One night, two days
No tent, no other group, nothing over you
- Siala desert
- 1 night, 2 days
- Open sand
Your night
Open Desert Camping, Siala, hour by hour.
This is the one for people who did not come to Rajasthan to sit in a marquee. It goes further out than the camp trip, it takes longer to get there, and when you arrive there is no structure of any kind — a fire, bedding on the sand, and the sky.
3:00 PM
Picked up wherever you are
From your hotel, the station or the bus stand. Leave your luggage at our hotel and use a room and a shower before you go.
Then
50 km by car
Out past the point the day tours turn around, to where the track ends and the camels are waiting.
Late afternoon
An hour and a half by camel
The last stretch can only be done on a camel. That is the reason nobody else camps here.
Sunset
You arrive as the light goes
Bhang lassi if you want one, and the sand turns colour while the fire is lit.
Evening
Dinner cooked in the open
Cooked over the fire in front of you. Fresh fruit and drinking water, and as much of it as you want.
Night
A bed on the sand
A turban, a bed, a mattress and heavy blankets. Nothing over you. The fire stays lit until morning.
through the night
Sunrise
Wake up, then breakfast
You will wake with the light whether you meant to or not. Breakfast, then a second camel ride while it is still cool.
about 4 hours later
Late morning
Dropped anywhere in the city
Shower at the hotel, collect your bags, and we drop you wherever you need to be next.
What’s included
The number you are quoted is the number you pay.
Included in the price
- Free pickup from wherever you are staying
- A room to freshen up, a shower and luggage store at the hotel
- 50 km by car, then about 1½ hours by camel
- A camping ground with no other group on it
- Dinner cooked in the open, fresh fruit and drinking water
- Turban, bed, mattress and heavy blankets
- You sleep outside, with nothing over you
- An open fire that stays lit until morning
- Sunrise, then breakfast
- A second camel ride in the morning
- Free drop-off anywhere in the city
Not included
- Alcohol
- A washroom — there isn’t one out there
- Tips for the crew
Nothing is added at the camp. The jeep, the camel, your dinner and the taxes are already inside the price on this page.
Where you sleep
On the sand, and that is the whole point
There is no tent on this trip. You get a bed frame, a mattress, a turban and heavy blankets, set down on the open sand near the fire.
There is also no washroom at the camping ground — the desert is the washroom. If that is a problem, take the One Night, Two Days package instead, which puts you in a tent with plumbing and costs the same.
Photos
Taken out there, on trips like yours.
Our own pictures and our guests’. Nothing here is a stock photograph of somebody else’s desert.
Getting there
Jaisalmer first, then we take over.
Getting to Jaisalmer
Trains run overnight from Delhi and Jodhpur into Jaisalmer station, and buses come in from Jodhpur, Bikaner and Udaipur. The station and the bus stand are both about ten minutes from our hotel on Fort Road.
Then
We collect you from the station, the bus stand or your hotel. Leave your luggage with us, use a room and a shower, and go out with nothing you do not need.
Where we are
Fort Road, Dhibba Para
Jaisalmer, Rajasthan 345001
The camp itself
About 40 km out, on the Siala and Damia dunes.
See the pin on Google MapsGood to know
The things people ask before they book.
Is there really no washroom?
Correct. There is no structure at the camping ground at all. You use the desert, and the crew shows you which direction to walk. This is the trade for having the place to yourselves.
Will other groups be there?
No. That is what the extra 50 km and the camel leg buy you. Siala is not on the day-tour route and we do not share the ground.
An hour and a half on a camel — is that hard?
It is long enough to ache the next day if you have never done it. We stop, and anyone who has had enough can finish the last stretch in the jeep. Say so at the time; nobody minds.
What about the cold?
It is colder out here than at the camp because there is nothing around you. November to February, bring a proper jacket. The blankets are heavy and the fire is kept going all night.
The other ways
Not this one?
Every trip we run goes to the same desert. What changes is how long you are out, what is over you at night, and whether the folk programme is in it.
Still deciding
Tell us who’s coming.
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.