Sunrise at Corbett : Early morning light filtering through a forest canopy always makes for a good picture.

Corbett Falls : A pretty waterfall aptly named after the legendary Jim Corbett.

Corbett : A mosaic of a landscape that makes Corbett a rich repository of wildlife

Nainital (enroute) : As you go up from Ramnagar towards Nainital, the landscape changes dramatically and is very picturesque.

Eurasian Hobby : Sitting high on a branch, the Hobby was patiently waiting and keeping a watch on the ground below.

Grey Wagtail : This pretty bird was a wonderful sight as it went about prancing in the shallow waters around the pebbles looking for insects.

Indian Robin : The male robin is easily identified by its dark body, reddish vent and characteristic upward flick of the tail.

Plumheaded Parakeet : The female parakeet has a grey head unlike the male of its species

Quaker : This dainty little butterfly was seen on the banks of the Kosi.

Rhesus Macaque : The Rhesus Macaque is a primate found in the northern parts of India. This individual was foraging the garbage around with its troop.

River Lapwing : This handsome bird is a close relative of the more widespread Red-wattled Lapwing.

Robberfly-dragonfly : This was the catch of the trip. The robberfly and the dragonfly are both predators in their own right. However, on this occasion, the dragonfly fell prey to the robberfly.

Few weeks ago, when I was invited for a blogger’s meet hosted by Club Mahindra Safari Resort, truth to be told, I was more excited about meeting fellow bloggers than being in Corbett itself. I think I had forgotten what it felt like, to be in forests. I thank Corbett for reminding me of the grandeur of the woods! I thank club Mahindra for taking me there to begin with.

The first thing that struck me as we reached our rooms was the view, it was gorgeous! Usually resorts almost always do have a good view, but the reason I liked this view so much more was the resort’s proximity to the river and the cozy feeling surrounding it. The nights were comfortably cold as opposed to the piercing cold winter nights which made it possible to walk by the river side and watch the hills beyond till late nights. While the mornings were quite pleasant, nights were spectacular. Starry skies used to surround us as darkness descended. Whiling away time waiting for shooting stars and watching the moon rise over the hill reflecting the silvery glow in the flowing waters were some of the best memories of the trip. To think that there was a time when darkness used to scare me! [Frankly speaking I still am afraid of darkness, well in weird places. ]

If that was about idling in comfort in nature’s lap, the eclectic mix of people was just as fun with varied conversations and discussions. With social media experts to naturalists and travelers to photographers, the group had it all. What such different people brought along with them were such different perspectives. Few were happy watching the colorful avifauna, while few were interested in observing spiders and insects, few were busy trying to spot mammals, few were enjoying being in the forest and I was busy light stalking.

Like I said earlier, I had forgotten how it felt to be in the jungles. The moment we entered the jungles of Corbett, the show began! The forest came alive. The golden glow of the early morning sun and the greenery painted an unforgettable picture. I was gaping at the jaw dropping scenery unraveling itself at every turn and every once in a while when I turned back, something like this was happening!

The gleaming beams of sun rays from behind the leaves left me almost blinded at many occasions. Yet, I tried and tried to see through the lens, if not my eyes, the lens could have been burned for sure! Sunbursts, they are called, and I tried my best to capture as many as I could. Whenever the vehicle stopped for the bird watchers to observe, the sudden calmness instigated a desire to the listen to the song of the forest.

Next day, driving though the verdant jungle of Sal trees, I was all too eager to spot some magic again. Of course the light didn’t disappoint me! Golden glow and faint silhouettes was the picture being painted today by the gods. Watching the streaks of rays through the canopy, I was smiling involuntarily. As much trouble it was, waking up at ungodly hours to reach the forest by the golden hour, it was all worth it!

I came back charmed by the forests and stunned by the play of light, a photographer’s delight! Don’t you agree?

Neelima was one of the bloggers who was invited to Club Mahindra’s resort at Corbett for the Bloggers Trip 2011

I watch the sunlight dancing in the river Kosi from the balcony of my Club Mahindra apartment, the water splashing over the rocks. This Corbett adventure is part of Club Mahindra‘s travel blogging trips across India, and I feel privileged to be part of it this year. Three days ago, six of us bloggers arrived at the Club Mahindra Safari Resort, with dreams of looking a tiger eye-to-eye in India’s oldest tiger reserve. As we watched the sun rise over Kosi from behind the mountains that morning, we didn’t know that we’d leave seeing a lot more.

I lounge in my balcony a little longer, charmed by the tirelessly flowing river, and then reluctantly give up my spot for a discussion on India’s biodiversity with Mr S.Karthikeyan, the first Indian naturalist I’ve met. I’m transfixed as he displays figure after figure, and picture after picture, of the lives we never think about. That night, he catches a little beetle crawling along a wall light, gently but firmly overturns it, and asks us what a cockroach does when overturned. Struggles, I think to myself, ducking my head close to it. Much to my surprise, the little guy leaps in a high back-flip and turns itself upright – a flipping beetle, it’s aptly called! Smiling, I think he too could be a tiger in an alternate universe.

As the sun starts to fade away in the evening sky, I stroll along the river, past the swimming pool, and into the gardens where the grass is still glittering in the fading sunlight. They remind me of the gardens we saw surrounding Jim Corbett‘s winter home. The man saved many a villager by hunting man-eating tigers & leopards, 50 and 250 of them respectively to be precise! I imagine Corbett’s lifestyle back in the 40s, when his humble two room house must’ve been surrounded by dense forests, with only a trail leading up to it. I imagine the nights he must’ve sat out, looking for his victims. A shiver runs down my spine as I see a cat staring at me from the path ahead, and I calmly make my way back to where my blogger friends are furiously photographing the orange sky and its reflection on the water.

As the air starts to get chilly, we camp ourselves under the stars and watch the artists of the region perform a Kumaoni version of the bagpiper. Every now and then, we look up from our delicious traditional Kumaoni meal and catch a shooting star, until the moon reveals itself from behind the mountains, and hogs all our attention. Following a string of after-dinner conversations & desserts, I walk back to the coziness of my room, convinced that ours is a lucky generation to enjoy the comforts of modern living amid the charms of nature.

Shivya was on invitation from Club Mahindra to attend the Blogger’s  Trip to Corbett

Armed with powerful mandibles and 6 spiny legs that form a neat little basket just below their heads, they are also excellent predators. Dragonflies can catch their prey in mid air. They are known to make a meal out of mosquitoes, mayflies, butterflies, moths, and a whole lot of other insects. They virtually feed on anything that they can overpower.

Dragonflies, though predators themselves, must be wary of other organisms which could feed on them. Birds particularly, pick dragonflies with ease. Lizards, frogs, spiders are all potential threats to adult dragonflies and their dainty cousins – the damselflies.

During a recent visit to Corbett National Park I stayed at the Club Mahindra Safari Resort. What I saw here took me completely by surprise. I was walking up the ramp to the dining hall when something on the railing caught my attention. I ventured closer to understand what was happening. To my amazement, I saw a robberfly holding on to a dragonfly. The robberfly was in complete control of the situation – with a firm grip on the dragonfly and the proboscis pierced into its neck, the dragonfly had no chance of escape!

Robberflies are powerful predators too. I have often seen them prey on non-predatory insects much larger than themselves. To see a dragonfly, a powerful predator itself, becoming a meal of a robberfly was a learning indeed.

Often such amazing things happen around us and we are blinded by the urge to see more charismatic things. An open eye and mind can cause far less disappointments when we are in the outdoors for nature always has something on offer, albeit for the discerning eye and mind.

Karthikeyan Srinivasan is a renowned naturalist based in Bangalore and was a member of the Bloggers Trip to Corbett in September 2011.

On the very first day of our Bloggers trip at the Club Mahindra Corbett Safari Resort, we went upstream to an old bridge to try out some adventure sports.

The first thing I noticed was the bridge itself! The suspension bridge stretched over the wide river, and even from a distance, looked quite old.

A board told us that the bridge was built by the Central Water Commission, and though the year wasn’t quite clear, we were told by a helpful lemonade seller (the only vendor in the area) that it was built in the year 1877!

My appreciation for the bridge rose at once, and since I am really queasy when it comes to any adventure activity, decided to explore the bridge and its environs while the others had some active fun!

The age of the bridge and its condition is obvious, and seeing the growth of grass all over made me wonder how safe it is, especially when all of us walked over, and we could feel the vibration!

I was intrigued especially by the narrow channel on one side of the river……And the remains of a wheel system in it….

Could this have once been a mill wheel? What do you think?

The warmth of the sun seemed to bring out the butterflies….

And other insects, such as these damsel flies, and also grasshoppers….

And while I was busy clambering up and down the sandy banks of the river to reach the stone filled bed, the others were all busy too…some watched birds and butterflies while some photographed them, while the active ones tried out river crossing, rappelling and other such activities…

This was a place I could have stayed at forever! There were kids – local, I suppose, splashing in the water, and though I can’t swim to save my life, I wished I could join them! The water was so inviting, and I wished I could just sit there on the stones, with my feet in the water, a notebook on my lap, waiting for inspiration to strike! But it was time to leave, and the adventurous ones were lowered into the water from the bridge, and as they walked back to the jeep, I packed up my thoughts and headed back too. This is one place I will surely be back to, whenever I visit Corbett again!

Anuradha Shankar was one of the travel bloggers who was with us in the Bloggers TriptpoC to Corbett . For details on the Club Mahindra resort in Corbett, please visit here

The travelers to the Binsar trip included Kiruba Shankar (popular blogger and columnist), Arun Bhat (prolific travel blogger and photographer), Prashanth (another popular travel blogger), Ruchika Vyas (travel writer), Shrinidhi Hande (blogger and travel enthusiast) and yours truly.

After convening to the Delhi airport from Mumbai, Bangalore and Chennai we had to rush to the Sarai Rohilla railway station and had an interesting twist (read Kiruba‘s and my account) along the way. We departed at around 10 PM to Kathgodam via the Ranikhet express, and arrived early in the morning at around 5 AM.

From Kathgodam we made a short detour to our newly opened resort in Naukuchiatal (lake of nine corners, is perenially sourced by an underground spring), which is set amidst lush green surroundings, and is tranquil. Unlike Nainital, this place is devoid of too many tourists and makes for an ideal location to vacation.

A view of Naukuchiatal from the resort

Room view of the Club Mahindra “Dancing Waters” resort, Naukuchiatal

After freshening up and breakfast, we continued to Binsar. The scenery along the way was equally breathtaking, and we stopped at a few places just to absorb the sights, sounds and smells of these wonderful locations.

Bloggers taking a break

After a 4 hour drive along the winding roads, we finally arrived at our destination, the beautiful Club Mahindra Valley Resort, Binsar. After soaking in the wonderful reception extended to us by Amarnath Bakshi (resort manager), we were led to our rooms set around a beautifully landscaped garden. The room temperature was just right and it was quite a relief crashing into our beds, that felt like the lap of luxury.

View of the resort and inside our room, the Club Mahindra “Valley” resort, Binsar

The next day, we traveled to the Jageshwar temples, which is around 60 kms from the resort, or about 35 kms from Almora town. The temples are beautiful in their architecture, and the surrounding trees add to the beauty. Sadly, the filth around the place (plastic garbage, wasted food) steals away some of the delight.

Jageshwar is an ancient temple city, and was once the centre of Lakulish Shaivism, located in the Jataganga valley (at an altitude of around 1870 mts) near a Deodar forest.  It is a group of temples with 124 temples, most of which are in ruin.
…There is no definite proof about the construction of Jageshwar group of temples, but these are stated to belong to the post-Gupta and pre-medieval era and are estimated to be over 2000 yrs old. (source Wikipedia )

Jageshwar Temples

On the way back, about 10 minutes from Jageshwar, we stopped by the Dandeshwar temples, which unlike Jageshwar isn’t a pilgrim center and is sparsely populated with tourists (which is one of the reasons we found it more appealing). According to a stone tablet outside by the ASI, the Dandeshwar temple is one of the biggest and tallest of the Kumaon region built around the 8th Century by the Katyuri rules.

On Day 3, we left early in the morning for the Binsar wildlife sanctuary, and after trekking for nearly an hour uphill, we reached the famous zero point. Now what’s so great about this place? Well, picture this, you see a magnificent, panoramic view of the Himalayan peaks like Trishul, Nandadevi, Kedarnath etc stretching 300 km – a sight so breathtaking that you will be spellbound, even more if you haven’t seen the mountains.

For us trigger happy folks, this was the perfect opportunity and we were shooting photos all the while. However, you need to reach the spot early in the morning to get a good, clear glimpse of the mountains before the clouds cast a curtain over those peaks. We were also warned about Leopards in the region (though the place is frequently visited by trekkers), so its always good to go out in groups and exercise some discretion.

View of the Himalayan Peaks from the Binsar Wildlife Sanctuary

View of the Himalayan Peak “Nanda devi” from the “Zero Point”, the apex point of the Binsar Wildlife Sanctuary

After a day of hectic traveling, and outdoor activities, we camped overnight at a breathtaking spot in the hill near the resort. Gopal and Panth, the Club Mahindra holiday activity guys arranged for our camping, instructed by the resourceful Kundan, the Holiday activity executive and Amarnath. It was a different experience camping, warming ourselves by the bonfire and sharing stories and travel experiences with my co-travelers. Gopal and Panth, joined in and shared with us folklore from the Kumaon region, including tales from the Corbett and the mountains.

Early Morning after the overnight camping

On the day of the departure, we made a detour to Nainital to get a glimpse of the Naini lake, where the weather was close to 15 degree celcius, and gave us enough time to capture some captivating photos of the lake. Though Nainital is crowded and filthy, the drive up to the place is a sight for sore eyes!

Nainital

We wound up our trip by stopping for dinner at an Udipi restaurant close to the Kathgodam station, and an unlikely place to gorge on tasty upma!

Just a few minutes to spare, we arrived at the Kathgodam station, with a tinge of sadness having to leave this beautiful place and with memories that would linger.

The Bloggers – (L-R) – Prashant, Ruchika, Kiruba, Shrinidhi, Arun Bhat, Arun Nair