Team-BHP - Delhi - Sariska (Pandupole) Tour

Well after having read so many travelogues on team-bhp, even I decided to write my own. Though its a very small one, unlike other's, where people have covered thousands of kilometers. This one is actually a single day trip to Sariska Tiger Reserve. Before even planning for the trip the one thing that was in my head was to write my experience here, so I took the photographs accordingly and not just randomly of sceneries here and there :) .

Car: Hyundai i10 (irde)
Route: Delhi => Gurgaon => Sohna => Nuh => Firozpur Zirakh => Alwar => Sariska || Sariska => Shahpura => Kot Putli => Behror => Dharuhera => => Manesar => Gurgaon => Delhi.
Distance: 490 Kms.
Fuel: Rs.1450
Toll: Rs.210

I finally convinced my friend just a night before for the trip at 11 and we finally started one 18th April at 7:30 in the morning. It was a bright sunny day and quite hot and we hoped it would get worse by time we entered Sariska (Rajasthan). Because of sunday the roads were clear, no office rush, and we moved on comfortably. It took us about 30-35 mins to reach border (delhi-gurgaon toll plaza). The plaza itself is so big and has so many gates that at times you have to play "in-pin-safety-pin-in-pin-out" to decide as to which gate to take.

After crossing the border we covered Gurgaon expressway which was fun as the road was wide and traffic almost nill. After crossing a few flyovers we took a left turn from Exit-10 of the expressway towards Sohna. Both of us had actually planned to go via this route only as this one would save us 100 kms (up-down) and not much of toll plaza either.

The road was quite good till Sohna, acceptable for a hatch or a sedan, but after crossing sohna it was a different story altogether. Construction of highway is going on in full swing and thus you will find bad patches and bottle necks every now and then. There were big stones lying all over the place and the car even scrapped over them many times. That was the time when we actually felt the need of a proper SUV. But to my surprise an Alto was going through all this quite easily (never thought maruti's were built so tough specially for Indian conditions). The stretch continued for about 5 to 6 kms and then the road was good (infact just OK) but it seemed good after what we had gone through. Even after the roads were clear there were diversions after every 8-9 kms because of construction going on. Soon we realised that we took a wrong decision and should have followed the jaipur route only.

After some good and bad stretch we finally reached Firozpur Zirakh after crossing Nuh. The roads now were in pretty good shape, though not as wide as we would have expected, but atleast we could touch 3 digit mark now for the first since we left Delhi. Alwar was now some 50 kms away as told by some local there. There are no good joints or restaurants on this route so families please take the Jaipur route only instead of this short cut which will ultimately take the same amount of time to get you there.

There was one very good lake in between Sohna and Nuh though it was more of a "dhobi ghat" . Even after all the washing and bathing going on in the lake which was even making it bit dirty, still the view of lake was very good and I could not stop myself from taking couple of photographs. But the scenic beauty turned sour when a big fight broke out between a bolero guy and truck wala. The fight lasted for about 10-15 minutes and which was enough to cause long traffic jam. But all thanks to some elder people who came in between and sought out the matter and finally allowing us to pass.

Finally we landed Alwar and knew that Sariska was not far off now. But because of lack of sign boards we had to ask our way out, and after leaving Alwar we were greeted by Aravallis. Nothing like Himalayas but still very good scenic beauty. The roads were now smooth if not wide and it was a wonderful driving experience. But the roads started getting narrower and trees denser which was the first hint that we had now entered Buffer Area of Sariska. Though there are many places of interest in Sariska such as Neelkanth Temple, Kankwari Fort, Bhangarh, Silliserh lake and Pandupole, but we decided to visit just Hanuman Temple (Pandupole) because we were short on time as we had to reach Delhi maximum by 9pm. So after all the jams, bottle necks, bad roads, good roads, fights and some beautiful sites we finally landed the entrance gate of Core Area (Sariska) at 12:30pm. clap:

conti.....

Well the weather in Sariska was very hot and partially cloudy. After taking a break and straightening our back bones we headed for the entrance gate but were told that tickets are no more sold here, and you will have to buy tickets from the office which was hardly 100 meters away. The office was located opposite to Sariska Palace (Amrish Puri's haveilli in Karan-Arjun, as many parts of the film were shot in Alwar district only).

Private vehicle: Rs.125
Fees per person: Rs.25
Video Camera: Rs.200
Still Camera: Free
Hire a Gypsy: Rs.2100 or Rs.2700 (depending on the package you opt for)

After buying the tickets and filling the register for details (car make, car no., licence no., etc.) we were given a rules and regulations of the jungle, and we finally entered the Core Area. Soon after entering the core area I remembered the film Kaal, which too was made on jungle and was shot in Corbett National Park. Broken and narrow roads, sound of wind, scorching temperature, birds chirping and some strange sound of animals (may be cheetal or sambhar) was all we could feel inside, but then thats what a forest is all about. My friend insisted on putting on the AC and music but I wanted to enjoy the music of nature more than the artifical one, so we rolled down the windows and the music player was switched off. Some precautions that were given by the guard on duty was not to exceed the speed of car by 30kms , do not use camera with flash on , do not get down from the car , do not tease the animals and most importantly you come across a tiger or a leopard, don't panic and stay calm. Do not rush your car or try to reverse it rather slow down and halt. Well I never heard to any instruction from my teachers this carefully the way I was listening to him .

We were greeted by a cow the moment we entered jungle and lots of kucha tracks which were meant only for jeeps provided by Sariska people. Couple of tracks even had a board which read - RESTRICTED ZONE .... NO ENTRY. Driving at a speed of 20kmph, we were constantly looking out for the big cats but what we came across was deer, sambhar, langur and cheetals and not one or two but lots and lots of them. Sariska people have even put up stones with territories of animals and their description. Slowly and steadily we moved further enjoying the scenic beauty of sariska listening to nature's sound that you hardly getto hear in concrete jungle.

After travelling about 10kms from the entrance gate we reached a place called Kalighati. It was actually a diversion from where one road went to Tehla (Shiv Temple - Neelkanth) and another to Pandupole (Hanuman Temple). So we took a left turn and went to Pandupole, and also came across a board which read - CAUTION: YOU ARE IN RE-INTRODUCED TIGER AREA. A guard there even told us that this is the main area for tiger or leopard sighting, which increased our curiosity even more but now the feeling of joy was mixed with little bit of nervousness too.

We searched hard through tall dry grass, dense trees and broken tarmacs but leave aside tiger or a leopard, could not even find a pugmark of big cats. Though I came across many peacocks resting in the bushes. While travelling all along we came across a small water body and halted the car there to wait in silence. We hoped to see quite a few animals there considering the temperature which was very hot. I had read somewhere that tigers usually love water bodies and chances of their sighting are more in there. We waited there for about 5-7 mins since the deer, cheetal and peacocks were chilling out in the water and around it, gave us an idea that may be the predator is not around. Disappointed we left from that area and headed towards Hanuman Temple, but we kept the speed really slow hoping to see them as the entire area was known for tiger sighting.

In between my friend tried to take some snaps of more water bodies and immediately after taking it we were reminded that you need to be careful all the time as this is not a garden or zoo, its a Jungle - a place where humansare at the mercy of animals unlike in cities. Out of nowhere a big langur came and tried to snatch the camera, but luckily he soon realised that it was not anything to eat and went away. We rolled our windows drove fast towards temple which was hardly 500 meters away. But the one thing that shook us from inside-out was that what if it would have been a tiger or a leopard instead of that langur. So now to kill our nervousness it was prayer time, and Pandupole was finally there and we reached Hanuman Temple .

conti .......

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fordmanchau (Post 1850503)

Hey 0-100,
Nice small trip you had man!!
Don't worry about the number of Kms , it's always a small start which slowly grows big.
Pics have come out nice. That Gurgaon toll plaza can be best described a mess(IMO).
Waiting for more pics of inside the Sariska Reserve.

You are right buddy ...... as they say there is always a first time.

Quote:

Originally Posted by nick17s (Post 1850555)

hey nice travelogue, how much time did it consume ? and you drove all the time ?

thanks buddy. well I left at 7:30 in the morning and reached there at 12:30 afternoon. The road atmany places was in a really bad shape, else I would have saved atleast 45 mins.

We divided the journey into half. My friend drove till Pandupole and me back.

Quote:

Originally Posted by aargee (Post 1850572)

Pics are crystal clear & very good. I hope your plan on photography is real good & is really appreciated.

Thanx a lot for your apprecition. The camera used was Sony W210 (12mp cam) and rest post editing in photoshop. I dont take good photogarphs but I try to make them. Thats the difference you see .... professional photographers take good pictures while amateurs make them :)

Pandupole is an ancient Hanuman Temple which was built during the times of Kaurvas and Pandavas Its also a place where after a long jungle safari you will find some signs of civilisation and that too right in the middle of core area. There's a shop there where you can get cold drinks, snacks and many types of sweets. After parking the car in front of sheetal jal water tank we stepped out of the car only to be greeted by langurs. But the langurs around the temple are very civilised ones unlike the other langurs in jungle :) . Neither will they try to snatch anything from you nor will they try to scare you unless you try to be smart with them. Another strange thing which I saw there was a dog and a cat sitting besides each other peacefully. God knows what happens to them when they arrive in cities.

{ Pandupole Hanuman Mandir History:
After getting fresh there and having some water we entered the temple. It was a small but a beautiful temple with lot of colourful mirror works all round. After worshipping the temple I asked panditji about the history of temple and he told me that this temple was built during the times of Mahabharatas. While fighting with Kaurvas, Pandavas passed through this jungle and rested near this water body. After having their rest they decided to continue their journey but could not go further as there was a huge rock in front of them which they could not pass. Bheem was the strongest of them all and he with the help of his gadda broke the rock and made a big hole through it. After this Bheem felt very proud of himself and the Gods feared that he might become very over-confidient of his power. So God sent Hanuman in a different form to block their way. Hanumanji in his different avtaar was lying there and when asked by Pandavas to remove his tail from their way, Hanumanji replied that I am an old person so why don't you remove it yourself. So Bheem took the charge and tried to remove the tail from his way. But after repeated attempts he failed and in the end after giving up he came to know that the person in front was no ordinary man. He asked for forgiveness and requested him to reveal his real self - and that person turned out to be Lord Hanuman. He asked Bheem to make his temple at that spot and blessed the Pandavas for their fight with Kaurvas.
Pandupole Hanuman Mandir History }

After offering the prayers and worshipping the entire temple, we took some rest there and decided to leave. On our way back we still moved along slowly hoping for a last chance to get lucky in sighting a tiger/leopard but all in vain. But some of the langurs there seem to have got sick of jungle and wanted a ride till city. They actually climbed out car (some on roof and some on side view mirror) and travelled with us for atleast 100-150 meters, which was actually fun but with windows rolled up. Despite not having seen the wild cats and the scorching temperature still we enjoyed every bit of jungle. Flora, Fauna, Water Bodies, Mountains, Different Sounds, The Temple, and just about everything - we just loved it. And also hope to lucky next time when we come again. Wish to come up with a new travelouge soon and HOPE YOU ENJOYED READING THIS TOUR AND VIEWING THE IMAGES AS MUCH AS I DID VISITING THERE. clap: