[bosem123]

Many among us fondly remember the last trips we had before the pandemic struck gold. This was the trip to remember for us (my wife and I) as it was on our 2nd anniversary. We covered from Delhi to Neemrana, Narnaul, Neemrana again, and returned back to our hometown in a matter of 2 days, from 6th March to 8th March.

Day 1
We started at around 9:00 am from our home. My mother had packed chicken sandwiches for us to much on the way (I find it difficult to travel without suitable breakfast!).

The morning around was mostly quiet, broken by the thunder (well, not exactly) of our Alto K10. While enjoying the morning weather, we never realized how soon we had reached Kherki Daula Toll Plaza (near Manesar).

The sky had started to become cloudy, and we loved every minute of this drive. We stopped at the McDonalds outlet on the highway in Manesar and had a complete meal here.

We faced a little bit of traffic congestion just after the toll plaza, but this is exactly where the rev-happy K10 engine really comes into its own. Swift maneuvers between trucks and some other vehicles on the road was a breeze, apart from the occasional shrieks from my wife. We were cruising down the Delhi-Jaipur highway at 80-100 kmph after the initial rush.

We reached Cambay Sapphire hotel at around 12:15 pm. After a small welcome, the bellboy carried our luggage to the room, but unfortunately there was more drama to unfold. The flush wasn’t working in the first and the second one had a wet doormat which was causing the entire wooden floor to be wet. Finally, we were given a suitable third room, with a view of the Neemrana Fort Palace.






Having already eaten a meal a few hours earlier, both of us weren’t feeling particularly hungry. We decided to drive towards the Neemrana Fort Palace, just about 900 meters. However, as we were trying to locate the lane to move towards the fort, we were greeted by torrential rain. This rain was of the kind that it looked like streams of water, on the main streets and down the Neemrana slope.



With a little bit of apprehension I took our car up the slope and stopped close to a tree. An initial thought was to jump out and run towards the fort, but the wife was just not game. But one thing was true for sure- I wasn’t going to return back to the hotel in such an outstanding weather!

Frantic searching on Google helped me locate a place called Birbal ka Chatta in Narnaul, Haryana, which was about 37 km away. Somehow I managed to convince my better half and we started off in the rain towards Narnaul (yet another state, Whee!).


The road towards Narnaul was not as smooth as the Delhi Jaipur highway, but was still reasonably good. Rains became less severe, but still accompanied us all the way to Narnaul. With some amount of difficulty I found a parking spot for my beloved K10, only to find out that Birbal ka Chatta was permanently closed.



We clicked a few pictures at the entrance and once I again I tried to find another place which would be open at 4:30 pm in that weather!




The second place I found on the Internet was Jal Mahal. After having arrived at the place, we realized it had minimum of Jal! Most of the water had dried up but it was still a beautiful place to walk. We explored bits of the British architecture here, clicked a few pictures, even had a little conversation with someone looking for a less water clogged route to get out of this place, and then returned to our car.














Initially the GPS showed me a route which was going to take us through a narrow slope. Unfortunately we saw some Bolero campers returning and telling us to keep away as the water logging was too much. This time I drove purely on instinct and tried to figure out a way of getting on to the main highway without looking at the map, and it worked! Even though I did think of testing the water wading ability of the K10 , the wife refused point blank, stating that she would rather walk!)


I felt the day to be pretty fulfilling, considering the amount of rain that had happened. Yes, there were long traffic jams on the way back, but we moved our focus towards the decision we had taken and the current music, and everything seemed wonderful again. We purchased a small bottle of vodka and decided to start a new program once we returned.

Day 2

The second day was reserved for the Neemrana Fort Palace, and fortunately rain decided not to play spoilsport this time. We explored the vast expanse of this fort, and also decided to try ziplining. This was my first experience, and although the initial bit seems scary, I must say that the rest of the adventure is really exciting. We were lucky to find another couple who took our pictures, and we were only too happy to oblige.
















From here, I calculated how much time it would take for us to get to Sariska. There were actually three routes, but I had my eyes on two of them- via NH 48 and via RJ SH 52. At that time, the State Highway seemed the quicker one, and we had to get there by 3 pm to have a chance to make it. I pushed the K10 as much as I could on the narrow SH roads, many of which passed through villages, and we finally got there at 2:50 pm.



Now we found that there was no one to accompany us on the Safari Gypsy, and we had to pay the entire Rs 8800 for this. We were hoping that we get to see a few wild cats in this amount, but after sitting with the driver and the Forest Conservation expert, we realized than an experience amidst the wilderness was the only guaranteed aspect.

Through the forest, we got several inputs from both the driver (also guide) and the expert. They heard a few calls and tried to approach them, but didn’t manage to see anything. Of course we did see wild boars, langurs, sambhars, ducks, and others, but the big cats were still proving to be elusive. Here I would like to point out the impressive go-anywhere ability of the Gypsy.








Of course I was aware of the off-road ability of this SUV, but seeing it in action across tough trails was really something. I was told that forests deliberately do not have roads so as to prevent humans from interfering in wildlife. The leaf spring suspension enabled the Gypsy to comfortably cross all obstacles.










All of a sudden, we came across another safari group where their driver told us that a female leopard had been spotted at the same place as yesterday. And now began the really aggressive driving, with the Gypsy tossing and maneuvering under his expert guidance. We made it to the designated spot, and sure enough, the leopard was to our far left. Everyone was trying to devour the moment as best as possible, with the other Gypsies stationed in the same area. And that sense of fulfillment was something hard to describe in mere words!



With a successful safari run, we made it back to the Sariska park entrance, got into our car and started towards Cambay Sapphire, at 6 pm. By now we were pretty hungry and decided to get dinner packed at the Food Street, close to Cambay Sapphire.



At the end of this trip, I found that the K10 had delivered a fuel economy of 18 kmpl and covered a distance of about 750 km.

[SPB_drives]

Lucky you guys got to see the tiger. When I had gone there, we had taken up a canter rather than a gypsy, and could not see any tiger.

[bosem123]

Mod note: Back to back post, please wait for mod approval to edit the original post instead. Thanks.

Originally Posted by SPB_drives

Lucky you guys got to see the tiger. When I had gone there, we had taken up a canter rather than a gypsy, and could not see any tiger.

More like a leopard though But I think a little bit of it is in the head. If you tell yourself that this trip has to be about the tiger, it tends to get a wee bit disappointing. Better to not think about it ans just enjoy being in the wild

Actually throughout the journey I felt that one should not go there with the expectation of being able to see the wild cats, and just be happy of being in the wild. Getting to see the tiger is just a bonus and nothing else

[sahil624]

Brilliant pics. The Sariska National park, though less in number of wildlife, is beautiful. The apt time to visit the national park, for tiger sighting, is during summer. However, I would recommend visiting the forest during the winters to enjoy the beauty.
Also, next time you visit this part of Rajasthan, do check out Siliserh Lake near Sariska during monsoon.