Count gharials on the Chambal, an hour from the Taj
₹12,599£110€125$160 per person · 2 nights · taxes in
Mela Kothi, The Chambal Safari Lodge
Two nights beside a protected river, breakfast in, with a boat out among the gharials and the skimmers.
The Chambal is the cleanest river in northern India and almost nobody goes. Bandit legend and an old curse kept it undisturbed long enough for the gharial to survive here when it disappeared nearly everywhere else.
You go out on a slow boat and count them on the sandbars, along with marsh crocodiles, Indian skimmers and a turtle population that exists in almost no other river. It is an hour from the Taj Mahal, and most people who visit Agra never hear of it.
The Mela Kothi went up in the late 1860s as the office for a zamindar family's twice-yearly fair, and the family traces its seat here to 1472. Fourteen rooms sit in forest the family regrew from farmland, and the rooms carry the names of what lives on the river: Koel, Thick-knee, Ibis, Tern and Hans in the twins, Gharial, Sarus, Dolphin, Surkhab and Skimmer in the luxury rooms.
Meals are taken in the garden or the old dining room. It is an hour from Agra, which makes it the obvious second night of a Taj trip rather than a detour.
Your two nights
Two nights in the Twin Bed Cottage (Koel, Thick-knee, Ibis, Tern, Hans).
A river safari on the Chambal. A slow boat past gharials, marsh crocodiles and the skimmers that nest on the sandbars. The river is a protected sanctuary, not a resort lake.
Breakfast every morning. Taken in the garden or the old dining room of the Mela Kothi.
A naturalist who knows the river. The lodge has run these boats for years and reads the sandbars for nests.
The room, and what it costs
Twin Bed Cottage (Koel, Thick-knee, Ibis, Tern, Hans)
Five twin-bedded cottages and rooms (Koel, Thick-knee, Ibis, Tern, Hans).
Luxury Room / Cottage (Gharial, Sarus, Dolphin, Surkhab, Skimmer)
Nine double-bedded luxury rooms and cottages (Gharial, Sarus, Dolphin, Surkhab, Skimmer, Barbet, Hornbill, Spoonbill; Muggar is queen-size twin), one extra bed possible.
Twin Bed Cottage (Koel, Thick-knee, Ibis, Tern, Hans) is the room in the price above; the others show what they add. Per person, two sharing, for the complete 2-night experience — the whole itinerary above included, taxes in. This rate holds until 30 Apr 2027.
Not in the price: Getting to Chambal. Agra is about an hour away; The drive to the sanctuary for the river safari, 22 km each way, which the lodge arranges and charges; Lunch and dinner, which the kitchen serves and charges as you take them; The other safaris and the temple tour, listed below; Anything personal: drinks, tips, laundry.
You can also add: A Sarus crane wetland jeep safari; A blackbuck jeep safari; A guided tour of the Bateshwar temples. Tell us when you enquire and we build it into the quote.
Rates valid 1 Oct 2026 – 30 Apr 2027 · subject to availability, and can change without notice
Getting there, and the small print
The park, the gates and the fees
National Chambal Sanctuary is in Uttar Pradesh. Gates, opening season and zone allocation are on the Chambal page, and the permit, jeep and guide fees every Uttar Pradesh visitor pays are set out in what a safari costs. Our price already carries the drive.
Good to know
About an hour from Agra, and roughly four from Delhi.
The river safari is a boat, not a jeep, and it runs on the National Chambal Sanctuary. Sightings are gharial, marsh crocodile, skimmer, and with luck the Ganges river dolphin.
The lodge also runs a Sarus crane wetland jeep safari, a blackbuck jeep safari and a guided tour of the Bateshwar temples. Any of them can be added to your quote.
Lunch and dinner are not in this price. The kitchen serves both, in the garden or the old dining room, and charges them as you take them: lunch from ₹2,999 each and dinner from ₹3,499 each.
The river safari runs on the National Chambal Sanctuary, 22 km from the lodge. The boat, the naturalist and the sanctuary entry are in the price; the drive out to the water is not, and the lodge arranges it. The jeep safaris listed below do include their travel.
Everything about Mela Kothi, The Chambal Safari Lodge
How the price and booking work
- Prices are per person, two sharing, for the full 2-night experience, and include all taxes. Nothing is added afterwards.
- These rates apply for 1 Oct 2026 – 30 Apr 2027. Rates move with the season — the figure shown is the lowest available for the dates you choose.
- No payment is taken on this page. We confirm your dates, room and the final price with you first — then you book and pay Indiaesque, one clear total with taxes in, and our team takes care of everything with the property.
- Hotel-arranged experiences run subject to weather and the property's own schedule, and are confirmed for your dates before you pay.