Aman-i-Khás

Aman-i-Khás is a tented camp on the threshold of Ranthambhore National Park in eastern Rajasthan, the reserve people travel to for its Bengal tigers. The camp is small, 14 canvas tents in a Mughal style, each with a bedroom, a sitting area and an enclosed bathroom with a deep tub, heated and air-conditioned for the cool mornings and warm afternoons. Meals are Indian, served in the dining tent or set up privately out in the jungle. Game drives leave twice a day in open vehicles, looking for tigers as well as deer, antelope, crocodiles and birds, and between drives there is the camp's stepwell, a sandstone bawadi used as the pool. The spa tent works with Ayurvedic treatments, and there is a library tent and an outdoor fire for the evenings. Days can also take in Ranthambhore Fort, nature walks and camel rides. Most guests come by train from Delhi to Sawai Madhopur, four to six hours, then drive 20 minutes to camp; the other route is a flight to Jaipur and three hours on the road. The camp closes over the summer months.