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Jaipur: Jhalana Leopard Safari & Shikaar Audhi Hunting Lodge

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1/4

Duration2h 45m

GroupPrivate

LanguagesEN · HI

Mobile ticketAccepted

Spotting leopards in a reserve that was once a royal hunting ground

You ride an open-air gypsy through a 20-square-kilometer reserve hosting 30+ leopards, guided by a forest expert who reads the landscape for wildlife. You stop at Shikaar Audhi, a three-storeyed hunting lodge built for maharajas, now a platform for spotting animals and watching light move across the reserve. Choose between early morning (6:45–9:30 AM) or late afternoon (3:30–6:15 PM) depending on when you want to be there. Permits, guide, water, and jeep are all included; if permits run out, you're rescheduled or moved to Amagarh safari instead.

2h 45m

Step-by-step itinerary

Arrive at Jhalana Reserve, Jaipur
Explore wildlife in open-air gypsy
Spot leopards and other animals
Enjoy bird watching in reserve
Visit Shikaar Audhi hunting lodge
Use animal-spotting platform for sunset

The Experience

Hands grip the metal rail of an open-air gypsy as it rolls into Jhalana Leopard Conservation Reserve at first light—or late afternoon, depending on which slot you choose. The driver cuts the engine. Your guide, a forest expert who knows these 20 square kilometers by heart, points toward a rocky outcrop where a leopard might be resting. The reserve holds more than 30 leopards and 5 cubs right now, though spotting them is never guaranteed; that's what makes the search real. You're moving through what used to be a hunting ground for Rajasthan's maharajas, and the landscape still feels like it belongs to them—dry scrub, boulders, the occasional call of a Blue Bull or a Striped Hyena cutting through the quiet.

The gypsy stops at Shikaar Audhi, the three-storeyed hunting lodge sitting in the middle of the reserve itself. It's not a place to stay; it's a platform to stand on, to watch the light change across the reserve from somewhere the royals once stood. If you're there for sunrise or sunset, the colors flatten everything into silhouette—the hills, the scattered trees, the animals moving below. The lodge has its own animal-spotting platform, and the timing matters: morning safaris run 6:45 AM to 9:30 AM, evening ones from 3:30 PM to 6:15 PM. Pick whichever fits your day, but know that light and temperature shift what you'll see. A Spotted Owlet might call from a branch at dusk; an Indian Pitta moves through the undergrowth at dawn. The reserve is thick with birds if you're watching for them—Dusky Eagles, various owls, species most city visitors never hear named.

The Jhalana Safari Leopard Conservatory also holds Desert Foxes, Golden Jackals, Rhesus Macaques, Bengal Monitors, Porcupines, Chital deer, and Indian Palm Civets. Your guide will point out tracks and scat, explain which animal made which mark, read the reserve like a text. Permits are government-controlled and sometimes run short; if that happens on your date, the operator switches you to Amagarh safari, which runs a similar experience elsewhere in Jaipur—no refund, but you reschedule or take the alternative. It's worth knowing upfront so there's no surprise at pickup. Bottled water and juice come with you; the jeep transportation and all fees are locked in.

What’s included

All government permits for the Jhalana Leopard Conservation Reserve.
jeep transportation in an open-air gypsy.
a guide and forest expert.
bottled water and juice pack.
all fees and taxes.

Good to know

Easy physical levelInfants must sit on laps

Operated by BanBanjara

Is this one for you?Book this if you want to search for leopards in a working reserve without arranging permits or transport yourself—the fixed time slots and included guide mean you show up and the safari starts on schedule.