Hotels
2 nights accommodation in Heritage Hotels
(Castle / Palace)
Experience with Tradition
Visits to traditional villages where you can experience the work of the local artisans
Full Moon Ride
Full Moon Desert Ride
(If dates booked include full moon night)
Quality Food
Full board meals & non-alcoholic drinks, with high-quality food prepared by our chefs who accompany the ride
Folk Music
Traditional music and dance performances in camp
Visit to Rann
Visit to Rann Utsav Desert Festival
Night Sky View
Stargazing night in the desert, with a high-powered telescope and professional astronomers on hand to help you enjoy the wonders of the night sky
Beach Ride
A ride on the beach will allow the riders to view and experience the beauty in the water of Kutch.
Farewell Dinner
After enjoying the safari on horseback, on the last day of the ride, it will be a time to party and enjoy with everyone in a group.
This region has stunning forts, ancient heritage sites, rich culture, and incredible wildlife.
All our packages have been meticulously designed to take you off the beaten track through pristine riding terrain, visiting places that are yet to be discovered by hordes of mainstream tourists.
A fleet of vehicles, including jeeps and other support vehicles equipped with daily requirements, will accompany you on the safaris to ensure you have everything you need during your journey.
Day 1 – Arrival Day
• Our representative will greet you at the airport and take you to KCRC Resort Camp in the White Desert. • Upon reaching the resort, you will receive a royal welcome and be shown your accommodation. • Accommodation at the resort is in luxury Swiss tents with permanent fittings to enjoy spacious, fully furnished tents with A/C, ensuite bathrooms, and hot showers. • During the ride, accommodation is based on two people sharing, but first two nights at the resort, you can stay in your private tent at no extra cost to relax and rest after your long flight. • In the evening, we will take the jeeps and head out into the White Desert, giving you your first glimpse of this unique and breathtaking landscape. • We will watch the sunset over the salt flats and visit Rann Utsav Festival before returning to KCRC for dinner. Day 2 – Ride Out
• Rising early, with tea or coffee served at your tent, your horse will be prepped and ready, awaiting you in the half-light. • We will take a short ride out into the White Desert, stopping to watch the magnificent sunrise over this unique landscape. • Breakfast will be served here, at a stunning location on the salt flats, a surreal and otherworldly dining experience to start the day. • After breakfast, there will be time to explore this unique landscape and take some great photos before heading back to KCRC to freshen up and heading out in the jeeps. • We will visit Nirona village, famous for the workmanship of its traditional artisans. • Perhaps the most famous tradition in Nirona 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 passed down through one family in Nirona for over 300 years and can only be found here. • In addition to Rogan art, we will visit traditional artisans 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 retains its original charm. These real craftsmen work in their home studios without fanfare, using the same traditional techniques as their forefathers. • We continue by jeep to the intriguing Fossil Park for lunch, then on to the hills of Dhinodar, where peacocks roam, and leopards prowl… • Dhinodar Hill is an inactive volcano with striking basalt rock formations, offering spectacular views across the ChhariDhandh wetlands towards the Rann, with a shrine at the top and the 12th-century Hindu Than monastery at the bottom. • The monastery is a fascinating, well-preserved site with many exciting stories and legends about its foundation and features. • We will visit the monastery before continuing toChhariDhandh Bird Sanctuary, home to vast numbers of migratory birds, including flamingos, cranes, painted storks, and spoonbills, where we will enjoy the sunset before returning to KCRC for dinner. Day 3
• We set off on our safari adventure, riding across the Banni grasslands, home to many species of wildlife, including chinkara (Indian gazelle), Nilgai, blackbucks (antelope), wild boar, golden jackals, caracal, and desert foxes. • Today, as every day, the camp team will head out to gather supplies, arriving at the lunch spot to set up tents and kitchen before our arrival. • After lunch, we will rest briefly before continuing to Hajipir for overnight camp. Stargazing Night • After dinner, we will head out into the desert with high-powered telescopes and some astronomy experts from Stargazing India to look at the stars. • The Rann of Kutch is recognized as one of the best places to go stargazing. Our experts will help you identify critical features of the night sky, along with an explanation of their significance in both western and traditional Indian astronomy. Day 4
• We ride out from Hajipur, leaving the Banni grasslands and passing through stretches of thorn forest and scrubland, interspersed with small farming hamlets, as we make our way West to Siyot Caves, meeting the camp team halfway for lunch and make overnight camp near the caves. • The caves at Siyot are a series of five rock-cut caves dating from the first century AD. • The enormous main cave was initially used as a Shiva temple, with other smaller caves added as individual meditation cells sometime between the 1st and 6th centuries. Buddhists and Hindu Shaivaites over the centuries have used the site. • Here, you will find no ticket office or tourist development. Just a beautiful, ancient piece of early history, carved into the landscape so that it retains its original sense of peace and tranquillity almost 2000 years later. Day 5
• From Siyot, we continue our journey west, scrubland and thorn forest giving way to the sandy coastal desert terrain surrounding Lakphat. • An impressive sight, Lakphat is a fort town surrounded by 7km of high walls, fortified by ramparts and round towers. • Once a key trading port with 15,000 inhabitants connecting Gujarat with Sindh, its fortune changed when the 1819 earthquake altered the course of the Indus river to flow into the Arabian Sea further north. • Lakphat lost its importance as a port, by 1850, all trade had gone, along with most of the inhabitants. • Today, Lakphat stands alone on the horizon like a fanciful mirage, rising where the sandy Kutch desert meets a salty inlet of the Arabian sea, a sparsely populated ghost town, where just 500 inhabitants live amongst the crumbling ruins of the ancient city with a magnificent fort surrounding them. • We will arrive at Lakphat on time for lunch and stay camped here overnight, leaving the afternoon to explore the fort, followed by a sunset ride along the shore. • The camping experience within Lakphat is wonderfully atmospheric; tents sheltered within the ancient fort walls, lantern light dancing on the old stone as we make our way to dinner, an al fresco feast, sharing our table with the ghosts of a glorious past. Day 6
• After breakfast, we will take the jeeps to visit Narayan Sarovar, Koteswar, and Mata no Madh, continuing to a meeting point where we will rejoin the horses and take lunch. • From there, we ride on to the historic village of Tera, where we will stay overnight in the fort. • Tera was once an estate (jagir) given by the rulers of Kutch to their brethren. Tera Jagir consisted of 41 villages and was one of the largest jagirs of Kutch, with the ruling family residing in the Tera fort. • The approach to Tera is quite striking as we ride down a narrow strip of land between two of the three manmade lakes at the edge of Tera village. • These interlinking lakes are a remarkable feat of ancient engineering. They are fed by canals carrying rainwater from up to 20km away, entering the first lake and progressively filtering as it moves through to the third. Traditionally these lakes provided all the water the village's inhabitants needed, with one for drinking, one for animals to drink, and one for washing clothes and utensils. Even today, we will likely see herds of goats, sheep, or buffalo drinking from the lake on the right or the ladies of the village washing clothes to the left. • In contrast to the vastness of Lakphat, camp at Tera fort is a much more intimate setting. The village lies outside the castle gates, while only the ruling family lives within the fort. • Similarly, when we settle into camp, we will light a fire, close the gates, and have the fort all to ourselves for the night. Day 7
• The area close to Tera is known as Nilaya grassland, home to many species, including peacocks, great Indian bustards, chinkara, bluebells, golden jackals, wolves(rare), and hyenas (rare). • From Tera, we ride southeast, stopping for lunch halfway and camping overnight at a beautiful spot near the river at FotMandev. Day 8
• Continuing east, today we ride to Devpar, stopping for lunch along the way. • 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 9
• Turning south from Devpur, we ride to Roha. • Roha was once the leading jagir of Kutch, ruling 52 villages, and is situated in a stunning location, covering 16 acres on a hilltop 800ft above sea level. • We will explore the fort and take lunch here before continuing south to our overnight camp. • Upon arrival, the grooms will receive the horses while we take the jeeps to ChavdaRakhal. • ChavdaRakhal is a pristine, dense forest reserve, untouched for many years, and still owned by the royal family of Kutch. • There is a lake at its center, home to over 300 crocodiles, surrounded by a dense forest of ancient teak, banyan, babool, and numerous other trees and herbs, where Nilgai and leopards are found. • We will explore the ChavdaRakhalby jeep and return to the overnight camp for dinner. Day 10
• Today, our penultimate riding day, we have a full day in the saddle. • Making our way to the sea like a river, we ride through varied terrain, crossing scrubland and meandering through sleepy villages as the landscape becomes greener and more tropical on the way to the shore. • We stop for overnight camp approx. 15km from Mandhvi. Day 11
• Today, we ride south, leaving the desert behind as palm trees appear alongside small farms growing kesar mangos and dates, salt on the wind as we approach the shore. • We finish our ride with an exhilarating gallop along the water’s edge at Mandhvi, a beautiful 7km stretch of white sand beach. • There is nothing quite like plunging into the ocean after 11 days in the saddle; the horses love it too! • We remove the saddles so you can stroll along the shore bareback, cooling the horse’s legs in the waves. • When you are ready, the grooms will receive the horses. • Our accommodation tonight will be at a beautiful beachside resort. • We will show you to your accommodation and give you an hour to relax, swim and enjoy the beach before lunch. • After lunch, we stroll up the beach to Vijay Vilas Palace. • Built of red sandstone, the palace is a beautiful example of Rajput architecture and has been used as the setting for many Bollywood movies. Once the summer resort of the Maharao, the royal family of Kutch now resides here permanently. • After visiting the royal neighbors, we will return to the resort. • There will be an optional sunset beach ride for those who would like before we reconvene at the resort for a grand farewell dinner. Day 12 – Departure day
• Optional morning activities can be arranged for guests with a later departure time. • Transfers to Bhuj will be organized based on suitable timing for your onward travel plans. What's Included?
Daily Horseback Rides
Approximately 4-6 hours of horseback riding
per day / 30 – 40km
Night Stays
Night stays in locations with a rich and ancient culture, including overnight stays inside some ancient forts.
White Desert
2 nights accommodation in a luxury resort camp in the White Desert
Heritage Hotels
2 nights accommodation in Heritage Hotels
(Castle / Palace)
Experience with Tradition
Visits to traditional villages where you can experience the work of the local artisans
Full Moon Ride
Full Moon Desert Ride
(If dates booked include full moon night)
Quality Food
Full board meals & non-alcoholic drinks, with high-quality food prepared by our chefs who accompany the ride
Folk Music
Traditional music and dance performances in camp
Visit to Rann
Visit to Rann Utsav Desert Festival
Night Sky View
Stargazing night in the desert, with a high-powered telescope and professional astronomers on hand to help you enjoy the wonders of the night sky
Beach Ride
A ride on the beach will allow the riders to view and experience the beauty in the water of Kutch.
Farewell Dinner
After enjoying the safari on horseback, on the last day of the ride, it will be a time to party and enjoy with everyone in a group.
Location
Kutch Classic Rider Camp
Main Road Dhordo Bhuj , India
Verified Listing
Welcome to the Kutch Classic Rider Camp - an oasis in the heart of the Greater Rann of Kutch in Gujarat, India. Our camp resort is the perfect destination for those seeking adventure, culture, and natural beauty. We offer a unique glamping experience in our comfortable and fully-equipped tents, complete with modern amenities.
The facility provides airport pick and drop and three excursions to see the natural beauty of the salt marshes. Enjoy traditional Indian thali served with local Kutchi food which is healthy and vegetarian. The Kutch Classic Rider Camp is the ideal place for you to challenge yourself and explore a culture by immersing yourself in it.
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