Our Night in the Thar Desert

Thar Desert

About 75% of the Thar Desert is located within India (60% in Rajasthan) with the remaining 25% in Pakistan.

It forms a natural boundary between the two countries and covers an area of 200,000 square km’s.

It was about a 45-minute jeep ride into the desert from Jaisalmer.  The Camel Caravan soon came into view and it was time to choose our mounts.

The Camel Caravan

I was secretly scanning the group – hoping for the shortest camel in the caravan.  Unfortunately, they were all sitting on their haunches so there was no way of telling how long their legs were.

I ended up with the closest camel to me as everyone peeled off and paired up with their rides.  After a very quick tutorial from my ‘camel minder’ on how to master the art of staying on while the camel stands up – I was hoisted in the air.  I can’t say if it was the most graceful maneuver but I managed to stay on.

I recalled a song from my school days……”Sally the Camel has two humps” so I aptly named my ride Sally.  Scotty was clearly on the King of the Caravan as he towered well above the rest of us.  I thought his camel looked like a Nigel, so Nigel it was.

Sally the camel along with Scotty’s Nigel

Once Sally and I got into a rhythm, we plodded our way over the sand dunes.  That was until she thought it was a better idea to break into a trot.

Our Camp for the Night

The Desert Boys had set up our home away from home.  We were nestled amongst the sand dunes with a thatched hut.  I incorrectly thought this may have been the ablutions block.  It turned out that was where we were to put our packs to protect them from stray dogs, dung beetles and scorpions!

Our home for the night

It turned out that our ablutions were anywhere on the other side of the dunes that there wasn’t a wet patch from the person before!

Our desert camp buddies

Our beds consisted of a stretcher, thin mattress, pillow and a couple of very thick, heavy blankets.  I did find out that the second blanket came in very handy at 4 am.  It is true when they say that the desert gets extremely cold very quickly.

Desert Food

It turns out that desert food cooked over an open fire is absolutely delicious.  The food was amazing and all cooked by the Desert Boys and served with a smile.

This was also along with the breakfast in the morning and the best Masala Chai ever. 

Our Desert Boys cooking up a storm and our fireworks entertainment for Diwali

We Survived the Night

Cold beer was on offer as we watched the sunset over the dunes.  it was one of the most vibrant and clear sunsets.  The lack of light pollution helped with the clarity of the colours.  

The stunning Thar Desert sunset

With our shoes tucked into the end of our bunks (to keep them safe from the whatever could visit us during the night), we all snuggled down for the night.

It was surreal to lay there staring up at the milky way, looking out for shooting stars as I drifted off to sleep.  I awoke at about 4 am, definitely feeling the rapidly cooling air descend just before dawn.  It was at this stage that I was thankful that I’d opted for that 2nd blanket which I was lying on top of.  Snuggling down under both blankets, I couldn’t even breath they were so heavy.  Feeling much luckier than Robyn, my sleeping neighbour.  Her extra blanket had slipped off the bottom of her stretcher and a stray dog was curled up asleep on top of it!

It was back onto Sally the next morning for our 1.5hr trek back to the jeeps for our ride back to Jaisalmer.

Click on the link below for a video on our highlights of our night in the Thar Desert.