Luxury amidst wilderness
Situated in Jamtara village near Pench National Park, Jamtara Wilderness Camp is a 12-room luxury tented property. gets in a conversation with Amit Sankhala, Director, Jamtara Wilderness Camp, to know more about this luxury camp!
What is Jamtara about?
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In the 80s, hardly anyone thought of going to MP for wilderness experiences. Infrastructure was limited and it took hours to get there even from a railway station. But that was the charm of going to true wilderness. No other vehicle in sight and one could enjoy their wildlife sightings in peace and observe animal behaviour. Today, it is hard to find this kind of exclusivity. Jamtara is a very quiet gate of Pench National Park with only 1 vehicle entering in a month. Although tiger sighting is a highlight, but that is not our focus. Instead, it is to deliver a true wilderness experience with a motive of learning and observing.
How did you conceptualise this idea and how is the Indian market fit for such luxury camps?
We wanted to have the least impact on the land, so we don’t become a concrete structure. For many years now, I have taken a trip to Africa almost yearly. I have seen various concepts from Kenya to Namibia, South Africa to Uganda. I wanted to develop a very similar model and feel for the place. The idea of some exclusivity, which is abundant in Africa is what we aimed to deliver. But above, the community partnership was even more important. The villages we are working with, have never seen outsiders before. They hardly have access to basic need like electricity. Almost 90% of the villages have farmers and their major problem is - wildlife feeding on their crops. Hence they sleep on the ‘ machaan’ all night to chase away wildlife. We have been successful in seeing sloth bears, leopard, spotted deer, wild boards and some rare nocturnal mammals.
What is the clientele that you are dealing with?
Our clients are the travellers that want a true wilderness experience with the luxuries of modern day. Wildlife monitoring through camera traps, star beds, buffer walks, etc are all elements that allows you to complete your experience.