|  Nikhat
Hyderabad | 23rd December 2007 | | WILD | Overview of the destination
Kanha has a thousand faces. Sometimes it is picture perfect with its misty clouds that envelope it like a blanket at sunrise. Sometimes it is scary with the dark and dense forests throwing a silence that speaks of rustling leaves and footsteps of unknown beasts. Sometimes it is humbling to make you feel like a drop in the ocean. Most other times, it is as enchanting in its beauty as you would expect a forest to be.
We checked in at MP Tourism's Safari Lodge on 19th November, a clean and comfortable option for stay.
Our first safari began at 6:00am next morning, just before sunrise. We woke up just in time to see the dew drops fall like rain from the towering sal trees and the jungle enveloped in a strange silence. Only petrol vehicles and gypsies are allowed inside the core zone and each vehicle is allotted a guide, mandatory for each visit. The morning safari begins at 6:00 am and visitors are allowed to stay in the forest limits until noon. The evening safari begins at 3:00 pm and ends at 6:00pm just before sunset. I was told that these timings vary slightly with the seasons. MP Tourism had arranged for our breakfast to be packed and sent with us in the gypsy, so we had little to worry.
The jungles were as we had heard, dark and deep. Once inside, all gypsies lose track of each other and very soon, our vehicle was all on its own and the hunt for the tiger began. As soon as the sun rose, light slowly came streaming down in an effort to reach the forest floor. A dense vegetation of a thousand varieties of trees battling for space among the tall sal, teak, moghra do not leave space for anything much. The jungle spreads over 940 square kilometres and if one is to cover all of it; it would take around 7 days! Life thrives in its many faces and we were lucky to see lots of them in the first visit. The common spotted deer, the majestic sambhar, the much awe inspiring bison, the boar, and lots of other birds ? barbet, peacock, the hornbills, green pigeons, cranes, magpie etc etc. Another very uncommon canine, the jungle dog also got visible for a couple of moments as it crossed the way in one of the meadows. However, the undeniable king of all moments was our tiger sighting. We got lucky to see it on the first visit and it came out in the clearing after a lot of patient silence. When the langurs called in evident panic and birds joined in, we knew a hunter was on the prowl in the bushes. Minutes later, we heard a rush of hooves on the forest floor and two sambhar ran for their lives in front of our gypsy. It was a long wait until the tiger appeared, a young beautiful animal, oblivious of our presence. It majestically sauntered from behind our vehicle, a couple of metres away, walked for sometime along the clearing and then jumped into the bushes where the sambhar had disappeared. Indeed we were speechless. The yellow of the stripes never looked as beautiful as this to me anywhere else. It stood out against the bright green, making me speechless for a moment. We tried following the animal, but to no avail.
As our days passed, we began to understand more and more of the forest protocols with the information given to us by the guides. The Kanha jungles today are a reserve forest because of efforts for over the past 30 years. The landscape includes meadows, marshes, small deltas and thick sal and teak forests. It is a haven for anybody who can appreciate the creatures, the plants and bird life that God has created.
Overall, this is one of my most treasured vacations. The stay was comfortable and service was good. We had booked one of the many MP Tourism?s packaged tour and they had taken care of everything. The costing is not very inexpensive, but well worth it.Food, sight-seeing and shopping
No shopping, except for a small souvenier shop with pictures, caps and calendars etc Activities & things to do
You could go on a nature trail if you find sometime between the safaris. Travel tips, How to reach, travel warnings etc.
The summers are hot and the monsoon time is obviously damp. Winters can get freezing cold in the mornings but still bearable as compared to the heat at any other time of the year. | |
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