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 [...]
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 [...]
I had a very rare sighting of a special 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 about to come out. We were driving on [...]
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 [...]
I badly needed my tiger fix, an addiction. I had about seven days to spare, and looked at a few options - Corbett (clubbing my trip with official work in Gurgaon), Ranthambore (tagging along with a photo tour), Bandhavgarh etc. Finally narrowed down on Kanha and Tadoba. Kanha, because safaris were still available, and Kanha [...]
I had driven to Wayanad last December. Spent a few peaceful days in the midst of nature.While driving to Wayanad, I barely made it to Nagarhole before the gate closed (no entry b/w 6 pm - 6 am). While passing through Nagarhole and Tholpetty, I encountered elephants, gaurs, sambar, cheetal and a civet cat. Was [...]