19th February 2009, 18:25
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| Senior - BHPian  Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Jaipur
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| Different Shades of Green-A Trip To Jim Corbett National Park This Travelogue is on a trip my friends and I undertook to Jim Corbett national park on the 28th/29th/ 30th of December’08. Apart from including our travel diary I have also tried to include some extra information about Jim Corbett, which might be beneficial for our fellow members to refer to, for such future trips to this particular destination. In this travelogue most of the photographs are from my Canon Supershot A95 but some are also taken from a fellow traveler Mr. Ashish Sehgal’s Camrea. Some extra information about Jim Corbett has also been collected from the internet The Five Of Us (Pic)  THE PHONE CALL It all started on the 22nd Dec when I received a phone call from Amit announcing his arrival to India from New York. After all the pleasantries were exchanged he said “Bhupinder should also be arriving from Geneva soon so I was hoping you could take out time and the three of us could make a quick trip to Jim Corbett National Park" It wouldn’t have been the first time I would have gone to Jim Corbett. Amit, Bhupinder aka Bhupi and I had done the same trip 8 years back, and had enjoyed it so much that we vowed to do it again sooner than later. My association with Bhupi and Amit begins from May 1995, when had met for the first time in our Institute of Hotel Management at Dadar, Mumbai. All being from the defence background was kind of a bonding factor amongst the three of us hence we clicked together from the first day of the college itself. Also I have to admit here that discipline which is usually associated with the kids of defence officers or maybe the lack of it in all three of us made us gel well. But now was different than 8 years ago. Now I had a business and taking time out especially in the peak season would have been difficult. Also the fact that I was married now and telling the wife that we boys need to go out for a few days doesn’t really augur well for the family life. Decision had to be made and it had to be made fast. The heart ruled over the mind and I said “Yes” to Amit for Jim Corbett. The consequences of the decision would have to be dealt with later. BACK HOME Back home the biggest challenge was how to break the news to my beloved. After few hours of beating around the bush and making some base for the news, I finally told her that we boys were planning a trip to Jim Corbett on the 28th December. Trying to judge her from her expressions the few minutes of silence seemed like eternity, and the reply came “ Ahh-han…so now after 4 years you don’t even want to spend the new years with me.” This wasn’t the reply I was expecting, I was expecting a bit more drama and some blackmailing to get some expensive gift for her in lieu of the holiday with the boys. As soon as I told her that the plan always was to be back home in Jaipur by the 31st December, she was like “go you guys can be bachelors again for old time sake and have lots of fun” WoW!! What an anticlimax this turned out to, the toughest part turned out to be the easiest part. Thank God for small Mercies & an understanding wife!! PREPERATIONS Email was sent to Bhupi telling him about the plan and more importantly about making sure his Scorpio is available for the trip to Jim Corbett. The reply came soon confirming his availability for the trip with the Scorpio and also another friend of his Ashish, who would be joining us for the trip. Well more the merrier!! With four of us and the Scorpio confirmed only accommodation in Dhikala had to be booked and we were ready to go. Getting an accommodation at Dhikala turned out to be the next challenge. I always thought that the common sentiment of a holiday for an average Indian was, limited to hill stations and beaches. I did not realize that with most of these places becoming popular and populated, not to mention dirty, the holiday goers had opened their minds to different options. This is where the wildlife sanctuaries come into focus. Limited to a smaller public all these years, the wildlife now had a wider audience. So it was natural that with the school holidays and the long New Year weekend accommodation was not available for next 14 days at Dhikala. And we didn’t want to be anywhere else in Jim Corbett but in Dhikala. At the Uttarakhand Tourism Development Board Office in Jaipur they suggested us to reach Ramnagar early morning and try for the dormitories in Dhikala. The dormitories are not pre booked and are available on first come first serve basis. The booking for dorm’s can be done at Field Directors Office at Ramnagar. Plan B, just incase we did not even get the dorm’s was to travel for another 2.5 hrs from Ramnagar and reach Ranikhet and spend time there relaxing and watching the Himalayan Peaks. To reach in time for getting the Dorm’s we had no choice but to leave Delhi at night. Fog was taken into consideration and a thought was given to traveling by the Ranikhet Express that leaves Old Delhi at 2240hrs and reaches Ramnagar at 0500hrs. But the idea was dropped sooner than it cropped as traveling in your own vehicle is half the fun of any outing. Plus so far the fog had not been that bad in the NCR region. So we just had to keep our fingers crossed for the 29th. If fingers crossed always worked, the world would have been such an easy place to live in. |
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19th February 2009, 18:48
| #2 |
| Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Jaipur
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| 28th December,2008 28TH DECEMBER, 2008 As per the plan I was suppose to take the evening Shatabdi to Delhi. At Delhi I was suppose to meet my friends and then push off for Ramnagar. During the last few days some changes in plan took place. One was that another course mate of ours from Dadar Catering, Navin was in Delhi from Tokyo and had also decided to accompany us. And the more significant one was that my wife managed to get 2 days leave from work and had decided to accompany me till Delhi. Since there were two of us now till Delhi, we decided to take our car. I picked my wife up straight from work and pushed for Delhi at 1700 hrs. Trip till Delhi was quite uneventful, apart from the Traffic jam, which has become quite common on the NH8 especially if you leaving for Delhi from Jaipur after 1600hrs. The 5 hrs journey took us an unbelievable 8 hrs. So finally at 0100hrs we reached our meeting point in Delhi and I met up with my friends. 29TH DECEMBER, 2008 After dropping my wife at her parents and transferring my stuff in the Scorpio the 5 of us were all set to leave for Ramnagar. It was already 0130hrs and now reaching the Field Directors Office early morning for the Dorm bookings would be a struggle. We were already 1.30 hrs behind schedule. Once all in the Scorpio everyone pooled in 3000rs each and the money was handed over to the banker that happened to be me. Usually in our trips the banker does all the spending and if any cash is left at the end of the trip it’s equally divided amongst all the members. With 15k in my pocket the first thing was to get the Scorpio’s belly filled. The route to Ramnagar was discussed. Delhi – Ghaziabad – Hapur – Garhmukhteshwar – Gajroula – Moradabad – Rampur Doraha – Thakurdwar – Kashipur – Ramnagar was the only available option and was readily agreed upon by all. In such trips with 5 heads, reaching a consensus on various decisions is always a problem. First of such problems arose when we had to decide how to reach Ghaziabad from Ring Road at South Ex-1. For those in Delhi this wouldn’t even have been a talking point but since none of us were so well versed with Delhi Roads and everyone had to give their inputs everyone had a different route. Finally after a few minutes of utter confusion, getting lost in Defence Colony and lots of U turns, it was decided that the person at the wheel, that happened to be Ashish would take us out from Delhi. Well at least he sounded the most confident with his route and we did not want to waste anymore time in Delhi. After a few futile attempts of crossing Delhi and after paying the DND toll twice we finally reached Ghaziabad an hour later. We were finally on our way. The best part of crossing UP towns in the night is the scarcity of slow moving traffic. Plus Ghaziabad and a little beyond are connected to Delhi with a 2 lane highway. So with less traffic and beautiful roads the Scorpio started to do a decent speed. With that our chances to reach Ramnagar in time also increased. Within no time we had reached Hapur. It was an absolutely clear night sky with the stars shining bright and the moonlight shining off the new tarmac on the road. The roads had become much better than the last time around we had gone to Jim Corbett. With just a few trucks on the road, and lots of nonsensical chatter in the car, this ride was turning out to be much better than we had expected. Suddenly Ashish applied breaks to the vehicle and slowed down, we all looked up on the road, and there was a small patch of fog flowing from the fields on to the road. It was quite eerie actually, seemed like a ghostly figure coming on to us. As soon as we crossed the fog it was absolutely clear again. There was total silence in the car, we all looked at each other, was it an indication to what’s in store for us ahead, was this just a small fog patch lost from a bigger fog somewhere ahead Steadily as we made progress towards our destination our speed from a 100kmph at one time, had gradually decreased to 40kmph and by the time we reached Garhmukteshwar we were hardly even doing 15kmph. The non-stop nonsense chatter was replaced by total silence in the car. Everyone except Navin was concentrating on the road. Navin being the most organized and methodical person amongst us was never in favour of night driving, on top of it the fog. After a few suggestions from him of us turning back to Delhi and trying it again in the morning was vetoed by the other members, he had decided that sleeping was the best way to avoid the anxiety of being driven around in the fog. As we moved ahead the fog got even thicker. With the fog lights of the car being of no use we were relying upon our eyes and Ashish’s driving skill. Actually more than on his driving skills, we were totally at the mercy of his reflexes. With all of us focused on the road trying to gauge which way the road is meandering or had we reached Moradabad yet or just trying to figure out weather we were actually on the right track to Ramnagar or had we taken a wrong turn and maybe we would end up in Nepal by morning. The whole situation was turning out to be pretty bad. Everyone looked concerned, total silence had replaced the continuous chatter, no one was even discussing how bad the choice of the songs playing was, that was because no one was listening to the songs, all were simply busy doing one thing, concentrating on the road ahead. It seemed for a while that we were the only foolish people on the road that time. Till another dare devil Scorpio decided to over take us. This came as a boon to us as now we could follow his tail lights. The lead Scorpio at a Toll (pic)  Tail light following was a lot less strenuous; this induced a new life in our already sagging spirits. Following the tail lights (pic)  Thick fog causing chaos on the roads (pic)  It was already approaching 6am in the morning, dawn had already broken through, but there was still no sign of the fog lifting. With no signposts readable in the fog the only way for us to know where we were was the cell info display on our cell phones. It read Moradabad by pass, Eureka!! We were on the right track. This is where our lead Scorpio took a right turn. We presumed he must be going in Moradabad city and we went ahead straight. Little did we know that time that we were going in the city and he had taken the bypass. Lost again!! Now somewhere lost in Moradabad city we had to look for directions for Rampur Doraha. Rampur Doraha is the junction where we had to take a left turn for Ramnagar. Finding someone at 6am in thick fog for proper directions can be a tough ask in itself. Plus I realized if you haven’t slept for the night and then you have to listen to vague directives it can be actually very irritating. Lost in Moradabad (pic)   Somehow by 7 am we managed to reach Rampur Doraha and now we were on the right track to Ramnagar. At a railway crossing Navin who had his share of sleep was feeling as fresh as a daisy took up the driving wheel. The fog was still thick but nevertheless we had almost done two thirds of the distance and now Ramnagar didn’t seem so far. Stretching ourselves at Rampur Doraha Railway crossing (pic)     By the time we reached Thakurdwar the fog had become less and as we reached Kashipur the fog had completely disappeared. With the fog disappearing we could see the sun shining on The Shivalik ranges at a distance. Now it was just 26kms to Ramnagar. |
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19th February 2009, 19:16
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| Senior - BHPian  | A nice way to live the old bachelor life with friends! I am in love with the fog in the photographs!  Now, waiting for the different shades of green at Corbett. |
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19th February 2009, 19:43
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19th February 2009, 20:13
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19th February 2009, 22:22
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19th February 2009, 22:25
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19th February 2009, 23:11
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20th February 2009, 00:14
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| BHPian Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Delhi
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20th February 2009, 10:49
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20th February 2009, 14:00
| #11 |
| Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Jaipur
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| 0900HRS, 29TH DECEMBER’08 RAMNAGAR As soon as we reached the Field Directors office located in the main market in Ramnagar our first priority was to get ourselves some living space in Dhikala. We were already late in reaching Ramnagar and looking at the big queue outside the office the chances were looking very bleak. But still Amit and I decided to give it a shot and went straight inside. Once inside the picture got a bit clearer. The queue was not for rooms/dorms it was for the canter booking. Ramnagar Field directors office (pic)  No private vehicle is allowed inside the Dhikala area until and unless they are doing an overnight stay in DhikalaFRH or the other FRH’s (forest rest houses’s) in the area. Since Dhikala is the most favoured of all the tourist zones in Jim Corbett area, this is to minimize the disturbance caused by unabated traffic movement to the animals. The only other way to get inside the Dhikala Zone is by taking a 4 hours canter trip which costs about Rs.600/- . Hence all those who didn’t get bookings in FRH’s or were staying in other hotels around Ramnagar and wanted to visit Dhikala were standing in this queue. Queue for the Canter booking (pic)  After filling a few forms and paying Rs 1200/- in total for 5 bed’s in the dormitory we finally managed to get the gate pass for Dhikala. The harrowing fog filled night journey was a passé now and with new josh and vigor we were all set to go to Dhikala FRH. But before that we had to decide weather we wanted to take our own vehicle or hire a Gypsy to take us inside. Well none of us wanted to drive in the forest for the simple reason being that all of us wanted to concentrate on the flora and the fauna rather than on the road, plus in an open gypsy one can spot more stuff rather than from an enclosed car. So it had to be a hired gypsy. At the office premises itself, price was negotiated with a few gypsy drivers and we settled and decided to go with Mr. Imran. Imran quoted us Rs1000/- per day for the gypsy plus whatever fuel we consumed. We finally agreed on a price of Rs.800/- per day plus fuel. This way we could take the gypsy wherever we wanted to without the driver bothering about the fuel expense. With the bookings done, the gypsy done we just had to park our Scorpio somewhere safe, fill petrol in the gypsy and we were ready to go. Imran suggested us a hotel where we could park our vehicle so we followed him. At the hotel we decided to freshen up and have a quick brunch. After a nice heavy brunch of paranthas, omlettes and toast we were all set to leave Ramnagar for Dhangiri gate, which is the entry point to Dhikala Zone. The hotel where we parked the Scorpio (pic)  Enjoying the brunch (pic)  JIMCORBETTENATIONAL PARK Jim Corbett national park is the first forest reserve recognized by the government of India. Initially named Ramganga National Park in 1956 it was renamed after the legendary man-eater tiger hunter Jim Corbett. When to visit : The park is open from mid-November to mid-June. The months from March to June get very hot but are considered the best time to view the animals as they come down more frequently to the water to drink. Nearest airport : Phoolbagh at Pantnagar, 56 kms away Nearest Rail Station : Ramnagar Jim Corbett forest which covers an area of about 1320sq kms is divided into 3 main zones, mainly the Core Zone, the Tourist zone and the Buffer zone. The core zone as the name suggests is the deepest part of the forests and covers about 520sq kms. No private vehicles or unauthorized persons are allowed in the core zone. All the FRH’s are located in the tourist area and the buffer area of the forest. JimCorbettPark Overview (pic)  For better tourism management and convenience of visitors Jim Corbett National Park has been divided into five tourism zones each having separate entry gate. (See above pic) Apart from Dhikala FRH there are no mess facilities available in other FRH’s. If someone gets a booking in these FRH’s its advisable for them to carry lots of ready to eat or easy to cook food stuff like Maggie/ eggs/ buiscuits/ bread jam ets ets. Usually the caretakers of these FRH’s are more than willing to cook you the same or else you could also share a simple meal of Dal Chawal which they cook for themselves. Usually they will do it in return of a good Tip. 1230HRS, 29TH DECEMBER,2008, DRIVE TO DHIKALA FRH After about 30 minutes of traveling from Ramnagar we reached the Dhangiri gate. At the gate we were met by a very courteous Uttrakhand Police officer. After showing him our booking in Dhikala in no time we were issued our travel permits. After acquainting us to the rules and the regulations of the forest and the customary baggage check for weapons and other banned stuff we were green flagged to proceed inside the forest. Rules and regulations (pic)  Once inside the forest roads the noticeable difference was the change in the temperature, with less of population and the increase of vegetation there was a sudden drop of temperature. Also the ride had become a lot bumpier but that was because of obvious reason’s of us being on jungle tracks. Jungle tracks (pic)  No one was complaining, actually I doubt if anyone ever noticed that also, everyone was glued to watching and admiring the nature at its best. Tall Sal and Pine trees lined along side the tracks and the sun breaking thru the leaves on and off was providing a mesmerizing view. Even the sound of the gypsy traveling on the uneven roads was muffled by the sound of the cold speedy air trying to tear the tree leaves. It was all music to ears a treat for the eyes and a complete relaxation for the bodies that had slowly and steadily been eaten up by the rut of everyday city living. The mud for a change also smelt so nice, the fallen dry leaves lined up along the tracks for a change did not feel like garbage, the cold air for a change felt so fresh and for a change we all felt that we were in love again, in love with the nature, in love with the different shades of green. The forest (pics)    Suddenly Imran our driver stopped the Gypsy. What happened? We all started to look around the bushes, and then looked at each other, what was it, did we miss something? We all looked back at Imran questioningly. No one spoke; actually we were not allowed to speak. Imran had earlier warned us that whenever he stops the gypsy we all have to become quiet, this was either to help him to concentrate on the jungle sounds and pick up a lead or just so that whatever animal is in sight doesn’t get startled listening to loud voices and runs away. He then broke the silence and in a hushed voice told us to look down the 10 feet ditch along the road. We saw nothing but a dry river bed, and suddenly someone pointed out a dead Sambhar deer. It had a visible blood stains around its neck. A jungle guard passing by told us that this was killed early in the morning by a tiger, but since early morning cars had started the tiger had pulled its prey and hid it behind a bush and would most probably come back later in the night to have it. Clicked some pics and we carried on. Deer killed by a Tiger (pic)  On our way to Dhikala FRH other rest houses we passed were Sultan, Gairal, Sarpduli and Khinnanuli. Along with beautifull jungle sights lots of deers, monkey’s langurs where visible on the way. Jungle sights (pics)         Imran stopped and pointed out behind the bushes. We could see a reptile quite big slowly moving. Much bigger than the normal lizard, it had to be the monitor lizard. It was winters and supposedly at this time they should be in hibernation. But maybe this one had bad sleeping habits and we were lucky to see it. The monitor lizard (pic)   In between we took a short detour and Imran took us to a place called “The Crocodile Point”. This was one of the very few places in the jungle where you can actually get off the vehicle and roam around a bit. The point is little high above in the hills and below is the Ramganga River that flows cutting the mountain into two. The sun bathed river with loose rocky boulders strewn around its edges provides an ideal place for the crocodile and alligators to come out and enjoy the sun. Though we hardly saw any of the reptiles but there were a lot of fishes in the river. The sun shining bright on the hills around the river giving the whole scene a different shade of white blue, green and brown provides a perfect picture opportunity. Hence after taking pictures again we moved on View from the crocodile point (pic)      Just after 1530hrs, i.e after 2.5 hrs of starting from the Dhagari gate we arrived to our destination, Dhikala FRH. Last edited by deky : 20th February 2009 at 14:17. |
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20th February 2009, 14:13
| #12 |
| Senior - BHPian  | |
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20th February 2009, 16:20
| #13 |
| Senior - BHPian  | A teaser of a travelogue and some very good pics. Especially the one in the fog where one of you is limbering up.. Dil maange more...... |
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20th February 2009, 18:29
| #14 |
| Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Jaipur
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| Just after 1530hrs, i.e after 2.5 hrs of starting from the Dhagari gate we arrived to our destination, Dhikala FRH. Dhikala FRH (pic)  Google Earth view of Dhikala FRH (pic)  We rushed straight to the reception area and checked in. The dormitories are divided into 2 log huts and each log hut has 12 bunk beds. It was fine with us as we were all boys and it was just a matter of one night. But then on checking the toilets it was not fine any more. Bhupi, Parry and Navin refused to use the public toilets. After staying abroad for over 10 years they had forgotten how public toilets can be in India. Actually I don’t blame them too, if given an option I wouldn’t have used them as well. But at that point of time we didn’t have any other option as we didn’t have any other booking. 1600HRS, 29TH DECEMBER,2008, EVENING SAFARI After having a cup of tea at the canteen we decided to go around for another safari in the jungle. This time we had to take a guide. As per law it’s mandatory for all safaris to have a guide appointed by the authorities. This is to make sure that the travelers don’t get lost within the jungle or don’t go inside the core zone and follow the rules and the regulations of the forest. Also guides help you in spotting animals and birds, follow tracks left by animals or just give general information about the jungle. The guide charges are Rs.250/- for a four hours trip and they can be picked up from the Dhikala gate. With the guide seated in the front seat with the driver and us huddled behind we moved out of the Dhikala FRH. As we moved on he kept on giving us lots of information about the jungle. The topic of the elusive tiger also came up, and he categorically told us that it’s just a matter of luck if we get to see it. As we went along we saw some monkeys doing strange activities up on the trees. We stopped as the guide said this was a sign that the tiger is around. Sure there was something, suddenly we hear the “call” of a Sambhar Deer which was coming from very close proximity. Our expectations arose, we were all ready with our cameras to see the ultimate sight and get the ultimate photo whilst on a safari. As time passed few other vehicles had stopped by. We kept on watching keenly for one of the most dreadfull, yet one of the most beautifull animals. The call of the Sambhar and the movement of the monkeys stopped followed by total silence only to start all over again. Occasionally this cycle was broken by the sound of a reversing car, tired of a long wait of a “Darshan”. Those who waited there, us included, the wait had stretched for almost 2 hours. As per rules there was no movement allowed after 1800 hrs outside the Dhikala FRH, hence very soon we would have to make our way back. Vehicles lined up waiting for the tiger to emerge (pic)   Suddenly we heard some movement in the bushes. I was quite certain it had to be the tiger this time, armed with cameras we were ready to capture the fearfull creature immortalized by Sir William Blake in his poem. Tiger tiger burning bright, In the forest of the night, What immortal hand or eye, Could frame thy fearfull symmetry..... As the words of the poem flashed across my memory, a deer darted of across the road, we were all ready for the tiger to come out next. After a few minutes another deer a big one came from the bushes, it wasn’t in any hurry, infact it stopped in the middle of the road to give a good opportunity to all the vehicles around to give a good photo opportunity. And this is what came out (pic)   So much for the wait, disappointed for wasting our two hours at one spot, not being able to see the tiger or other parts of the jungle, the cars moved on. Finally our Gypsy reversed too and now the only sound we could hear in the jungle was the sound of motor cars. 1800HRS, 29TH DECEMBER,2008, DHIKALA FRH Back at Dhikala, the first thing we did was to check at the reception if we could get a room instead of the dormitories. The answer was “no” as there had not been any cancellations hence no rooms were available. But on pressing a bit more we were told that there were indeed 2 VVIP rooms available which had been kept aside for the Tourism Minister and the minister was suppose to reach anytime. So the point was that if the minister did not arrive till 2000hrs we would get the room otherwise it had to be the dormitories. Hoping and praying that the minister did not arrive we proceeded to the theatre that was showing a movie on tigers. Apart from the theater the other things that visitors can pass time in the evening is the library. Dhikala FRH was bustling with visitors. This was one of the changes I noticed from our visit 8 years back. The other changes are as follows.
We got the rooms, we payed Rs. 2200/- extra for the 2 rooms but they were worth the money. After settling in the rooms we proceeded for dinner in the dinning hall. The buffet had a good spread and was quite tasty as well. The hut that we got (pic)  Relaxing in the room (pic)  Once back in the room with nothing to do we all decided to call it a night. After all we all had a long fulfilling day moreover next day would be again an early start. We had asked the driver to be ready by 0600hrs. The earlier the starts the better they are considered as the chances of spotting animals increase in the morning. By 2230 hrs we had called it a day and all 5 of us were fast asleep. |
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20th February 2009, 21:48
| #15 |
| BHPian  Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Campus @ IIMA !
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| Nice, very nice, very very nice !!! Loved your narration, Great pics, The google earth pic offers a very unique perspective and I totally agree with your signature about honking at potholes |
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