Khem Villas, is a charming jungle camp established by Usha and Goverdhan Singh Rathore, along with Pritam Singh, on the outskirts of Ranthambhore. Goverdhan is the son of Fateh Singh Rathore one of India''s leading Tiger experts who is also aptly referred to as the founding father of Ranthambhore helping put the park on the Tiger Map of the World.
The camp is established on land that Goverdhan purchased in 1989 and converted into a wild area growing trees and creating open grasslands and small water bodies. Spread over an area of 10 acres it has become a habitat in itself. It is common to see jackals, jungle cats, hyenas, desert fox, hares etc. within the camp itself. As it is close to the park you can sometimes see pugmarks of leopards, tigers and bears that have passed by and sometimes if you are lucky you may even get to see them near the camp.
Because of the different habitats in the property it has contributed to creating a bird watchers paradise. All kinds of birds from the millions of white throats among the grasslands to the sparrow hawks hovering in the sky, the black winged kites in the trees and the moore hen near the water can be seen on the property itself.
Khem Villas is a quiet tranquil camp designed to balance simplicity with sophistications and at Tribes we feel they have got the balance just right. There are three different types of accommodation:
Thatched Cottages: These are stand-alone cottages with a total private area of 40 X 40 feet. This includes a spacious and comfortable bedroom, a large bathroom, an open to sky private plunge pool with an outdoor shower. Also included in this space is a large private courtyard and veranda. The bedroom is air-conditioned with a large glass doors overlooking beautiful undisturbed vistas that could be a water body or a dense jungle.
Tents: These are erected on a wooden platform on a steel frame with all the modern amenities. The bathrooms are minimalist using simple natural materials like bamboo and wood to give a rustic charm without compromising on functionality that one expects.
Rooms: The main building provides four bedrooms that are self contained and can be used as individual rooms or can provide the option for a small group to take the entire portion as a private space to be enjoyed together. All the rooms are airconditioned, spacious with en suite bathrooms. The upstairs rooms have large bay windows that can be used to sit in and over look onto the fields.
Food: The food in the camp is all freshly cooked using mainly home grown vegetables. Even the milk is from the local farm where the cows are fed organic feed. You will be offered a nice mix of Indian, Western and Oriental Cuisine providing rich flavours to suite every taste.
