National Chambal Sanctuary NCS
National Chambal Sanctuary NCS
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About
The National Chambal Sanctuary is a riverine sanctuary along 425 km length of the Chambal River and ravines. Set up in 1979 for species reintroduction of the Gharial, other species include Gangetic River Dolphins, Marsh Crocodiles, 8 species of turtles, 330 species of birds including large nesting colonies of the Indian Skimmer. 1.5 hrs drive from Agra
Duration: 2-3 hours
Meets animal welfare guidelines
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
Popular mentions
4.0
12 reviews
Excellent
7
Very good
3
Average
0
Poor
1
Terrible
1
RAJENDRA884 PRASAD
Faridabad, India3,466 contributions
Oct 2022 • Couples
We, a group of 2 senior citizen couples, took a break at this point, which is not much publicized and found it to be an excellent point for educational tourism, especially for school going kids. The entire project was very well explained by a caretaker officer, making us aware about the environmental impact of polluting industries around the rivers. It was the first time for all of us to learn that Ghariyal is a fresh water reptile and is an endangered species due to industrial waste polluting their habitat.
The only issue was absence of functional toilets, management must take a note of it.
A must do activity on this route!
The only issue was absence of functional toilets, management must take a note of it.
A must do activity on this route!
Written 13 November 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
nizarv
Kolkata (Calcutta), India77 contributions
Apr 2019 • Family
There are a few places in National Chambal Safari where one can do a boat safari from, but I would suggest you go to the place near Dhaulpur and cross over the bridge to Madhya Pradesh side to a place called rajghat...there the boat Safari is the best and conducted under the best guides....we set out for our boat Safari on the 3rd and our guide on the boat was Mr Jeetu Tomar ...he was just brilliant...and knowing that I had come for the skimmers, which were difficult to spot as they were on a particular side of River where water levels were low...he arranged for a small boat and promised me he would show me what I was looking for...he kept his word and we had a great 2 hour boat Safari. Saw Skimmers, Black-bellied tern, Little tern, River tern, Great Thick Knee and lots of other birds...plus also Gharials and a huge Crocodile ....I would insist that if you are planning a trip to National Chambal Safari, this is the place you should be at...contact Mr Jeetu on 7999819376
Written 3 April 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Ricky Y
Hong Kong, China6,754 contributions
Feb 2017 • Solo
Said to be the cleanest river in India, our Chambal river cruise of about 4 hours was really rewarding with sighting of birds, crocodiles, turtles, the famous gharial and a glimpse of the Gangetic River Dolphin. The river was very calm and the ride was smooth and very enjoyable. A must if you happen to be in the area.
Written 20 January 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
ashokmahindra
New Delhi, India97 contributions
Dec 2014 • Friends
We visited National Chambal Sanctuary,Uttar Pradesh,from Agra.It can also be accessed from Kota and Dolhpur.The riverine sanctuary runs through 3 States:Uttar Pradesh,Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan and is administered by these 3 States.
We stayed at The Chambal Safari Lodge who organized the boat trips on the river about one hour away.The river is clean with no human settlements on either side and very few boats,even during the winter season.The river cuts through ravines on either side making for an interesting scene.In the season you can see gharials by the plenty,the Marsh crocodile,Dolphin(rare),turtles,and various migratory birds,like Bar headed Goose,etc.The vulnerable Skimmers can also be sighted.The Gharial is a critically endangered specie listed by IUCN and the Chambal has the largest population of Gharials in India.
We stayed at The Chambal Safari Lodge who organized the boat trips on the river about one hour away.The river is clean with no human settlements on either side and very few boats,even during the winter season.The river cuts through ravines on either side making for an interesting scene.In the season you can see gharials by the plenty,the Marsh crocodile,Dolphin(rare),turtles,and various migratory birds,like Bar headed Goose,etc.The vulnerable Skimmers can also be sighted.The Gharial is a critically endangered specie listed by IUCN and the Chambal has the largest population of Gharials in India.
Written 27 April 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Jeffrey O
Nottingham, UK325 contributions
Nov 2019
We stayed here for three nights. It was really nice to be able to sit outside, eat drink and listen to the wildlife. We were allocated a nature guide for our three days, who came with us on our booked tours. There are also to nature walks around the lodge itself. Really nice place.
Written 26 November 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
AtlanticTyger
London, UK1,000 contributions
Feb 2018 • Friends
My wife and I and four friends were on a three week wildlife safari and took a two hour river cruise. It was beautiful, serene and utterly delightful. We saw Ganges River Dolphins, Gharials, and many rare bird species including Indian River Skimmers. The pristine and sparkling waters of the Chambal River were quite a feast for the senses. This is a great way to relax and enjoy nature.
Written 14 January 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Ravi D
New Delhi, India714 contributions
Aug 2017 • Couples
National Chambal Sanctuary is spread over 400 km. Please be very aware of where exactly in the National Chambal Sanctuary, you are visiting. There are multiple places - one near Sawai Madhopur, another near Dhaulpur and this one around 20-25 km from Bah (Agra, UP)
We were told by a hotel staffer that this place near Bah has been newly inaugurated and has alligators / gharials and what not.
We drove down from Agra (around 100km to NCS) on the 15th Aug long weekend of 2017. First 27 km were on the Agra-Lucknow highway and then the state highway 32. The highway was good and roads were smooth. Upon reaching Jaitpur, the roads turned bad and the distance as per Google maps from Jaitpur to the Chambal sanctuary was showing to be around 10km. the first 3-4 km are through an area where you can see people, but then starts the "Chambal ravines". There is no one on the road, you are driving in a forest kind of area with a road in which only one car can drive and then you reach a place where the car can't go ahead any more. Even the Chambal sanctuary check post was locked and there was absolutely no sign of humans around.
I walked down around 1 km and saw 3 youngsters on a bike. They said they can ask one of the boatmen to take out his boat. I could reach the Chambal river, few animals and that was it – NO Humans !
This place was very desolate and didn't warrant me taking any risks, so I just drove back. I hope it was better maintained and it could seriously attract many tourists!
Not recommended – at least for family / couples
We were told by a hotel staffer that this place near Bah has been newly inaugurated and has alligators / gharials and what not.
We drove down from Agra (around 100km to NCS) on the 15th Aug long weekend of 2017. First 27 km were on the Agra-Lucknow highway and then the state highway 32. The highway was good and roads were smooth. Upon reaching Jaitpur, the roads turned bad and the distance as per Google maps from Jaitpur to the Chambal sanctuary was showing to be around 10km. the first 3-4 km are through an area where you can see people, but then starts the "Chambal ravines". There is no one on the road, you are driving in a forest kind of area with a road in which only one car can drive and then you reach a place where the car can't go ahead any more. Even the Chambal sanctuary check post was locked and there was absolutely no sign of humans around.
I walked down around 1 km and saw 3 youngsters on a bike. They said they can ask one of the boatmen to take out his boat. I could reach the Chambal river, few animals and that was it – NO Humans !
This place was very desolate and didn't warrant me taking any risks, so I just drove back. I hope it was better maintained and it could seriously attract many tourists!
Not recommended – at least for family / couples
Written 17 August 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
GSimps0n
Torquay, UK178 contributions
Mar 2019 • Friends
I was part of a group of 6 which hired a boat ride on Chambal river. Our guide was Ghani who seemed to know the names of all the Indian plants and animals. Our minibus parked at the top of a grassy hill top. We all the walked down the grassy hill to our boat in a narrow channel. Beware of the slippery grass. getting on to the boat was a little precarious but we all succeeded then put on our safety equipment. Off we went up river. Somebody saw a river dolphin break the calm water surface. During our slow trip up the river we saw Gharials with Mugger Crocodiles mainly on the islands, Indian Skimmer, River Lapwing, Great Thick-knee, Pied Bushchat, White-browed Wagtail, Asian Openbill, Pied Kingfisher, Ruddy Shelduck, Indian Spot-billed Duck, Lesser Whistling Duck, Whiskered Tern, Black-bellied Tern, River Tern, Brown-headed Gull, Long-legged Buzzard and Osprey. Basking on expose rocks were Indian Flapshell and Indian Tent Turtles. The best find was a Jungle Cat that walked from the hilltop scrub down to the river bank. We then returned to the docking site and carefully clambered off the boat then steadily walked up the hill to our minibus I recommend this river trip.
Written 13 April 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
M.R.Carr
England69 contributions
Jan 2018 • Couples
What a wonderful nature reserve. The gharial are plentiful and very impressive.....many up to 15 ft. long, as were the big marsh crocodiles.
We also saw the rare river dolphins .
Excellent .
We also saw the rare river dolphins .
Excellent .
Written 4 February 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
478pam
Caernarfon, UK72 contributions
Feb 2017 • Couples
This was the best part of our holiday. The scenery on the way to the river was lovely and we saw many different birds. Then the ride in the boat was fantastic, the crocodiles and Gharials were amazing. They were like statues, they didn't move at all, they took no notice of us,
Written 3 May 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
which area of the national park do you see the Gharials and skimmers
Written 25 March 2019
We traveled east on Highway 62 from the village of Bah, we then turned to the right on road 138W. From there an outfitter took us a little ways up river in a boat. There were many Gharials is to be viewed sunning themselves on the bank of the river. The Skimmers were sitting on little islands and sand bars in the river.
Written 25 March 2019
how far is this place from agra, and can a day tour be done from agra.
i am visitig on the 3rd of april
Written 25 March 2019
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