Me and Aditya left for Pushkar from Delhi and when we crossed Jaipur I noticed there was this huge plain with no vegetation showing up on Google maps and I did not have the slightest idea what it was so we both looked at each other and without saying a word we knew where we were going next. It was about 3PM so we had plenty of day light left to explore what it was. We took a right turn off the Jaipur Ajmer highway and took the only road that seemed to go there, we asked some people what it was and that's when we found out it was a salt lake called sambhar lake. As you can see in the pictures below the views are fantastic. Getting on to the lake bed is a little tricky if your car has small tires but you will find a spot if you look hard enough. We got into the lake as soon as we saw an entry point and we drove across the lake (it is all dry) to the other side where a temple called Shakambri mata mandir is located. There is a small shop which sells water, cold drinks and few snacks. The best thing about this place is that you will hardly find anyone there and driving in the second gear with your foot off the accelerator is just fantastic as you can go miles and miles without having to worry about hitting something. There are no animals and no insects either. Air is a bit on the dry side so take a few bottles of water if you are going in summers. This lake gets some visitors from Siberia in winters but locals say those birds are reducing in numbers every year but there are lots of other birds that can be seen from a distance. We spent the rest of our day driving around in the lake and left for Jaipur at about 8 and reached there just before 10 and started looking for a hotel to stay the night... thats another story. We stayed in Jaipur for two days and came to Sambhar lake the next morning and spent the whole day there. This was more then two years ago and after that we have been there atleast 3 or 4 times. I am planning to take some camping gear and stay the night there some time. Do give me a shout if you want to come along. I have uploaded a few dozen pictures from the trip into the media gallery so if you want to see all of them go to the media gallery. I am posting a few here for you to see what it looks like : These pictures are not in order as I am still learning how to manage thousands of pictures and resize them and what not.
Thanks Have you seen the whole album? I have uploaded a lot more then what is posted in this thread. You can find the album by following the Media tab on top.
Thanks for sharing your wonderful travel experience at Sambhar lake. I am coming to India soon and will be starting from Delhi so Sambhar lake looks like a good place as it is not too far from Delhi, however I have a few questions if you can answer those for me : Are tourists allowed to pitch their own tents in Sambhar lake? Are there any hotels near Sambhar lake? Any particular one that you would recommend?
I have stayed there over night but did not take tents with me. It is large lake and there are no security guards or authority presence there. I dont see a problem in pitching your tents there but it could be a bit of a security risk if you are not in a group. There are no hotels in or around the lake. I have driven for miles and miles and never saw a hotel within 20-30 Kilometers of Sambhar lake. Your only option is to stay at the hotel on Jaipur-Ajmer highway where they have a small hotel near cafe coffee day (you can spot it on Google maps) I don't remember the name of the hotel but it is nothing much to talk about although very cheap. Jaipur is just over an hours drive where you will find plenty of hotels. It is a good idea to stay over night especially if the weather is pleasant.
