The sun disappeared. As we entered Dudhwa
National Park, a dense stretch of incredibly tall Sal trees created a beautiful
canopy maybe seventy to a hundred feet off the ground, making sure that very
little light reaches the forest floor. Combine that with grasslands, swamps and
dense forests, it makes for one of India’s finest (if lesser known)
tiger habitats.
Dudhwa's beautiful Sal forests |
Dudhwa was on the agenda primarily due to the
legend of the late Billy Arjan Singh, Dudhwa’s most famous resident and how
beautiful the forest seemed in his writings. And once we got there, I could not
help feeling that seeing a tiger in this amazing habitat would probably be the
sighting of a lifetime.
So, with that burning desire, we drove into the
forest. And in less than a couple of minutes, Sonu, our guide pointed to fresh
pugmarks on the road. They belonged to a tigress and were less than 15 minutes
old, he said, since they were superimposed on the tyre tracks of the gypsies
that had preceded us on the route. The chase was on! We traced the tigress’
route, conjectured on where she could have gone and scanned the whole area for
her. But no luck, it was almost as if the dense forest had swallowed her up.
And I’m sure she was somewhere close by, watching our futile search and smiling
to herself! That’s when we realized that seeing a tiger in Dudhwa wasn’t going
to be easy at all.
But the beauty of the forest meant that we really
didn’t miss seeing the tiger. Through the morning and afternoon safaris, we drove
through the thick sals, and across the open grasslands and on the edge of the
swamps, seeing spotted deer, some sambhar (they’re rare to spot here) and some
hog deer and swamp deer (barasingha) as well. And some great sightings of the
lesser adjutant stork and the hoopoe – the first time I’d seen either of these
birds.
The next morning, we drove again through the
swamps and tall elephant grass that is a distinctive feature of forests in this
part of the world. Till we reached the Rhino enclosure. Dudhwa re-introduced Rhinos in 1984 into a 27
sq km fenced off area in the heart of the park, with 7 Rhinos initially brought
in from Assam. Over the years this number has grown to almost 30 now and while
they’re still protected in the fenced-off area, tourists can try and spot them
on elephant-back.
Indian Rock Python - half hidden in the swamp |
On our way out, we saw some storks gathered
together and staring at something near their feet. At once, our mahout said
‘python’ and on closer inspection, we saw it was indeed a fully grown python
resting in the swamp, with only the hind part of its body and head above the
mud. And what we realized much later, when we zoomed in on the picture was that
the python had a kill, possibly a stork, coated with mud and half buried in the
swamp. That’s why the birds were gathered around it. Superb sighting!
The grasslands at Sathiyana |
That afternoon we came really close to a tiger
sighting. We went to a different area of the park called Sathiyana (which
literally means to go senile, no one has any idea why it’s got such a strange
name!). We were up a watch tower amidst a massive grassland patch and suddenly
we heard the “kharr kharr” alarm calls of barking deer, the forest’s most
reliable sign of a predator’s presence. And when the reclusive hog deer began
to call as well, we were sure that there was a tiger around. So we waited and
moved back and forth across the grassland, but no dice. Dudhwa’s tigers obviously
didn’t want to show themselves to us! So reluctantly, we headed out and on the
way we saw a croc sleeping on a log, half in and half out of the water. And
just as we were leaving, we saw a leopard flash across the road ahead of us. By
the time we reached the spot he’d disappeared into the undergrowth, so no
pictures. But at least we’d broken our carnivore duck!
Barasingha Parade |
Eagle |
And we knew our tiger luck was out when we heard
that, in between our morning and afternoon trips, a tourist vehicle, casually
entering the forest at 1:30 pm (the peak of the day, usually the worst time to
see anything) saw a tigress walking on the road for several minutes! And, to
rub it in, they’d spotted a tiger on the main road in Dudhwa, while we were in
Kishanpur. We gave up!
Billy Arjan Singh's Home in Dudhwa |
On our way out from our last safari, we stopped
at Billy Arjan Singh’s home and estate. Amazing to see where he lived and
imagine where he would have brought up his tiger and leopards! Now maintained
by his nephew, it’s a real shrine to those in India who believe that we can
preserve our wild treasures, despite opposition and skepticism. May his soul
always keep showing us the way.
Our Tiger Score in Dudhwa |
So, with superb memories of this wonderful
forest, despite a tiger score of zero, we set out to our next destination –
Corbett!
Dudhwa
Tiger Reserve Trip Guide
Dudhwa Tiger Reserve, in UP’s Terai region is
made up of three different Parks – Dudhwa National Park in Lakhimpur Kheri,
Kishanpur Wildlife Sanctuary (about 30 kms away) and Katarniaghat Wildlife
Sanctuary (about 70 kms away) We visited the first two and loved both!
Hopefully we’ll get to Katarniaghat the next time, if only to see Dolphins and
Gharials. The last two have no tourist accommodation, so you will need to seek
Forest Department Rest Accommodation
Dudhwa is set in the Terai’s sugar belt. Acres
and acres of sugarcane fields, and the most surprising thing for us was to see
tractors driven by Sikh farmers. Our driver then told us that in the 80’s, many
Sikh families sold their ‘premium’ Punjab farms and settled down with much
larger farmland in the Terai. So don’t be surprised if you come across Sikh
gentlemen on tractors, or a gurdwara or homes blaring the latest Punjabi hits.
Getting there
Dudhwa National Park is
around 280 (5 hours drive) kms from Lucknow (the nearest metro and air link).
The closest station is Shahjehanpur (100 kms approx.) on the Delhi-Lucknow
trunk route. We took the excellent Delhi-Lucknow mail, left Delhi at 10:00 pm,
reached Shahjehanpur at 4:00 am and got to Dudhwa in time for the morning
safari.
Stay
The tents at Camp Jambolana |
We stayed at Camp
Jambolana, Dudhwa's luxury option (www.jambolanasafaricamp.com) Their location is fantastic- our tents were on
the banks of a little river, and we saw birds and even a crocodile swim by one
afternoon. But it’s certainly not luxury – the open bathrooms can definitely do
with some basic improvements, so can the mosquito-proofing and the pathway
between the dining area and the luxury tents. They also need to figure out
their power situation and at least provide one charging point in each tent. I
would never point these out in a regular forest resort, but for a premium one
with claimed luxury status, it’s something they should certainly make happen.
It’s also around 30 mins away from Dudhwa’s entry gate, so that’s an extra hour
every safari.
Cottage at the Forest Complex, Dudhwa |
The other option is the
Forest Rest House complex at Dudhwa itself. From the outside, they seemed basic
but comfortable and charming enough and there is also a VIP bungalow, for those
with connections. The biggest advantage is the proximity to the gate – it buys
you at least 30 mins of sleep every morning!
Food and Service
The people at Jambolana
are pretty good and the food is very decent. And they have a unique ‘minder’
concept for the tents – there is one person for per tent category who looks
after you – from putting on the boiler for the hot water to guiding you back
and forth from your meals. Kishoreji, our ‘minder’ was a fine gentleman with a
lot of experience in the forests. He has a very difficult job (for example he
also sits outside the tent all night) so please leave him a decent tip if you
do visit the Jambolana. Pandeyji, the other minder also doubles up as a forest
guide at times and his knowledge of the forests is second to none.
Safaris
There are organized gypsy
safaris into the park, with forest guides at the gate. Our driver for the most
part was KK Chowdhary, an excellent driver, who was at least as good as the
guide in spotting and tracking. At the end of it all, he was very upset that we
didn’t see a tiger. He kept calling us in Corbett every day to check and
sounded genuinely happy when we did see tigers in Corbett. You can call him
directly on + 91 9793717839 to fix your gypsy safaris. There isn’t too much
tourist pressure at Dudhwa, so entry permits shouldn’t be a problem. Yet.
The guides come to you on a rotation basis, from
a roster of approved forest department guides.
Very good narration with important information and photographs.How was the climate in June at Dudwa?
ReplyDeleteI think another feasable option is to travel by train to Mailani from Bareilly/Lucknow. for reaching Dudwa..
thanks for sharing
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing the useful information about Dudhwa Tiger Reserve. This place is great to visit for wildlife enthusiasts just like me. You have provide every single information about this park that one should truly know before going to visit Dudhwa Tiger Reserve. Visit more tiger safari in India just like Dudhwa Tiger Reserve.
ReplyDelete