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Wild India Notes: 1997 Trip Highlights
Trip Log
Since our experiences on this trip mean something special and unique to each one of us, I have only highlighted some of the events and sightings that took place on the main portion of the tour when we were a full group of 23 people including Hashim, David, and myself. Tying these events and sightings together nicely, were Hashim's eloquent mini-lectures on India's politics, Mughal history, caste system, religion, tigers, and forest conservation measures. Some group members took additional tours of Delhi, Rajasthan, and Nepal which I have not mentioned herein. The focus of our tour was to experience the wilderness of the forests and observe the wildlife of India. We are all very fortunate to have sighted 9 tigers on 13 sightings during 13 game drives.31 March New Delhi - The Claridges Hotel Breakfast at Pickwicks was followed by a quick safari briefing given by Hashim Tyabji. The morning tour of Mehrauli Complex and Qutab Minar in south Delhi with restoration architect, Ratish Nanda, also offered the opportunity for us to walk around real small town and photograph the stalls, people, etc. Lunch was back at the hotel at The Jade Garden Chinese restaurant. Some group members took an afternoon tour of Old Delhi, while others went out shopping or rested in the hotel. The Indian coalition government of Prime Minister Deve Gowda fell today and for the rest of the days on our trip we waited to find out who would step up to the plate. Our welcome dinner was at Bistro's Rooftop Restaurant in the Hauz Khas Village where we were treated to the lighting up of the actual Hauz Khas monument as we dined. 1 April Corbett National Park - Claridges Corbett Hideaway Lodge After a very early breakfast and with packed lunches we drove 7 hours by coach to Corbett, crossing the Ganges and stopping for lunch along the way. Fortunately the all-India truckers' strike was on (as it was for the whole trip) and we encountered minimal truck traffic on the highways. Half an hour into our first game drive through this forest of towering sal trees, we climbed onto elephants and had a view of a tigress sitting in the bush. Imran Khan, the head naturalist, was wonderful with the birds, trees, and general forest craft. 
2 AprilCorbett National Park - Claridges Corbett Hideaway Lodge / Gairal Forest Rest House Early this morning, nine group members including David Anderson left with Hashim to Gairal Forest Rest House on the Ramganga River, where they met another naturalist, Pavan Puri. They had sightings of gharial (fish eating crocodile) and herds of wild elephant. One of the jeeps that stayed at Hideaway had a good sighting of the same tigress seen the day before, except she was on the road this time. We took two game drives and a nature walk on which we saw python and goral (goat-antelope) on the slopes of the cliffs, in addition to a multitude of birds. Clouds gathered all day and it rained all night. 3 April Corbett National Park - Claridges Corbett Hideaway Lodge Hoping that the rain would let up, those of us at Hideaway drove to Gairal but when conditions didn't improve, we all decided to return to Hideaway for the day. Some people stopped at a nearby village for photos, others played cards, relaxed.... At the gate to Gairal, we did see two pet male and female blackbucks which are not indigenous to this region. 4 April Jaipur - Jai Mahal Palace Hotel Today was a travel day - a seven hour drive back to Delhi, stop at the Santushti shopping complex and then onward to the Old Delhi railway station. After expertly maneuvering ourselves and luggage through the station to our train car, we settled in for a dinner of Dominos pizzas and a nap on the five hour journey to Jaipur. Arriving at our beautiful converted palace-hotel quite late we went straight to the rooms for a night of rest. 5 April Ranthambore National Park - Sawai Madhopur Lodge This morning after breakfast we met our local Jaipur guide, took jeeps up to Amber Fort and had a tour of the sandstone buildings including the floating garden and the room of the thousand stars with the mirror studded ceiling. A lot of us found the colorful puppets sold outside irresistible. After lunch at the hotel, we made a 3-1/2 hour drive to Ranthambore stopping along the way to get shots of a huge herd of camels on the highway! Dinner at the lodge was under the stars before everyone retired to their rooms for the night. 6 April Ranthambore National Park - Sawai Madhopur Lodge Following the random route allocation system of the park, we all split up and drove along essentially two different routes of the park. On the morning game drive, I think most of us had at least a glimpse of a solo tigress walking her territory amidst the lantana and across the dry ravines, while others had good long viewings. Everyone agreed that this park is particularly enchanting because of the old hunting lodges and chhatris (or gazebos) which dot the landscape and are reflected in the lakes where plenty of sambar deer and birds were spotted. Between game drives some of us visited the Ranthambore Art School where Mr. Prabhakar and this students showed their magnificent paintings and etchings of tigers and other wildlife of this park. Some of us proudly have their work hanging on our walls at home. This night we had a jungle theme dinner complete with bonfires and an invisible flautist (!) in the garden of the lodge. 
7 AprilRanthambore National Park - Sawai Madhopur Lodge On the morning and afternoon game drives some of us were lucky to sight and observe another tigress with her three suckling cubs, while others had sightings of sloth bear and the other species found in the park. There were magnificent photographic opportunities at Malik Talao, where the lake's surface seems to be carpeted by red algae and is visited by all kinds of birds. After the morning drive we went straight up to Ranthambore Fort for breakfast and explored some of the 'working' town that actually exists up there and had wonderful views of the park. After Ranthambor Fort, we took our seven jeeps to Dastkari - the women's cooperative society that continues to create and sell traditional handicrafts of the region. Both Ranthambore Art School and Dastkari were set up (along with a family planning and health care center) by the Ranthambore Foundation in an effort to integrate the local community with the conservation program for the park. 8 April Agra - Mughal Sheraton Hotel Since we had good bird sightings at Ranthambore, we opted to skip the boat ride at Bharatpur and spend more time at Fatehpur Sikri just outside Agra. After a six hour drive from Ranthambore, we stopped for lunch at the Laxmi Vilas Palace Hotel and continued onto to Fatehpur Sikri where we had ample time photograph the dramatic red sandstone structures. We drove another 1-1/2 hours to Agra stopping at the famous Kohinoor Jewelers for some shopping and to view, The Legend, the three dimensional embroidery by artist Shams depicting 24 scenes of wildlife. For dinner we had our choice of sampling any of the restaurants in the hotel. 9 April Bandhavgarh National Park - Bandhavgarh Jungle Camp It drizzled a little this morning but by setting out at 5:30am we were able to get a view of the Taj Mahal with hardly any tourists around. After breakfast at the hotel, we transferred to the airport for our flight from Agra to Khajuraho. After a quick lunch at the Taj Chandela Hotel, we drove by another coach for about 7-1/2 hours to Bandhavgarh. Here we were greeted by Nanda Rana, our Nepali camp host, and after dinner, made our way to the tents for the night. 
10-12 AprilBandhavgarh National Park - Bandhavgarh Jungle Camp We spread out a lot on our drives here and sightings were very different for each group member. I personally had a beautiful sighting of Sita (the current resident tigress of the area) walking through the grass across the fire line carrying a freshly killed chital fawn to her cubs hiding in the bushes on the hill. Later on we took elephants up to the bushes and found Sita with her two cubs playing in the bushes and on the trees. Unusual sightings included sloth bear, gaur, and a jungle cat (in David's tent!). On our last day in the park, from elephant- back we had a chance to observe and photograph Sita guarding her sambar kill. Some group members went in search of Charger the resident male tiger, but I believe they were only able hear his roar. During our stay here we also visited Hashim's farm house, observed mahawats bathing their elephants, walked through the nearby village, visited a local school, trekked up to and explored Bandhavgarh Fort. During our stay here we had the opportunity to meet National Geographic photographer Michael 'Nick' Nichols who was staying at the camp while shooting for an upcoming feature on tigers. We were also privileged to be joined by historian Geoffrey Ward (author of Tiger Wallahs) for our farewell dinner. Two group members left the group a day early to proceed to Kathmandu. 13 April Khajuraho - Delhi - Departure With a packed breakfast we drove back to Khajuraho for a visit to the erotically carved temples of the Chandela dynasty. After a lunch of burgers, fries, and chilled cokes at Jass Oberoi Hotel, we boarded our flight to Delhi. Back at Claridges Hotel, after repacking and showering we all met for our final dinner together at the Jade Garden. Good-byes were said and everyone left for home or further explorations. I know many of you agree that observing a wild tiger is truly a magical experience. It is clear that the future of the wild Indian tiger is severely threatened and though a great deal of excellent work is being undertaken by various organizations and dedicated individuals, the tiger still needs all the help it can get. As our group's contribution to this effort, Rare Earth Explorations has contributed Rs. 10,000 to Tiger Link as a direct reward for a deserving forest guard. To help various ground level conservationists in India, working either in the parks or in the cities to influence policy decisions, I will continue to volunteer my time. I hope that you will share your photographs and experiences with friends and spread the word. |
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