Signature Safari Route
Felines have held human imagination since antiquity, woven into myth and memory. While the great cats command reverence, their smaller kin remain shadows, reclusive, secretive, and exquisitely adapted to life unseen. Every encounter with them feels earned, fleeting, and profoundly intimate.
This expedition is conceived as a quiet pursuit of those rarities: India’s elusive small cats, the true phantoms of the wild. Spanning 21 days, the journey traces an elegant arc across India’s most contrasting ecosystems, each selected for its potential to reveal a different small cat species.
From the mangrove-fringed wetlands near Kolkata to the vast grasslands of Velavadar, the sculpted granite hills of Jawai, and the stark desert margins around Jaisalmer, the expedition reveals how climate, terrain, and isolation have shaped these remarkable predators.
Night drives and nocturnal explorations, time-intensive tracking with specialist naturalists, and extended stays in each landscape create rare opportunities for observation and photography, without haste or intrusion. This is a deeply immersive, once-in-a-lifetime passage into India’s most enigmatic carnivores and the extraordinary landscapes they quietly inhabit.
Private brief
Built around the guest, not a fixed departure.
- Ideal for
- Private travellers, families or assistants seeking a route shaped around wildlife depth and comfort.
- Transfers
- Private transfers and air routing are planned around Rajasthan - Gujarat - Central India, with buffers where terrain or permits demand it.
- Lodges and comfort
- Lodges are selected for access, privacy, naturalist quality, food, rest time and the ability to keep the day unhurried.
- Wildlife expectation
- Sightings are never guaranteed. The route is designed to increase meaningful time in the right habitat, with honest guidance before departure.
- Photography
- Vehicle position, guide pairing, light, lens needs and patient field behaviour are considered before the itinerary is confirmed.
Highlights
- This 21-day specialist journey traverses four distinct habitats—urban wetlands, open grasslands, rugged rocky hills, and arid desert ecosystems—offering rare opportunities to photograph India’s most elusive small cats, including the fishing cat, jungle cat, rusty-spotted cat, and desert cat. Designed as a fully inclusive and seamlessly orchestrated wilderness experience, the expedition combines expert-led exploration with exceptional photographic access, while ensuring effortless travel aboard company-owned business jets. Guests may also choose to extend the journey to India’s iconic tiger reserves, creating one of the most comprehensive and immersive wild-India expeditions available.
Spanning 21 days, the journey traces an elegant arc across India’s most contrasting ecosystems, each selected for its potential to reveal a different small cat species.
This 21-day specialist journey traverses four distinct habitats—urban wetlands, open grasslands, rugged rocky hills, and arid desert ecosystems—offering rare opportunities to photograph India’s most elusive small cats, including the fishing cat, jungle cat, rusty-spotted cat, and desert cat.
Designed as a fully inclusive and seamlessly orchestrated wilderness experience, the expedition combines expert-led exploration with exceptional photographic access, while ensuring effortless travel aboard company-owned business jets. Guests may also choose to extend the journey to India’s iconic tiger reserves, creating one of the most comprehensive and immersive wild-India expeditions available.
Day by day
Kolkata
Arrive in Kolkata and settle into the rhythm of eastern India’s cultural capital.
Velavadar Grasslands
Travel west to Velavadar, a vast expanse of golden grasslands home to Jungle Cats, Indian Wolves, Jackals, and Blackbuck herds.
Jawai Hills
Continue to Jawai, where granite boulders, caves, and scrub forest create ideal terrain for the Rusty-spotted Cat — the world’s smallest wild cat.
Desert National Park
Enter the stark beauty of the Thar Desert, where sweeping dunes and sparse scrub support the adaptable Desert Cat.
Departure from Jaisalmer
Conclude your journey with a transfer to Jaisalmer Airport.
Gallery
