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 [...]
Back after a quick trip to Tadoba National Park. For a change, I flew down to Nagpur, instead of driving to Tadoba from Bangalore, a 14 hour/ 1200 km drive. Saw a different side of the forest this time because of unexpected rain. Afternoons were wet, and mornings were misty. Reminded me of North Indian [...]
I had gone on a roadtrip with Condé Nast Traveler and Land Rover 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 with the Land [...]
On World Tiger Day, Scroll.in came up with a nice article around thrilling tiger encounters, featuring Valmik Thapar, Bittu Sahgal, Neha Parmar, Rohan Chakravarty, and yours truly. On World Tiger Day, five lovers of the big cat describe their most thrilling brush with the animal https://scroll.in/magazine/845150/on-world-tiger-day-six-lovers-of-the-big-cat-describe-their-most-thrilling-brush-with-the-animal Other memorable moments: The very first time I took [...]
Dudhwa. The land of grasslands, swamps and tall sal trees. Mentioned in the Ramayanas. Renowned for its rich fauna, including swamp deer, Indian rhinos and huge tigers. And for the conservation efforts of Billy Arjan Singh, who was somewhat of a tiger himself. Contiguous to Royal Bardia National Park in Nepal, Dudhwa is located in [...]
It was long drive through the heart of India. Bangalore – Pench – Jhansi – Agra – Mukhteshwar – Chaukri – Musiyari – Binsar – Corbett – Jaipur – Nashik – Bangalore. A little more than 7000 km. Pench – my usual first day destination from Bangalore (it takes me 15-16 hours for 1200+ [...]
I had driven down to Satpura National Park (again!) last summer. A 3300 km roadtrip, Bangalore - Pench - Satpura National Park - back. Bangalore – Hyderabad was a steady, uneventful cruise. After picking up a friend from Hyderabad airport, I proceeded towards Nagpur. First night was spent in Rukhad, Pench, after covering 1230 km [...]
A man can only resist so much before he gives in. I tried hard. Told myself that I had already done a few trips this year, and maybe I should wait till next year. Then people started posting photos of cubs from Tadoba. And other gorgeous tiger photos on Facebook didn’t help. In the end, [...]
First part of the travelogue is here: http://nilanjanray.in/kanha-tadoba-3000-km-roadtrip-part-1/ After Kanha, I left for Tadoba. Kisli to Nagpur was a relaxing drive (Khatia – Seoni – Pench – Nagpur). Picked up my old school friend from Nagpur airport, and proceeded towards Kolara, a Northern gate in Tadoba. We were staying in Svasara, a very nice resort [...]