Chambal River Safari

The Chambal River near Kota is one of the cleanest rivers in India, and the National Chambal Sanctuary that runs along its banks is home to wildlife that has vanished from most of Rajasthan. Boat safaris from the Kota Barrage give close views of gharials — the long-snouted fish-eating crocodiles, now critically endangered elsewhere — sunning themselves on the sandbanks. Mugger (marsh) crocodiles are also common, and river dolphins can sometimes be spotted in the deeper pools.

The bird life along the river is exceptional: Indian skimmers, sand martins, and a wide variety of waders breed on the sandy banks. Early morning boat trips give the best wildlife sightings. Tours can be arranged through guesthouses in Kota or at the barrage itself.

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A story
The Chambal is one of the few rivers in the Indian subcontinent that has never been used for irrigation or heavily dammed in its upper reaches. Its basin was also notorious for dacoits (bandits) until the 1970s, which paradoxically helped preserve it: the Indian government declared large stretches a sanctuary partly to give surrendering dacoits rehabilitation zones, and the wildlife moved in.