Practical Tips for Watching Flamingos at Sambhar Lake

Practical Tips for Watching Flamingos at Sambhar Lake

There are around 2 to 2.5 lakh flamingos at the Sambhar Lake in Rajasthan this year (2026) as reported by various news outlets. After looking at the photos on social media my sister and I decided to try our luck. We did it as a day trip from Jaipur. It is not the best way to do it but we got to see the flamingos nevertheless! If you stay at the Sambhar Lake, you can catch the sunrise/sunset with them! Sambhar Lake is about 80 kilometers away from Jaipur. We asked for a cab from our hotel’s travel desk. They charged us about 4100 rupees but there was no restriction on the hours we spent.

When to Go

If you wish to watch the flamingos the season is from November to March. We went in February and there were a lot of flamingos at the lake.

How to Reach

The nearest big town is Jaipur, which is a popular tourist city. Jaipur has an airport at Sanganer. Trains like Vande Bharat and Shatabdi connect it with Delhi. Jaipur has two Railway Stations- Gandhinagar Jaipur and Jaipur Junction. Jaipur is connected by bus as well from the nearby cities. From Jaipur taking a taxi is your best option as Sambhar Lake is remote. You can drive from Jaipur as well.

Where to Stay at Sambhar Lake

I have spotted three resorts around the lake. The Sambhar Heritage Resort, Camp Sambhar Resort and Sambhar Lake Palace. I have listed them from highest to lowest in terms of price. I had lunch at the Camp Sambhar Resort after viewing the flamingos as the resort was right in front of the lake. Sambhar Lake Palace is also close to it. While having lunch at Camp Sambhar Resort this was the view from there dining room!

A Day Trip from Jaipur

If you wish to stay in Jaipur, Sambhar Lake can be done as a day trip. We started after breakfast at 10. 00 am. It took us 2 hours to reach the area. We stopped at the The Sambhar Heritage Resort to do the train ride, see more below. We visited the Shakambari Mata temple and then came up to the part of the lake where there were flamingos galore. After a late lunch and tea we headed back to Jaipur around 3.30 pm and reached at 5.50 pm back at our hotel. It was a doable. We spotted these Bijli Flowers on our way in a field!

What Else to Do

If you visit the Sambhar Heritage Resort premises, they have a toy train and a railway wagon that you can board. The train is operational if there are 10 people. But the wagon goes on the tour with fewer people. The ticket is 1000 rupees per person for a ride. It took us to a view point and gave us binoculars to view flamingos that were far away. Then we stopped at the salt mining unit and stopped there.

At both the points we were allowed to get down the wagon. Then it took us towards the main flamingo point but stopped a long distance away. Our best view of the flamingos came by parking in front of the Camp Sambhar Resort and walk towards the lake.

We also visited the Shakambari Mata temple which is about 20 kilometers away from the lake. When we arrived at 1.00 pm the main temple doors were closed. But we walked around the premises and offered our salutations. We were told that sometimes there are flamingos around the temple waters but we had no such luck!

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