Jawai

Jawai is unlike anywhere else in Rajasthan. There is no fort, no palace, no old city, just a starkly beautiful landscape of black granite kopjes rising from open scrub, a wide man-made reservoir, and one of the most remarkable examples of human to predator coexistence anywhere in India. Leopards den in the caves of these hills, often within sight of the temples and villages, and are rarely in conflict with the local Rabari, the red-turbaned shepherd community who have shared the land with them for generations.

The reservoir behind the Jawai dam is the region's second draw. In winter its shallows fill with migratory birds, including flamingos, cranes, and waterfowl, while marsh crocodiles bask along its edges. Around it, the granite country, tribal hamlets such as Bera and Sena, and the wide desert light have made Jawai a magnet for wildlife photographers and a new generation of design-led luxury camps.

MyTripMyTravel runs Jawai as a boutique wilderness retreat rather than a checklist safari. Open-jeep drives at dawn and dusk are led by trackers who know the individual leopards, encounters with Rabari life are arranged with respect, and the honesty is built in: these are wild animals on open hills, so sightings, while frequent here, can never be promised. The reward is the landscape and the coexistence, with any leopard a bonus.