Travel Tips

My friend was just back from his vacation to Gir and during our talks he mentioned that in general there are lots of birds in Gujarat. Asked him to check if there was any destination that we can target as a weekend birding destination. Few inquiries around, indicated that the Little Rann of Kutch would be a good option. Search for hotels then started off. There are two resorts that you can go to when visiting Little Rann of Kutch. Rann Riders and Desert Coursers . Based on the tariffs mentioned on their websites, Desert Coursers looked to be a lot cheaper and we decided to opt for it. We checked travellers' reviews for this place, and nearly without exception, these were good. You can check my review of the place  here. The place is being run by Dhanraj Mallik whom we contacted for our bookings ( +91-999 8305501 ). We got a package of 1950/- per person per day which included stay (twin-sharing), all meals + 1 safari. Desert coursers is around 125 kms from Ahmedabad rai...

Phansad Wildlife Sanctuary is around 140 kms from Mumbai and is supposed to have the densest population of wildlife around Mumbai. Phansad is famous for a rich diversity of flora and fauna. It was the hunting ground for the former princely state of Murud-Janjira. It has a good combination of forest, wetlands and grasslands. For me, its USP is that you can go on foot for the safaris. All vehicles are banned within the sanctuary. To experience the wilderness on foot was a very enjoyable experience.  The entrance to the sanctuary is at Supegaon which is around 10kms from Kashid. We booked our stay at Friends and Family Restaurant which is a budget hotel very near to Prakruti Resort in Kashid. [This is a budget hotel and the rooms are clean. Meal options were limited but the quality was good.] Tent accommodation is available within the sanctuary and is very reasonably priced. There is a small eatery at the entrance of the Sanctuary which is operated by the local Mahila Bachat S...

We did the "Call of the Wild" tour conducted by MPTDC. This covered Jabalapur (Bhedatghat), Kanha, Badhavgarh and Panchmarhi. Needless to say, Kanha/Bandhavgarh were the highlights of the tour. With an area of around 1000 sq kms, this is one of the biggest parks in India and famous for its tiger population. The jungles of Kanha were the inspiration for Rudyard Kipling novel, Jungle Book. Our arrangements were done at the Baghera Log Huts. This is a great property. The food and accommodation is ok but the location is fantastic. It is within the national park. You get the feel of living in the jungle.We were able to see gaur, deer and monkeys from within the property. We were really lucky with the tiger sightings at Kanha. We got sighting for nearly each safari that we took.  The last sighting of the tiger that we had was special. As we were returning from the safari, we came upon a group of gaurs which were witnessing a fight between two males. The males were rig...

Kavdipet, also known as Kavdi, is a small little village just about 20kms from Pune, on the Pune-Solapur road. The village interests a lots of birders so make their way in the early morning mist to reach the small dam. How to reach : From Mumbai, take the old NH4.. Do not take bypass at dehu road.. Instead keep going straight through dehu road.. chinchwad etc.. Keep following the directions for Solapur, which are pretty visible nearly throughout.. Once you NH9.. Keep going till you reach the first Toll booth.. Cross the toll and keep looking for a small little village name called Kavdipet (its not Kaavdipet).. Take a left and keep going straight.. You will reach a railway crossing.. Keep going straight till you reach the so called river.. This is where the birds are found.. One can walk on the dam type structure to go on the other end too.. do explore the area.. You can find lot of bird activity especially in the winters.. List of birds that I saw during my first vis...

Just discovered another birding spot in Mumbai. Got my first spoonbill sighting in Mumbai here. It has a vast area through which you can walk around. Saw a number of birds and butterflies here.

The Elephanta Island which is famous for the Elephanta Caves (designated as UNESCO World Heritage Site) is also a good spot for bird watching. Discovered this, thanks to BNHS, which organized a day trip there.  We assembled at the Hornbill House and registered ourselves for the trek. We then proceeded to Gateway of India to catch the ferry to Elephanta Island. Inspite of the summers, the ferry trip to Elephanta Island was made peaceful by a continuous cool breeze.  Once at the island, we started on the steps leading up to the caves. After you go past the rows of shops, there is a sign board by the archaeological department declaring that the site is protected. If you continue climbing straight up, you reach the caves. We turned left and started our trek through nature, away from the crowds that had come to see the caves. Spotting of birds was really easy... even to untrained eyes like mine. Iora, Magpie Robin, Brahminy Kite, Coppersmith Barbet, Golden...

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Shilonda trail is present within the Sanjay Gandhi National Park. Even though I have been to SGNP several times, I had never heard of this. When I read that BNHS was organizing a trek here, me and my friend promptly joined. A big group had assembled at the gates waiting for the ticket window to open. The ticket windows opened at 7:30 and the long queue was quickly/efficiently cleared.  The start of Shilonda trail is quite some distance within the park. It is located on the road that goes towards Kanheri caves. There is a board which indicates the start of the trail. I did not notice any directions/boards leading to this wonderful trail anywhere in the park. You will find it only if you know where to look for it :) The trail was beautiful, and the information provided by the BNHS guide was interesting. More photos below which will give an idea of the sort of trail this is.

Through a stroke of luck I came across the BNHS website and saw the programme listing for March/April. One of the treks mentioned there was Nagla Forest trail. The description for the half day trek got me interested enough to join the trek. Nagla block, as it is called, is a part of Sanjay Gandhi National Park and extends up to Vasai Creek. Asif Khan who was the 'guide' for this trek provided a lot of useful/interesting information. Beautiful butterflies, colored bugs, flying seeds, birds and lots of tree cover made this a worthwhile trek. Definitely plan to check this place out again in monsoon/winter. More photos below..

A butterfly garden in Mumbai would be a surprise for many but it does exist indeed as a surprise. Its a two acres agriculture plot converted by the enthusiast owner Mr. Rajendra Ovalekar into a butterfly park.  This is not his commercial project but shear out of interest. While going from Borivali, take right turn for Ghodbundar road and after around 8 kms, take right turn for a narrow lane for Ovala village. Hardly after 1-2 kms, you see Ovalekar Butterfly garden on the right.  The park is open on Sunday morning only. Owners charge small fees of Rs. 25 for entry. The garden has space for parking as well. Tiger Butterfly Mr. Ovalekar spends sufficient time touring visitors around the garden, explaining the life cycle of butterfly, showing eggs, pupa, caterpillar etc. which are hard to notice for the untrained eyes. Check below link of photographs where I have uploaded snaps of life-cycle of butterfly. Mr. Ovalekar knows the need of eager photographers and helps in...

Next on our itinerary, the Yala National Park, is famous for its Leopard population. This park became famous after the Discovery channel created a film on this place titled "Leopards of Yala". Since then the park has seen a major increase in tourist visits. We stayed at 'The Safari' hotel. Have put up the review of the hotel here .  One needs to book jeeps in advance for the safari. We were able to book our jeeps at the hotel. Do research the rates in advance. We were charged 5000 LKR for the morning safari. Separate tickets per person need to be bought at the park entrance. A forest official joins you for the safari. We did 2 safaris in the park, early morning and late evening. We had a much better experience of sightings for the morning safari. The park territory extends right up to the Indian Ocean. It bore the brunt of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. Our guide informed us that the tsunami waters had come inland upto 1 km. It seems the animals in the par...

This is a delight for nature lovers.... and right in the heart of the city too. It is pristine nature here and thankfully, the park authorities have not tampered with it. A small walkway has been created which leads you through the park. Birds, Butterflies, Trees and SNAKES. You will get everything here. The entrance to this park is opposite to the Dharavi Bus Depot. Park timings are from 9:00 am to 3:30 p.m. The entry fee to the park is Rs 5/- per adult. Parking place is provided for the visitors within the park. View Maharashtra Nature Park in a larger map Below are some photos of the trip See more photos below. Post by Travel Tips .

Went to Manali recently. Spotted a number of birds there. More photos here.