As
the sun goes down behind the hills turning the landscape into a canvas of
myriad shades of orange, jungle folk leisurely walks back to their cocoons for
roosting. And then darkness descends to engulf the forest in a think black
blanket, enthusing a new lease of life into the nocturnal fauna. The generally
quiet jungle suddenly springs to life with a cacophony of calls and sounds. Predators
who rules the night are out on the prowl. Many will not survive the night to
see the light of tomorrow. Being out there in the dark is certainly a
frightening proposition, but watching this drama unfold from inside an electric
fence to fend off the predators is an altogether a different experience. Imagine
yourself sitting right in the midst of all these actions, feeling the pulse of
the jungle nightlife and soak in the unforgettable experience. Welcome to the Corbett
National Park in Uttarakhand, the land of roar and trumpet.
 |
| Asitic wild elephants |
The
evergreen dense forest of Corbett NP with patches of saal trees, grasslands,
hills and rivers is the ideal habitat for two of the giants of Indian forests –
the Royal Bengal Tiger and the Asiatic Wild Elephants. Corbett is one of those
rare places in India that offers feel of real jungle night stay if you can
manage to get accommodation in one of its Forest Rest Houses (FRH). These are
tourist facilities run by the forest department of Uttaranchal and can be
booked online through Corbett’s official site corbettonline.uk.gov.in. Of
all the FRHs located across various ranges of the park, the Dhikala FRH is the most
sought after, followed by Gairal and Bijrani. All of them are basic facilities,
yet any true wild lifer will gleefully trade his luxurious hotel room for a
night at these FRH. The Dhikala FRH is the biggest of all the facilities, located
31km inside forest on the bank of Rāmgangā reservoir, has good facilities for
food, almost 24 hr electricity and next door access to the famed chaur or
grasslands of Corbett. Therefore Dhikala FRH generally stays full with
tourists, nature lovers and wildlife photographers. Other rest houses too are
alluring, each of them in its unique way. The Gairal FRH and Bijrani FRH too
have canteen facilities, but have limited choice of food. They do not have
electricity, but are solar powered upto 10pm only. In my last visit this
summer, I could not manage booking at either at Dhikala or Gairal. So when I
was offered a choice of Sarapduli FRH during my last visit, I thought why not. A
different kind of jungle stay was waiting to be experienced.
The
Sarapduli FRH is located almost halfway to the Dhikala FRH from the Dhanagiri
gate entry point on NH121. Travelling from the Dhanagiri gate, you first reach
Sultan FRH. This two room FRH is the only one without any electric fencing and canteen.
Hence you need to be super adventurous to plan a night stay here under a small
solar lantern in the midst of prime tiger and elephant habitat. Travelling
further through large patches of saal forests, after climbing up and down hills,
crossing rivulets and, on almost reaching the plains of Dhikala, you reach the
Sarapduli FRH. The facility is almost similar to Sultan, but here you have the
comfort of an electric fencing.
 |
| A tiger in Dhikala zone of Corbett |
Entering
the Sarapduli FRH campus, we went pass couple of staff quarters lined on both
side of the road. At the end of the 200 odd mtr road, which is the other end of
the campus, facing a river is the tourist hutment. The building is an old
British era heritage. It has two rooms with attached bath. One of the rooms is
meant for tourist booking online, and the other for officials or someone who
manages booking though connections. As the official room generally
remains vacant, you are expected to spend the night alone in that house. The
dining hall with a fire place is common to both the rooms. The guest room was
smaller as compared to those in Dhikala or Gairal. However the toilet was
almost the same size as the room itself. There also is a veranda facing the
river, lined with many chairs, in case you find time to relax. You do not get
river view though, because of overgrown bushes. About fifty feet away is a 3
bed dormitory in a separate building. Their common toilet is outside, making it
scarier.
A
modern time extension has been added to the old building, to serve as the kitchen.
Cooking gas cylinder is available along with utensils. Charges for using these
items are already included in the room rent for the night. Guests are required
to carry raw materials for meals. You should be meticulous to carry everything,
from salt to sugar to tea to turmeric to spices. You will not get anything there.
You may either cook yourselves or else the caretaker will cook. Most guests
generally goes out for safari at the crack of dawn, only to return to Sarapduli
in the evening. Thus one is likely to have only dinner at Sarapduli. Or a cup
of tea in the morning and evening.
Given
the surroundings, we were excited at the prospect of spending the night at
Sarapduli. It was almost dusk when we hit the campus after safari. Electric
fencing were activated soon after we had entered. As we were the only guests
for that night, we pulled out chairs in the open while the caretaker served us
evening tea. The campus was dimly lit by few solar lights placed along the
pathway. As the night fell, the staff quarters, though inside the campus,
appeared too far away for comfort. The darkness and silence of the forest was
overpowering. It started to engulf all of us, including the driver of my gypsy.
He is a local guy, often goes to forest, yet he was scarred to sleep alone in
the driver’s room. He cooked up haunting stories. Finally he managed to stay
with the caretaker in his quarter. We too had become anxious. Despite being a
regular to Corbett, being alone was unique experience. We had to make a polite query as to how far
help is available if we call someone at night. I estimated the caretaker’s room
was about 200 feet away. We could see a light in a room about 100 feet away. We
were told that a staff sleeps in that room. We were assured somewhat but was
not sure how will someone react if we really need help at night.
Discussions
on tiger sightings and other incidences accompanied our tea. I always enjoy
such discussions with men who spends most of their days and nights in the
forest. A storm was building up. Flashes of lightning were illuminating the
surroundings occasionally. A cool breeze started blowing bringing in some
relief from the heat. As we were enjoying the moments, we felt a sudden
commotion along the fence and then a panic call from a scarred Sambhar deer.
The source of the call was so close that all of us stood up instinctively. The
electric fencing on the side from where the call came is about 100 feet from
where we were sitting. Call of Sambher deer is a certainty about presence of a
tiger or leopard. It was almost certain that a tiger was walking by the fence, probably
to to the adjoining riverbed. We pulled out torches to scan for any sign of
animal close to the fence, but without any success. My family made anxious
query about safety of the electric fencing. The caretaker did his bit to assure
them that bigger animals cannot trespass. There has not been any incident of
tiger or leopard straying into the campus. To me a tiger may be too big for the
fencing hole, but a leopard can come climbing any of the tree, if it wants to
do so.
 |
| The mystic Corbett mornings |
It
was a long day for us and lights were to go off at 10pm. So we went for an
early dinner. While waiting for food to be served, my eyes spotted something
under a chair in the dining hall. The chair was directly under the only light
glowing in the room and hence insects were converging onto it. Smaller insects,
that had died, fell to the floor under the chair. Among those dead insects,
there was something longer than any insect. So I went to inspect. I got excited
to see a small white scorpion about 3 inches long, feasting on the dead
insects. What we should have worried is that this scorpion was inside the
house, and barely couple of 4-5 feet from the door of the room where we were
supposed to spend the night without any electricity. Scary, isn’t it. But this
is the thrill of spending a night in a jungle. And where do one get to stay in
such a place in these times where humans have not rarely left any space
unoccupied. This is Corbett, the real jungle. And this is Sarapduli, providing
much better feel of jungle than Dhikala. When I brought it to the notice of the
caretaker, he immediately arranged to remove the scorpion. He informed that it
is more poisonous than the black scorpion.
The
night passed of well. We were provided a small solar lantern for use after
lights went off. Though the cacophony of sound had stopped before we went to
bed, few Nightjar birds, with its terrible high pitch calls, kept waking us up from
time to time. Being peak of summer in May, it was quite hot to spend the night
without a fan. We stayed at Sarapduli for one more night. Second night was
better with bit of rain and cool breeze. We felt confident to keep the door
between bedroom and dining hall open that night. It provided much needed cross
ventilation. We slept peacefully that night. Rains kept the nightjars away. I
have been to Corbett so many times, generally staying at Dhikala and Gairal.
This first time stay at Sarapduli was unique in its own way. We will remember
the events of those two nights for a long time. It was a true jungle night stay
in all sense. If you are looking for adventure, then you should certainly give
it a try. You are sure to be back with treasure trove of memories from these
places.
How to reach there:
There are multitudes of options to travel from Delhi to Ramnagar. You can use the Ranikhet Express that leaves every night from Old Delhi. Buses are available from Anand Vihar ISBT. Always travel by Govt Buses in Delhi NCR for safety. We typically hire a cab which drops us and returns. The cab returns to pick us up on day of retun. By road it is about 240 km and takes 5 hours.
Where to stay:
Forest Rest Houses (FRH) can be booked through forest department's website only, though some agents arranges for your booking for a hefty charge. But no one can arrange a trip for you on short notice. You need to plan in advance. Typically FRH booking use to open 45 days in advance. Rooms are limited and hence gets sold out within minutes of opening. Rules keep chnaging. Pl check the offcial site for recent guideleines at corbettonline.uk.gov.in and select Book Tickets --> Night Stay. There are hundreds of resorts outside the park. You can do day visit Jeep safari only if you stay outside. Even for day safaris, you need to book in adavnce. Else you will end of beeing fleeced by doing safari in buffer zone like Sitabani.
