All of Rajasthan is open to you if you’re travelling with adventure on your mind. But for exploring with kids, you have to find something meaningful, charming, and sweet for their formative memories. It could be a sunset over the desert sand, or the thrill of zip-lining for the first time - your delight comes as a parent from making these memories. Here are some handpicked destination ideas for your kids, based on themes common to all childhood interests.
Rajasthan for Animal Lovers
Nahargarh Rescue Centre: if they’ve seen the nearby Naharghar and Jaigarh Fort in Jaipur, the kids will love to see how animals rescued from forests are cared for. Or, they can try horse safaris and play with baby elephant at the Dera Amer camp in the foothills of the Aravallis in Jaipur.
Safaris and sanctuaries
Kids will love the Kumbhalgarh Wildlife Sanctuary, for which you’ll have to undertake a comfortable guided 4-hour walk proceeds through forest and shrub. En-route, you’ll spot highly endangered species, and common jungle wildlife including wolf, leopards, sloth bear, hyena, jackal, jungle cat, sambhar, nilgai, chausingha and the chinkara.
The Bharatpur Keoladeo Ghana Bird Sanctuary spans vast stretches of wetlands and drylands, providing a perfect home to great varieties of water birds, sambar deer, blue bulls, jackals and pythons which you can spot easily. You can move around on rented bikes, and make a picnic of it! Camel safaris are popular in Jaisalmer and Pushkar. If its tigers they’re excited about, head to Ranthambhore National Park. Wild boar, langur monkeys, Sambar deer, spotted deer, egrets herons, and peacocks can also be spotted as you move around in jeeps or open seated buses.
Finding Adventure in Rajasthan
The Sam Sand dunes not only host safaris, but also overnight camping and dune bashing, exciting for teenagers. The ropeway in Udaipur from Dudh Talai to a nearby hilltop is always exciting for kids, and you can also take them zip lining at Mehrangarh Fort (Jodhpur), and camping overnight in Jaisalmer at the desert camps. Udaipur is famed for hot air balloon tours, showing your kids a bird’s eye view of the marble-granite City Palace, the placid blue Lake Pichola and more. The local Dabok airport already has helicopter tours if they can’t get enough of the sky. If they love water, take them for a speedboat ride on Fateh Sagar Lake in Udaipur .
The Classic Rajasthan Experience
The classic Rajasthan itinerary may tickle the curiosity in your kids. if the above-mentioned adventures are what’s got the kids excited to head to Rajasthan, don’t fret. There’s a lot of the classic Jaipur tourist experience you can cram into one day, including a trip to the famed Hawa Mahal, and the Jantar Mantar royal observatory. Kids will love the famous City Palace for its armoury fully stocked with swords and knives. Local culture can be explored on a Bishnoi Village Safari in Jodhpur to watch traditional activities like weaving and pottery.
