It is a call that brings ones conscience back to their mother. Many struggle in life, bestowed with innumerable talents, single-mindedly towards their goals. That’s work. There are some who like to employ these talents keeping the life throughout a holiday. That too is the work actually.
Inspired by such blossoming figures, this post rememorizes many a journeys undertaken in the last few months.
One of these happens to be during summers in the hot month of April this year to Bandhavgarh National Park, in one of the states, Madhya Pradesh in India, in the district of Umaria, near the eastern border of the state, next to the district of Shahdol which touches Chhattisgarh. With an area spanning 105 km²,the buffer zone is spread over the forest divisions of two districts covering a total of 437 km². Animal sightings in this zone is common as is their presence throughout the forests in the state. Easy to spot are ‘Spotted Deer’, fox & hyenas at nights.
To reach Bandhavgarh, the route via Jabalpur, which is a major city in M.P, is about 200 km away. The state highway SH-22 via Shapura takes a left turn which heads north-east towards Umaria. The roads are well maintained in this route & was our way in. There’re a few gas stations & a highway mini-mall as well. Bandhavgarh can be accessed by road from Umaria station , 32 Kms away or from Katni Station, 100 Kms or from Khajuraho, driving time is around 6/7 hours.
As one enters the forest, one is delighted to see a myriad of colors the birds have to show in their closet. During the jungle safari I was privileged to spot a few of them. The Plum-headed Parakeet, Large-billed Crow, Malabar Pied Hornbill, Jungle Babbler, Red-necked Vulture & House Crow are a common sight here as well as where my hometown is.
Luck would’ve played worse had we not spotted two tigers roughly 150 meters from our jeep. They were supposed to be taking their afternoon nap. We couldn’t get a clear picture but the thrill to have just been there & spotted them was satiating in itself.
The forest is divided into four major zones & a limited number of tourist are allowed in each, most important of these being the ‘Tala’ zone where tiger sightings have been reported to be maximum. Barking deer, Nilgai which is an antelope of Indian variety 4–5 feet high & about 2 meters long, Indian Wolf, hyena and the caracal are a few of the wild animals assured to be spotted once in the safari.
The sanctuary is laden outside for the tourist with many resorts with a budget to suit ones need. There’s not much for local shopping but that is not what a jungle safari is.
Surrounded by 32 hills in all, the region forms small valleys joining the lowly regions such as Chakradhara, Rajbahera, Sehradadra, Bhitribah, Bandhavgarh derives its name from a Sanskrit word which literally means ‘Brother’s Fort’, named after Laxman, the legendary warrior prince & brother of Rama in the Indian epic ‘Ramayana’ to watch over the lands, as a watchtower, guarding against the demon-king’s mercenaries from his ancient Lanka empire. To the brothers name still stands the ‘Bandhavgarh Fort’ which due to some reasons we couldn’t visit.
A luxurious stay & a fruitful safari compensates for the abrupt cancellation in the meeting with the king of the jungle. Save nature. Save Earth.
Next stop..coming soon.
No comments:
Post a Comment