Camel safari
A camel safari, from twenty minutes to an hour and a half
- Sunset and sunrise
- 20 min to 90 min
- Included in every trip
The camel is the reason most people come, and it is also the part most people know least about before they get on one. It is higher than you expect, the getting up and the getting down are the awkward bits, and forty minutes is a long time if nobody warned you. None of that is a reason not to do it. It is a reason to know it first.
Before you get on
Tall, slow, and rougher standing up than moving.
A camel kneels to let you on and then stands in two movements, back legs first, which pitches you forward hard enough that everybody grabs the saddle. Lean back and hold the front bar. Getting down is the same in reverse. Between those two moments it is one of the gentlest things you can sit on.
The walking pace is slow and the motion is a long side-to-side roll. Twenty minutes is pleasant for anyone. Forty is where you notice your legs. Ninety, which is the Siala trip, is a real ride and your inner thighs will tell you about it the next day.
The camel men walk. They are not guides on a rota — they are the families whose camels these are, and they have worked this sand their whole lives. If you ask, most of them will tell you which dune is whose and what the wells are called.
Which ride
Everyone books the sunset. The sunrise is better.
The sunset ride is the famous one: you go out into the gold, you get the silhouette photograph, and you arrive at camp as the fire is lit. It is genuinely beautiful and there are other people in it.
The sunrise ride is on the overnight trips and it is the one people describe afterwards. The sand has been re-cut by the night wind so it is unmarked, the light is the same, it is cold and clean, and there is nobody else out. On the One Night, Two Days trip it crosses Siala and passes the gypsy families as they are starting their day.
If you only get one, and you are staying out, take the morning.
Straight answers
Some people should not get on a camel.
Fine on a camel
- Children from about six, with an adult walking alongside
- Anyone reasonably mobile, at any age — it is sitting, not exercise
- Nervous riders, on the short sunset leg
- Larger passengers — these are working animals and it is not an issue
Take the jeep instead
- Pregnancy, at any stage
- A recent back, hip or knee injury
- Anyone who cannot hold on for the stand-up and sit-down
- Real fear of heights — you are about two metres up
Skipping the camel costs nothing and changes nothing else. We will drive you to the same place and you will get there before the riders do.
Price
Included on every trip, or from ₹400 at Sam.
On our trips the camel is in the price, both legs of it where there are two. Nobody at the camp will ask you for a camel fare and there is no per-ride charge.
Bought on its own at Sam the published street rate starts at ₹400 for a short ride and goes up with the length. It is negotiated on the sand and the first quote is not the price. Agree the number and the duration before you get on, because "one hour" and "one round" are very different rides.
| Ride | On our trips | Bought at Sam |
|---|---|---|
| Short sunset ride, ~20 min | Included | from ₹400 |
| Dune approach, ~40 min | Included | negotiated |
| Long crossing, ~90 min | Included on Siala | rarely offered |
| Sunrise ride | Included on overnights | not sold at Sam |
Practical
Long trousers, closed shoes, something for your head.
- Long trousers. Shorts and a camel saddle over forty minutes is a mistake you make once.
- Closed shoes rather than sandals — the stirrup and the sand are both against you.
- Something over your head. We hand out turbans and they are not decoration.
- Sunglasses, and a jacket for the sunrise ride from November to February.
- A strap for your phone. Every season, somebody drops one from two metres up.
The longest rides
Where the camel leg is the trip.
Good to know
The things people ask.
How much is a camel safari in Jaisalmer?
It is included on every trip we run, both the sunset and the sunrise legs. Bought on its own at Sam the published street rate starts at ₹400 for a short ride, negotiated on the spot. Agree the price and the duration before you get on.
How long is the camel ride?
It depends on the trip. The dune approach on most packages is around forty minutes. The Siala open-camping trip is about an hour and a half each way, because the camel is the only way to reach the ground we camp on. The sunrise ride is shorter.
Is a camel ride uncomfortable?
The standing up and the sitting down are the rough parts — lean back and hold the bar. The walking is a slow roll and most people find it comfortable for the first half hour. After that, long trousers matter.
Can children go on a camel?
From about six, with an adult walking beside them, and we slow the leg down. Younger than that we would put you in the jeep and nobody misses anything.
Should I do the sunset or the sunrise camel ride?
The sunset is the famous one and it is busier. The sunrise is on unmarked sand with nobody else out, and it is the one guests describe afterwards. On an overnight trip you get both.
Are the camels well treated?
They belong to the families who walk them, which is the strongest guarantee available here — a camel is a household’s livelihood for twenty years. If you see something you are unhappy with, tell us that day rather than in a review, and we will deal with it.
If that helped
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How many of you, which nights, and whether anyone needs a washroom a few steps away rather than a dune. We will tell you which trip actually suits you, including when the answer is none of them.