The Pali district of Rajasthan has a hidden gem, located in the Sumerpur Town, called ‘Jawai’. Last week I visited Jawai, the unexplored place being around 140 Kms from Udaipur and approximately a similar distance from Jodhpur.
I took a flight from Mumbai to Udaipur and I hired an Innova for our journey to Jawai for which we started at about 8 AM and it took us around 3.5 hours to reach. There are 2 routes, the route via Bijapur being shorter. Although it is a single lane road, the traffic is manageable.
The last 20 kms of the drive passed through various scenic villages. We drove through the ‘Jivda’ (जीवदा) village first. Next, we passed the huge marble village entrance where our hotel Jeep waited for us. Famous villages in the vicinity are Senna and Bera, which are on the opposite side of the Hills of Jawai. I chose the Sena side as it is less crowded and has natural rocks formation at various places.
‘Jawai’ is famous for leopards, crocodiles and migratory birds. There are Babul trees, large shrubs and scattered grassland areas.
We stayed at a property called ‘Amritara’, overlooking the dam, we had an uninterrupted view of not only the dam itself, but also the vast and mesmerizing landscape and large lava rocks.
The property was spread across 7 Bighas and has a nice and cozy restaurant and reception area. It offers just 12 rooms and is rarely crowded. You get good food with a pool and drinks. The rooms are lovely with a large sit out in the front and a balcony at the back, so you can have the best view from both sides.
We stayed there for 2 nights and went on 2 safaris. Our driver was well acquainted with the area. On the first day, he took us to the dam and there, the very first thing I saw was a huge crocodile slithering into the water. It was a large one, about 10 feet. Thereafter, we roamed through the shrubs in search of a Leopard and finally spotted one – a Male B6, sitting royally.
Our driver drove us all the way to the top of a huge rock for a unique and enthralling experience. It was scary and amazing at the same time. The drive up was approximately a 40˚ incline. The sight from the top of the rock constituted of a panoramic view of beautiful villages, temples and the jungle; it all seemed so far, yet so close to us at the same time. After a beautiful sunset, a warm cup of tea and a few snacks we headed back to our hotel.
We took the jeep to drive on the other side of the river too. It was quite secluded and we were the only ones there. Just us, our vehicle, the rocks, a few streams and a few birds.
Jawai is beautiful but also very underrated at the same time. The Rabari Tribe are the residents of these villages, they don traditional clothes and take their cattle to the jungle for grazing, just like old times. I got a few good clicks of them.
If you are keen to witness village life, leopards, birds and crocodiles and want to experience the royal hospitality of Rajasthan, then head to this place, before it gets commercialized.
