Desert National Park
Rajasthan, India
Desert National Park covers a great tract of the Thar desert in the far west of the Indian state of Rajasthan, beginning some forty kilometres west and south-west of the golden fortress town of Jaisalmer, which is reached by overnight train or by road from Jodhpur, five hours away, and by seasonal flights. Every visitor to Jaisalmer is offered a desert safari, by camel or jeep, to the sand dunes of Sam or Khuri, with a sunset, a folk music show and a night in a tented camp, and it should be understood that these excursions, enjoyable as they are, take place on the fringe of the park and have little to do with it. To visit the national park proper, and above all to look for the great Indian bustard, the bird for which it exists, one must obtain a permit, for a modest fee per person and per vehicle, from the office of the park's deputy conservator in Jaisalmer, which hotels and a few local naturalist guides will arrange, and then go by hired jeep or taxi, there being no official safari vehicles, to the Sudasari area, about fifty to sixty kilometres from the town beyond Sam.
