BF or BFF- Test the love with the Triund Trek!!!

They say if you want to know about a person’s heart, travel with them and if you want to know if they love you, climb a mountain with them.

Before you think otherwise, let me tell you this isn't a love story. Like hell no. But then again it is a story about love. Actually it is about this time when I convinced my city-bred best friend forever(BFF) to go on a trek with me to the Dhauladhar range.

How I convinced Tanya to come on this trek with me, only I know. From emotional blackmail to blatant threats, I worked all my cards. And finally when she reluctantly said, “Like yeah ok. Now stop bugging me!” that was the best kind of yes I had heard in a long time.

It was her first trek, so I spent hours scanning websites for the shortest and easiest trek possible in the Himalayas. After recommendations and weighing all pros and cons, we concluded on the popular Triund trek.

Reasons why I chose this trek:

1.       It starts from Mcleodganj. So basically you can club this trek with a laid back trip to McLeod & Dharamshala.

2.       If your friend loves food, McLeod is an easy lure. *From Japanese to Tibetian to Thalis, you have everything*

3.       It is a short and easy trek. 9 KM only which can be completed in 4 hours. Not much I say.

4.       It has some fantabulous view of the Dhauladhar range!

5.       It has no network, no electricity or water. This of course I did not disclose to my friend, until we were mid-way through the trek. *evil laugh*

Since we were just two girls on this trek, I sorted help from a local trekking agency. Vir ji came along with us. He had all the basic logistics and food in place and also provided the tents, since we decided to stay overnight.

On a sunny morning, we started this trek from Mcleod. We were quite excited about it. Really. In our mind we pictured green meadows surrounded by snow topped mountain peaks, hairy gaddi(pahadi/ mountain) dogs licking us silly and some short lived state of nirvana. That’s how the first one hour or so went by. Dreaming of what could be.....

By the second hour, the trek up was starting to get a bit tiresome. And worrisome for me, since Tanya was getting tired because of the heat, the climb & lack of food. Now everyone knows the equation;

Human Being- (Minus) Food + (Plus) Heat + (Plus) Climb= Disaster/ Irritation/ Murderous intentions

Where the hell was the bloody tea shop...

Back in college, sometimes when we got late for lectures, we were forced to skip breakfast. Until lunch break we would only hear her grumbling and her stomach rumbling. I knew how much she hated being starved and worked at the same time.

So far it hadn't got so bad. We stopped every half hour or so to take a break on the pretext of taking a picture or admire the beauty of the valley below. Finally we reached our first tea shop. The short break definitely worked! I saw a faint smile for the first time in the last one hour. Or maybe it was the gaddi dogs who followed the trekkers and were taking a break along with us.

By the third hour, trekkers walking back saw our tongue sticking out and encouraged us to go on. We trudged slowly and rather silently. Afraid to say a word, lest my best friend spent her last bit of energy lashing out at me for manipulating her and getting her to do this horrendous activity.

The eerie silence was only broken by the distant tinkling sound of bells on the approaching mules. These mules are used by the locals to carry everything from food, water & even gas cylinders to the top of the mountain. *I wondered if they would carry her till the camp site.*

The last stretch was really treacherous. It was steep and at some points, we had to clamber on the rocks. At this point, and the only point, where I felt a bit threatened. I walked behind her in the fear that she might just lose her marbles and shove me off the mountain side screaming, DIE DIE DIE!!!!!

Out of the corner of my eye, beneath my serious huffing, I kept an eye on her. Just in case.

But she didn't seem agitated. She walked on silently, occasionally asking that one redundant question, “How much further?”

This time Vir-ji didn't give the usual answer of ten minutes and said, “Just above that corner”.

Vir-ji was a local. Freelance guide. For him Triund was an after meal stroll. I wondered on a scale of 1- 10 how much would he secretly be snickering at our current plight and thinking, “these city girls, tsk tsk..”

Squeezing that extra strength, we continued the scamper till the corner and suddenly loomed ahead the wide range of snow peaked Dhauladhar range. It was magnificent. The view of the range doesn't sneak in slyly but appears suddenly! And if we hadn't already lost our breath getting till here, it would have been taken right away.

Suddenly nothing seemed sore or tired or…ummm…tense, as we gazed upon the mountain ahead together and laid back on the green grass beneath.

The Triund camp-site was actually quite pretty. Sprinkled with colourful tents all over the green carpet of grass, surrounded by the imposing white mountains and clear blue sky overhead. This is the kind of place that inspires you to read a book, take a nap and think about big nothings.

I couldn't contain it any more and finally turned around to ask Tanya, “What do you think?”

“This is nice.” And she smiled. SHE SMILED!

That was all I wanted to know. From how much I know her, “nice” is her expression of saying ‘Super’ or ‘Awesome’! We spent the whole afternoon and evening lolling around, attempting to read or get new profile pictures.

That is when I realized, however nice the place might be, she did this for me. This is what you do for friends. She bruised herself climbing over the rocks, panted all the way up, maybe in her mind, even made plans to kill me. Who knows….! But she did all this for me.

Under the cold starry night, as we cozied into our sleeping bags, I smiled because I realized that she truly did love me, mountain or not. As for me, I was going to live to see another day.

Now I could doze off in peace without worrying about being murdered in my sleep. 

*PS- We are still Best Friends!!!!!

Two Golden rules for Roopkund Trek- *Deep Breathing & Baby Steps*

Always ahead of the trek group. The fittest and fastest among all. A few kilometres or a steep ascent doesn't make you break into a sweat. From time to time you turn around to look at the group lagging behind and shake your head in disdain.

No this wasn't me. Not even a close description of me.

This was the guy who was right in front of my trek group and this is me assuming what he must have thought. Because from where I usually was, I couldn't even catch a glimpse of him. I am one of those slugs who is always right behind. More by reality than by choice. I am what people call, every trek leader’s nightmare!

It was less than a month to my birthday. Lately I had been sick of the same city life, same routines, and the same old rituals. I didn't want to celebrate my new year dancing after getting sloshed and not knowing when I got older. This birthday I was supposed to be on a drive which would start at Kathmandu and take me to Lhasa. That was the dream. To bring in the birthday doing something exceptional. You know, one of those once in a lifetime things. Unfortunately, because of the earthquakes in Nepal, all plans had been canned. 

In short, that was one of the reasons how I ended up here. Roopkund trek in May. As per the articles I read and the feedback I got from people, this was an easy to moderate trek. I mean I could manage moderate. But we shall come back to this later.

Here I was, day 1 between Loharjung and Didna village. During the brief it sounded very simple. We go downhill and uphill. Done. Well I did manage downhill but literally had to crawl uphill. By now, we all knew who the “nightmare” of our group was.

I was with a bunch of 15 men. 12 trekkers from various state capitals of India, 2 guides and 1 trek leader. A small group actually. Because of the earthquake in Nepal, many had cancelled their trek. 

The next day also was supposed to be easy day, just an uphill climb and straight ahead to the meadows of Ali Bugyal. By the time I managed to reach on top of the hill, I realized no uphill climb is easy. It wasn't so steep but I huffed and puffed my lung out and prayed for a break every 5 minutes.

But the guide wasn't kidding. Once up on the top, it is just a slow walk onto the vast meadows of Ali Bugyal. A bit of trivia here, Ali Bugyal and its twin meadow Bedni Bugyal make up for Asia’s largest meadow. Vast it was. If I was any rounder, I could have easily rolled on till our camp site at Ali Bu. But this is the point where for once you actually can look up and have your first view of the Himalayan mountain range and peaks like Trishul and Nanda Ghunti.  

Open meadows of Ali Bugyal

Once at camp site, it was the same routine. Quick lunch by 1PM, medical (check on oxygen and pulse) at 3PM, acclimatisation walk at 4PM, tea & snacks at 5PM, soup at 6PM, dinner by 7PM and bed by 8PM. And in between we played UNO. And at the cost of many eye rolls from my trek mates, I would say that I was and am the undisputed UNO champion.

Camp site at Ali Bugyal

I am a city girl, again not by choice, and you cannot expect me to sleep at 8PM. For a while I roll, twist and turn trying to adjust sleeping in the tent strategically placed on the slope of the hill but have no idea when tiredness takes over.

Day 3 of our trek, we walk towards Patar Nachni. The route takes you above Bedni Bugyal towards Ghora Lotani and for quite a while we are quietly followed by Blackie Rambo II. The furry, squishy pahadi dog.

The border between Ali Bugyal & Bedni Bugyal

...and tht is the trail to Ghora Lotani and beyond that hill is where our next destination was..

the fleaball....BLACKIE RAMBO II 

Two days back, while chatting up with the two friends from Chennai, I asked them, what made them come for this trek, pat came the answer, “We wanted to see snow. We have never seen snow in our life!” Well boys, today was the day we would encounter snow patches. And believe me for some random reason I was more excited about these two experience snow for the first time.

But I have to say it was rather disappointing. They saw snow, smiled and looked rather normal. Or maybe that was how they expressed their ecstasy. I wouldn't know.

Bedni kund at Bedni Bugyal

Chennai boys and their first tryst with snow above Bedni 

Add caption

Before I could even finish dissecting the emote of the two Chennai boys, we were at Ghora Lotani. In literal translation this is the place from where all the horses (ghodas) return (lautani) because it is generally full of snow. Ok, let us not glorify them by calling them horses, they are mules but boy they work so hard, I would gladly call them Hercules too.

Break at Ghora Lotani

From here it was all the way downhill to Patar Nachni. In all honesty, I think I liked this camp site way better than the one at Ali Bugyal. It was on the meadows bursting with flora in all colours and had an uninterrupted view of the snow clad mountain. Even the tiny make shift toilet tent had an awesome view and was surrounded by little pink and yellow flowers. Prettiness added to make the lonely business a pleasant experience.

Camp site at Patar Nachni

Now that we are on the toilet topic, when camping you do your business in shifty, could-collapse-anytime type of zip down tents with a small mud pit in the middle. Now it would be your good luck if the pit is deep enough and you don’t get to see the remnants of others disposal. Oh and did I mention, it is dry rolls all the way. After a while I was so shameless, I even borrowed toilet paper roll from the guys in my group who were absolute strangers 3 days back. *trek bonding*

Patar Nachni is an important base camp because all the teams that go ahead have to come back here. And if for any reason, anyone fails to reach the oxygen level of 75 + or wants to not go ahead can also stay here.

Unfortunately we had two trek members who could not join us further on this trek and returned the next day itself. Maybe the fact that our dining tent nearly blew away and the cold due to the snow storm the previous evening became unbearable was enough to change some minds.

After the snow storm at Patar Nachni

This was also the only point where I was in complete doubt about my ability to go further. I did share my concern with my trek leader but somehow he seemed more confident about me which I rather wasn't.

We went ahead nonetheless. 13 of us now. As we slowly clambered on to Kalu Vinayak at 14,000 feet, we chanted just 4 words, “Deep breathing, Baby steps”.

Trail to Kalu Vinayak en route Bhagwabasa

On the way, we stopped a lot. To catch our breath mostly. And every time we stopped, our older local guide Virendarji with his mouth slightly open would quickly scan his eyes and fingers through the nearest patch of grass around. He, like many other local people you would see on the way were searching for the ‘keerajari’. A plant that grows on an insect and is only found in this region when the snow is just about melting. Each of these small plant-insect costs INR 500 upwards. Apparently it is in major demand by the Chinese. Some say it gives you immense sexual vitality while others say it is used as a steroid for strength and goes undetected.

At the ridge sits an old Ganesha idol at Kalu Vinayak temple, blessing all trekkers out on their quest to reach their summit. This was also the place where we got to experience how to use crampons. From here it was just snow till the eyes could see.

Selfie...wait groupfie with the boys at Kalu Vinayak temple

CRAMPONS ON MY FEET!!! SEE??? such saviour they are!

From here to our next camp site, Bhagwabasa it was snow just fields in sight. Undoubtedly, this was the most surreal camp site I had ever been to. Located on the edge of the mountain, it provided a panoramic view of the Himalayan range. 

...another groupfie by our super awesome trek leader- Arjun!!!

nearly there at our base camp at Bhagwabasa!

During the acclimatisation walk at Bhagwabasa, we are supposed to climb the little snow hill behind the camp. And as tempting it might be to slide down, this was by far the worst idea ever. I, along with my 3 layer of quick drying clothes were completely soaked.

In the wet clothes, we had a crash course on walking up, down and sideways on the steep snow slopes. *Not cool at all. Literally.*

*sigh* I wish I could be here again...ahem...minus the freezing cold...minus the altitude. (PC- Sandeep Ratan)

The evening was quickly enveloped in the snow storm and later by the quick conquering darkness. Tomorrow was the day we would make the summit climb. Just the thought gave me Goosebumps, or maybe it was the cold, I didn’t care. It was my birthday the next day too. It was going to be an epic fail or just simply EPIC!

That night was the worst night ever. Not only was sleeping on snow weird, I felt suffocated, pukey, restless, cold all at the same time. I only remember waking up from time to time, switching on my headlamp to take a quick look at the time. I don’t even know if I slept at all. Anyway we had to wake up by 3:00AM. We had to make a move by 4:00AM while the snow was still hard. By 2:30AM I was wide awake and had already made two trips to the rickety bathroom tent on ice. It was freezing cold, and the snow was gleaming under the night sky. It was clearest sky I had ever seen in ages. Unfortunately it was too cold to be standing and staring at the sky. Soon everyone was up having tea and Maggie.

One last medical check. Unfortunately we leave another man behind. Our UNO owner wasn't too well and could not make it ahead with us.

Now it was 12 men and me. Together we move ahead of the other trek group at Bhagwabasa. I guess they were busy with their Bournvitas because that was all they kept screaming through the night and morning.

It was an experience to start climbing towards the summit during complete darkness. The snow was hard which made walking with crampons easier. We tugged ahead slowly and steadily. The cold wind was turning my thoughts into icicles. After a while I could not feel my nose or cheeks.

The distance between the Roopkund summit and camp didn’t look much but after a walking on the snow for a while and experiencing its steepness, it did feel tiresome. Every step seemed like a task. As we walked on it just got steeper and all I could hear was my own breathing.

Snow trail to Roopkund- (PC- Sandeep Ratan)

The pukey feeling won’t go and I was dizzy. Slowly I could see everyone from my team move up ahead until I was the last one, right at the back. It was becoming a struggle. I was 3/ 4 of the way when I realized I could not go any further. It was then our trek leader Arjun came back and literally pushed me mentally and physically to go on. I think here is what differentiates a good trek leader from others. This guy took my oxygen level to check if I was fine. 85. That minute he started telling me about how awesome the view was from the top and how all the guys were waiting for me, how I have got to eat dhalia at 15, 700 feet and how we have to make it up and how we cannot quit now. I think this was the point where I realized that the body only does what the mind wants it to. If the mind gives up so does the body. Somehow my body had given up but my mind just wouldn't. Staggering throughout, with the last few steps I did make it to the top just to be received with a warm welcome from all the guys. It was an insane feeling of achievement. It was here at 15, 700 feet that I not only ate dhalia but also celebrated my birthday. I was on top of the world.

....and finally the whole team at Roopkund!! On your right you can see the kund too. A let down in terms of look, it makes up in it's interesting history.

In the midst of all that celebrations, I nearly forgot about the famous kund. As much hype there is around the ‘Skeleton Lake’, from the top it looked like a puddle and the snow had buried the hundred or so 9th century skeletons which is otherwise strewn around.

But as the law of gravity goes, what goes up must come down. And though I thought coming down would be a cake walk, it wasn't. Ascending from Roopkund to Bhagwabasa to Patar Nachni in one day and then again from Patar Nachni to Bedni Bugyal to Wan village in one day was not an easy task.

Colours of Bedni Bugyal

I limped my way back home. Literally. By the time I finished the trek both my knees were terribly out of shape and my feet swollen. Let me not even talk about the tan that has changed my colour forever. Overall, no way was this trek an easy or moderate one. Definitely somewhere between moderate and difficult and if you are not really that fit, Super Difficult!

All throughout the return journey, as I reach the melting plains of home, I wondered if Virenderji finally did find his keerajari, if the groups after us reached the summit too, if the Chennai boys would come again to see snow and how long before I would be back in the mountains. Some answers I wouldn't know but I certainly hope for the best.

As of now, I have started yoga and running, taking in deep breaths and taking my baby steps towards getting ready for my next summit!

Extra Information:

This trek was organised by Trek The Himalayas. You can find details on this trek and many other awesome treks on their website http://www.trekthehimalayas.com/ or FB page. It was my first time with them and I highly recommend them because as a solo girl trekker in a group of men, everyone from the trek leader to the local guide to the other members of the TTH were brilliant!

To the 'Happiest' place in the WORLD- Bhutan

The first stamp in my passport was to the happiest place in the world- Bhutan!! And it is the happiest place, not because I say so but because it is the only country in the world which is measured by GNH- Gross National Happiness rather than GDP. 

Like Alice in wonderland, here I was in my happy-land, wandering about the beautiful streets of Paro, with white imposing Dzong in the horizon, the sound of the flowing river, colourful prayer flags fluttering in the wind and warm smiles of the Bhutanese that simply charms your heart!

Amidst the cultural and religious surroundings, suddenly something stood out.

Wait a minute..is that a...WTH! Ok..ummm...let me re-phrase; only one thing was “standing” out and that was the most ubiquitous lucky charm in the Bhutanese culture, an image of ......wait for it.....an ERECT PHALLUS!! Yes....you read that right! Images of these holy phalluses can be seen painted on the walls of the Bhutanese homes in the countryside or wooden ones, just hanging in front of shops and homes.

According to Bhutanese folklore, an erratic Buddhist monk would ward away demons by hitting them on their head with his “tool”! Since then it is believed that it keeps away evil. Fascinated and amused by this piece of Bhutanese culture, I wondered, maybe that is why this is known to be the happiest place in the world!

Days passed and soon it was time for me to go back from this fascinating country and head home.

My flight was from Paro, Bhutan to Delhi in India. I had heard from many that Paro airport is, if not the most, one of the scariest airports in the world. One night before my flight I met a gentleman at a party, who when heard that I was going to fly Druk airlines (Bhutan’s only Airline) said, “If you google Druk airlines, you might get keywords like DruNk airlines, ha ha!(*evil laugh)”. So funny .....NOT!

At this point, I was a bit scared! That night I did google it and this is what it showed, 

“Taking off or landing at Paro Airport can feel like a flight simulation video game where players must dodge natural hazards in their way.”

“When ascending or descending, aircraft has to avoid hitting the jagged Himalayan Mountains through a complicated series of dips and turns”

“Tucked into a tightly cropped valley and surrounded by 4900-metre-high Himalayan peaks, Bhutan's only airport is forbidding to fly into.” etc...etc..

Druk airplane taking off from Paro airpstrip and dodging the hills surrounding it...

Druk airplane taking off from Paro airpstrip and dodging the hills surrounding it...

*Gulp..I was going to need paper bags, loads of them!

Generally, I am not jittery about flying but today I had mentally freaked myself out about the “scary” flight! With no option but to go ahead, I seated myself in the nearly empty aircraft. Scary or not, I have to admit, this airport nested at the lap of magnificent mountains was one of the most beautiful airports I have ever seen. Strapped in and ready, the take off made me break into heavy sweat as we took some really tight turns around the mountains. I tried to think of the Bhutanese 'happiness' and all sort of things to distract me and after a few minutes in the air, I realized, it wasn't all that scary, just over-rated!

45 minutes into the flight, all seemed peaceful as I smiled and thanked all my Gods (at times like these I am pretty religious!). Just then the Captain made an announcement, “Ladies and gentlemen, in another 5 minutes, we will be flying past the World’s highest peak, Mount Everest!!”

WTH...Are you kidding me????....Seriously?

As I sat for the next 5 minutes, pressing my nose against the aircraft window loomed into view, the Himalayan range with its snow capped peaks.

There were so many peaks that at first I didn't know which one was ‘it’, but soon came into view the WORLD‘s TALLEST NATURAL ERECTION, the magnificent Mt. Everest.

Now I was absolutely HAPPY!  :D :D :D

PS*- More about my Bhutan stories in the next few posts...!

Call of the 'WILD'- Pench & Kanha Tiger reserve

DAY 1- Pench Tiger Reserve

7:00 AM

Sitting in the open gypsy, we are all straining our ears to hear the call of the deer and monkeys while our guide figures out which way the Tiger is headed. A low growl breaks the silence and we quickly look around.

False alarm. That was our stomach growling with hunger!

We have all been up since 5:00 AM to come for this safari and here I was hungry, sleepy and cold! All I wanted then was some hot food, warm blanket and my bed. I really don’t like visiting Wildlife reserves and cursed myself for my present plight...

*------*

Back in 98’, my dad got home from office and said, “I have something to show you”. Soon emerged a pair of BIG eyes...REALLY BIG EYES with a really tiny tail. I looked at it curiously and it was a monkey going through momentary shock. But it was then; I was educated about the Slow Loris!

For 2 years, I stayed in the middle of Rangapahar Wildlife Sanctuary, Nagaland where wild animals and reptiles sighting was quite a common sight.

Probably because of this I really did not have knack or desire to go out of my way to see wildlife. After my 2 years in Nagaland, I never went to a wildlife sanctuary. No, it’s not like I don’t like wild animals because I watch a lot of Nat Geo and Animal Planet. But I always thought it was silly to go to a wildlife sanctuary to see animals when you can see it better on TV or the zoo. And then if you go there and end up without seeing any wildlife (monkeys don’t count), it just upsets you.

But here I was, on my way to two Tiger Reserve, Pench and Kanha, which I was only kind-of-excited about.  

A few hours’ drive from Nagpur is Pench Tiger Reserve in Seoni district. This Reserve or Mowgli Land, as the park is famously called is the original setting of Rudyard Kipling's most famous work, The Jungle Book. The Jungle Book and its character Mowgli is based on Pench National Park. So as soon as you enter the Seoni area, you will see familiar names like Bagheera resort, Mowgli Jungle homes etc. Amazingly many places described in this book are actual locations in Seoni district, like the Waingunga river with its gorge where Sher Khan was killed, Kanhiwara village and the Seoni hills.

We spent the evening at Jungle Homes where we are told that we need to be at the Turia gate of Pench by 6:00 AM at least, to finish the formalities. That means we would be leaving at 5:45 AM max which means by 5:30 AM, I got to be out of my room, which means I need to be up by 5:00 AM at the max! Wake up at 5:00 AM in the cold just to see a bunch of Tigers. 

Not happening. Sceptically I decided to give it just one shot.

5:30 AM

After layering myself warm, I groggily made it out of my room. In the dark I could see the open gypsy waiting for us. It was more open than I had expected and wondered how would this be of any protection against any animal attack?

It was a bit was too early in the morning to think, anything anyways.

Soon we were at Turia gate of Pench, waiting our turn to get in.

6:30AM

The sun is just about rising and we drive around and park ourselves on the trail waiting for the guide to figure out the path of the Tiger.

We spend the next hour or so listening to the ‘call of the wild’, basically listening to the bark of chitals and monkeys to figure out the location of the Tiger.

7:30AM

By now I am not only hungry, sleepy and cold but impatient too. Suddenly, everyone jumps in excitement. There is something beyond the high grass in the midst of the thick trees.

We crawl our gypsy a little ahead and then we see a spotted orange creature. Ok that wasn’t a Tiger but a beautiful Leopard crossing the trail ahead of us! I had never seen a wild predator this beautiful so up close and just to watch it for those few seconds was really exciting.

We followed it for a while till we lost it in the thick jungle again.

By now, I was awake in all senses and had forgotten all about the hunger or cold.We just had a Leopard sighting, which is way rarer than even a Tiger sighting!

8:30 AM

To say the least, we were very pleased. Now we drove around with a sense of satisfaction and watched the birds, deer, and langurs at peace.

Soon we stopped for our packed breakfast, soaked up more of the warm sun and drove around the reserve in search of the Tiger.

10:00 AM

By now we had bumped into the occasional Bisons grazing, wild Boars chilling in the sun and the little Jackal warily making its way while all the Tigers evaded us.

As we drove around the untamed jungle with the cool wind blowing through our hair and warm sun touching our skin and the varied animals grazing in the wild, I started to actually enjoy the moment.

11:00 AM

Back to where we started and my perspective on safaris in the wild, I admit, had changed. I didn't get to see the stripes but I saw spots and also many birds and wild animals.

Now I was looking forward for my safari at the next Tiger Reserve, Kanha which is about a 4 hour drive from Pench.

DAY 2- Kanha National Park

6:30 AM 

This reserve is way bigger than Pench with a larger number of Tiger population and hence receives more number of visitors.

For this early in the morning, I was quite surprised to see the rush to go in. But entry to these parks is quite regulated with everyone awaiting their turns.

This time I was determined to see the Tiger.

8:30 AM

For two hours we drove around the park only to catch a glimpse of the Barasingha pack waiting to catch the rays or Neelgais roaming aimlessly but no Tiger sighting.

Barasingha

Neelgai

Apart from being the veritable wildlife reserve, this jungle is also a haven for bird spotters. Replete with migratory birds such as Malabar pied hornbill, Indian pitta, Osprey and some of the endangered species of Vulture species, these reserves also house plenty of local Peacocks and Kingfishers.

10:00 AM

Post breakfast, still no sighting and all we got so far was some Tiger poop and tracks. We even tried different paths and every time we crossed a gypsy full of people, they would beam and tell us about how they JUST sighted a Tiger. This was really disappointing!

We decided to take one last run before heading back.

As we trudged along slowly, we saw a bunch of gypsies parked near the stream crossing and looking at the rocks beyond. As we joined them they pointed towards a tree and hissed, “Tiger sitting under the tree..” We craned our necks to get a good look.

Beyond the stream, and the rocks, amidst the tall grass there were stripes, probably doing its business while we strained our necks to get a clear sighting! Soon it finished its business and walked off.

Just like that, it was over.

Well in the end I did see a Tiger, probably not exactly how I had imaged it to be. But I guess this is why it is called the 'Wild'. You cannot predict a sighting with absolute surety. 
I in my whole "want" of catching a Tiger sighting, nearly missed noticing many more beautiful birds and animals. And in retrospect, I got to experience more wildlife than I had even bargained for. The excitement of hoping to catch a sighting is quite addictive but apart from this, I also learnt to appreciate the forest, which was so serene and the landscape so beautiful. 

So probably next time I am on a safari again, I will hope to catch a Deer or Monkey sighting, so that I would end up seeing a Tiger or a Leopard maybe!