Bijapur Lodge

My husband and I spent 2 nights at Bijapur Lodge. The accommodation and the staff here are exemplary. A lot of thought and care has gone into the services provided here. There are small, subtle yet meaningful gestures that make the stay here a very memorable one. The vegetables used are grown in house and everywhere one can see the influence of local art and culture. The safaris are very well planned. We went on three safaris and sighted on all three. We also saw some beautiful migratory birds, owls and crocodiles. Jawai Bandh is a must visit and Bijapur Lodge is the place to go.

The hospitality of this place can't be questioned. Really well constructed aesthetically pleasing place with lovely personal touches. I loved the little gifts in our rooms with a bit of history behind its creation. We were the only guests and they treated us royally. Welcome drink was a fascinating unusual pink organic drink. Food was delicious. We are vegetarians and had no problem. I loved the Pyaj Kachori in the morning. Nice bonfire in the evening. The staff treated us like relatives on the way out, wishing for our safe travels with Prasad and I was genuinely touched by that. All the satff were uniformly warm and polite. The in house naturalist Ahmad Ali gave us a tour of the property with great enthusiasm and I'm pleased to see how they are trying to maintain green credential and helping the local community. Ali Bhai and Chandradeep ji went out with us for leopard safari and unfortunately this has to be the worst wildlife experience I have ever had. The fame of Leopards of Bera has spread far and wide and sadly that attracts people who have no respect for nature. I have travelled in all five continents and never ever I have come across a crowd more unruly, completely oblivious of others, boisterous, loud and totally disrespectful towards nature and the poor leopard. This beats the Mara river crossing crowd and even other places in India, like Tadoba. There is a reason why I do not like Indian tourists in the forest ( I'm an Indian by birth) and it was in full force here. One leopard was sighted and hundreds of jeeps descended on the poor leopard stressing it hugely. What hurt me was to see that jeeps were breaking branches and uprooting trees to make path for their clients to see the leopard. After seeing this pandemonium in the evening, next morning I made it very clear that I had no intention of seeing a leopard and taking part in this obnoxious circus. We enjoyed the exhilarating four wheel drive over the rocky terrain, had coffee, watched beautiful sunrise and did some birding. I genuinely feel bad to take one star away for reasons which are beyond their control but the main reason for coming here was to capture leopards and that was not fulfilled. So please avoid Indian holidays to avoid local crowd or go to a resort with exclusivity. The local resort owners must do something to stop this unregulated proliferation of safaris.

We spent 2 days at this hidden gem with 2 families and we had the most wonderful stay. The lodge is beautifully designed from the exterior and interior. Very elegant, classy furnishings. With only 6 rooms in the lodge we felt like we had the place all to our self. The surroundings were so peaceful. The pool was one of the cleanest we had seen. There are 2 communal sitting rooms - 1 which was a library and 1 was a TV room. Again tastefully decorated - understated but elegant. The staff also here are so friendly and service was fantastic. Everyone from the Manager Niresh to the wait staff - especially head waiter Manish and chef were always so accommodating. Food was delicious.. we enjoyed eating fresh vegetables prepared from their home grown garden. Each day the chef asked us what we wanted so we felt like our needs were always met.. highly individualised experience. The welcome and departure were particularly noteworthy.. we were given a lovely homemade drink with hot towels. especially when we were leaving we were also given a small gift made by the local village people with a small ceremony.. such a lovely touch. We also appreciated the little gifts left each night .. another unique touch. This place felt like home and we could have easily spent more time here just relaxing. On top of all this, we were so lucky with our 2 leopard safaris which was the main reason for coming to Bijapur. We did 2 and saw leopards both morning and evening. Ally - our naturaliste guide accompanied us and was so friendly and offered us some interesting knowledge about the wildlife - especially pointed out all the birds. Safaris do get a bit busy as it’s a small area where leopards and local community coexist. But still less touristy than other reserves in Rajasthan. This place felt much less touristy ..very remote getting here.. villagers so friendly too.. no hassling. We had an amazing gala dinner for NY too.. musicians and food were incredible. All in all this was our favourite place in our week trip in Rajasthan We would highly recommend this place.

Our stay at Bijapur Lodge was just amazing. The surroundings, the rooms, the pool, the food and the staff, all were so great. Nothing was asked too much for the very generous staff. We were even suprised by a private candle light dinner by the pool! Also the leoparard safaris were unforgettable. We had a unique experience and will never forget our days in Brijapur Lodge. We hope to come back one day.

The Bijapur lodge is exceptional. From the welcome to departure nothing is too much trouble for the extremely welcoming and attentive staff. The lodge is in the most beautiful surrounding. Exceptional food. The safari expeditions were great