[harjeev]

This Sunday 21st April 2013 myself accompanied by 4 more guys we visited the Sariska Wildlife Sanctuary. Having visited only 2 other Tiger Sanctuary before this, it was my first visit to Sariska. I’ve visited Corbett National Park in Uttarakhand and Ranthambore National Park in Rajasthan. Surprisingly Sariska is the one which is closest to Delhi was never on my radar. So when I came across this travelogue from my friend Gurudutt, I in some corner of my mind started dreaming that I would be visit Sariska someday in future. Since the day I saw the travelogue I am a big fan of Gurudutt’s photography skills and the dedication with which he keeps visiting Sariska throughout the year and keeps his travelogue up-to-date. Adding fuel to the fire was travelogues by Dhiraj Kapoor and his fantastic photographic skills as well.

Though Gurudutt visits Sariska quite often somehow I never was able to accompany him on one of his travels. Sometimes the date’s didn’t suit well but most of the time I was too damm lazy, however the inclining to visit didn’t die out.
It was last week that I saw on Gurdutt’s thread that he was planning to visit Sariska on Sunday 21st April 2013 I saw an opportunity and got in touch with him. We’ve known each other for quite a long while having interacted on Social Networks and various forums but had never ever met each other in person nor spoken over the phone. So much so that we didn’t even have each other’s phone numbers. Funny thing that happened was when he called me on Friday 19th April 2013, I picked up the phone and greeted him like I knew who was calling. Gurudutt was surprised that I had his number but I told him that his number appeared on my phone through software by the name of TRUECALLER.

So we finalized that we would leave early morning on Sunday as only three of would be going we would leave in one vehicle. The third person to accompany myself and Gurudutt was Shahid Ahmed another common friend who I knew from my off-roading circle of friends.

I came home and when I told my plans to my brother, Harbeer, he too was interested. So now we were four people Gurudutt, Shahid, Harbeer and I.

The plan finalized was that me and Harbeer would pickup Gurudutt from Gurgaon at 3AM, then proceed towards Shahid’s place on Sohna Road and latest by 3.30AM start for Sariska.


21st April 2013

The night before I got my gear in order. Camera charged, Memory Cards emptied and formatted, extra memory cards packed, Tripod, GPS charged and emptied of previous tracks, binoculars, etc.
For this trip I'm using a Canon 550D along with Canon EF-S 55-250 f4-5.6 lens. It was the only lens I could afford at the time I bought it a couple of years back.

Called up Gurudutt informed him that my brother too would be accompanying us, understood the location to his house so that I don’t waste time trying to find it in the morning.

In the morning of 21st Apr’13 or I should say the night of 20th Apr’13 me and Harbeer were in our car at 235AM and started for Gurudutt’s house. We were there at 3am and found Gurudutt waiting at the gates of his building complex. Immediately we started for Shahid’s house on Sohna Road and were there in no time. Shahid Bhai was too waiting for us and it was decided there that we would take his Bolero for the journey to Sariska and back.

God only knows why none of us objected to this but we left behind four perfect and comfortable vehicles behind 3 Scorpios (2 belonging to Gurudutt and 1 to Shahid) & my Landcruiser. I think for me it was the excitement of visiting Sariska for the first time that I didn’t even think about this decision. More on that later.

We were now accompanied by Shahid’s driver as well, Rajesh, and were a party of 5.
Left Sohna Road at 3.30 AM and decided to take the Sohna- Nuh- Firozpur Zikra- Alwar By Pass and then Sariska route, a distance of 165Kms.

Our Route on Google Maps
SH 13/Sohna Rd to MDR 27 - Google Maps


.


There were ‘n number of speed breakers on this route and the last stretch of 30 odd kms is in a bad condition, resulting which we reached the Forest Office only 10 minutes to 7AM having originally planned to be there by 6AM. The reason for the delay was Rajesh was driving at a comfortable speed of 60-70 KMPH and the last stretch of 30 odd Kms, being double lane boken roads delayed us by quite a bit.

Good news was that Gurudutt’s guide Hari Singh was waiting for us at the Forest Office with all the permits and paperwork in order as well as the vehicle. Wasting no time we all got our gear out of the vehicle and hopped into the waiting gypsy and made an entry in the forest at 7AM.

[harjeev]

In front of Gurudutt’s gear I felt like not even taking my camera out of the bag but still I braved it.
Gurudutt uses Nikon D800, D300 - 24~70, 105, 70~200 (all f/2.8 ), 300 f/4, TC-14E-II and yes he was carrying all of it.

While leaving the forest office other guides told Hari Singh that ST3 had been sighted early morning and we made a dash for that location. Reached there in no time and started to bide our time and trying to remain as silent as we could. In the meanwhile other vehicles also learnt about this sighting and in no time we had no less than 7-8 vehicles at that location.

We didn’t hear any alarm calls nor saw any pug marks. Suddenly the guide from another vehicle parked near the watering hole started gesturing us and pointed at something.

I thought that I couldn’t be so lucky to sight a Tiger within 30 minutes of entering the jungle. We moved our vehicle closer and could see ST3 cooling in the water about 50 feet or so from the road.

Immediately I heard something like an automatic weapon going off but was glad to see that it no gun but was the shutter from Gurudutt’s Nikon D800. Wasting no time I managed to capture a couple of shots but then all hell broke loose.

The other vehicles started not to come near but RACE to our location as we had the best vantage point and I witnessed something that I’ve never seen in any of the other parks.
The tourists started climbing out of their vehicle (which is surely forbidden), calling for each other loudly TIGER---TIGER---SHER—SHER---TIGER. If that wasn’t enough they started crowding around our vehicle and to top it off started climbing onto our Gypsy shaking it like mad.

There was this one old woman who must have been like 65-70+ years old and if left to herself she would have taken like 5-7 minutes just to climb out of the vehicle on her own. But in the commotion I saw her spring out of her vehicle which would put Olympic Athletes to shame and sprint towards our Gypsy. All this while the guides and the drivers kept trying in vain to tell the tourists to go back but they wouldn’t even listed to them.

All this was too much for the Tiger. She (ST3) waited for a couple of minutes and then decided to move away from this place. Giving us a final glance she (ST3) started to move away from us into the thicket of the forest.
Had she decided to charge at the tourists, I’m sure that she would have covered the distance in under a minute and the tourists wouldn’t even have had a chance to run back to the safety of their vehicles. It would surely have resulted in an unfortunate incident.

Here are some of the shot I could manage of ST3












I wished that had the other tourists showed some patience and more importantly brains we would have seen ST-3 resting there for a long time, but alas. We decided to try our luck again and as can be seen from the GPS log we thought that we could intercept the path which we thought ST3 was taking and went to the back side of the watering hole. Waited there in anticipation for a long time but nada. I think that she(ST3) had enough of the commotion for a day and was done for with reveling herself.

GPS Track on Google Maps
2013-04-21 Sariska Morning Safari - Google Maps



You'll have top zoom in the above link. A screent shot of the above as below





Hari Singh our Guide inquiring from the other Guides whether any other sightings were reported






Thereafter we scouted other locations, watering holes, trying to locate pug marks etc.


Saw these Peacocks at a watering hole.








Male Spotted Deer






A small bridge in the forest






A group of Sambhar Deer resting under the shade






I think this one must have been injured in a fight with another deer. His left ear is cut from the outer edge





This fellow kept licking himself. I couldn’t see whether he was hurt or what. I waited for quite a while if he showed me his face but he didn’t oblige





Finally we made an exit from the forest gate at 10AM. Spotted this bird (don’t know the name) trying to catch butterflies for breakfast at a butterfly buffet of sorts.






This one must have had his fill at the buffet as he came down to have some water to wash down what he had.












Our route for the morning Safari
2013-04-21 Sariska Morning Safari - Google Maps





to be continued

[gd1418]

Though I've read your travelogue elsewhere, reading again brings back the memories afresh. Next time I shall carry a small shaft with me and if such unruly behaviour from tourists is repeated, shall not hesitate in wielding it...!

[voyageur]

Good pics and nice write up. Its really sad that the tourists behave in such a manner because tiger's are much more aggressive than other carnivores and we cannot really predict what next.

How is the Canon EOS 550d? I'm a great fan of this DSLR as it is a perfect value for money product. Do share something about the cam as I am looking forward to buying one.

Cheers

[harjeev]

Sorry for the late reply guys. I was busy over the weekend hense could not post the 3rd part of this trip. Without further delay here's the third and final part.

As we’d started our day quite early I started to feel a bit sleepy & hungry. The plan was that we’ll proceed to Gulmohar Resorts in Viratnagar have a quick bite, rest for a couple of hours and be back in time for the afternoon safari. The Resort was approx. 25-26 Kms from Sariska Forest Office.

Another disturbing development happened in the meantime. The villagers had started to gather around the entry gate and were threatening to blocks vehicles from entering the forest. We could see a lot of police presence around the area too. The forest officials too, weren’t sure whether they would allow the afternoon safari.
Gurudutt told Hari Singh that whatever decision is taken, which was scheduled to be taken around 2PM, he would let us know.

If it was decided that the park was closed for the evening, we thought that we would continue towards NH8 from Viratnagar, exit at Shahpura and continue towards Delhi.

At approx 2:15PM we received a call from Hari Singh and it was good news. He said that they(Forest Officials) would allow the vehicles to go in a convey. Wasting no time we started back towards Sariska at 2:17PM and were at the Forest Office at 3:00PM. The protesting crowd had increased in numbers. Being a little weary we inquired how would the vehicles enter the park when the main entry has been blocked.

Here the DFO had a trick up his sleeve. There’s another entry to the forest from behind the Reception Center and Staff Quarters of the Forest Office. All the vehicles were told that they should go from there and it was a direct entry into the jungle, smart move in my opinion.

We went to a big water body, Karna ka Baas and saw many variety of birds here. Don’t remember their names now and as they were quite far off for the comfort of my puny little zoom lens, so I didn’t even attempt.


Thereafter we visited a number of watering holes in anticipation of spotting a resting tiger but were disappointed.


At one of these watering holes ‘Tarundi Watering Hole’ I spotted this ‘White Breasted Kingfisher’ and managed these shots.










It was 3:59PM we decided that rather than trying to spend our remaining time roaming around the jungle it would be a better idea to try our luck again at the ‘Ghaanka Watering Hole’ the place where we saw ST3 in the morning and bide our time there.


Enroute we saw this male Cheetal ‘Spotted Deer’ and really liked his antlers. Quite magnificent I think.





This female (I think) was too shy to pose.





This one was eager to be clicked & I happily obliged





So was this one





And these as well








This fellow was busy getting his ears cleaned by a bird perched on his head. I couldn’t clearly see the bird but if I remember it’s a ‘RufousTreepie’.








While the female waits in turn




We reached the Ghaanka Watering Hole and met the tracking party of ST-3. They said that she hasn’t moved since morning, though they didn’t have any visual on the Tigress. The last sighting was the one we guys had seen in the morning. Also the ‘Radio Collar’ on ST-3 had become defective and wasn’t working.

The forest officials believe that ST-3 is pregnant so they don’t want to take the chance of shooting and sedating her to change her collar. However I learn't from Gurudutt and Hari Singh that the Forest Officials have been narrating this story since the past couple of months and if ST-3 was indeed pregnant it doesn’t appear visually.

We were again joined by 4 more gypsy’s but all was quiet. We waited there for a long time and by 6:00PM the other vehicles left, we however waited for some more time. Just in case.

The time to exit the forest was 6:30pm and 10 mins before we started to move towards the exit and came out at 6:30PM.

The route for the Evening Safari
2013-04-21 Sariska Evening Safari - Google Maps





Time for a group picture.

Picture courtesy Gurudutt B.C.





Left to Right: Harbeer (my brother), Gurudutt, ShahidBhai and Yours Truly.



It was time again to brave the rear seat of the Bolero. On our return journey we came via Alwar- Tijara- Bhiwadi- NH8- Manesar- Gurgaon.
At Bhiwadi be halted at Haldiram for dinner. As none of us had eaten lunch we were all quite hungry.

From Bhiwadi we took the ‘Dharuhera- Bhiwadi Bypass Road’ and joined NH8. After moving a couple of Kms on the highway we encountered a major jam about a couple of Kms before the defunct Bilaspur Toll. We were stuck here for a good 40-45 mins. When finally the vehicles started to move forward it was discovered the 2 trucks had broken down one after the other and that too on a diversion.
God knows when this mess of NH8 will be sorted out.

Map of our return Journey
Sariska to Gurgaon





Finally we made it to Shahid Bhai’s house at 11:45PM. The moment I got off from the Bolero, I was like NEVER NEVER EVER AGAIN.
If I’m again given a choice of traveling in a Bolero or cancel my trip, I would prefer not going than to having endure traveling in a Bolero again and that too in the rear seat.

I’ve done Delhi -Ahmedabad 4-5 times, a distance of a shade less than 1000 Kms for 14-15 hours at a stretch. I’ve never felt this tired even then. Hell, I even traveled from Delhi to Bhuj 1230 Kms for 22 hours straight but this 330Kms To and Fro to Sariska on a Bolero beats all that. The moment I sat in my vehicle I started to feel a sense of touch and feeling coming back on my bums.

To wrap it up, it was a fantastic trip nonetheless and Myself and Harbeer thoroughly enjoyed it.

And if it wasn’t for Gurudutt and ShahidBhai it wouldn’t be half as much fun.
Thankyou very much guys for making this trip. We thoroughly enjoyed it.



Till the next trip. Bye for now

[samarth.bhatia]

Harjeev,

Nice crisp write up.
You guys sure got lucky with ST3

From Dharuheda to Bhiwadi road, and entering onto Alwar road, did you face a bad patch of road in between?

Nice shots overall.

Cheers,
Sam

[harjeev]

Originally Posted by samarth.bhatia

Harjeev,

Nice crisp write up.
You guys sure got lucky with ST3

From Dharuheda to Bhiwadi road, and entering onto Alwar road, did you face a bad patch of road in between?

Nice shots overall.

Cheers,
Sam

Thanks Sam.
Yes we surely go lucky with ST3 in the morning.


We didn't touch Dharuhera while traveling from Bhiwadi to NH8.
While coming from Tijara towards Bhiwadi we came to the Bhiwadi T-Point (taking a left at this T-Point goes to Dharuhera Right heads to Bhiwadi)
We took a right from this T-Point.
This road crosses a bit through the Bhiwadi Town and after about 2.5-3 Kms we took a left. This road is a 4 Laned DHARUHERA - BHIWADI ByPass Road and goes directly to NH8. Taking this road avoids the mad rush and traffic snarls at Dharuhera.

I've enclosed a link to Google Maps explaining the above.
Link on Google Maps

Cheers

[shady_lawyer]

Hey All,

being a shady lawyer does have its advantages of being unemployed over long weekends and on certain working days that mysteriously turn into holidays

So the plan is to cover Delhi-Sariska-Ranthambore-Udaipur from the 27th of March till the 4th of April. The reason i'm asking early is, if the road conditions are terrible, then we leave our Nissan Sunny at home and rent a SUV from either zoom or myles.

So here go the queries (distance addition of upto 30kms/1 hr is acceptable to keep on good roads).
Itinerary
28th 5 AM-Delhi Sariska- Afternoon Safari (with Hari Singh)-return to hotel rest.
29th-morning safari-lunch-afternoon safari- return to hotel rest.
30th 7 AM Sariska Ranthambore- Hope to catch the afternoon safari-rest.
31 st-Morning safari-lunch-afternoon safari-rest.
1st-morning safari-till 11 AM-lunch depart for udaipur [is this feasible? Or should we aim to leave earlier to reach udaipur in good time say by 4 pm?]
1st-Depending on time of arrival in udaipur-if evening rest. If earlier walk around the lake front.
2nd-City sight seeing.
3rd Chittorgarh and surroundings.
4th-7 AM Udaipur Delhi

1. What route from Delhi to Sariska.

2. Where to stay in Sariska or does one stay in alwar and make the up and down trips? (budget not exceeding Rs. 3.5k per night)

3. What route from Sariska to Ranthambore? G-maps says go via NH11A (shudder) can someone please suggest an alternative?

4. Where to stay in Ranthambore? budget as above.

5. What Route from Ranthambore to Udaipur? I wanted to go via tonk so as to get on the NH 116A -NH 79. g-maps is sending me via SH 29 Kota-Lalsot highway.

6. Has anyone rented a Zoom/Myles in Delhi? If yes how was your experience and does one have to pay RTO Tax before entry into each state especially since the NCR Zone now stretches right upto Alwar?

[model-t]

I can help you with the itenary 1st onwards. I was there last year but I drove to Delhi to Udaipur direct. If you plan to stay for a night in Udaipur , try the Raasleela Tents. Bang on the lake face the fort. I think they are in the range you mentioned. From Udaipur it is a 1.5-2 hour drive to Chittorgarh. This is not a walking fort. I took my car to cover all the main things to see and it took me 4 hours. From there you can go to the NH (via SH) and then drive back. I will suggest breaking your journey overnight at either Jaipur or Alwar. It will get hectic on the last day.

Let me know if you need any more help.

[avingodb]

thank you Harjeev and late GD sir,

I had a memorable Holi weekend in Sariska. Will share my story in a couple of days.

I was following his thread but learnt little late of his untimely demise. In fact it was Hari Singh who informed me about it.

[sach.sri]

Originally Posted by shady_lawyer

Hey All,

being a shady lawyer does have its advantages of being unemployed over long weekends and on certain working days that mysteriously turn into holidays

So the plan is to cover Delhi-Sariska-Ranthambore-Udaipur from the 27th of March till the 4th of April. The reason i'm asking early is, if the road conditions are terrible, then we leave our Nissan Sunny at home and rent a SUV from either zoom or myles.

So here go the queries (distance addition of upto 30kms/1 hr is acceptable to keep on good roads).
Itinerary
28th 5 AM-Delhi Sariska- Afternoon Safari (with Hari Singh)-return to hotel rest.
29th-morning safari-lunch-afternoon safari- return to hotel rest.
30th 7 AM Sariska Ranthambore- Hope to catch the afternoon safari-rest.
31 st-Morning safari-lunch-afternoon safari-rest.
1st-morning safari-till 11 AM-lunch depart for udaipur [is this feasible? Or should we aim to leave earlier to reach udaipur in good time say by 4 pm?]
1st-Depending on time of arrival in udaipur-if evening rest. If earlier walk around the lake front.
2nd-City sight seeing.
3rd Chittorgarh and surroundings.
4th-7 AM Udaipur Delhi

1. What route from Delhi to Sariska.

2. Where to stay in Sariska or does one stay in alwar and make the up and down trips? (budget not exceeding Rs. 3.5k per night)

3. What route from Sariska to Ranthambore? G-maps says go via NH11A (shudder) can someone please suggest an alternative?

4. Where to stay in Ranthambore? budget as above.

5. What Route from Ranthambore to Udaipur? I wanted to go via tonk so as to get on the NH 116A -NH 79. g-maps is sending me via SH 29 Kota-Lalsot highway.

6. Has anyone rented a Zoom/Myles in Delhi? If yes how was your experience and does one have to pay RTO Tax before entry into each state especially since the NCR Zone now stretches right upto Alwar?

Shady_lawyer - nice handle you have

Regarding your query for Delhi Sariska route - the route to take is -

1. Delhi to Gurgaon via NH8
2. Continue on NH8 till Dharuheda/Bhiwadi
3. There is a left turn after flyover at Bhiwadi - take that turn into Bhiwadi
4. Get onto Bhiwadi Alwar highway - this is the road where all new property developments are taking place
5. Follow this road till Alwar
6. Dont go into Alwar city, when you are nearing Alwar you have to take a left turn after "apna home" society.
7. Keep on this road till you hit a T junction. You will cross a railway crossing where a flyover was being built (dont know if that has been completed yet)
8. Take a right on this T point (left goes towards RTR).
9. Continue on this for about a KM. You will get to a point where there is a sharp left (almost a U turn). Take this turn - if you go straight here you hit Alwar city.
10. Keep on this road, this will take you to Sariska.

Stay in Sariska - Tiger Den is right next to the jungle entry gate. It is around your budget, but be aware of it being a govt run establishment, so dont get your expectations too high.

There is another place around 11 odd kms before Sariska called Alwar Bagh. This is a ok place. Price around 5K per night including meals (check with the property).

Staying at Alwar will be too far in my opinion.


Going from Sariska to RTR - you can take NH8 or better go back to that T junction which i mentioned above and continue straight. You will hit Bandi Kui, Sikandara, then NH 11 for a bit before you turn into Dhausa, Lalsot and then RTR.

Staying in RTR - too many options, i think you can choose from any online booking site.

Word of caution - check Safari availability in RTR before making bookings. RTR is notorious for online bookings getting full quite early. You might have to ask your hotel for safari bookings which they will do but at a premium.

Originally Posted by avingodb

thank you Harjeev and late GD sir,

I had a memorable Holi weekend in Sariska. Will share my story in a couple of days.

I was following his thread but learnt little late of his untimely demise. In fact it was Hari Singh who informed me about it.

Good to hear. I guess you saw ST3 on 7th morning? with Hari Singh
Pls post pics/travelouge.

[avingodb]

Originally Posted by sach.sri

Good to hear. I guess you saw ST3 on 7th morning? with Hari Singh
Pls post pics/travelouge.

No ST3 luck, we were at another spot where we saw a hyena pack including 2 cubs when she crossed the sections. I think I saw pug marks at one location but the vehicle after us drover over it.

Subsequently, we returned to the area where ST3 was and stayed there from 8.45 to 10.20 but no luck, she did not come out again. During this time we heard distress calls from Sambars in that area and saw another deer run away. ST3's tracker also crossed us and confirmed that she was in all likelihood just about 60-70 mtrs behind the shrubs.

I had read from GD sir's thread that live tracking had been stopped but learnt that the reserve authorities did exactly that to facilitate tiger sighting for a minister from central government and other vehicles trailed them as soon as they learnt of this.

Later on in the evening, someone at the guest-house was boasting that he just could not control and jumped out of the gypsy on seeing the tigeress!
A group of teenagers gave him a piece of their mind and said that they were right behind them and he was risking their lives with such bravado.

were you around too?

[sach.sri]

Originally Posted by avingodb

No ST3 luck, we were at another spot where we saw a hyena pack including 2 cubs when she crossed the sections. I think I saw pug marks at one location but the vehicle after us drover over it.

Subsequently, we returned to the area where ST3 was and stayed there from 8.45 to 10.20 but no luck, she did not come out again. During this time we heard distress calls from Sambars in that area and saw another deer run away. ST3's tracker also crossed us and confirmed that she was in all likelihood just about 60-70 mtrs behind the shrubs.

I had read from GD sir's thread that live tracking had been stopped but learnt that the reserve authorities did exactly that to facilitate tiger sighting for a minister from central government and other vehicles trailed them as soon as they learnt of this.

Later on in the evening, someone at the guest-house was boasting that he just could not control and jumped out of the gypsy on seeing the tigeress!
A group of teenagers gave him a piece of their mind and said that they were right behind them and he was risking their lives with such bravado.

were you around too?

Hyena is a very good sighting. Hope you were able to photograph them? I have onnly seen a Hyena fleetingly - never been able to photograph them.

Pls post your pics!

[avingodb]

Originally Posted by sach.sri

Pls post your pics!

Will post my travelogue in a couple of days. Have something else to finish before that.