Mob: 9782145652,9799951309 It all started out when the royalty of Jaipur were searching for a private game reserve, where the Rajputs wanted to hunt wild animals for sport. But in the middle of the 20th century, Maharani Gayatri Devi had a change of heart. Ironically, after she had killed the last tigress of Jhalana from the monumental Shikar Audhi in the middle of Jaipur. The tigress left
behind two cubs, who after melting the queen’scold heart were sent to the Zoo situated near Jaipur’s famous Albert Hall. There was no hunting in Jhalana after that, even before the Wildlife and Environmental acts were passed in the parliament. After a few decades, Jhalana evolved into a Park, largely due to the ancient temple dedicated to Kalakya Mata in the area. People used to visit the place for birding on foot till the early 2000s before it was declared as a wildlife reserve due to increased sightings of the Phantoms of The Forest. With it being classified as a reserve, people used to go in their own vehicles inside the urban forest to spot the rosetted beauties and the birds the place had to offer. And then came the fateful year of 2017, when Project Leopard was launched here in Jaipur, including few other places near Pali and Udaipur. Rajasthan became the first state in India to announce Project Leopard with a sum of Rs. 70 million (Rs. 7 crores) set aside to conserve leopards. It eventually kicked off in 2018 with the launch of the first leopard reserve in Jhalana Forest Area, right in the middle of Pink City. The regulated safari proved fruitful for the government and the Leopards alike. And with influx of famous wildlife photographers and conservationists, it came to be known as the best place to sight a Leopard anywhere in the world: ith sightings of the shy feline in three different routes and three different terrains. The Leopards here are relatively bold having been exposed to a lot of human activities, including the ones because of the temple and the location of the reserve; apart from the early onset of tourism of course.
