Friday morning. Was feeling restless. The heat and dust and traffic of Gurgaon can sometimes be overwhelming. Decided to leave office early, around 3 pm, and drive away. To some place where I could immerse myself in nature. Called up the manager of KMVN (Kumaon Mandal Vikas Nugam) Sigri Camp, he said that yes, a [...]
The more you sweat in peace, the less you bleed in war. It is always good to practice changing tyres when there isn't much of a risk. If you are the adventurous type, you never know when you might get a flat. Perhaps on a forest trail. Or somewhere in the Himalayas, far away from [...]
A few photos of red-rumped swallows. Had again driven to my favourite jungle resort near Masinagudi, Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve, Tamil Nadu. This place is in Sigur Plateau which is contiguous to Mudumalai and Bandipur National Parks, and an important wildlife corridor between Western and Eastern Ghats. Sigur plays a critical role in the migration and [...]
I had gone on a roadtrip with Condé Nast Traveler India (https://www.cntraveller.in/) and Land Rover (https://www.landrover.in/index.html) to raise awareness about the stunning biodiversity of North East India. We used the very capable Discovery 5 and Discovery Sport SUVs to travel across Arunachal Pradesh and Assam. I am a Toyota 4×4 guy, but I was impressed [...]
I had a very rare sighting of a special tiger - it looked like a white tiger (!) in Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve. I had gone out for a drive with a forest guide on a wet and cold afternoon. Then the rain stopped for a few minutes, and it looked as if the sun was [...]
This is part 2 of the December roadtrip to Satpura Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh. It was a hectic 4 nights trip, covering a distance of 3000 km. On the first night, during a night safari, I had encountered a leopard over a cow kill in the buffer zone. The next morning I had a [...]
One afternoon I found myself driving from the Nilgiris to Anamalai Tiger Reserve. I was on a quest to frame the reclusive lion-tailed macaques through my lens. This 'Old World Monkey' isn't just another primate; it's an endangered species, its silver mane reminiscent of a regal lion. LTMs have been fighting for survival in just [...]
December's chill was in the air, it was just a few days before Christmas. Bangalore bustled with its usual energy, but a sense of restlessness settled in me, a longing to break away from the urban chaos. Securing a brief respite from work – the 24th and 26th of December – I realized I had [...]
I was on a cross-country wildlife roadtrip with old friends, and had visited Nagzira Sanctuary and Tadoba National Park. Now it was time to head to Satpura Tiger Reserve (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satpura_Tiger_Reserve) in Madhya Pradesh. Part 1 of this wildlife travelogue covering Nagzira is here: https://nilanjanray.in/2016/08/a-4000-km-roadtrip-to-nagzira-tadoba-and-satpura-part-1-nagzira-sanctuary/ Part 2 covering Tadoba National Park is here: https://nilanjanray.in/2016/10/a-4000-km-roadtrip-to-nagzira-tadoba-and-satpura-part-2-tadoba-national-park/ The journey [...]
I had driven down to Uttarakhand from Bangalore. It was a 7,000 km roadtrip, up and down, and I need to write about it someday 😼 I spent a few days in Kaladhungi, where Jim Corbett had his winter home, and where he learnt his jungle lore. I went for a few jungle walks, visiting [...]