Horse Safari

Saddle it up for the desert trail...
If you are the adventurous type and looking for something to unwind, just pack your rugsack and travel to Rajasthan. Home to one of the world's oldest mountain chains - the Aravallis - Rajasthan offers a great area for adventure activities and exploring the offbeat track leading to villages, cities, temples, palaces, abandoned fortresses and animals of the sandy wilderness. The best way to do it is embark on a Horse Safari.

And if galloping through vast golden sands sounds thrilling to you, then exploring Rajasthan on horseback is one of the most adventurous horse safari destinations in India. It's an opportunity to go to places where neither a motor nor a plane can go. Dotted with picturesque hamlets with friendly folks, the ride through the sand landscape of the vast Thar Desert, camping on the solitary oasis, experiencing the dark starry nights and jiving to musicians playing a haunting, stringed instrument is simply out of the world. The rolling landscape of the unrelieved ocean of sand and xerophytic shrub covered area is breathtakingly beautiful and the range of flora and fauna surprisingly large for a desert area.

Riding a royal horse or a pure bred Indian horse cross-country and interacting with nomads, enjoying cultural performances on the sand dunes, traditional Rajasthani meals, makes the Thar Desert horse safari a galloping adventure holiday. Apart from the opportunity of knowing the country in its actual colours, one also can trot, canter and gallop with the wind. It is good to have a guide who knows every pasture, waterhole and village of the region.

Although a recent introduction in Rajasthan, horse safaris provide a more exciting variation of the camel safari. Horse safaris are usually conducted in the vicinity of Udaipur where the hilly terrain and forested countryside are ideal for taking up the trail. Or one can even mark and plan one's own safari trail. The routes can be divers too, but most pass close to small villages, ruined historical monuments and temples. These places are ideal to halt for a bit of rest and relaxation, or lunch and a quick nap. In the evening visitors can enjoy the comforts of former palaces and forts. There isn't any other better or historic way to explore Rajasthan.