Shoghi, a nature walk

This weekend I visited Shoghi in Himachal Pradesh is a cheap alternative to Shimla which is just 25 minutes away and is an idea place to get away from it all. I turned off my mobile and listed to the sounds of the forest with my friends. There are ample trekking grounds and clear streams.

One of the significant temples of the area is the Tara Devi temple which we visited on our first day; it stood higher at 6,073ft. It is on the right side of the Shoghi, at the end of the town across from the Minchy’s fruit products stand. The road was thankfully new. The temple was beautiful and the view from the top was awesome. The upkeep of the temple is a personal project of one of the rains. In two main festival months .i.e. October and November the temple is overcrowded. I couldn’t take the pics here as photography was not allowed, however I could take the 360 degrees views from the top.

The landscape around Shoghi is dotted with temples. Virtually every village in the region has one. Approx 6km southwest of Shoghi nestling in a valley of green trees and fields is the village of Anji. And I visited the recently renovated Hanuman temple.

We stayed at Sunrise Villa which is owned by Mr. Romesh C. Aggarwal and his wife who offer the ambience of a private home at reasonable prices on the road of the Tara Devi temple. We chose the room with balcony.

Our motto was to relax this weekend so we chose Shoghi as our weekend destination from Delhi, it was a quiet place and the town is at most a 2km stretch of road whose highlights are the people their hospitality and the natural beauty they are surrounded by. The only problem which we faced were the roads, which are not made to withstand the rains, they are in constant danger of being washed away. We enjoyed our nature walks and especially the bird watching. There were many trekkers in the morning who were going to start their treks while we enjoyed our walks.

Saputara, dispatch from the dangs

Saputara is the only hill station in Gujarat. Saputara was names by the Dangs tribal of the Gujarat districts for they came here during festivals like Holi and Nag Panchmi worship the snake on the bank of nearby Sarpganga River. The air is chilly and the mists fall over the town in the evenings. Plenty of walking is possible and if it’s just a quite getaway one is looking for, Saputara is ideal, and streets ahead of the Lonavalas, Igatpuris that populate Mumbai’s imagination. Saputara overlooks the green valley as there are no auto rickshaws or taxis here as it is so small.

It is a vacation spot for trekking or taking leisurely walks around the lake and the hills. There are quite a few gardens like Rose garden, Step garden and Lake Garden if walking gets too much. There are also few points worth a visit like Echo point and Town view point if you want to gaze at hills. Then there are tribal villages of Bhils, Warlis and Gamits close enough to trek to. Then there are also Hatgadh fort and Pandava Caves to explore all on foot. And the legend goes that Ram spent his 11 years of his 14 years in exile walking about in the forests here. You can also go through the rope way if you are not interested in the treks which will give you the rides and the views. The placid lake is one of the Saputara main attractions and the paddleboats here operate throughout the year.

The Saputara Museum is small, just a couple of rooms which showcase the life and arts of the Dangs tribal. Then we also have the Brahma Kumari establishment here. The local Dang tribal are famous for bamboo handicrafts like pen stands, key chains, jewellery and masks. The town also has an artist’s village and a centre for honey.

Saputara has plenty of places to stay in like Toran Hill resort, Vaity ropeway Resort, Hotel Anando and many more.

Shivgiri Trails, Your very own tiger den

Shivgiri is located above Yemmedoddi village in the hoggarekangri Hills, north of the Babu Budanagiri Hills in Kadur taluk of Chikmagalur District. At the Shivgiri Trails in Chikmagalur District the tigers make their way through rich red berries that sprout from the hundreds of coffee plants grow around this over 100 year old estate. I was amazed to see the estate beautifully located atop a remote hill bang in the middle of a tiger reserve in the forests of Yemmedoddi. I felt lonely and left out, however reveled wonderfully in that state. As I drove up the winding mud road, which offers a spine tingling view of the valleys and the forested hills, I noticed that the place is so isolated that nobody except those connected with the estate ever more around in the area.

Shivgiri to me was what god made to make the trekking community happy, disappear into the greenery and don’t return till evening. Omkariah was our knowledgeable guide here. Out trek to Doddabale Siddaragudda was the first thing, which we did. It is a peak to the back of the guesthouse, 5500 ft high. To reach it we had to wend our way through the coffee beans in estate and then through the forest. All along the route, we found droppings of one or the other animal, which was an evidence enough of their happy existence there. The walk was slightly tiresome because of the upward slant of the terrain. When we make it to the top, there cannot be too many sights to behold. I was smothered by the winds that blow cold all the day and at night it can elevate almost physically, if the person is not careful enough to find a grip himself. To the south was the awesome views of the Bhadra River and Lakeville Dam, to the west are the tiny village of the Yemmedoddi, the Baba Budanagiri hill ranges and Madagadakere, a large lake. According to the legend the lakes fills up because of a magic rain, however the locals insist that it is the winds that fills up the lakes, bringing with them tiny droplets of water that the eyes cannot see.

You can hear the birds call over the forest in Shivgiri, from inside branches, from high up in the air, from within the valleys and everywhere. We had armed ourselves with a pair of binoculars and catched a host of them like woodpeckers, finches, sunbirds, mynahs, barbets, babblers and many more.

The Yemmedoddi forests were once favored hunting grounds of the British. They used aim at tigers, wild boars etc. But most of the animals have survived in spite of the old guns. Shivgiri has it tigers even today. My guide and his friends, who have here forever, have counted some of 10 of them, panthers too show up from time to time and they have been even seen walking on the mud road leading up the hill. There are sloth bears, mouse deers and many more. There are many natural caves and a few of them have for long been the house of tigers and panthers.

There was a small Lord Shiva temple, which according to the locals was 400 years old and has a very strong deity.

Shivgiri Trails has a packed price of Rs. 1500 per person per night including stay meals and a trek for 2 days and 1 night.

Igatpuri, more than just a junction

Igatpuri has been a railway junction in my mind and mostly in everybody’s mind. But Igatpuri according to me has all the trappings of a convincing weekend getaway from Mumbai. Its cooler than Khandala at a height of 2000 ft all round the year, guarded by tall green hills that occasionally hide behinds lazy mists. I went in the monsoons and at that time its hills and deep river valleys burst into many shades of green.

Igatpuri gave me two choices either I can have a massage, watch others swim and eat or I can walk down curious valleys and fall a few times on the bright green grass, search for unnamed waterfalls and get wet.

On my way to Igatpuri from Mumbai is the Bhatsa River Valley less than 3 km from Manas Resort which is a stunning depth of extremely happy vegetation and rocks that run down a slope off the road, only to rise again majestically far away as proud hills. A river far down was cutting the curve into two to represent a perfect view of a beautiful valley.

After a few hundred feet before I reached Manas Resort there was Ghatandevi Mandir, dedicated to the goddess of the ghats. It was left as I came from and to the right of the highway was the most spectacular sights in this region- Camel Valley. I would have missed it out if the locals have not told me as I had to walk over and look down to find a slope that falls over 1000 ft. During the monsoons a waterfall cuts through the rocks in a violent descent. There were few mini plateaus that I walked up to, and which offered their own unique points of view. However in rains, Camel valley is full of waterfalls. Some are big and hard to miss, some have to be searched for. There was a railway track also.

About 6km from Manas Resort is Tringalwadi Fort that has attracted trekkers during the rains. In the monsoon, the farmers of Tringalwadi grow their crops over what is essentially a rough motorway that leads to the base of the fort. So in the rains vehicles cannot travel the last 3 or 4 km towards the ancient fort. However there was narrow pathway for a nice, long, wet walk, down to the calm Tringalwadi lake that looks more beautiful from the fort. A few kilometers away from Tringalwadi lake is Talegaon Lake, created by the small Talegoan Dam. Its worth the trip only if you really adore water bodies and the accompanying sound and smells and sights.

There are many options to stay like Manas Resort, Golden Resort, Hotel Ashwin etc.

Kabini, Pachyderm Palaces

Kabini is the place famous for the greatest elephant shows in Asia. This is an arena where you have 200 or 250 elephants doing the star run in just one evening. It has the existence of a mind-blowing 60 sq km of static water inside the forest precincts, the result of a dam build across the river at Beechanahalli. The water bifurcates the national parks of Nagarhole and Bandipur, but unites a spectacular on its shore. Kabini have all types of animals like mouse deer, chital, spottable tigers, and bear however then again Kabini is all about elephants and more elephants. And according to Project Elephant reports there are 5,500 to 6,000 of them in the contiguous stretches of forests comprising Nagarhole, Bandipur, Mudumalai and Biligirirangana sanctuaries.
To go on a safari in a jeep through the roads of Nagarhole we reach at the edge of the thick bamboo jungle and drive through a gargantuan collection of pachyderms, which according to me was one of the greatest wildlife experiences in Asia.

The jungles around have a primeval touch to them. Tall trees, huge bamboo brakes, remote ponds, hillocks and above all the backwaters. We hoped a jeep early morning the next day. We were able to see the jungle walking up, the leaves and shrubbery washed clean with dew. We were lucky to see the peacocks, the grey langur having their breakfast high up on the branches. Large herds of the chital were hanging around by the side of the game road. And in the evening the sun was busy playing a round of hide and seek from within the cluster of the trees. The elephants started to assemble by the backwaters including other animals also.

After that marvelous view we went to see the water source in the Sunkadakatte area named Tiger Tank for the frequent sightings. The beautiful Bisalwadi Kere Lake with its watchtower was another good point to spot both the spotted and striped varieties of big cats.
We also did a boat ride along the river with the thick jungles all around us, we were able to come close to various herbs of animals on the shores. We also drove over to the Sunkadakatte forest and ride at the top of an elephant.

We stayed at Sunkadakatte Guest House while there are other options also like Kabini River Lodge and Water woods.

Sariska National Park, ancient tiger lands.

Sariska wildlife sanctuary is green, serene and was the hunting preserve of the Alwar royals, and its palace has been privy to many of these shoots. There is the sight of first hill burnished with the rust leaves of dhok, as one crosses over the hill into Kalighati Valley. There is a leaf – fringed avenue of dhok that greets the visitor at the old gate leading to Kankwari, overgrown on both sides with old trees of guler and pilkhan. Then there is a site of an explosion of blue- breasted quail, of the deep pools of the Siliberi Nala flowing down from Pandupol and of Pallas fishing edges watching for prey from nearby evergreen trees. I still treasure these memories from my numerous visits to Sariska.

My last tiger sighting at Sariska, one hot April was in the grassland just beyond Kalighati. Sariska was established as a Tiger Reserve in 1978. Before independence, the reserve was part of the erstwhile Alwar state. There are 16 revenue villages and associated cattle camps inside its boundaries. Almost all of the Sariska is hilly terrain dominated by the Aravallis, which run north- south along the park. Two vast plateaus Kanwari and Keraska top the Aravalli. There are three large lakes within the boundary of the park: Mangalsar, Sillserh and Somasagar.

Early morning and evening are the best times to make trips into Sariska National Park, though chances of spotting the cat are few and far between. That’s just not on the account of the diminishing tiger population, but more on account of the terrain like the undulating low hills, wide valleys and hill plateaus are hardly ideal for tiger spotting.

You would be easily able to view the nilgai, chital, langur cavorting through the tree cover. And by luck you might also view the tigers, leopard, jackal, with dogs and hyena. However birdwatchers can spot the white- breasted kingfisher, serpent eagle, great Indian horned owl and other avian species quite easily.

The most enjoyable part is the drive through the park where paths are dip down into the valleys and sinister shadows cross the jungle. If you want to do a cross-country jungle safari, then book one of the authorized forest jeeps well in advance at one of the two hotels Tiger Den and Sariska Palace.

When you are done with the animals, drive down into the Sariska forests to the ruined fortress atop a solitary hillock at Kankwari. Here emperor Aurangzeb imprisoned his elder brother widely held to be the legitimate successor to the throne of Delhi. From Kankwari move on to Neelkanth, a temple town near Tehla builds by the Gurjar Partiharas. Neelkanth was mysteriously submerged under a deluge of sand and rocks centuries ago, and nobody around knows what made the town suffer such a fate. The Naldehwar shrine nearby attracts hordes of pilgrims and picnickers- the former to the natural shivaling formed within an old tree trunk in the higher reaches of the forest, the latter to the little brook and seasonal waterfall at the base of 364 steps you have to climb to reach the lingam.

Sariska has only two choices to stay, a heritage hotel and Rajasthan tourism property Sariska Palace and Tiger Den. There are no options to dine apart from your hotel. However a visit to one of Alwar’s most popular eateries, the Prem Pavitra Restaurant is a must.