Jawai is well known as a leopard sanctuary and dam. Located in Pali district of Rajasthan. Jawai Sanctuary and Dam lies in between Udaipur and Jodhpur. There are approximately 50 to 60 leopards in the granite hills of Jawai and over 370 crocodiles in the dam. A particular attribute that makes Jawai leopards unique is that in the other parts of the country, they dwell on trees.
But in this region, where there are no big trees or dense forest they dwell in the rocky hills. As they perch themselves on hilltops; it helps then find and track their prey, and choose the place from where they can hunt them. The sanctuary is built on the edge of Aravalli Mountain ranges and Thar desert.
The Sanctuary
Jawai Leopard Safari is located near Bera town, Pali an area once owned by the descendants of Maharana Pratap. Jawai has become a huge tourist attraction for those who are interested in exploring wildlife. Besides leopard, the sanctuary is home to variety of animals like migratory birds, bears, crocodiles, wolves, and hyenas.
Abundance of wildlife, birds, and many vantage points make the sanctuary a bird-watchers paradise and wildlife photographers’ delight. The sanctuary is built next to the Bera town and is best known for rocky hills and lush greenery, especially after the monsoon.
Surprisingly despite many people living the villages in the vicinity of the sanctuary, there has never been a case registered about man-animal conflict in the area, and they live in complete harmony with nature. Though leopards do attack cattle sometimes; but the cattle owners are compensated under the Van Dhan Yojana, by the local government.
Local villagers living in vicinity of Jawai Sanctuary believe that these leopards have a direct connection with them through their local goddess, and hence take extra care to preserve and protect them. As such an idol of a leopard is installed in most of the village temples. The most famous of them, is a Shiva temple, where leopards can be seen relaxing on the temple steps.
As the leopards are mostly nocturnal animals, they can be best sighted at night, though some can be spotted hiding in shades of rocks during day time. At Jawai Dam, tourists can avail the opportunity of night leopard safari, which is conducted by expert guides and is completely safe. Though leopards can be seen throughout the year at the sanctuary, the night safari offers best chances of sighting leopards.
Besides the leopard, the sanctuary is also home to other endangered wildlife species including Nilgai, Sloth Bear, Wild Foxes, Jungle Cat, Hyena, Deer, Wild Boars, Monkeys, Peacocks, Indian Owls, and more.
The Dam
Jawai Dam, surrounded by mountains is the biggest dam in the western Rajasthan region with a capacity of 7887.5 million cubic feet, covering an area of 102,315 acres, and is considered a great picnic spot for tourists. The dam built on the Jawai River that flows by the Bera town, is the main water supply source for Pali district.
The foundation stone of the dam, was laid by Maharaja Umaid Singh in 1946; and the dam was completed in 1957. There are several luxurious tent resorts around the dam. Surrounded by lush greenery, these resorts offer luxurious accommodation facilities with all modern amenities to tourists, allowing them to spend a memorable weekend holiday watching wildlife, birds.
Tourists can also enjoy boat rides in the dam lake during day time. The area around the dam is home to a large number of leopards. as such the resorts themselves organize leopard safari around the dam. Currently, as per the Rajasthan forests department estimates, there are over 370 crocodiles in the dam. Many migratory bird species can also be spotted at the dam during winter season including Sarus Crane, Pelican, Water Fowl, Great White Pelican, Common Sandpiper, and more.
Jawai is very well connected by road and rail from both Udaipur and Jodhpur. The best time to visit Jawai sanctuary and dam is in the winter months between October to March, when the weather of arid Rajasthan is more bearable to not just the tourists, but also the leopards and other wildlife animals.
