The Quiet Kingdom of Jawai

The tents make the point quietly. There are just ten tented suites in all, from a rock-facing tent for two to a private encampment with its own entrance, and the canvas never upstages the country. The particulars are on the JAWAI stay page below; the point here is the restraint.

Leopards on their own terms

The camp states that these hills hold one of the world's highest densities of leopard, alongside antelope, boar and more than 240 species of birds. Twice-daily wilderness drives go out with the camp's expert guides, and the field team has completed a guide training and mentoring programme with Adam Bannister covering everything from geology to sighting management. The birding alone would justify the journey: flamingos, demoiselle cranes and bar-headed geese can be seen from the reservoir wetlands to the granite hills, with eagle owls and kingfishers in residence.

The shepherds' hills

What makes Jawai singular is not the cats but the arrangement. The Rabari, nomadic herdsmen who have grazed these hills for generations, still tend their livestock through them, and the camp's walking safaris go out in their company. The camp counts nearly 300 temples and shrines in the region, and in local belief the leopards of Jawai are the guardians of this area, holding a semi-divine status in the eyes of the community. It is hard to think of anywhere else on earth where the apex predator is also the neighbourhood deity. Riders, meanwhile, can take to the landscape on the camp's Marwari horses, Rajasthan's legendary breed.

Where the money goes

By the group's own count, 82 per cent of the team come from Rajasthan, the vast majority from rural communities; it supports 12 schools totalling 10,842 students, runs a Mobile Medical Unit giving 20,000 people annual access to free medical care, and reaches 15,400 people through its sanitation and recycling programmes. The camps hold Platinum LEED certification, SUJÁN says. A line SUJÁN proudly reprints from the FT's How To Spend It says it plainly: if India and conservation are increasingly joined in the travel world's consciousness, it is largely thanks to Jaisal and Anjali Singh.

The practical part

Drive from Jodhpur or Udaipur, or take the train from Jaipur to Falna, half an hour from camp. Come between November and February for cold mornings and a warm sun in the daytime. Then let the hills do the rest.