Trip to the Jungle

Hi friends, i know i had been away for a quite a while now .Actually it was a much needed break that me, my Dear & my lil' one had taken .We both love travelling & ever since we have been married we have been to plenty of places in India, especially in the Northern states . From the hill stations in Uttaranchal & Himachal to the desert in Rajasthan. In the last 6 years we had been to some exclusive places like Rohtang, Auli, Narkanda, Rishikesh, Kausani, Osian, Bikaner, Mandwa & ofcourse the well-known places like Manali, Shimla, Nainital, Agra etc.

This time we went to Bandhavgarh National Park in the North East of Madhya Pradesh in Umaria District (180 Kms by road from Jabalpur). It is supposed to have the maximum density of tigers in india.It claims to have about 46to 52 tigers. If you wish to see tiger in the wild, then this is the place to come, especially in the months of March/April/May. Though it is not as popular as other national parks in india like Kanha & Corbett, I bet this is the best place for tiger spotting . We had been to Corbett as well but had to satisfy ourselves with warning calls of Sambhar, peacock . We even went on elephant back hoping to spot at least a sleeping fellow, but in vain.

Bandhavgarh was truly a unique experience. Its about 200kms drive from Jabalpur. Most of it was good roads barring a small patch . For those of you who would love to travel this side, a word of caution -there are no decent eateries in this entire stretch. So pack your own food, especially if you are travelling with kids. We started in the morning reached the MP tourism's White Tiger Resort by noon. Had a quick grub , hopped onto the dilapidated jeep that was provided by resort guys & zoom we go into the jungle with little hope of seeeing the beast ; what after our Corbett trip.we just enered the core area & we see a coule of jeeps parked close to a bush of elephant grass.we ask the driver to drive towards that side .all hushing there is a tiger sleeping inside the bush .one group of travellers jump onto elephant backs .the idea is to make the elephant disturb the tiger so tht it comes out .the elphant goes in & there!!!..i could see the stripes of the animal . Our jeep along with others quickly turned to the other side of the bush where it is expected to come out..we wait for a couple of minutes ..&THERE COMES THE MAJETIC ANIMAL!!!!how beautiful it looked moving very slowly not bothered about how many people have come form places to see him...It went across to the other side stood for a little while .saw a chital at a distance became a little firm ..we thot its going to charge ..but he decided against .probably was already full.and sat down..& went off to sleep again..that was quite an experience.
we went all over the jungle hoping to see more of it & finally on our way back to the exit gate ...we saw it again .this was a tigress.she went to the water hole nearby drank water for quite loooongtime ...came to a place where she had kept a kill & started eating .we were so lucky this time we spotted the beautiful animal about four times in two jungle safaris.
It was a worthwhile trip..i would recommend Bandhavgarh to all those who wish to see tiger!!...
ps.Shall some pics soon..