Kabini National Park, in my mind, is one of the best national parks in the country and definitely the best one in peninsular India. Hence, this park is always in high demand throughout the year. Bookings need to be made at least a month in advance if not more.

And this rush is omnipresent irrespective of the budget limits. Even most of the premium accommodation options always run full round the year.

The wildlife lover to Kabini National Park is exposed to the twin jewels of this place. One, the Kabini river and near bouts and the second is the thick and diverse forests of Nagarhole National Park (Rajiv Gandhi Wildlife Sanctuary) that runs contiguous with Kabini National Park.

While the Kabini river is best explored on a boat, the Nagarhole jungles are best suited for the jungle jeeps. Both these places offer great avenues to explore the wild in its true sense. But, the Kabini river area is where most water fowl and fishing birds are found. The odd pachyderm and tiger are also seen here.

Even India’s national animal, the Royal Bengal Tiger is also sighted here quite frequently, though the dense foliage do not make for great visibility. Both Kabini and Nagarhole are very popular for its pachyderms. This stretch of forests houses one of the highest populations of the Great Asian Elephant in South India.

During the summer months, a lot of tourists and wildlife enthusiasts and photographers arrive at Kabini to see the grand spectacle of a massive herd of elephants (about 100-300) grazing together on the banks of the Kabini river.

It is believed that during the summer months when the river waters recede, fresh tufts of grass make their presence felt and it is this very grass that is considered a delicacy by the elephants. And hence this mass congregation.

Kabini and Nagarhole are also known for another type of predator and this one hunts in packs. They are the Wild Dogs or locally known as Dhole. They look like your typical domestic dog, but pack a meaner look and possess a great killer instinct. The wild dog packs are known to bring down large opponents.

These forests also house other mammals like the sloth bear, spotted deer, barking deer, sambar deer, gaur, Malabar Giant Squirrel, hanuman langaur, bonnet macaque and wild boars.

In terms of birdwatching, the river side offers great views of the black necked stork, black ibis, black crowned night heron, river terns, spot billed ducks, painted storks, darters, Great Cormorants, little cormorants, large/intermediate/little egrets, grey headed fishing eagle, brahminy kite, black shouldered kite and many more.

And when it comes to the jungle, the birds are much smaller in size, but offer a great balance of colour and sound. From woodpeckers to jungle fowl and from hoopoe to cuckoo and from peacock to Indian Roller, the jungle offer a magical concoction for the birders.

So depending on your preference, you will either take a boat and explore the river side or take a jungle jeep and explore the various trails inside the forest. The forest is open from sunrise to sunset, but jungle safaris are typically arranged for early morning and late evenings as these time slots are best for sightings and the slant rays of the sun are ideal for photography

A long weekend (3 days) would allow you to indulge in a total of 4 safaris (1 each on day 1 and day 3 and 2 on day 2). A normal weekend would give you 2 safaris. Most of the jungle stays offer their own jungle packages around these models. Such weekends or long weekends would include a half day drive from Bangalore to Kabini on Day 1 and another half day drive on Day 2/3 from Kabini to Bangalore. The distance is close to 230 kms and could take you between 4 and 6 hours depending on traffic and timings.

There is something about wilderness which attracts us. Maybe, living in a concrete jungle with predatory humans for company, the tree filled jungles where real predators and their prey remain in harmony seems a better option. Of course, being a city dweller since birth and knowing nothing of rural life, I wonder if I will be able to live happily in a village for more than a few days. All the same, it is wonderful to get away from the sea of humanity during the holidays, and we are always on the lookout for a place which will take us far from the madding crowd. This time, all our wishes were fulfilled when we spent the best 48 hours of our Christmas vacation at K.Gudi near Chamrajnagar (Karnataka).

We started from Ooty early in the morning, and weaved our way along the highway which passes through Masinagudi, Mudumalai and Bandipur. (If any of you are planning a similar trip, it would be a good idea to combine a visit to the sanctuary along with the journey towards Mysore). Since we had already been on the jungle safari earlier, we did not stop, but went on with our journey. We were, however lucky to see some herd of deer on the way. I found myself with better shots of the deer this time, than on our jungle safari! The journey from Ooty to K.Gudi took us about 3 ½ hours.

K.Gudi expands to Kyatadevara Gudi, named for a tribal deity who has a temple here. This is a small hamlet about 20 Kms from B.R.Hills. This place is a discovery of the erstwhile Maharaja of Mysore, who found it a convenient location to build hunting lodge. This structure stands here till date, of course, after some renovation, and is now the main reception and office of Jungle Lodges and Resorts, who have built one of their eco-friendly lodges here. Today, this place is part of the BRT Wildlife Sanctuary – the Belligiri Rangaswamy Temple Sanctuary – and is one of the few places in India where you can stay inside the sanctuary itself, with the full permission of the concerned authorities. Right opposite the lodge is the forest department guest house, also an old structure, now renovated, but dating back to the British era, believed by some to be haunted!!!!

We were welcomed on our arrival at the resort by Mr. Narayan, who is the naturalist at the resort. One who grew up in a village on the banks of the Kabini, Narayan has a close relationship with the flora and fauna of the area and was extremely helpful as well as informative. Samhith was thrilled to hear that we would be leaving after lunch for our first jungle safari, and that we would be going for one every morning and afternoon. However, what captured his attention was a pair of elephants in the lodge, one of which was bathing in a lake just outside the resort. It was the first time that I saw an elephant bathing, and it was a wonderful sight. I couldn’t stop taking photographs!!!

There are about 8 tented cottages and 3 log huts available at the resort. There are also a few well appointed rooms at the hunting lodge which also houses as the main office. We had tried to book one of the log huts, but even more than 3 months back, they were all booked, and we had to settle for the last tent available. However, staying in the tented cottage itself was a wonderful experience. Two easy chairs outside beckoned us, and inside, it was roomy and contained a double bed and a couple of tables and clothes-hanger. A door behind the tent led to a large bathroom. Very basic, but sufficient and comfortable. We were warned to strictly keep the door closed at all times, for the area was full of monkeys who wouldn’t hesitate to take over our room at the slightest chance.

We were ready at 4 PM after lunch and a short siesta for tea and an introductory talk given by Narayan. He spoke about the lodge, its history, and the kind of animals that made the forest their home. He was very clear, and emphasized that we wouldn’t see all the animals, but only some, and that too, with a bit of luck. An interesting and encouraging thing was a list on a whiteboard right outside, which listed all the sightings of animals in the last 2 weeks. It was extremely encouraging to note that leopards had been seen no less than 6 times, and a tiger had been sighted twice. He specifically asked everyone present not to use the flash during taking photographs. It was only then that I realized that I had no idea how to switch off the flash in my camera, and he happily obliged. We set off in an open jeep for the safari.

I suppose the most important factor in a safari is luck. We saw a number of deer – spotted deer (Chital), barking deer and S?mbhar. However, the most interesting animal we saw was a herd of Bison (Gaur). They were returning from a water hole, and obliged us by standing still for a few minutes. Lady luck parted from us at this point, for we just missed seeing a couple of leopards which were seen by people in the jeep before us. The driver alerted our driver through the wireless, but by the time we reached the place, they were gone, and didn’t return.

We returned from the safari, feeling cold to the point of shivering. Coming from Ooty, we felt that it wouldn’t be too cold, and thinking we could bear the slight chill, we had neglected to carry our woolen clothes for the safari. The temperature in the higher reaches of the forest soon chilled us to our bones, and we decided never to venture out again without sweaters. Tea and snacks at the lodge proved to be welcome, and a documentary on the Cobra kept us entertained.

Incidentally, I must mention that the lodge is powered by solar power, and in the winter, thanks to the sun being invisible most of the time, electricity is limited, and is confined to the times of absolute necessity. The lights come on in the morning at 6 AM, acting as a wake-up call, and stay just ling enough for us to get dressed and ready for the morning safari. After that, the electric supply is restricted to the office every evening, the lights come on at 7 PM, when a wildlife documentary is screened, and stays on till 9 or 9:30 PM. The geyser and the main light are operated centrally, so as to minimize wastage. We had to use the power supply in the office for charging my camera batteries and chose to leave our cell phones un-charged. We thus were totally unreachable, a wonderful feeling!

We were woken up the next morning by the light coming on at 6 AM, followed almost at once by one of the staff with hot tea and coffee. In a few minutes, we were dressed, and ready for our second venture into the forest. This time, we were welcomed by a mother and baby elephant, who moved closer to the bushes as we approached, but otherwise showed no great fear of us, the two legged creatures, aliens in their land. We only saw a few other deer on this trip, and returned rather disappointed to the lodge.

Breakfast was ready when we returned, and we happily tucked in, surprisingly hungry, for we hadn’t done anything but sit in the jeep! At 9:30, we were told to go to the lake, where we would go for an elephant ride, the next programme on our itinerary. We had to wait fir our turn, for there were a number of youngsters who had hastened there, looking forward to the ride. Samhith was getting restless at the long wait, and they volunteered to take him along, at which he was absolutely thrilled! He went with a family with a number of kids, and was rewarded with the sight of a snake slithering into a hole. We went next, and he came along with us too and excitedly pointed to the place where the snake had disappeared, but we were not as lucky, and the snake never re-appeared.

We hung around the lake for some time after the ride, looking at the various birds which came looking for fish, and we noticed a Brahminy kite flying overhead. After a few trials, I managed to take a photograph. How do I know the name of the kite? Well, in the resort, every cottage is marked, not by a number, but by a board with a bird on it. Well, our tent had the Brahminy kite on it, which is why I was able to identify this one bird at least.

Our next expedition was to the temple which lends its name to the whole range of mountains, and also to the sanctuary – the Belligiri Rangaswamy temple. This temple in BR Hills is 20 Kms from K.Gudi, and we went by jeep through the highway which wends its way through the jungle. Just before we started, there was a commotion among the monkeys and heard some noise which, we were told was the alarm sound of the barking deer. It meant that there was a predator nearby. We went looking for it, but were unlucky once more, and decided to go straight to the temple.

This temple is dedicated to Lord Vishnu in the form of Rangaswamy in a standing posture. It is believed that this idol was installed by Sage Vaishtha and some other rishis. Ages ago, a devotee felt that the lord’s feet would hurt since he resided in a thick jungle and decided to offer him sandals. This has, over time, become a custom here, and there are a pair of sandals (Padukas) beautifully decorated with zari and semi-precious stones offered to the lord by his devotees. Another, older pair is kept outside and is used to bless devotees by placing them on his/her head. The name Belligiri comes from the word “White Mountain”, for the stone on which the Lord rests is white.

After lunch, it was time for a safari once more, and we started, taking care to wear our sweaters this time. We hadn’t been in the jungle for even 15 minutes, when we came across a female elephant. She was standing among the bushes near the road, waving her trunk to and fro. To our surprise, our driver totally stopped the jeep, and we saw another jeep approaching from the opposite side of the road. Neither jeep tried to move, which kept us wondering, till we saw the elephant charge towards us. The driver was obviously expecting this, for he moved backwards, which seemed to reassure her. She then tried the same thing with the other jeep, and they too moved backwards. We wondered why she was so agitated, but then we saw a baby elephant approaching from the bushes. So this was the mother and baby we had seen in the morning, and now we saw how protective the mother was, of her baby, as she gently guided her child towards the other side of the road, flanking him/her first on this side and then the other, pushing him/her forward all the time. It made me think of Samhith and how I still have to help him cross a road, guiding him, making sure he doesn’t get hurt, keeping my eyes watchful. A mother after all, is always a mother, whether human or animal. I was happy to have seen this touching scene, for we didn’t see many more animals on this trip, except the inevitable deer.

This evening, the documentary was a feature shot at Nagarhole, and it mainly concerned elephants, and how modernization and take over of forest land has affected them. I couldn’t help think of the mother-child pair we saw, and wondered what would become of them. The falling temperature made us move towards the campfire, which is lit every evening before dinner, in a small area adjoining the hut where lunch and dinner are served.

The next morning would be our last at the resort, and we woke early for our jaunt into the jungle. Shankar had opted to go for a trek rather than the safari, and I headed with Samhith towards the jeep. If only Samhith was a little older, we too could have gone for the trek! I wish he would grow up soon!!! By this time, I had given up all hopes of seeing anything interesting in the forest. We were so bored of seeing deer, the driver no longer stopped for us to take photos when we came across a herd. Now Samhith can identify not only the spotted deer, but also S?mbhar as well as barking deer. We had already seen a number of wild boars in the resort, but this time, we came across a large group with some of the biggest ones we had seen so far. However, there were two interesting things we came across this time. The first was a herd of elephants which included the mother-child pair we had seen the day before. Apart from them, there was an old elephant, obviously the matriarch of the herd, another female, and a lone male which had huge tusks. They weren’t too scared of us this time, probably because they were in their group and felt secure, but the matriarch kept an eye on us as she munched on the grass, and the mother gently pushed her child towards the bushes.

The only other interesting thing we saw on this is something I had never seen before – pugmarks of a leopard. We saw them on the mud-path on which the jeep moves, and the driver maneuvered his vehicle so that we wouldn’t erase them. While this time we felt lucky to see the tracks of the animal, the creature itself was elusive, and refused to appear before us. Well, we shall just have to try some other time.

While we didn’t really see many animals, this has been the closest to a real jungle I have ever been to. And what a jungle!! As Narayan himself informed us, this range of mountains is part of the migratory path of the animals from the Eastern to the Western Ghats, and sees a number of animals making this transit. Besides, the sanctuary covers a vast region comprising, mountains of different altitudes and valleys. The kind of flora and fauna seen here is amazing! While I am no expert and can hardly identify the various kinds of trees, even to my un-informed eyes, there is a variety in the landscape that I have never seen elsewhere. While some areas are full of bamboo and other tall grasses, some higher reaches are covered with trees like the eucalyptus. Some trees are green and have gaily covered flowers, in some areas, the flame of the forest is the only tree seen for miles. Some trees have red and yellow leaves which have just started to fall, while some others have completely shed their leaves, and stand bare, their silhouette showing up clearly against the rising/setting sun. I have brought back memories galore of my two days at this wonderful resort.

Tholpetty Wildlife Sanctuary, Wayanad.

The sun was setting down. My eyes were looking out of the jeep mechanically while the mind was still at Kuruvadweep thinking about the missed chance in visiting the place. It was my third jeep safari in two days, the first two were in Muthanga Wildlife Sanctuary. With Shashank settled in co-driver’s seat, I was all alone in the back. Except for some deer and bison sightings it was getting more like a jeep drive in a remote village. Blame it on the weekend crowd. We had completed almost three fourth of the safari and

Pic : Prashanth M

had to stop because of a traffic jam. It took us few seconds to understand what was happening. There was a herd of wild elephants which were crossing our path. Or to put it in a correct way, we were crossing their path and had to wait for our turn. There were 11 elephants in the group including couple of calves and the leader was standing in the middle of the jeep track while rest of the gang crossed the path. There were two jeeps in between our vehicle & the pachyderms looked as tensed as us. We were third in the queue waiting for the way to be cleared while there was another vehicle, a Toyota Qualis behind us (yes, private vehicles are allowed in Tholpetty Wildlife Sanctuary as long as it’s a four wheeler).

Pic : Prashanth M

The elephants took their own sweet time to cross the road while the leader kept an eye on us. The leader was not too happy with our intrusion & noise (engine & hush voices). As if this was not sufficient, a jeep came from the opposite direction, which meant we – the two jeeps in front of us & our jeep – were sandwiched between a not-so-happy-looking elephant & a vehicle some 15-20 meters behind us. The driver of the jeep who joined the party late understood the situation and slowly backed off. And our wait game continued.

Pic : Prashanth M

After what seemed like eternity (it was just a couple of minutes )the captain slowly gave way and started moving into the woods. The driver of the first jeep mustered up the courage and slowly moved ahead. Then the one in front of our vehicle started moving and we followed them. It was not all over but it was time for more drama. It started with the vehicle in front of us. We could not fathom what got into the driver of the jeep for all of a sudden he started honking while he sped away. We were then moving almost parallel to the leader elephant which was some 15-20 meters away and the pachyderm turned towards and started chasing us. I was looking out of the jeep to see the big mammal running towards us. It was the moment, the mind went blank. No thoughts, just void. It was a mock charge to shoo us away from its territory.

Today, the experience is etched in my mind.I’ve had similar experiences of getting blank few times, but this stands first in the list.Whenever I see a photo of an elephant or a video, I go back to my seat on the back of the jeep in Tholpetty.

24 Dec 2008 (Day 1)

It is with great enthusiasm my family was looking forward to visiting Ranthambhore – after all, we were taking a break after several years (owing to kids higher education), so me, my wife (Sunanda) and my son (Anshuman) went to bed early on 23rd Dec in the hope of waking up early the following day and kicking off the Ranthambhore drive much before others hit the highway. To me it was special, as I was re visiting the place after 20 years!

I woke up at 4AM and got ready by 5AM. I then woke up my folks at 5AM, by which time my driver and maids also landed up to help us with the early morning tea and other sundries. We were all up and ready soon. My driver (Ravinder) loaded up the Scorpio with all the luggage and warmed up the engine early morning. We all came down , hopped into the car, bid goodbye to our helpers and at 6:22AM .I moved the car into the 1st gear to head off to our dream destination.

I have always believed in leaving Delhi early in the day, much before the usual crowd catches up and roads get congested. Since it was winter, not many ventured out even at 6 in the morning, so I was lucky – we could cross Gurgaon within 40m and when I saw on my dashboard we clocked the 1st hour, we were well on the Jaipur highway. Sunanda had already set out the breakfast menu – ‘Alu Paratha in a Dhaba on the way’ so around the 8AM mark (after Behror), I was avidly looking for a good Dhaba, we finally found one ‘Pram (read Prem) Pavitra Restaurant. I didn’t want to turn the breakfast break too long as I was clocking well since morning and wanted to keep the run rate going. But despite all the rush, it still took us a good 30m before we finished two rounds of hot Alu Paratha, hot Chai and we hopped into the car again.

The drive from there to Jaipur was great, interrupted by huge trucks often, but navigating constantly from left to right (as some truck wallahs will never give you side) I managed to clock a good average and reached Jaipur outskirts by 10AM. We then decided to take a break at Jaipur, do some shopping (Sunanda’s menu), have our lunch and leave for Ranthambhore later. That is what we did, spent the time at Sanganer Market (wholesale market for bed sheets, churidars, etc.), M I Road (lunch at Niro’s – good restaurant; also don’t miss to have Lassi from Lassiwala opposite the road) and left for Ranthambhore at 4:22PM. The Jaipur – Tonk road is a NH (NH 12), but a single road and very congested. So you can hardly speed here. Still with all the might of the Scorpio and revving up the gears constantly, I managed to overtake many a truck and finally reach the cut to the left from where you get off NH 12 and get into a SH that takes you to Sawai Madhopur (which is the Railway Station for Ranthambhore). This was one hell of a road; most parts of it were under construction, so very dusty and full of road diversions. You can barely pick up speed here. We took one final chai break just before Sawai Madhopur before reaching Ranthambhore Bagh at 8PM (!) where I had my tented accommodation reserved already. Ranthambhore Bagh (www.ranthambhore.com) is a nice accommodation, a bit expensive at 5K a night (including Dec surcharges and food). There are obviously all kinds of accommodations from Budget to 5 star Hotels in Ranthambhore.  We had some light food in the night and retired soon after the day long journey. We were told by the receptionist to arrive at 6AM the following morning for what was going to be our 1st safari.

Delapidated Structure

25 Dec (Day 2)
We woke up at 5AM to get ready and reach the reception by 6AM as advised. At Ranthambhore Park, they regulate the number of vehicles inside the Park. There are open Jeeps (Gypsy) and open Canters those are the only vehicles permitted inside. We were on a Canter which can take 20 people, the seats are nicely made and very comfortable to sit. The only problem is once inside the Park, it is fairly dusty so do expect to have a good shower after the Safari.

At 7AM, our Canter grazed past the Park’s main entrance Gate and that marked the beginning of our eagerly awaited Safari. It was still a bit dark, the sun had not risen and it was very very cold! We were each given a blanket from the Hotel, I was wondering why needed to carry such a bulky thing – I soon realized why! Soon after the entrance, we spotted a Leopard, yes! It was parched high up on a tree at a distance. Since I didn’t have my zoom lens then, I could not take pictures. But from my Nikon binoculars, I could have a good close look at it…

An early Leopard raised hopes of the next best thing – the Tiger! We went around Zone 3 (the Govt pre decides which Zone each vehicle will ply on) the rest of the morning upto 10AM. Alas, we could not spot the elusive Tiger. Our driver was quite an expert, but that did not help. As they say, spotting a Tiger is a matter of patience and luck. I guess we ran out of both that morning. However we had ample share of other animals – Crocs, Sambars, Spotted Dears, Peacocks, Langurs, Antelopes, Mongoose, Wild Boars and nice scenic jungle beauty!

Ranthambhore currently has 38 tigers and has one of the highest tiger densities in the world. The forest is the dry deciduous type. It has two mountain ranges – the Aravalli and the Vindhya. The total area of Ranthambhore Park is 282 sq km which is split into the Core area and Buffer area. The Core area is where most of the predators and animals live and this is where we get to do the Safari.

After a quick and short afternoon lunch and some rest, we were all set for our next Safari trip starting 2:30PM. This time we were allocated Zone 5. But even this one turned out to be a damp squib with respect to tigers. But I managed to get nice snaps of spotted dears grazing right in front of our Canter. Its not that cold in the evening as it is in the morning. We didn’t need blankets. Completely dusted and a little bit sleepy / tired, we return back to the Hotel at 6PM with lady luck still not smiling at us.

In the night, we had a peaceful dinner amidst Rajasthani folks songs being sung by local artistes live. That was very soothing. I must admit the food wasn’t that tasty though.

26 Dec (Day 3)

We were woken up middle of the night hearing the crackling noise of some animal inside our tent! I knew what it was as I had spotted it just before bed – the famous Indian rat which finds its way into every plastic packet that has food! I carefully packed all the open bags and we went back to bed. Within a minute or so, my wife jumped up screaming at the top of our voice – our friend managed to find his way right on top of her blanket! Scary!! Not knowing what else to do at that hour, we just put the room lights on and slept – that seemed to have worked.

The team was tired out of two consecutive early mornings, so the day started a bit relaxed. Anyway, we did not plan a Safari this morning, but instead wanted to trek up the Ranthambhore Fort, on top of which is the famous Lord Ganesh temple. This is the only temple where Lord Ganesh has 3 eyes!

Most of the Hotels in Ranthambhore (including where I stayed) are all on the same road that leads to the Park. They are all in the 5 to 10km distance from the Park entrance. So we drove out of our Hotel this morning and proceeded to the Park entrance, about 6km. From the main entrance you are allowed to go inside upto the point where the Ranthambhore Fort entrance is (about 5km). Private vehicles can go no further and only listed Canters (LCVs altered to have 20 open seater arrangements) and Gypsies are allowed to do the Safari which is farther away from the Fort entrance. The booking for these vehicles needs to be done fairly in advance. I did my Hotel booking about 45 days and still could not get the Gypsy, had to settle for the Canter (perhaps because it was end Dec).

I parked my Scorpio at the Fort entrance (there is a car park) and we hired a guide for 150/- who would show us the Fort and the famous Ganesh Temple inside the Fort. The guide is a nice simple guy, who did a sincere job – he is also well educated about the Fort. He is Naresh and reachable at 99503 59028. The climb to the top of the Fort is not that tough and one can easily do it in 40m with breaks.  This Fort is the 2nd largest Fort in Rajasthan (next to Chittorgarh), spread over 7km and over 1000 years old! It has a rich history to it, which I will not elaborate here for want of space. One of the buildings, Badal Mahal is a must see. We went to the top of Badal Mahal and spent about 30m just appreciating the beautiful views of the Hills, Ravines and Lakes of Ranthambhore Park. If you are really lucky, you can spot a Tiger from the top as well. We did spot several Sambars and Crocs though (you need good binoculars though).

Then we had darshan of the Lord Ganeshji temple. This is a very famous temple and the only place where devotees write letters to Lord Ganesh. The idol is supposed to be 6500 years old! Everyday the postman carries a 35kg load of letters to the Lord which he opens and reads out aloud to the Lord. After spending some quite moments at the Temple in prayer, we started our descend. I would also like to give a nice tip here – there is a deep gorge right behind the Temple, so if you have 30m to spare, I would recommend you follow the Fort boundary just behind the Temple and take a look at the deep valley below – it is quite scary, but revealing! In the evenings, you do hear rants of various animals echoing in the valley.

The descent from the top of the Ranthambhore Fort was quick. It was past noon time so we were looking for a decent Dhaba – we found one Nikunj Dhaba on that main Ranthambhore road itself. The food was decent.

It was about time to make our last Safari of this trip starting 2:30PM. The Canter came in finally a bit late and we all rushed into it to grab the best of seats. I was lucky to get the 2 front seats empty (next to the driver). It is less dusty and bumpy from here! But unfortunately we got a very disinterested driver and guide combo, not enthusiastic at all! They took so much time at the Park entrance itself to get the ticketing done that all the rest of the vehicles went in, while we were patiently awaiting our duo to get back! This time our allocation was Zone 4. I was just praying that this trip does the trick. Our hopes raised! As soon as we entered the Park, we heard the opposite vehicles waving at us to rush as they spotted a Tiger right up that road. The spot was at least couple of kms away from where we were. Our driver immediately revved up his engine and we dashed to that point – but alas, the Tiger had moved from that spot already behind the bushes and was no more to be seen! We missed it by a
whisker. We continued our ride inside the Zone 4 of the jungle. This part of the jungle has a very interesting landscape – there is a huge lake inside which had many animals – Wild Boars, Gazelles, Sambars and several species of birds / storks there. I took quite a few pictures at this point. We continued our journey in the wild and reached some tents where a couple forest guards live – wow, it sounded too scary when I talked to one of them. They live right amidst all the predators nearly becoming part of them! They need to keep an eye on the animals, their whereabouts, and lookout for any poachers, forest grazers, etc. The guard was telling me that he sees the Tiger ‘everyday’!

By then it was already quite late and we had to head back to the Park entrance. We started our journey back while I continued to keep my vigil on the sides of the road, just in case there was a Tiger hiding behind the bushes my guide and driver could not spot! That was not to be… So the journey of Ranthambhore ended at 5:30PM. I take back several memories of having seen and spent several hours in the wild. That itself was a very satisfying experience. The kuccha roads of the jungle, the early morning rising sun behind the hills, the freely grazing animals in ‘their’ world, Badal Mahal of Ranthambhore Fort , the darshan of the rare Lord Ganesh deity – all will remain etched in my memories for a long time to come. The elusive Tiger is the reason why I will come back to this beautiful Park once again. Now I know why Shruti my daughter missed to be with us in this trip. She had to join the rest of us one more time in our hunt of the King of the Jungle amidst the wild terrains of Ranthambhore…

The Corbett national park is named after Jim Corbett, (the Indian-born British hunter, who later turned into a wildlife conservationist) who played an important role in establishing it.

Courtesy Arun Bhat - paintedstork.com

The Jim Corbett National park is a sanctuary for the critically endangered Bengal Tiger (Panthera tigris bengalensis).

Tiger - Corbett. Copyright FlickR Candle Tree

Abundant in flora and fauna, the Corbett National park is ecologically diverse, with around 480 different species of plants.

Rich in Flaura and Fauna - Source FlickR netlancer2006

The Jim Corbett national park is situated in the Nainital district of Uttarakhand, and experiences temperature in the range of 5 degrees to 30 degrees celcius (in summer).

Misty Corbett - Source FlickR - Eileen Delhi

The area also experiences light to heavy rainfall during the monsoons.

Hills of the Kumaon - Corbett. Source: FlickR Rocky aka Rakesh Barua

Think Hampi and the images that come to our mind are the ruins of the Vijaynagar empire with beautiful monuments strewn around the erstwhile capital town. On a hot sunny day, we travelled to Hampi and beyond. Our quest was not to celebrate the Hampi Utsav, but to look for the Indian Sloth Bear in “Daroji Bear Santuary”. Located in Bellary district and just 15 kms away Hampi, this wildlife sanctuary gives the town another identity besides mining and heritage.

Pic : Gowreesh K

Karnataka state government declared 5,587 acres of Bilikallu Reserve Forest as Daroji Bear Sanctuary in 1994 to protect the bear. The sloth bear population is today estimated about 120. They live in the naturally formed caves in the rocky mountains which are surrounded by dense forest.

Pic : Gowreesh K

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It began early morning in Bandipur. The mist played with mountains, the dew had just settled in. It was cold and damp. And the jungle presented itself to us, a collage of greens, yellows and browns. Shivering underneath our jackets and enjoying the nippy air, we drove through the forest in an open jeep, hoping for an unusual sighting.

Image Credit: Subharnab

A typical safari would read like this. It starts off as a smooth ride with a song in your heart. Add a dash of excitement and plenty of hope to the experience.

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We have a series of articles this month that takes you up the mountains –right from the Himalayas to the Western Ghats, into dense jungles and valleys.

The first in the series is a wild chase in Bandipur, a national park located near the Karnataka border where the Western Ghats stretches out to touch the plains and plateaus. The state ends but the forests continue into Tamil Nadu as the Mudhumalai forest, giving the entire stretch a dense green cover. Home to several birds and mammals including the elephant and the tiger, this is accessible from Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala.