Jawai Safari Packages: Full Day and Half Day Safaris at Upvan Jawai

Upvan Jawai offers two kinds of Jawai safari package: a full day safari at ₹12,000 for up to four guests, and four half day safaris at ₹5,500 per gypsy for up to six guests. Every drive runs in an open gypsy with a local guide through the granite hills around Jawai Bandh, in the Pali district of Rajasthan. Jawai Bandh is a reservoir on the Jawai River, and the hills around it are among India's best-known leopard landscapes outside a national park. Part of this country lies within the Jawai Bandh Leopard Conservation Reserve, notified in February 2010 and covering about 19.79 sq km of granite outcrops and thorn forest.

Leopards here rest in rock caves and on sun-warmed boulders, often in plain view. The Rabari herders who graze these hills have shared them with the cats for generations, and their temples, cattle and homes sit inside the same landscape. A safari at Jawai is less a game drive than a day spent inside that relationship, in the wilderness that time remembered.

This guide covers every Upvan Jawai safari package: what each one includes, what it costs, who it suits, and how to plan around it.

Upvan Jawai runs one full day safari and four half day safaris. All are private: your group has the gypsy to itself, with a maximum of six guests per vehicle.

Full Day Jawai Safari

• Focus: Pandav temple, birding, Andheri jungle, two leopard drives, meals and a cultural evening
• Price: ₹12,000 for 4 guests, ₹2,000 per extra guest
• Guests: up to 6 per gypsy

Half Day: Jungle and Leopard

• Focus: Andheri jungle, leopard sites, and stories of the leopards and herders
• Price: ₹5,500 per gypsy
• Guests: up to 6 per gypsy

Half Day: Temple and Village

• Focus: Pandav boulder temples, Rabari homes and a heritage high tea at the dam
• Price: ₹5,500 per gypsy
• Guests: up to 6 per gypsy

Half Day: Maad Jungle and Kambeshwar Ji

• Focus: hilltop temple, sloth bear country, deer, mongoose and reptiles
• Price: ₹5,500 per gypsy
• Guests: up to 6 per gypsy

Half Day: Dam Sundowner or Breakfast

• Focus: candlelit high tea at sunset or breakfast at sunrise on the dam
• Price: ₹5,500 per gypsy
• Guests: up to 6 per gypsy

The full day Jawai safari is the most complete way to see Jawai in a single day. It combines two wildlife drives, a temple visit, birding at the dam, four meals and an evening of Rajasthani music at the resort. If you have only one day and want the best chance of a leopard sighting, this is the package to book.

Dawn: Pandav Temple, Birding and Crocodiles

The day begins in the cool before sunrise at the Pandav temple, a shrine set among boulders that local tradition links to the Pandavas of the Mahabharata. From there the gypsy moves to the edges of Jawai Bandh as the light comes up. This is the best hour for birds on the water, and mugger crocodiles haul out on the banks and rocks to warm themselves.

Breakfast at the Dam or the Resort

Breakfast is served either on the dam itself, with the reservoir and its birdlife in front of you, or back at Upvan Jawai. Your guide will suggest the better option for the day, based on weather and how the morning's sightings went.

Late Morning: Andheri Jungle and the Leopard Search

After breakfast the safari enters the Andheri jungle, a stretch of forest so dense that it stays shaded and dark through much of the day. The drive then works through known leopard sites, scanning caves and ledges where the cats rest. The morning also includes a visit to a second jungle patch, the home ground of sloth bears, striped hyenas and civet cats. These animals are shy and largely nocturnal, so any sighting is a real reward.

Lunch and Two Hours of Rest

The gypsy returns to the resort for lunch. Two hours of rest follow, timed to the hottest part of the day, when leopards themselves lie up in the shade. It is a chance to sleep, read on your verandah or download the morning's photographs.

Evening: Leopard Safari and High Tea at the Dam

The evening drive is devoted to leopards. As the heat breaks, the cats leave their caves and climb onto the rocks, and the granite turns gold in the low light. The drive pauses for high tea at the dam as the sun goes down over the water.

Night: Dinner, Starters and a Cultural Programme

The day closes at Upvan Jawai with starters, dinner and a cultural programme of Rajasthani music and dance. It is barefoot luxury at its most relaxed: a fire, a meal and the sounds of the hills settling into night.

Full Day Safari Pricing

The full day Jawai safari costs ₹12,000 for up to four guests, plus ₹2,000 for each additional guest. One gypsy carries a maximum of six.

• Up to 4 guests: ₹12,000 in total (about ₹3,000 per guest)
• 5 guests: ₹14,000 in total (about ₹2,800 per guest)
• 6 guests: ₹16,000 in total (about ₹2,667 per guest)

Upvan Jawai's half day safaris each focus on one side of Jawai: its leopards, its temples and villages, its wilder Maad country, or the dam at its most peaceful. Each costs ₹5,500 per gypsy for up to six guests, which works out to under ₹920 per person for a full vehicle.

1. Jungle and Leopard Safari

The jungle and leopard safari is the half day package for guests who came to Jawai for leopards. Your guide takes you into the Andheri jungle, the part of Jawai that stays dark under its canopy even at midday. The drive then moves through the rocky leopard sites, where the cats den, hunt and raise their cubs.

Along the way your guide shares the stories of these leopards: which hills belong to which cat, how they survive alongside the Rabari herds, and why the two have lived together for so long. Choose this package if you have time for one drive and want it spent on leopards.

2. Temple and Village Safari

The temple and village safari shows the human side of Jawai. It begins at boulder-cut temples that local belief dates to the time of the Mahabharata and attributes to the Pandavas. From the temples, the drive continues to Rabari homes, where herding families in their red turbans still keep cattle and goats on these hills.

The safari ends with a heritage high tea on Jawai Dam, set out with pillows and mattresses on the ground. Birds work the shallows and crocodiles bask nearby while you take tea by the water. This is the gentlest of the safaris and a good fit for families with children or older travellers.

3. Maad Jungle and Kambeshwar Ji Safari

The Maad jungle safari heads into a wilder, less visited part of the Jawai region. The drive climbs to Kambeshwar Ji, a temple on top of a hill, with wide views across the surrounding forest and rock.

Maad is the land of sloth bears, deer, mongoose and many species of reptiles. It suits guests who have already seen Jawai's leopard country and want a different landscape, or anyone curious about the wider wildlife of the region beyond the big cats.

4. Dam Sundowner or Sunrise Breakfast

The dam experience is the slowest and most romantic of the Upvan Jawai packages. Choose a sundowner high tea or a morning breakfast on Jawai Dam, set with candles, cushions and cosy seating at the water's edge.

At sunset, the reservoir reflects the sky and birds fly in to roost. At sunrise, mist lifts off the water and crocodiles begin to stir. It suits couples, small celebrations and anyone who wants to sit still in this landscape rather than move through it.

The right Jawai safari package depends on how long you are staying and what you most want to see. Use this table as a quick guide.

• One full day and want the best leopard odds: book the Full Day Jawai Safari, which has two leopard drives.
• Time for one drive and want leopards: book the Half Day Jungle and Leopard Safari.
• Travelling with children or older family: book the Half Day Temple and Village Safari.
• Already done a leopard drive: book the Half Day Maad Jungle and Kambeshwar Ji Safari.
• A couple, or celebrating something: book the Half Day Dam Sundowner or Breakfast.
• A keen birder visiting in winter: book the Full Day Safari or the Half Day Temple and Village Safari.
• Staying two or three nights: combine a full day with one or two half days.

Jawai's best-known animal is the leopard, but a full day in these hills shows a much wider range of life. What you see depends on season, time of day and luck.

• Leopard: Jawai's leopards use the caves and boulders of the granite hills. The open terrain gives them little cover, which is why sightings here are frequent.
• Mugger crocodile: The mugger, or marsh crocodile, lives in Jawai Bandh and basks on its banks and rocks.
• Birds: Resident species are present all year. In winter, migratory waterbirds arrive at the reservoir.
• Sloth bear, striped hyena and civet cat: Shy, mostly nocturnal animals of the jungle patches visited on the full day and Maad safaris.
• Deer, mongoose and reptiles: Common in Maad and the scrub country around it.

No guide can promise a sighting. These are wild animals on open, community land, not in an enclosure. What a good guide can do is read the hills, know the cats' habits and put you in the right place at the right time.

October to March is the best time for a Jawai safari. Mornings are cool, light is clear, and migratory birds fill the dam from around November. Days are pleasant, though dawn drives in December and January can be cold in an open gypsy.

April to June is hot, with afternoons often above 40°C. Leopards stay close to water and shade, and early morning and late evening drives remain productive. July to September brings the monsoon: the hills turn green, crowds thin out, and drives run around the weather.

Within any day, the first and last hours of light are best. Leopards are most active at dawn and dusk, which is why the full day safari includes both.

Upvan Jawai is located on the Sumerpur–Bijapur Road in Pali district, Rajasthan, close to Jawai Bandh.

• By air: Udaipur's Maharana Pratap Airport is the most convenient airport, roughly three hours away by road. Jodhpur Airport is a similar distance.
• By rail: Jawai Bandh and Falna railway stations are both close to the resort and served by trains on the Ahmedabad–Delhi route.
• By road: Jawai is an easy drive from Udaipur and Jodhpur, and a longer one from Ahmedabad.

Plan to arrive the day before a full day safari, since it begins before sunrise.

• Earthy, neutral clothing such as khaki, olive or brown. Avoid bright colours and white.
• Warm layers from November to February. Open gypsies are cold at dawn.
• A cap, sunglasses and sunscreen, whatever the season.
• A scarf or buff against dust on the tracks.
• Closed, comfortable shoes for temple steps and rocky ground.
• Binoculars, and a camera with a 200mm to 500mm lens if you have one.
• Drinking water and a valid photo ID.

Jawai is not a fenced park. People live and work here, and the leopards are wild. A few simple rules keep everyone safe.

• Keep your voice low near a sighting, and never shout or whistle to get an animal's attention.
• No flash photography at any time.
• Stay seated in the gypsy and follow your guide's instructions.
• Never feed or call to animals.
• Carry your plastic back with you.
• Ask before photographing Rabari families, homes or temples.

Booking ahead is strongly recommended, especially for weekends, Diwali and the Christmas to New Year period.

1. Choose your package and preferred date.
2. Share the number of guests, including children.
3. Confirm your booking with the Upvan Jawai team.
4. Be ready at the resort at least 15 minutes before your start time.

Pairing your safari with a stay in one of Upvan Jawai's tents or cottages lets you begin early drives from your doorstep and rest between them.

How much does a Jawai safari package cost at Upvan Jawai?

The full day Jawai safari at Upvan Jawai costs ₹12,000 for up to four guests, plus ₹2,000 for each extra guest, up to six per gypsy. Each half day safari costs ₹5,500 per gypsy for up to six guests. All safaris are private, so your group has the vehicle and guide to itself.

What is included in the full day Jawai safari?

The full day Jawai safari includes a dawn visit to the Pandav temple with birding and crocodile sightings, breakfast, a drive through the Andheri jungle and leopard sites, lunch, two hours of rest, an evening leopard safari with high tea at the dam, and dinner with starters and a cultural programme at Upvan Jawai.

How many people fit in one safari gypsy?

One safari gypsy at Upvan Jawai carries a maximum of six guests. The full day price covers up to four guests, with ₹2,000 added for a fifth or sixth guest. Half day safaris cost ₹5,500 per gypsy whether you travel as two or six. Larger groups can book more than one gypsy.

Is a leopard sighting guaranteed on a Jawai safari?

No leopard sighting is guaranteed, because Jawai's leopards are wild animals on open land. Sightings are frequent, however, as the granite hills offer them little cover. Booking the full day safari, which includes both morning and evening drives, gives you two chances on the same day.

Which half day Jawai safari is best for families?

The temple and village safari is the best half day option for families. It is gentle, includes boulder-cut temples and Rabari homes, and ends with a heritage high tea on the dam among birds and crocodiles. Children who want to see leopards may also enjoy the jungle and leopard safari.

What is the best time of year for a Jawai safari?

October to March is the best time of year for a Jawai safari. The weather is cool, the light is clear and winter brings migratory birds to Jawai Bandh. Safaris also run in summer and monsoon, when early morning and evening drives remain the best times for leopard sightings.

How far in advance should I book a Jawai safari package?

Book your Jawai safari package as early as possible once your dates are fixed, ideally a few weeks ahead. Gypsies and guides are limited, and weekends, Diwali and the Christmas to New Year period fill quickly. Booking your stay and safari together makes planning simpler.

Plan Your Jawai Safari with Upvan Jawai

Whether you have a single evening or three full days, there is a Jawai safari package to match. Start with a leopard drive, spend a morning among temples and Rabari homes, or simply sit by the dam with tea as the light fades. Speak to the Upvan Jawai team to choose your package and hold your date.