Camel Safari in Jaisalmer: Routes, Timings, Prices and What Actually Happens

A camel safari in Jaisalmer is the one activity nobody skips, and also the one most often booked badly. People end up on a twenty-minute walk around a car park with fifty other tourists, or on a two-hour ride they were not prepared for. Both are avoidable.

We run our own camels and camel men rather than handing you to a contractor, so this is what actually happens, minute by minute, with real prices.

The three route options

The sunset point ride, 60 to 90 minutes

This is the standard and the one we recommend for almost everybody. You leave camp around 4:30pm in winter or 5:30pm in summer, cross two ridges of open sand away from the day-trip crowd, and reach a high dune fifteen minutes before the sun goes down. The camels rest, chai comes out of a flask, and you walk the crest while the light does its thing. You are back at camp by dark.

Price: 1,499 rupees per person, chai and photographs included.

The short ride, 30 minutes

For guests with back trouble, nervous first-timers or small children. It stays on gentler sand close to camp and still reaches a decent viewpoint. We also use this route for anyone who wants to test whether they like being on a camel before committing to the long version.

The dune-to-dune half day, 3 to 4 hours

For people who want the actual Thar rather than a photo of it. You ride out mid-afternoon, stop at a Bhil herders' settlement, cross a stretch of genuinely empty desert and camp for dinner where there is no light in any direction. Minimum two guests, booked a day in advance because we need to send water and a support jeep.

What a camel safari in Jaisalmer costs

Option	Price	Duration
Short ride	899 rupees per person	30 minutes
Sunset point ride	1,499 rupees per person	60-90 minutes
Half-day dune crossing	3,200 rupees per person	3-4 hours
Overnight with dune dinner	From 4,999 rupees for two	Evening plus camp

Prices anywhere below roughly 700 rupees for a sunset ride are a warning sign, not a bargain. At that rate the operator is cutting corners on the animals, and you will notice. Our full rate card sits on the packages section of the home page.

What the ride is actually like

The camel kneels for you to get on, then stands back-legs-first, which tips you forward hard. That single motion is the part guests are unprepared for. Hold the front of the saddle, lean back, and it is over in two seconds.

Once walking, the gait is a slow side-to-side roll at about 5km/h. It is comfortable for most people for an hour. Beyond ninety minutes, the inside of your knees will tell you about it the next day, which is why we cap the standard ride where we do.

Each camel is led on foot by its own handler. You are not steering, and you do not need any experience. If you want to trot, ask, and only on open sand.

Timings through the year

• October to February: leave 4:00pm to 4:45pm, sunset 5:45pm to 6:15pm.
• March and September: leave 5:00pm, sunset around 6:30pm.
• April to June: either a 6:00am departure or a 6:15pm one. Middle of the day is not an option, for the camels as much as for you.

Sunrise safaris are underrated. The light is softer, the sand keeps its overnight ripples, and you will usually have the dunes entirely to yourself. Very few guests ask, and it costs the same.

What to wear and bring

• Full-length trousers. Shorts plus a saddle plus ninety minutes equals chafing.
• Closed shoes you do not mind filling with sand.
• A scarf or stole. Not for style, for the wind that picks up around 5pm.
• Sunglasses, and sunscreen even in December.
• A jacket for the ride back, which is always colder than the ride out.

Leave anything loose behind. Phones come out of pockets on that first standing motion more often than you would think.

How we look after the camels

Worth saying plainly, because it is the most common question in our inbox. Our camels work a maximum of two safaris a day and are rested in the shade between them. They are checked by a vet twice a year, they carry one adult each with a weight limit, and no camel of ours carries anyone during the 11am to 4pm heat in summer. Children under five ride with a parent or on the short route only.

If an operator cannot answer those questions specifically, book elsewhere.

Combining it with other activities

Most guests pair the sunset ride with the cultural night back at camp, which starts around 8pm after dinner. If you would rather have adrenaline than folk music, the jeep safari and quad bike options run in the same afternoon window, and we can sequence them so you get dune bashing first and the camel at golden hour.

Pictures of all of it, including the routes described here, are in the gallery. If you want a specific route or a specific dune for a proposal or a shoot, message us and we will block it for you.