Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve

Wild Life trips

Bandhavgarh Plateau

Having seen some brilliant pictures and write ups about the beauty and wonder of Bandhavgarh made it a must visit for me. Sitting with Kesavamurthy of Birdwing, one night after a safari at Corbett, I asked him to pen me in for the next trip planned to this wonderful place. So the seeds of this trip were sown way back in Feb 2018.

This was a trip that I planned to make with the family and after several yes and nos, the family finally confirmed their coming along. The nearest airport being Jabalpur sort of complicated the travel plans, with no direct connectivity between Bangalore where I reside, to Jabalpur. The excitement of travelling to a place of dreams also meant that I wan't thinking straight!! Afterall if I did, I would have landed up saving a tidy sum of money on travel.

The fact that flight to Jabalpur from Hyderabad was at around 11:00, meant that we had to be at Hyderabad in the morning. Had I planned better, we could have taken the overnight train or bus to Hyderabad and hopped on to the flight to Jabalpur.

Worse was yet to come!! The airline for the flight to Jabalpur announced their winter schedule, which preponed the flights by almost 2 hours, affecting our final Safari towards the end of the trip.

Rants aside, Bandhavagarh is pure Gold literally and figuratively!! Initially I was wondering why were the vehicles racing to be the first at the gate to enter the forest....Our first trip in was into the Magadhi zone and soon enough, I knew why!!

We were literally eating dust...raised by the wake of the vehicle ahead! Soon enough, we spotted a couple of Indian Grey Hornbills and my excitement rose...pretty soon our driver.... Guddu got word of a tiger and soon we were racing across the plains....holding on to dear life with one hand and the camera in the other!

Bamera Son! 

It was a sight to behold....a huge male tiger was sighted walking across the plains and we raced to catch him on the other side and what a sight he was!! The Son of Bamera! Such a promising start set the expectations soaring sky high!! 

The rest of the trip was spent in wonder; recollecting the majesty and beauty of the tiger and dreaming of what is to come! We returned back to the Resort to freshen up and get ready for the afternoon.

Contrary to expectations, the afternoon trip into the Khitauli zone was an almost total washout. Such was the experience that we had actually packed up the gear to protect against the dust and as a result...missed out on an extremely rare opportunity:

Drive through

A jungle cat mom was carrying her kitten to a safer location and crossed our path. She even paused in the middle of the path to get a better grip on the kitten and then went on her way.


Next morning we were assigned to the Tala Zone. Before we go further, a little bit about Bandhavgarh....

Bandhavgarh National Park is  located in the Umaria district of Madhya Pradesh. Bandhavgarh was declared a national park in 1968, with an area of 105 square km. The buffer is spread over the forest divisions of Umaria and Katni,and totals 820 square km. 

The park derives its name from the most prominent hillock of the area, which was said to be given by Lord Rama to his brother Lakshmana to keep a watch on Lanka. Hence the name Bandhavgarh (Sanskrit: Brother's Fort).

The three main zones of the national park are Tala, Magdhi and Khitauli. Tala is the richest zone in terms of biodiversity, mainly tigers. Together, these three ranges comprise the 'Core' of the Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve constituting a total area of 716 km2. The buffer zone is spread over the forest divisions of Umaria and Katni and totals another 820 square km. The legal status as a national park dates back to 1968, but was limited only to the present Tala range for a considerable length of time. In 1993 the present scheme of things was put in place.

According to biogeographic classification, the area lies in Zone 6A- Deccan Peninsula, Central Highlands (Rodgers, Panwar & Mathur, 2000). The classification of Champion & Seth lists the area under Northern India Moist Deciduous Forests. The vegetation is chiefly of Sal forest in the valleys and on the lower slopes, gradually changing to mixed deciduous forest on the hills and in the hotter drier areas of the park in the south and west.

Landscape and Vegetation

The wide valleys along the streams carry long linear grasslands flanked by Sal forests. Rich mixed forests consisting of Sal (shorea rubusta), Saja, Salai, and Dhobin, etc. with dense bamboo thickets occur in many places. These together provide Bandhavgarh its rich biodiversity.

Back to our trip. We reached the Tala Gate and were greeted by a filming crew. I was carrying mixed feelings about their presence, however this was soon forgotten. No sooner than we entered Tala, did we hear the news about a tiger near the road. Soon it was a mad dash to reach the point where the tiger was sighted.

 Just looking at the video, one will be able to make out that the vehicle drivers and guides seem to go bonkers at the sight of a tiger. Being our first visit, we were not aware of this fact and as a result, many an opportunity to make beautiful pictures went abegging.

Tigress Spotty

The second tiger to be spotted was Spotty. She has recently delivered three cubs and was the subject of the filming crew. This meant that Spotty not only had to brave the invading horde of tourists(including us!) but also the filming crew's elephants and filming equipment. No wonder she looked pissed!!

The rest of the trip was an anticlimax after the two sightings. However it does not take away the fact that Bandhavgarh is probably as good if not better than Corbett Tiger Reserve, with its beauty, varied landscapes, flora and not to mention the fauna. 

I'm definitely looking forward to going back soon!!

Crow mobbing a Crested Serpent Eagle

Indian Jackal

Indian Grey Hornbill

Indian Roller/ NeelKanth 

Lesser Adjutant Stork

Black Faced Langur/ Hanuman Langur

Sambar Stag

Shikra

Losing My Tiger Virginity

For a guy who has been roaming around the countryside to various Jungle reserves, I had never once seen a Tiger in the wild! Unbelievable as it sounds, it is true!! Too many near misses to count....

Visiting Corbett was a plan 17 years in the making....It was supposed to have been my Honeymoon destination!! ;) The trip did not happen due to many reasons and the routine took over, leaving little time for such thoughts. Till recently, when the desire to see a tiger in the wild kept getting thwarted every time I visited a reserve. 

Having read about Corbett Tiger Reserve and heard wonderful feedback from various friends, the desire to visit Corbett became stronger than ever. So when Birdwing's Corbett programme was announced, I thought this would be a good opportunity to lose my "virginity"!! Got Connected with Kesava and firmed up the programme and waited with fingers crossed, hoping that I don't come back empty handed this time around.

There were six people in the group including Kesava and we connected at Delhi Airport. Having picked up our stuff, we boarded the cabs which were waiting for us and embarked on what we hoped to be a 6 hour trip to Ramnagar. A short delay caused by having to pick up some breakfast, we waded into the New Delhi rush hour traffic.

NCR was crossed about 90 minutes later and then we hoped to hit top gear on the highway. Having made decent time, we were closed to Hapur and the world came to a stand-still. Construction of the Expressway caused such Chaotic scenes that we stayed put at the same place for close to an hour. 

The elevated expressway under construction reduced the carriageway on either side to a single lane and as a result, the traffic was backed up. Smartass drivers who jumped median and crossed over to the other side added to the already chaotic scenes and through the entire ordeal there was not a single policeman to be seen anywhere.

Members of the public were seen doing their best to direct traffic but only added to the mess. 

Once we go through this mess, it was smooth sailing there on. We reached Ramnagar pretty late in the evening. While the rest of the group went on to the resort, I took a slight detour to meet up with an old buddy of mine who leads the team at one of the premiere resorts near Corbett Tiger Reserve. Got back to the resort later that night and hit the sack dreaming about what is coming over the next 3 days.

Pretty soon we were at the entrance to the Corbett Tiger Reserve at Dhangadi Gate, getting registered and obtaining the necessary permissions, getting a thorough search of all vehicles for banned objects (Weapons/ Alcohol etc.)

It was a matter of time before we were cleared and the gates to heaven were open....

The long drive to Dhikala was ahead of us! Considering that Dhikala is about 30Km from the Gate at Dhangadi, the drive inside would itself be a kind of Safari. 

Gharials and Muggers Sunning themselves on the Riverbanks - Crocodile Point

Drive down to Dhikala

View across the Ramganga River/ Reservoir

The next 3 days were pure heaven with each Safari bettering the other. Once our driver and guide got to know my plight of having not seen a wild tiger in over a decade of travels, it was a matter of time before this was addressed. So, on the next safari, I shifted into a different vehicle and our focus on this safari was to be exclusively on the larger residents of the jungle.

This was the site to behold....a herd of elephants crossing the river, followed by a lone tusker whose keen sense of smell having picked up the scent of a female elephant in heat. The tusker took every single turn that the herd did before disappearing behind the herd into the jungle.

The lone Tusker following the herd with hope of finding a mate.

Then came the moment which was at least for me over 12 years in the making....a tiger in its elements. No matter how much you are prepared for the moment, the first sight just leaves you speechless. I just froze in awe and missed some good opportunities to shoot some pictures. The images though are frozen in my mind. 

Paarwali...the beauty of Dhikala. A stunner who makes one goes weak in the knees with her direct eye contact and non-chalance towards mere human beings. 

Paarwali Cooling Off in the flowing waters of the Ramganga

Posing for the shutterbugs

Not only was she a gracious hostess, posing for us, she also introduced us to one of her cubs...a male..

Paarwali's Male Cub making an appearance.

Paarwali's male offspring

If this was not enough, we soon saw a huge male crossing nearby, although the sighting was fleeting, seeing three tigers in a day was almost too much for me to digest...

Now the rest in pictures.....

Pallas Fish Eagle

Peacock Impression Dance- The Huge trunk in the background is all that is left of a huge tree that was stuck by lighthning a few years ago.

Barking Deer

Black Naped Woodpecker

BlueBeardedBeeEater

BlueCheekedBarbet

Brown Capped Pygmy Woodpecker

Brown Shrike

Changeable Hawk Eagle

Cinerous Vulture

Collared Falconnet with Oriental White Eye Kill

Crested Serpent Eagle

Grey Backed Shrike

Jackal

Lesser Fish Eagle

Mom in a watchful mood with her Fawn

Mom sounding the alarm at the sight of a Jackal

Variable Wheatear

The Desert Sojourn Part 1

Its been a while since I've been here or for that matter anywhere. The mailer from Darter was just the trigger needed to kick up the wanderlust again and the preps began. With the Office sorted out and the tickets booked, I was looking forward to a splendid couple of days out in the land of the Romantic mystique!!

A last minute development added a small element of drama to my travel plans, however doing little to impact the overall schedule. I had decided to travel to Tal Chapar by train from Delhi. Boarded the Salasar Express headed to Bhagat Ki Kothi. 

It was a beautiful morning belying the recent smog filled mornings. Nice crisp and cold morning. The train departed about 20 minutes late, which seemed in line with the routine. I settled in with a nice cuppa tea and was stunned to see the filth and garbage along the tracks. What was unbelievable was that the people who lived in the midst didn't seem bothered one bit. People were packed in like Sardines in double storeyed tenements.

Once out of Delhi, the scenery became much better and easy on the eye. 

The downside being very poor choice of catering onboard the train, travelling along with expensive equipment meant that getting down at stations to get food was ruled out. Thank Goodness for some foresight and the packed sandwiches.

Pretty soon it was 30 minutes past 1 in the afternoon and time to get off the train. Was met by Shreeram at the station and soon we were off to the Forest Department Guest house, where we were scheduled to stay over the next three days. Lovely accommodation to say the least, considering that we were literally in the middle of nowhere. 

Soon enough the other members of the group made their way into the guest house and we were all set to move out into the grassland soon after lunch. 

Tal Chapar literally translates to the plains of Chapar village, is a sanctuary located in the Churu district of Northwestern Rajasthan in the Shekhawati region of India. It is known for blackbucks and is also home to a variety of birds. The sanctuary is on the fringe of the Great Indian Desert and situated on road from Ratangarh to Sujangarh. It is a flat saline depression locally known as a "tal" that has a unique ecosystem in the heart of the Thar Desert. Tal Chapar has an open grassland with scattered Acacia and Prosopis trees which give it an appearance of a typical savanna.

The geology of the zone is obscured by the wind blown over-burden. Some small hillocks and exposed rocks of slate and quartzite are found in the western side of the sanctuary. The area between hillocks and the sanctuary constitutes the watershed area of the sanctuary. The whole sanctuary used to be flooded by water during the heavy rains but with salt mining going on in the watershed, hardly any rain falling on the hillocks reaches the sanctuary. 

In the Tal Chhapar Sanctuary, a special type of grass is found. This grass is called Mothiya locally. The word "Mothiya" comes come from the word "Moti" or from the Hindi word for pearl. The shape of the seed of this grass is like very fine round shaped pearls. Mothiya has a very sweet taste. People enjoy eating it, but it is found in very small quantities. Production is only a few kilograms every season. Mothiya is also food for blackbucks and birds.

Over the next couple of days, we were out on the grassland and here is a glimpse of what we saw....

The highlight of the trip being a battle between two Nilgai Bulls. A rare sight even for the locals, we were treated to a front row view of this battle. 

Here is a Video Link of the battle...

The Battle

Part 2 will showcase the trip to Jor Beed, but that's for another day.

Thanks for your time!!