[Shubhendra]

Originally Posted by turboNath

Wow Shubhendra ! This place must have been a dense forest back then! I am pretty sure you have real fond memories associated with Banas River and its surrounding regions.
However, our receptionist informed us that during monsoons, you can spot crocodiles near the banks of the Banas river! Did you spot one ?

There were many more tigers back then and it was an actual remote place. In fact the place where you stayed had no electricity.
I have visited this area probably more than a dozen times.
Saw crocodiles in winters basking on sun once. BTW, you get some good fishing spots near by that guest house.

[turboNath]

Originally Posted by Shubhendra

There were many more tigers back then and it was an actual remote place. In fact the place where you stayed had no electricity.
I have visited this area probably more than a dozen times.
Saw crocodiles in winters basking on sun once. BTW, you get some good fishing spots near by that guest house.

Wow Shubhendra ! You're one lucky guy to spot both the tiger and the crocodiles near the same spot ! Thanks for sharing the tale

[AJ-got-BHP]

What a pleasant travelogue turboNath ! Relived my memories of my visits to Varanasi in the past. Rated a well deserved 5* for the pictures. Must say that the Sanjay Dubri National Park is a great find. Thanks for sharing !

Bandhavgarh has been on my bucket list since long. I have already done Pench & Kanha in 2014 and it was a wonderful experience. Sharing a link to the same : https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/trave...onal-park.html (Photologue: Pench & Kanha National Park)

I have a few questions for you :

1. Are there other resorts apart from the MPTDC one around the national park ?
2. How is the food at the resort ?
3. Does the resort book Safari for you or we can book directly ?
4. What is the average cost of a 'Gypsy to Yourself' ?
5. Considering 'it' is a lesser known National Park, do they allow you to drive your own 4x4 within the forest if accompanied by a Guide from the Forest Department ?

Sorry to bother you with so many questions, just inquisitive

[turboNath]

Originally Posted by AJ-got-BHP

What a pleasant travelogue turboNath ! Relived my memories of my visits to Varanasi in the past. Rated a well deserved 5* for the pictures. Must say that the Sanjay Dubri National Park is a great find. Thanks for sharing !

Bandhavgarh has been on my bucket list since long. I have already done Pench & Kanha in 2014 and it was a wonderful experience. Sharing a link to the same : https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/trave...onal-park.html (Photologue: Pench & Kanha National Park)

I have a few questions for you :

1. Are there other resorts apart from the MPTDC one around the national park ?
2. How is the food at the resort ?
3. Does the resort book Safari for you or we can book directly ?
4. What is the average cost of a 'Gypsy to Yourself' ?
5. Considering 'it' is a lesser known National Park, do they allow you to drive your own 4x4 within the forest if accompanied by a Guide from the Forest Department ?

Sorry to bother you with so many questions, just inquisitive

Thanks a lot AJ-got-BHP for the encouraging words and sharing your thread link! I will go through it in details and plan my future 'TigerLand' trips to Kanha & Pench (I missed them this time, sadly) !

I will try to answer your questions to the best of my knowledge. [So] here goes.

1)Yes there are a few other resorts in Parsili towards the Old Dakbungalow side. We had booked through our contact person for MP Tourism in Kolkata and hence MPTDC was the default choice. The property is very good but .. (this brings us to the second question)

2)Their food, although freshly cooked didn't quite live up to the expectations of our taste buds(soaked in Kolkata flavours since forever!).
It was always ' a bit too spicy / hot ' for us. Serving time was also longer than usual and strangely, they charge 25% extra for room delivery!

3)We had booked a package with MPTDC for 5 persons and the safari cost was included in the total amount. The package included safari cost, guide charges, forest entry fees, stay in twin bedded rooms (beautiful wooden cottages) and complimentary breakfast. I think the hotel should be able to book the safari for you, if not booked earlier (saw a couple of guests availing the same facility).

4)A single Gypsy ride cost is 5500 including all the charges (with a max limit of 6 persons/Gypsy)

5)Back in December 2019, they had a provision of four forest Gypsies. Incase there's an increased demand and they run out of gypsies, they allow you to take your own vehicle inside (4X4 and 4X2 are both allowed since we saw one Innova, TUV300 and a RWD Bolero(all of them bearing private number plates) going for the safari alongwith us. Since the number of guides is also a constraint, they might allot a local 'forest' security guard as a guide.
Unfortunately, we had been allotted one such 'guide' for the third day morning safari and he slept throughout the safari.
We took the onus on ourselves to wake him up and point out the creatures to him from time to time !

Hope that answers your questions ! Please feel free to shoot some more !

[sudev]

Thanks for lovely narrative. Part one was equally engrossing as part two!

Been going to Varanasi for work once every quarter and every time I target to taste a new dish from street food vendors.

[turboNath]

Originally Posted by sudev

Thanks for lovely narrative. Part one was equally engrossing as part two!

Been going to Varanasi for work once every quarter and every time I target to taste a new dish from street food vendors.

Thanks sudev ! Please do recommend some dishes that I should try on my next visit !

[anupamtiwari]

Originally Posted by Shubhendra

This used to be government rest house developed on insistence of Arjun Singh. I have stayed there couple of time before area declared as national park and this property was developed by MPTDC.
Were you able to locate Elephants which come from CG/Bihar side? Two decades back, we spent more than a week in this area to see migratory elephants, trekked for days and spotted various different animals.
Good to see this place is getting its due attention.

Regards,
Shubhendra

with more and more expansion of towns and villages the connecting forest between CG and this part is now gone. The Elephants used to migrate from Bihar Via CG (mostly through Semarsot Sanctuary, Ambikapur) to this area. The deterioration in condition of forest area here since my childhood days (when you could see a leopard if you travel in night in normal roads) is really saddening and when it happens to be your home town where one has spent his early life, it really hurts.

[anupamtiwari]

It was really great to read your travelogue. It is very close to my native place. Have been going there since my childhood days. The beautiful forest has been encroached like anything in last 25 years. Sad that no one guided you to Chandreh (20km from your hotel) which has very famous 9th Century Shiv Temple. Excellent write up indeed. Next time if you plan to come to this side - try via CG and Amarkantak - the whole belt is just amazing.

[anupamtiwari]

Originally Posted by Shubhendra

There were many more tigers back then and it was an actual remote place. In fact the place where you stayed had no electricity.
I have visited this area probably more than a dozen times.
Saw crocodiles in winters basking on sun once. BTW, you get some good fishing spots near by that guest house.

The river Banas meets Son river in just 20 km and it was one of the most prominent site for Son Gharial Sanctuary. During our childhood days when we used to enter the river for swimming it was mandatory to have someone looking out for Gharials all the time. During summer this part of river gets best sand beaches.