Desert National Park, Jaisalmer (December 2025)

Ashit Gandhi
Dec 31, 2025
2 min read

Updated: Jan 1

The Desert National Park is a protected area located in the Thar Desert near Jaisalmer, Rajasthan, India. Established in 1980, it covers an extensive area of about 3,000 square kilometers, making it one of the largest national parks in the country. The park was designated as a protected area to conserve and protect the unique desert ecosystem and its diverse wildlife.

The Desert National Park is known for its breathtaking landscape, which includes shifting sand dunes, rocky terrain, and sparse vegetation. It is home to a variety of desert-adapted wildlife, including reptiles, insects, and bird species like vultures, eagles, and the Great Indian Bustard, a critically endangered bird species found in the region. Due to its unique biodiversity and ecological significance, the Desert National Park is considered an important conservation area.

Visitors can explore the park through organized jeep safaris or guided treks, allowing them to appreciate the natural beauty and wildlife of this arid landscape while also ensuring minimal impact on the fragile ecosystem.

These are the images from 6 Safaris during December 2025. Our guide was the vigilant Musa Khan (please contact me if you require his contact details).

Great Indian Bustard (Godawan)

The great Indian bustard is listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List since 2011. It has been extirpated in 90% of its former range, and the population was estimated at perhaps fewer than 250 individuals in 2008. The main threats are hunting and habitat loss. In the past they were heavily hunted for their meat and for sport and, today, poaching of the species may continue. In some places, such as Rajasthan, increased irrigation by the Indira Gandhi canal has led to increased agriculture and the altered habitat has led to the disappearance of the species from these regions. Current threats to the species include the development of linear infrastructure intrusions such as roads and electric power transmission lines in the desert that lead to collision-related mortality. Proposed expansion of renewable energy infrastructure, which may involve deploying solar panels over large areas of desert and grasslands is another threat to the bird's habitat.