Monday, November 11, 2013

Is flying Air Asia cheap?

If you are flying from Delhi or Mumbai, then it is not. Air Asia had stopped its flights from Delhi and Mumbai couple of years back citing high cost of operation. This means a traveler from any of these cities travelling to South East Asia first has to fly to Kolkata or Chennai to catch an Air Asia flight. It may not be cheap even from cities it is currently flying from. Just read on.

I had flown to Kualalumpur and then to Singapore from Delhi when Air Asia started its operation from Delhi in 2010. Flying Air Asia was indeed economical at that time. When one of the mailer for annual sale from Air Asia arrived in my inbox in Januray 2013, I decided to book tickets for Bangkok almost on impulse without any research. On sale, I got Kolkata – Bangkok return fare for 7400 rupees. This was done in January for travel in October. As my travelling date was approaching, I needed to book a connecting flight to Kolkata. When booked in August, this cost me another 8500 rupees. Only when I started to explore for tickets for Delhi – Kolkata, I found that Indigo offers the best option for DelhiBangkok with two daily flights. The Indigo Delhi – Bangkok –Delhi fare if booked around 3 months in advance is almost the same as that of the combined fare on domestic Delhi – Kolkata – Delhi (on Indigo) and international Kolkata – Bangkok – Kolkata (on Air Asia). With Air Asia I had booked tickets 10 months in advance whereas with Indigo I could have booked tickets only 3 months in advance to get the same combined fare I was paying. Further, my trip became longer by 4 hours as I had to break the journey at Kolkata between the flights. Only saving grace in this combo is that a LTC traveler can claim IT exemption benefit for the domestic sector upto Kolkata, which amounts to almost half the ticket cost. If you are traveling as a family, then this amount may be substantial. If you take one single international flight from Delhi, then you lose the IT exemption benefit for LTC.


This led me to check Kolkata – Bangkok sector fares from Kolkata. There also Indigo was matching Air Asia prices. Air Asia has been able to create the image of the cheapest airline. It actually is, in some of the countries in South East Asia. So beyond Bangkok or Kualalumpur, it still offers the cheapest choice. But you would require planning 10 – 12 months in advance to travel Air Asia. The much hyped sales by Air Asia are a misnomer where one has to wait keeping fingers crossed, praying and expecting to get you in the queue as soon as one of the sales opens. By the time you get into their website, all zero fare is gone. Before booking, I advise you to find what their normal fare is for current month. If the prices on offer are almost similar to current month fare, then skip the sale. You can save your money by getting some interest in your bank account and book only 2 or 3 months in advance.

Monday, November 04, 2013

How cheap is travelling in India

Just back from a wonderful week of holidays in the land of thousand elephants – Thailand. The immediate thought on return was that when are we going back again? My family had given a dictum to cut down on my wild trips to wilderness in India and chalk out plan for a trip to Koh Samui next year.

This second trip to South East Asia had also made me ponder- is travelling in India is really cheap. The answer is probably not. The kind of money we had spent on inland travel annually in India can give us a couple of international holidays every year. Two main reasons for travel in India becoming costlier are very high hotel tarrif and steep airfare. In recent years, the airfares in India have gone through the roof, yet most airlines are claiming losses. Let me present a comparison of travelling to two of the exotic destinations of India – Andamans and Lakshadweep. As I have been to both these places, I vouch for the unparallel natural beauty of these places offers. Both can give a run for money to any of the island destinations in terms of beauty. The ex-Delhi fare on date (Nov 1st wk 2013) for travel in January 2014 end to Port Blair is Rs.16000/-. Ex-Delhi return fair to Agatti, Lakshadweep for the same dates are Rs.20000+. Compare these to ex-Delhi return fare to Bangkok – Rs.17600/-. To add to the flair, all inclusive Thailand packages are available for around 22-25K from many leading travel portals.

Bhimtal near Nainital in Uttarakhand

The second factor contributing to high cost of travel in India is hotel tariff. Most hotels in India are self styled star rated. As there is no independent agency validating these rating, one is forced to consider experiences of fellow travelers on sites like trip advisor. Yet I was in shock to see my hotel at Portblair. If someone is giving a high rating for a hotel in trip advisor, then make sure to check his travel credentials. The possibility is that the enthusiastic rater might not have seen a better hotel or may be was on his maiden trip. Any decent hotel in India cost not less than 2000 without breakfast or meals. As my travels are generally to wilderness of various national parks of India, I am often forced to stay at one of luxury resorts that have mushroomed around these parks. A 2N/3D family trip to any of the national parks of India costs around 25K. The room rates of these resorts are generally mind boggling. Yet the facilities many of them offered are lower than the resort I had stayed at Phuket that cost me 3000 bucks for an ocean view room with breakfast. I had paid Rs.6500/- per night (with meals) for Lakshadweep resort way back in 2007. Most hotels in India do not have net presence. Thus the ones available on net are always costlier. I generally travel through our peer networks and use their contacts which have allowed me to get best value for money in India. But not every traveler is fortunate to have such networks.

Given the fact that you are willing to spend 30K per head, which destination will you choose – Bangkok or Andaman or Lakshadweep? I am sure you have found the answer. Even travelling to Singapore was not that costlier till rupee started its slide. The rupee had eroded by about 14 rupees against SGD since my visit in 2011. Yet a trip to Singapore is affordable to many. Only place that has become real costlier is Hong Kong beacuse of the ruppe slide. You can have two trips of Thailand at the price of one to Hong Kong or can do Singapore + Thailand at that price. So, are you packing your bags!

Wednesday, September 11, 2013

Pench Tiger Reserve, Maharashtra

Wild Click Season-IV was an opportunity to experience the virgin wilderness of Pench (MH). The jungle of Pench, also known as the Kipling County, was made famous by Rudyard Kipling through his immortal character - Mowgli. Tourism in Pench had been operational for years from the MP side. The Maharashtra side has been thrown open for tourism only 6 months back. Tourism is yet to pick up at Pench MH despite its proximity to the city of Nagpur. For wildlife lovers, it is an opportunity to experience a quiet and colourful forest rich in flora that is yet to witness exodus of tourist.

The 60km drive through partial tolled highway from Nagpur to Pench generally takes about 90min. You leave the Nagpur-Jabbalpur highway at Pawni and proceed to Sillari. After making an entry at the forest outpost, our journey continued for 6 km through sparse human habitation till we reached the Amaltas complex of forest department at Sillari village. A permit for park visit is to be obtained from Amaltas complex.


The wild click is a live photo competition where participants vie under similar conditions. All photographs were to be captured in 5 safaris and one nature walk. The season-IV of wild click had the patronage of Maharashtra Forest Deptt looking to promote the location as a potential wildlife tourism center. 32 participants from various parts of India congregated there for the event. It was too big a crowd there for the facilities in place. Gypsys were called in from Pench MP.

The event was kicked off with the nature walk along the Sillari Nature Trail emanating from backside of Amaltas. This area is the territory of a leopard with cubs. The leopard had made a kill during the event. The foul stench indicated that the carcass was in the near vicinity of the campus. We were advised to walk the trail only with trained guides. We never met the leopard, but nevertheless the walk around was thrilling because of expectations. Routes for safaris were charted out carefully to give us a complete experience of the park. We were covering different parts of the forest in each safari. The forest turned out to be one of the most colourful I have been. Many a times, it unfolded before us stunning landscapes. The forest being virgin had seen very little footprint. In most areas animals and birds are not used to human presence. They would generally run away on sight of gypsy, even the langurs,  that would generally block your path in other parks. The team in all could spot several species of birds including vultures, leopard, wild dogs, bisons, jackals, sambhar and spotted deer. Count of these species was healthy to sustain a good forest eco-system. We were appraised that the total tiger population of the reserve is around 26. There were 11 gypsys with 4 participants in each who had done 5 safaris each lasting about 4 hours. Yet none saw a tiger. This is an indication of how tough sighting is. We did saw fresh pugmarks on final morning which proved presence of tiger in the area. However the bottom-line is that tourist will come only if a park provides decent chance of sighting tiger. I mean, one can not expect a tourist spending 2500 rupees for a trip to come back again or give some good word of mouth publicity, if he fails to asses a decent chance of seeing the big cat. This is why Tadoba is such a hit last year. We also had a trip to the adjoining Mahadeo Singh WLS, which is a part of Pench. That was a damp squib as even deer were scarce to spot. One would be better off spending time in Sillari than Mahadeo Singh.

A game drive is best experienced in an open gypsy, not in an AC car. But the no of gypsy for park visit are too few and rickety. Therefore private vehicle had to be allowed which always is a nuisance. We could see a decent crowd on Sunday, mostly using their private car for visiting the park. But the flow of tourist on weekdays was too low for local employment to sustain. Tourism being nascent, the facilities at the park is limited. There are three places for one to spend a night. The first one is a private resort (Go-Flemmingo) located very close to the highway. This will not give you a feel of jungle. Very close to the core area are the Amaltas complex of forest department and a small MTDC resort. Amaltas is a facility with about 14 basic rooms spaced around a large green compound. Room capacity of this facility is being enhanced. The third facility is the Sillari Jungle Resort run by the MTDC located some 100 mtr further is also not luxury class, but decent place with a small swimming pool. We had stayed at both Amaltas and the MTDC.

The main park has another Achilles heel.  There exists a large colony of a hydel power plant at Totladoh inside core area of the forest. Though a large part of the colony is deserted, there still lives a decent population. Buses run through this park to cater to this population. Buses were seen running even after dark. The setting of the power plant deep inside the forest had definitely left a deep scar on wildlife. Many scared animals might have migrated to MP side of Pench. It will take some more time for the wound to heal. I hope that facilities will improve with time and teething problems will wither away. In the years to come, this beautiful park has potential to become a hotspot. Next time you plan a trip to Tadoba or Nagzira, you can plan to include Pench for a day.


Sunday, June 16, 2013

What is Electric plugs for each country?

Good piece of info for international travellers. Last time I went to Singapore, I could do without charging anything. So I bought a adaptor for Malaysia, my next destination. I was just checking whether this would work at Thailand, my next destination. I found the answer as NO from this article.

What is Electric plugs for each country? - Definition from WhatIs.com

Sunday, June 02, 2013

Information on Gir National Park

I was shocked to find very little information available on net on Gir. I had to take help my photographer friends for my trip. The sites on net in the name of Gir are run by hotels and resorts hence you get only the basic information like distance from Ahmedabad (400km) or size of the park, etc. That actually help very little to plan one's trip. 

Therefore to complement my earlier post, I am proving here some additional information for a visit to Gir National Park in Gujarat. One can hire a cab from Ahmedabad which will be a costly affair. I took the overnight Somnath Express from Ahmedabad (10 pm departure) which dropped me at Veraval at around 6 am. I found Veraval at just 40 odd kilometers to be a better point for disembarkation than Junagarh (65km). Taxis were easily available even at those hours of a cold morning.  I was advised to bargain for a return trip pick up as rates at Gir would be higher. But the rates turned out to be same. May be it was a low season. I paid Rs.1200/- for one way trip between Veraval and Sasan.



Lion can bee seen through safaris in open gypsys or by a visit to Devaliya Interpretation Centre. Sighting in gypsy is a matter of luck. The interpretation centre is nothing but a zoo and most of us not of the kind travelling all that far to see captive lions. It is located around 15 km from Sasan and cost Rs.75/- per head as entry fee.

For wildlife lovers, the main attraction is always a safari in open gypsy. Three safaris are conducted each day. Each safari is of about 2 1/2 hours. First at 6.30 / 7.00, Second at 8.30 / 9.0 and Third at 3.00 / 3.30. The times varies slightly depending on season. Safaris starts and ends at the Sinh Sadan guest house campus. Number of gypsy allowed per route per day is fixed. Routes are allotted randomly (apparently). There is no online booking for safari. However advance booking can be done by sending fax to the Sinh Sadan office. Then you may have to call up to confirm your booking. Advance booking for next day can be made at the booking counter in the evening around 6:00-6:30 pm. This will spare you from standing in long queue for current booking. You also get local fellas standing for you in the queue for about 200 bucks. Yet you need to come just before window opens to replace him. You are required to produce your ID for booking. Therefore even if you have made advance booking, you will have to come to the office before safari to get your vehicle and guide allotted. There is a table outside the counter where you need to pay for vehicle and guide. The cost of gypsy safari as on Jan 2013 was Rs.1700/-. Breakup is Rs.400/- for permit charges (500 on weekend), Rs.100/- for camera (7MP and above), Rs.1000/- vehicle rent, Rs.200/- guide fees. Thus total cost of a safari is Rs.1700/- (1800 on weekend). Anything you pay abobe that to your hotel or agent is commission. 

There are seven routes in all. Permits are issued route wise. If you are issued a permit for route No.2 means your entry is through route 2 and exit is through route 6. If you enter through 4 then exist through 7, and so on. Often the routes cross each other, yet there exists most happening route on every few days. Unfortunately you can not jump routes inside the park. Lions moves at their will, so they not stick to a particular route. Sighting is always a matter of luck, yet you can maximize your probabilities with knowledge of most happening route during your visit. 

Because safaris start from Sinh Sadan, they happen to be the best place to stay. This will spare you half an hour of travelling at start of every trip, especially in the morning where you have to reach the counter before dawn. The guest house is located on an archaic building, which was once actually guest house of erstwhile king. The campus is large and green. Rooms are very big with equally big toilets. But being a government facility service is poor. However maintenance of rooms is decent. Travelers advice against having food here. So I did not try it. There are a chain of restaurants across the road opposite the main gate. You get decent Guajarati dishes here. Room charges as on Jan 2013 was Rs.500/- for Non AC and Rs.1500/- for AC. I stayed in an AC room which should be around 10 x 20 feet with a large sofa, two toilets and one attic. This place is very high in demand. To book either need someone local to do it for you or get in touch directly by sending a fax and then confirming over phone. Otherwise there are many costly resorts where you have to bargain for all meal plans. These resorts are spread around 3-5 km from the town center. Unless you have your own vehicle, then you will also to bargain for means of transporting to the Sinh Sadan for boarding the safaris. There also exist several cheap hotels, whose rates were at par with Sinh Sadan but of 1/3 of their room size, across the road opposite main gate of Sinh Sadan.

There also exist some clandestine resorts. Clandestine because they are not proper licensed hotels or resorts. Rather they are farms. They exist a bit far away from the main town center, but closer or inside buffer areas. The bite is that if you stay there, then they will take you out for lion safaris on foot. If you get to see a lion, then you pay, else no show-no pay.


At the end of it, you must be cursing me for not mentioning the phone no of Sinh Sadan. Because even if I give you the numbers, you need to get hold of someone local to get it booked. Further, if you want, then a trip can be arranged, but that would definitely involve some commission for the local agent. 

Tuesday, May 28, 2013

In the last abode of Asiatic lions : Sasan Gir National Park

Ever since I got into the bad company Shivang and his elk, I am travelling only for wildlife. It is hard to stay off the jungles for more than a month. Year 2012 had been a fantastic year for tiger sighting. So after successfully meeting the demand of my ten year old daughter to see Bamera and Machli, we decided to start the year 2013 with a bit of Khusboo Gujarat Ki at LRK and Gir to fulfill her new demand to see a lion. Thus we landed at Gir, the last abode of Asiatic lions on a pleasant morning in end January 2013.

Rules of lion sighting are pretty much the same as that of tiger. The tracking routine is identical to the point of following pug marks and listening to the alarm calls of deer and langur. Courtesy the visuals flowed out of Gir, the image that conjured up in our mind that lions are as aplenty as street dogs, got blown away like a solitary drop of water in the Gujarat summer. Lion sighting turned out to be as tough as tiger sighting. We got to know that it took Amitabh five safaris to get the desired commercial shoot for the Khusboo Gujarat Ki campaign. Despite the adverse conditions, we were happy to get our first lion sighting in the first safari itself. It was not a photographic sighting as the male lion was sleeping inside bushes. Even at 5pm, it was too early for it to take a walk. Lions sleep more than tigers do. They also do not need water as much as tigers do.


Armed with the knowledge of where sighting are happening, we managed to get the desired route for our morning safari next day. It was route 6 for us that morning. As the safari progressed, we could easily felt that this is a happening route as the journey got punctuated with frequent alarm calls of deer and langurs. As we waited with bated breathe the message of a mating pair of lions being sighted somewhere ahead on our route flew in. Without wasting time, we dashed off, only to spare few minutes for a photo opportunity provided by a couple of mottled wood owls en-route. Soon we reached the spot by a waterhole where the pair of lions were resting. Couples of vehicles were already there. Chance of a lifetime was waiting. It was just a matter of time. As impatient tourist started to move away, we sat out quietly under a belligerent sun. About fifteen minutes into our waiting, the lioness stood up and the lion followed. Then they mated. After the post mating aggression both settled down for another spell of lull. Soon the lone gypsy who waited with us and witnessed this moment had left. They had enough, not us. My guide was willing to wait. We were rewarded with another mating sequence. This half an hour of spectacle made our trip.  Patience always pays with wildlife. Couple of years ago at Bandhavgarh, I missed mating of Bamera (aka Sashi) and Kankati (aka Vijaya) by a whisker. Luck was with me this time.

When you had such a moment in a trip, you do not get disappointed even when the next safari goes blank. The last safari on route 7 was in fact a damp squib. Yet we had a fabulous first trip of Gir with a final score of 2 out of 3. Now it is time to gear up for some tiger action in the summer. Ranthmbhore calling again!

Travelling info on Gir: The park is located at Sasan in coastal Gujrat. Nearest rail head is Veraval which is about 40km. Nearest airport is at Rajkot (65km). Veraval is also the town for visiting Somnath temple which is just 7 km from the town. An overnight train connects Veraval with Ahmedabad. I paid around 1200 as taxi fare one way from Veraval station to Sasan. The best place to stay is Sinh Sadan guest house of forest deptt. This is not luxury class, but decent - a place with palatial big rooms (500 for non AC, 1500 for AC), a huge green campus and also houses the safari booking office. Irrespective of where you stay, you will have to come to this place to pick up your permit. Food is not good here, so stay at Sinh Sadan and have food in the market that exists outside its campus. Avoid travelling to Gir around diwali holidays. At less than Rs.2000/- per trip, Gir offers the cheapest wildlife safaris of India.

Friday, May 17, 2013

Delhi to Ranthambhore by road


I have been toying with the idea of driving down to Ranthambhore for some time. But the easy availability and comfort of train had prevented me from taking this 450km journey. Driving down also means two additional days. Hence train had always been the preferred route for Delhi photographers. Finally I found companions this time who were willing to drive down. Thus my longest road trip from Delhi becomes a reality in May 2013. I had earlier driven down to Ajmer which also is 400+. I enquired with fellow friends who regularly drives down to Ranthambhore and was advised to take the familiar Delhi – Jaipur – Dausa – Sawai Madhopur route. My research on the net also yielded similar results. But I found an alternate route which I had planned to use on return after enquiring about it at Ranthambhore. In fact the alternate route turned out to be a fabulous route. This is how both the route are :

My starting and end point for the trip is Kaushambi, opposite Anand Vihar ISBT in East Delhi. The general zero point for trips put of Delhi at Dhaula Kuan is about 20km from my home. We started at 0530 in the morning to beat the rush at Guragaon and Manesar toll gate.

Route 1: Delhi – Jaipur – Dausa – Sawai Madhopur

Kaushambi – Gurgaon : 36 km
We used Kaushambi – NH24 – Sarai kale Khan – Barapulla Nallah elevated road – Moti Bagh – Vasant Vihar – Gurgaon. Beat the rush by starting early. You should aim to cross Manesar before 7am. Toll : Rs.21/-

Gurgaon to Jaipur : 247 km
Continue on NH8 via toll gates at Manesar (27rs), Shahjanpur (107rs) and Manoharpura (51rs). Though the road condition is good, there are at least 15 flyovers under construction resulting in slow diversions and hold up on these sections. This can easily add upto 1 hr to your travelling time. Total Toll is Rs. 185/-

Jaipur to Dausa: 50km
Leaving NH8, continue to Jaipur city by following road signs. Once you reach intersection for Amer, continue straight (or slight left). The right goes to Jaipur via Amer. Couple of KM down the line you will reach a flyover which has two carriage way. Take the leftmost carriageway for Dausa. The right one goes into the city. Almost immediately at the end of the flyover turn left to find the road for Dausa. This is the Jaipur – Agra NH11. There is a toll palza. Private cars are toll free at this plaza. To avail this use the leftmost gate. Soon you enter a tunnel and gets out to an excellent four lane highway. You will have to pay toll at Rajadhok. Leave the highway at Dausa by turning right. Toll: Rs.50/-

Dausa to Lalsot: 35km
Once you leave NH11 and enter Dausa continue straight, cross a zig-zag flyover and then turn right al the end of the flyover. Once you leave the town, you will find true country side. The condition of road upto Lalsot is decent. About 10km of this stretch is bumpy and potholed. Keep your speed low to avoid potholes that appear out of nowhere. No toll on this section.

Lalsot to Sawai Madhopur: 75km
Maneuvering Lalsot town is a nightmare. The 1 km stretch has literally no road with potholes as big as small ponds. To compound it, the stretch is jam packed with buses, jeeps, tractors, etc. Can’t think of how one would drive in monsoon. The town seems to exists on this 1km. Once you manage to leave the town, you are back on a fabulous stretch of tolled road. It passes through beautiful country side. We found two decent places to eat on this stretch. Toll: Rs.40/-
Traffic nightmare at Lalsot town

Finally on reaching Sawai Madhopur, cross the flyover and take a left turn at the end of it to enter the Ranthambhore road. All hotels / resort are located on this 10km stretch. The journey took us almost 11 hr as we took healthy breaks en-route amounting to almost 3 hrs owing to breakfast, lunch and a puncture repair. We also drove leisurely only occasionally touching 100kmph.
Total distance: 445km
Total Toll: 296


On return we deiced to use the following route.

Route 2: Sawai Madhopur – Dausa – Sikandara – Rajgarh – Alwar – Bhiwadi – Dharuhera - Delhi

Sawai Madhopur to Dausa : 110 km
We started very late around 9am planning only one break journey. On return from Sawai Madhopur to Dausa, route description is same as onward journey. On reaching Dausa, drive upto the point where you turned right (at the end of a flyover). Now turn right to get onto the Agra road. Continue straight through it to come onto the Jaipur-Agra NH11. Almost close to the highway was a barrier preventing heavier vehicles entry. They have to take a detour to get onto the highway. But we followed other smaller vehicles and went through the barrier to get onto the highway. Toll: Rs.40/-

True countryside
Dausa to Sikandara : 26km
Tolled highway with excellent condition of road. On reaching Sikandara you pay a toll which is very high for using it for only 26km. Toll : Rs.50/-

Sikandara to Alwar : 71km
Now you are on a single carriageway state highway. But the road condition is as good as the Jaipur-Agra highway. This is a tolled road. Traffic is very low. Sikandara to Rajgarh is 35km. Toll: Rs.50/-

Alwar to Bhiwadi to Dharuhera : 95km
On reaching Alwar turn right to get onto the bypass to avoid city traffic. Continue on this till you reach the circle with Ashok Leyland insignia. Turn right here. Now you are onto the Alwar –Bhiwadi tolled state highway via Tijara. It is an excellent 4 lane highway. There are occasional dhaba type eateries on this stretch. In case you are hungry then you should fill your tank in any of these. There is no decent restaurant. Toll: Rs.55/-

Dharuhera to Gurgaon : 50km
This is where we faced traffic for the first time on return. Two flyovers under construction, diversions and Manesar toll gate ensured heavy jam. Fortunately traffic was moving and we got away with about 40 min of additional time as compared to our onward journey. Toll: Rs.27/-

Gurgaon to Kaushambi: 36km
It was around 3pm when we had reached the toll plaza. There was long queue at each gate. Yet we were out within 10 min. Despite all the bad publicity. I was impressed with speed of toll processing. Toll: Rs.21/-

The return journey took us about 7 ½   hrs despite of additional 1 hour from Dharuhera to Kaushambi. It was one break journey and we drove leisurely around 80-90 kmph. This route turned out to be at least 55km shorter – only 388km as compared 445km. The total toll was also lower – Rs.246 as compared to Rs.296. To add to it we beat all the traffic hold up, diversions on Dharuhera – Jaipur stretch constructions. On the entire Dausa to Dhrauhera stretch there was hardly any traffic and road condition was out of the world. I failed to understand why people are not talking about this route. One reason may be the tolled state highways have been constructed / completed recently. I highly recommend using this route.
Total distance: 388km
Total Toll: 243

(Note: Journey described herein was undertaken in May 2013)

Saturday, March 02, 2013

Chasing the Orange Mountains

Saevus magazine launched in 2012 had already made impact as one of India's premier magazines on wildlife and photography. The only other dedicated Indian wildlife magazine being Sanctuary Asia. These two are kind of Nat Geo and BBC Wildlfie of India. Saevus had published one of my article named 'Chasing Orange Mountains' on its website recently. Here is a visual of the article. Pl follow this link to read the full article 'Chasing the Orange Mountains'  on Saevus website.




Thursday, February 28, 2013

Goecha La Trek : A journey from Yaksum to Dzongri and beyond

Journey of a hundred miles starts with a small step. That small step was taken by eleven brave trekkers at Yaksum in West Sikkim on a sun baked morning in late September, 2012. The target was to reach Goecha La via Dzongri involving a climb of over 10000 feet traversing nearly 100 kms of leech infested rain forests in the Himalayan foothills. Or rather, the journey started thousand miles away when I stepped out of home at Delhi.

It was 3:30 am when I left home. The cab zipped through the empty streets of Delhi. I hate getting up at those unearthly hours to catch a flight. But here we had very little choice as we were to report at New Jalpaiguri at 10am. The team of eleven colleagues would be travelling from across India to reach New Jalpaiguri or Siliguri. As the dawn broke, the flight took off to Guwahati en-route Bagdogra. A clear sky with lovely view of the Himalayas greeted us on the flight. Monsoon had started showing signs of withdrawal from North India, but it was still active in East. As we landed at Guwahati airport en-route, it was raining outside. This left us a bit worried. The apprehensions deepened as the flight took off from Guwahati, flying over a swollen Brahmaputra which appeared more like a sea than a river. As the flight headed north, a bluish hole appeared through dark clouds in the distant sky. The flight went through that hole to land on a sunny tarmac at Bagdogra. Sunshine was a good omen.

Cabs sent by our operator Kiran Gurung picked us at the NJP station. The six hour journey to Yaksum via Jorethang involved several breaks. By evening we had reached the town of Jorethang where Kiran bought supplies for the trip. Jorethang is the last major town on this side. An eventful last leg of journey in the darkness of night through landslide, slush and fog landed us at Yaksum around 8 in the night. Located at an altitude of 5500 feet, Yaksum is the last road head on this side of West Sikkim. This is the village of actor Danny Dengzongpa. It is about 170km from Siliguri via Sevok and Jorethang. Peeling, which is district HQ of West Sikkim is around 32 km from here. There are several places to stay put at Yaksum, mostly catering to trekkers. The Yaksum –Dzongri trek continues to allure trekkers across the world for the challenge it offers along with the promise of unmatched natural beauty. The hotel hired by Kiran for the team was named Dragon which is a basic trekker’s accommodation with one shared toilet. The owner charges around 150 per bed. Kiran briefed the team about the trekking plan. Local authorities require that all members were to provide photocopies of ID and a medical fitness certificate. Those who did not carry medical certificate were required to give an undertaking that he is fit and undertaking the trek on his own risk. The Yaksum – Dzongri – Goecha la is rated as moderate to tough graded trek. Out of the eleven in our team, only three including me had prior experience of tough grade trekking. We had a discussion on things to do and not to do, pre-caution required etc. Formalities done, we went early into bed to beat the cold outside.

Day 1:
A bright sunny day greeted us in the morning. After breakfast we were all set to go. Kiran had set Sachan as our target for the day. Experienced trekkers successfully make it to either Bakhim or even Tsoka on day 1. But Kiran advised us against this. He opined that many treks ends at Toskha on day1 itself as the climb from Sachan to Tsokha is very steep. Yaksum-Tsokha is too much ask on day 1 when your muscles are not loose enough. Trying to reach Tsokha on day 1 may either leave you drained or with cramped muscles, bringing an early end to your trek. One should have enough time in hand to enjoy the trek, breathe in lots of fresh air and savor the beauty nature unfolds every now and then.

The team was excited to embark on this tough journey. So much so that when I get out of my hotel, almost everyone was seen waiting outside with heavily loaded rucksack on their back. I was very clear about not carrying heavy rucksack on this trek. Instead I was carrying a daypack loaded with essentials - a jacket, water, raincoat, umbrella, dry fruit and cameras. I carried the Canon 60D body with 17-40 F/4L and the Canon SX40 mega zoom camera, each for different purpose. With my photo gear, the backpack was almost 4-5 kilos, decent enough for this type of trek. I was skeptical about those proudly swaggering around with their new rucksacks. Newbie’s to trekking are always inspired by photos of alpine style trekkers with rucksack on their back. Here we had the luxury of porters and yaks to carry luggage. So all one wanted was a daypack with essentials.

By the time we finished formalities at local police station, it was around 10am. A team from Air India, Mumbai had also started off together. They had targeted Bakhim for the day. The distance to Sachan was about 7 km with a gentle climb of 1500 feet. It turned out to be good warm up for the tough climb ahead. There were occasional scare of leeches. One has to keep looking for leeches while resting or taking photos, especially around bridges. Most of us made it in 4 hours. The porters had arrived well before us and was preparing for lunch when I reached. While we sipped tea at the small trekker’s hut, which was used by the porters for cooking, others started to arrive one by one. Then the bad news came. Weather started to change around 3pm and soon it started raining. Lack of fitness started to show on couple of members who had fallen way behind. A porter had to be sent looking for them. Both started with lot of enthusiasm, and of course with rucksacks, which they discarded somewhere on the way and handed over to porters. Now that it had started to rain they were left with nothing, not even raincoats to fend themselves. One should not trek without a daypack with essentials. Finally the porter brought them to the camp, almost two hours behind others.

Both the late comers were in sad state. Both had given up and declared that they will not go further. As their condition appeared more psychological than physical, they were counseled to continue. Carrying someone who is not in good physical state can become a liability and may hamper team’s progress. If they are to go back, then they were just 4-5 hours trekking away. But if they go further, then we may have to send back some ration, porter, etc. with them. Team had to take a call. Decision making was postponed to next morning.


The tent site was across the road, on the hill opposite the trekker’s hut. The wooden trekker’s hut is very small and can accommodate 5/6 people. It was used by our porters. A visit to the tent site was a hair rising experience. It was full of leeches of all sizes. The rain had made the situation worse. We got salt spread around the tents, but that was of very little use in rain. People were bitten by leeches when they went out at night to pee. Our only weapon to fight these scary creatures was a small torchlight and ensuring that the tent is sealed. Yet that night one leech got inside someone’s sleeping bag, one was bitten on leg, another on lips. I survived.

Day 2:
As usual mornings used to be bright and sunny. By now, Rawat, one of the late comers had recovered mentally and showed determination to go ahead. Hailing from hills of Uttarakahnd, his physical condition was good to let him continue. The other had to be sent back. These are hard decisions on trek the leadership has to take. It becomes harder if the member pleads to continue despite his physical condition.

Our target for the day was Tsokha. Starting at 7000 feet, we climbed about 300 feet when we met a deep descent of about 500 feet to the large hanging bridge over river Prek Chu. From the other side of the bridge it was a non stop 3500 feet climb to Tsokha, almost without any descent. En-route we had stopped at Bakhim (altitude 8500 feet) for tea and waited for the slow climbers to arrive. Sachan- Bakhim was achieved in about 3 hours. Another 1 1/2 hours of climb took us to Tsokha, our target for the day.

The camping site at Tsokha was the best campsite on the entire trek. Sitting at 9500 feet and looking down the valley gave a kind of roof of the world feel. The trekker’s hut at Tsokha is quite spacious with 3 rooms and two kitchens. The rooms have elevated bed with a mattress. Such facilities exist on the entire trek route. Even you do not have prior booking; you may get accommodation in such trekker’s hut @50 per person per night. But sometimes it may be too crowded, as we had seen on our return when we met at least five large groups going up. Staying in tents is more fun on treks than huts.

Tsokha was a village in the past of Tibetan settlers, with a small monastery. The habitants of this village were relocated after it got included in the Kanchendzonga National Park. The village is now deserted, except for one family. When we visited the monastery, it was also found to be locked. The area around Tsoka is good for birding and reclusive red panda. I was not on a wildlife trip here this time. So, someday later I will come back in search of the red panda.

Day3:
It was another tough day. Another grueling 3000 feet climb to Dzongri. As you gain heights, air becomes thinner making your every step harder. However, this part of the trek was enjoyable for its uniqueness. A large part of the trek has wooded pavement through Rhodenderon forest. The project of covering the trek with logs certainly had been a tough task. Rhodenderons were not in bloom in Sepetember. When they bloom around April, it must be quite an experience. We had a brief stop at Phethang (altitude 11500 feet) allowing slow movers to join. On that a day, a big group of 80 trainees of Himalayan Mountaineering Institute (HMI) was making their way up from Bakhim. HMI has a training camp just beyond Dzongri. Each of the trainees was carrying a rucksack weighing not less than 15-20 kg. It was bit too much for many of them, who were seen cursing. But the helpless fellows had no other alternative but to get up with the instructors whistle and keep moving. We let the boys pass by and continued trekking. There is a small trekker’s hut at Phethang, but no potable water sources nearby. Hence organized tours do not camp here. It is generally used to serve packed lunch or snacks. Some trekker’s makes the mistake of staying here. While the main trek continues to Dzongi, another side trek originates here to Kokchurung, which we used on return from Goecha La.

The paved trek between Tsokha and Dzongri with Rhodenderon canopy
After another climb, we had reached the Dorilla pass, an area with Rhodenderon forests and a small water body. Then there was a descent. At those heights, you would hate any sight of a descent, when you know that you will again have to gain the height lost. One serious thing to note is that on the entire Tsokha – Dzongri stretch there is no stream or any other source of drinking water. So make sure to carry enough water on this stretch. We made Tsoka-Dzongri in about 5 hours. The HMI guys had arrived well before us. It was a kind of mela that day at Dzongri. We met the Air India team, who had started together at Yaksum. After 3 days of trekking, we as well as the Air India team had made it to Dzongri. But we did it in a more enjoyable way by stopping at Sachan on day 1. The Air India team had stretched it to Bakhim on day 1 which certainly was harder.  It is all about good planning and spacing out our trek nicely so that you can enjoy it. Kiran, our agent, did a fantastic job in our trip planning. His entire support team was fantastic. Just imagine being served Pasta with boiled potato when we arrived at Dzongri. Or being served soup at Tsokha and Lamuney when we were shivering in sub-zero temperature. Or winding up the trip on return at Tsokha with a celebration and a cake! We will not forget Badal, Deepak and others. The guys were just fantastic. Kiran lived upto his reputation.

It took upto 7 hours for some guys to reach Dzongri that day. Two days of tough climb had taken toll on at least 4 members. A big question mark was hanging on their progress further. We had a spare day for rest and acclimatization at Dzongri. To my horror I found most of the guys were using Diamox, but were not aware of care required. People seem to read on the net about this drug and then use it without bothering to know how to use it. I had learned about side effects of Diamox on my last trip to Ladkah. I have successfully made to 17000 feet on that trip without Diamox. This time it was 2000 feet lower with more oxygen because of trees. I had kept Diamox in the kit as a pre-caution, but did not use it. If you use Diamox, then you need to drink a lot of water and pee a lot. Further, the drug starts to take effect after about 48 hrs only.

Day 4:
We were shaken out of slumber at 4:30 am by calling of Badal, our chief guide. We were to climb up along the ridge of the hill next to the camp in order to reach the view point before sunrise to catch a glimpse of the sunrise on Mt. Kangchendzonga and other nearby peaks. Dzongri provides a magnificent view of seven Himalayan peaks from very close range. The cold outside at that hour of night was severe. It can not be described, can only be felt. We got packed with almost everything we had carried, at least four layers. Even though we were well acclimatized, the 500 odd feet climb to the view point was brutal. The climb with torch and headlight at those hours with empty stomach was one of the toughest things I had ever done in my life. It took us about 45 min to reach the top. Despite the tough conditions, I carried my tripod. It is near impossible to capture mountains hand held as light is very poor. The effort paid off well as couple of photos taken that morning is up for display and sale at Nature’s Touch exhibition later. I love the orange mountains. In fact I am now infatuated with them. I never miss an opportunity to capture them. In higher altitudes, the sky generally remains clear in the morning offering you great opportunity to capture this moments when snow capped peaks changes colour every moment. Getting to capture the colours in the evening is tougher as weather often detoriate in the afternoon. On this trip, we did not get a single sun baked afternoon. In Ladakh, I found this change phenomenon around 2pm. Here in the east, it was happening after 12 in the noon.

The team of brave-hearts. Me on right corner. Photo courtesy: Himanshu Topno


We came down around 8am for breakfast. Only then we realized the climb we had undertaken in the darkness of night. Had it been in daylight, a couple of guys would have certainly refused to climb. On the hindsight, it turned out be a good thing, as guys who thought they had no more juice left, also made this tough climb. They day was free for acclimatization and rest. I spent the day doing some birding around the camp as long as the light stayed good.

Day 5:
The rest at Dzongri had done magic. All the guys were ready to move ahead. The target was Lamuney via Kokchurung and Thanseng. After a brief climb, the trek panned out through a valley dotted by regular up and down. It was a pleasant journey offering good view of the peaks, especially Mt Pandim, on the base of which we were supposed to camp. Then we came across a steep descent of about 1000 feet to Kokchurung (altitude 11500 feet). We were relieved to know that we will not have to climb up these 1000 feet on return. There is a trekker’s hut here which we had used on return. We crossed the river at Kokchurung and reached Thanseng (altitude 12500 feet) by noon. Our lunch was served here. There is a big trekker’s hut here. The old hut got gutted in a fire. A new hut were being constructed which was almost ready. The Air India team had decided to halt here for the night. However we moved ahead after lunch to Lamuney which was another couple of hours away. We came across several small streams on this stretch. I could not stop myself from getting my feet wet while crossing one of them as I slipped.

We reached Lamuney (altitude 13000 feet) at around 4pm. Burst of clouds kept sweeping the site from time to time bringing in blistering cold wind. Turquoise colored glacial water flowed in the river by the camp. Across the river we saw a herd of Bharal, or Blue Mountain Goat, making their way into the caves for the night. Their acrobatics were breathtaking. Light was too low to attempt any photography. I just enjoyed watching them jumping from rocks to rock balancing perilously from the hill face.

As night came down, cold became bitter. We were warned about the cold at Lamuney campsite as it is located in an open U shaped valley. As the tents were cold, we spent time playing cards in the wooden kitchen hut which was very warm. I will not forget playing Twenty -Nine at 13K feet under a headlamp to beat cold. The smell of cooking made my appetite grew. Post a brief dinner, we hurried back to the tents and got packed inside the sleeping bag. For the first time in the trip I used the liner as well. It was one the coldest night I had ever endured.

Day 6:
Those who were to attempt a climb upto Goecha La view point no.1 were to start latest by 5am. The very thought of getting out of sleeping bag was bone jarring. As my tent partner Manish was getting ready, I asked from inside my sleeping bag as to how the weather is. His reply was that it was foggy or cloudy with very poor visibility. That was a bad sign. Normally when you get up at such hours at those heights, you get a brilliant clear sky. From my experience, I understood that there will be no light that day, and hence no classic sunrise. Thus there was no point taking the pains of venturing out in that extreme cold. Five brave guys from the team decided set out for Goecha la. Five of us stayed back and decided to start a little later to the turquoise watered Samiti Lake, halfway to Goecha La.

My decision of not venturing out at 5am turned out to be a good one. The scene was mostly engulfed in cloud even at 6am when I came out of my tent. Our tent was right under Mt Pandim, but it was completely covered in dense cloud. Sad that I did not get any sunrise shot of Mt Pandim or Tenzing Thang, despite standing right under them. However I managed a couple of interesting shot of Mt. Kaburu which I had named as ‘In smoke’, as the passing cloud giving a feel of smoke rising out of the orange colured snow.

We set out for Samiti Lake at 7am when the weather had improved considerably. It was about a 1 ½ hour’s effort to the beautiful Samiti Lake. This lake revered by locals is not very big, but the mountains reflecting on crystal clear turquoise water provides a magnificent view. Sun was shining bright by now. There was a trekker’s hut here which has been demolished as the site was getting polluted. By 9am, the first team that went to Goecha La view point 1 had also come back to join us. A group photo together captured the successful completion of the trek. We returned to Lamuney by 10:30am and waited for our brunch. As we waited, the weather had suddenly turned bad again. By 11 it started drizzling which soon turned out to be an incessant rain. The Air India team had arrived there amidst rain. We felt pity for them. When the sun was shining, they lazed at Thanseng. Never waste your time on trek when the weather is good. You never know when it will turn bad. In fact the weather was to remain bad for next three days.

We waited for almost two hours for rains to subside. But there was no sign of relenting. The danger of numerous streams on the route to Thanseng overflowing also started to loom. Finally we started off braving the rain. By the time we had reached Thanseng, the rain grew strong. We spent another hour at Thanseng. Our plan that day was to make it to Kokchurung which was another hour away. As the rain weakened, we dashed off for Kokchurung. Walking as fast as we can, we made it in about 45min. We had expected the campsite to be wet. The porters also told about difficulty in setting up the tents in the rains. Thus we had decided to stay put at the trekker’s hut at Kokchurung for that night. Payment was made at Thanseng as the caretaker for that hut stays there. The hut is spacious with 4 rooms. It can easily accommodate 20 people. Constructed with two layers of wooden planks, these huts were quite warm. We had very comfortable sleep that night.

Day 7:
It had rained almost all through the night. The morning was gloomy. Passing clouds getting trapped in pine ridges above made beautiful blank and white landscapes. Post breakfast we started for Tsokha via Phatheng. Just outside the hut, the trek bifurcates – one goes up steeply to Dzongri, the one we had used on our first leg, and another narrow trek covered with bushes goes to Phethang. The horses and Yaks can not travel on this trek and hence they will take the long detour via Dzongri. This trek, generally following the course of Prekchu stream, is not steep, but is considered dangerous. Besides possibility of bear encounters, there were perilous stretches where trek is washed away. We were also surprised by leeches on some part. Leeches at that height and cold was an example of adaptability of this incredible pest. It took us about 4 hours effort to reach Phethang. It had started to drizzle by the time we had made to the small trekker’s hut. The team was served light lunch at the trekker’s hut. We met a group of Europeans making their way upto Dzongri. Despite the ominous looking weather, we wished them good luck. In these parts of India, when the weather turns bad, it remains bad for next 4-5 days. We were lucky to have brilliant weather while going up. As were heading down, rain was not a worry. On the way down we met a group of trekkers who had made the mistake of targeting Phethang for night stay.

Another 2 hours walking brought us to the Tsokha campsite. Rain had stopped, though not completely. Overall the weather remained bad. But Kiran’s team cheered us up by making a cake to celebrate successful completion of the trek. As some of the guys were not going down to Yaksum because a new group of Kiran’s trekkers were coming up, we had distributed the customary tips to all after the celebration.

Day 8:
Though we were to travel 15km and 4000 feet, the atmosphere in the camp was relaxed. We were all basking in glory of the successful completion of the trek thanking god profusely for the excellent weather we had, baring last two days. As usual, we had started around 8 in the morning. The weather hold good till Sachan, the campsite of first night. We stopped there for a quick brunch. Bided goodbye to guide Badal and his team, and started the last part of the trek to Yaksum. By noon, it had started to rain again. Though not very strong, the rain was consistent. After about an hour, the speed was severely impeded due to slush and slippery conditions. It was compounded by leeches which could be seen in abundance on the road waiting for every opportunity to stick to your shoe. Baring a couple of us, almost all the others suffered leech attack that day. Despite our rain protection, we were fairly wet because of walking in rain for almost 3 hours. My water resistant Quechua had also started to give in after walking in rains for last 3 days. 

At Yaksum, we were all greeted back by a smiling Kiran at the hotel. Celebrations continued that night at Gupta’s restaurant where we had to pre-order non-veg dinner. A memorable trek, an unforgettable journey into wilderness has come to an enjoyable end. Many of the moments got captured in our cameras. But some of them got captured in our heart forever to cherish. As I took the flight back to Delhi, memories started to flow in.  

Saturday, January 05, 2013

2012 : A year of travel

Oriental White Eye from Khijadiya Bird Sanctuary, Jamnagar
Had an extraordinary travel year in 2012 when I had literally traveled across the length and breadth of this vast country. It included mind boggling experience of snorkeling in a warm sea at Anadaman to getting frozen in sub-zero temp in Himalayas to get inside a submarine at Vizag. It started with a trip deep down south east to Andaman and ended with a trip to the west coastal town of Jamnagar in Gujarat. The list is under -
  • Jan : Andaman, Kolkata , Kanha NP (MP)
  • Feb : Sultanpur
  • Mar : Kolkata, Vadodara
  • April : Bandhavgarh NP (MP)
  • May : Mumbai, Nagpur, Nagzira WLS, Ranthambhore NP
  • June : Ranthambhore NP, Dibrugarh, Sivasagar, Ahmedabad
  • July : Corbett NP
  • Aug : Rajahmundry, Vishakhapatnam, Dehradun
  • Sept : Dehradun
  • Oct : Goecha La trek (Sikkim), Siliguri
  • Nov : Singalila trek, Guwahati
  • Dec : Jamnagar, Ahmedabad

This was my full first year in the wild and wildlife photography. Most of my trips were wildlife oriented. One has to be in wild to capture wild moments. 2012 saw me travelling to seven different national parks across different states. These trips to jungle are expensive, but enjoyed every bit of it. Saw more than 20 tigers in the wild in the 21 safaris that I took in various jungles. 

2013 is now calling. As of now, it is too cold now for any comfortable travel. The travelling calendar is getting kicked off on in the last week of January with a trip to the Little Rann of Kutch (LRK) and Sasan Gir in Gujarat.