3 Nights / 4 Days | 6 Safaris | Jaipur, Rajasthan
3 Nights / 4 Days
Stay at: Jaipur Marriott Hotel or equivalent 5-star | Experience: 6 Safaris & Photography Learning Sessions
Some wild places make you travel for days. Jhalana asks for a twenty-minute drive.
Set inside the city limits of Jaipur, the Jhalana Leopard Reserve is a 23 sq. km. stretch of dry deciduous forest and rocky ridgeline that holds one of the highest densities of leopards found anywhere in India. It is the reserve that made urban leopard tourism possible — and it remains the most reliable place in the country to photograph a wild leopard in good light.
This workshop is designed around that opportunity. Over six safaris across three days, you will work on the specific craft that leopard photography demands: reading rocky, high-contrast terrain, anticipating movement on ridgelines, handling backlight and low light, and building a sequence rather than a single frame. Between drives, we sit down together for field technique, post-processing and storytelling sessions.
Jhalana is at its most photogenic through the monsoon and immediately after it. The forest is green, the ridges are washed clean, the light is soft and dramatic, and leopard activity around the waterholes and rock faces is at its best. All three departures are Friday to Monday.
| Departure | Dates | Days | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| Batch 1 | 21 Aug – 24 Aug 2026 | Friday to Monday | 3 Nights / 4 Days |
| Batch 2 | 11 Sep – 14 Sep 2026 | Friday to Monday | 3 Nights / 4 Days |
| Batch 3 | 25 Sep – 28 Sep 2026 | Friday to Monday | 3 Nights / 4 Days |
Group size: 4 to 8 photographers per batch. Bookings close 30 days before departure or on full occupancy, whichever is earlier.
Safari timings shown below follow the August–October schedule of the Rajasthan Forest Department: morning shift approx. 6:45 AM – 9:15 AM, evening shift approx. 3:45 PM – 6:15 PM. Exact reporting times are confirmed with the reserve a few days before departure.
Arrival and Evening Safari
Morning and Afternoon Safaris
Morning and Afternoon Safaris
Final Safari and Departure
The tour is built around a premium 5-star hotel in Jaipur, chosen for its proximity to the Jhalana gate — an important consideration when reporting time is before sunrise. Final property is confirmed at the time of booking, and rates below vary accordingly.
| Property | Category | Approx. drive to gate | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jaipur Marriott Hotel | 5-star | 15–20 min | Recommended — closest premium option |
| ITC Rajputana | 5-star | 25–30 min | Closest to Jaipur Junction |
| Hyatt Regency Jaipur | 5-star | 20–25 min | Quiet, large rooms |
| Hotel Clarks Amer | 4-star deluxe | 10–15 min | Shortest transfer, value option |
All stays are on a full-board basis — breakfast, lunch and dinner included. Early breakfast or packed refreshment is arranged on safari mornings.
Per person, ex-Jaipur. Transfers from Jaipur Airport or Jaipur Junction are included.
Stay at a 5-Star Hotel (Double Occupancy Basis):
Single Occupancy
Optional Add-Ons
Jaipur International Airport (JAI) is approximately 10 km from the Jhalana gate and is served by direct flights from Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Pune and Chennai, along with several international connections. Our team receives you at the arrival gate and transfers you directly to the hotel.
Jaipur Junction (JP) is the main railhead and is well connected to Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Jodhpur and Udaipur. High-speed day trains from Delhi cover the route in roughly 4.5 to 5 hours, making a morning departure from Delhi and an afternoon arrival in Jaipur comfortable. Gandhinagar Jaipur (GADJ) is an alternative halt for some trains and is marginally closer to the reserve.
Jaipur is approximately 270 km from Delhi via NH 48, a drive of 5 to 6 hours. Self-drive guests can park at the hotel; all reserve transfers are handled by us.
Suggested arrival: reach Jaipur by 12:00 noon on Day 1 so that lunch, orientation and the evening safari are unhurried. Suggested departure: any flight or train after 1:00 PM on Day 4.
We charge cancellation fees in the following manner:
Forest department safari permits are non-refundable once issued, irrespective of the cancellation date.
Jhalana is the rarest kind of wild place — a genuine leopard reserve sitting inside a city of four million people. Rocky escarpments, dry deciduous forest and old stepwells make up a landscape that photographs beautifully, and the leopards here are habituated enough to be seen well without ever being tame.
For a photographer, the practical advantages are hard to beat. Six safaris fit into a single long weekend. There is no long transfer eating into your shooting days. And the sighting rate means you get to move past the anxiety of “will I see one” and into the work that actually matters — composition, light, behaviour and story.
Whether you are picking up a telephoto lens for the first time or refining a body of work, these four days are built to send you home with frames you are proud of.