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.

(Pench - Maharastra official link)

CAUGHT ON VIDEO: Thailand jet ski scam exposed!!!

part of my research prior to my visit to Thailand.

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

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. 

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.