Amongst the Wild

So I along with my four wonderful friends planned a visit in the heart of the wild, The world-famous Corbett National Park, planning two-days stay at Dhikala, Gairal and 3 days stay at The Jim Corbett National Park. Corbett is said to be the home of tigers and we were no more than trespassers in the territory of ferocious tigers, but over enthusiastic trespassers super-excited about catching the glimpse of its ferocious master. The journey started with adrenaline rush in our veins. Travelling a total of more than 150 kms inside jungle, we experienced an altogether crazy adventure filled with the mixture of fear and excitement. We reached Ramnagar from Delhi at 8 PM where after we took a one night accommodation at TRC (near bus stop) probably the cheapest and best place to stay for a night, and we had our dinner that day at BHATT JI a restaurant nearby. It was a complete delight to taste such an amazing food there. Our driver (Dilshad) – the person who took us to the safari told us to get ready by 9 in the morning so that we reach Corbett by 12 and start our amazing journey.

Everything went according to the plan. Covering a total of 32 km from Ramgarh, we reached Corbett sharp at 12:00. The museum at the entrance is a must watch. We moved again to Dhikala range passing through dense forests with the sereneful and charismatic environment. Nature was treating us well with mesmerizing sounds of birds and sunrays providing a soothing effect. Within an hour inside the park, we saw the pug mark that increased our excitement to the threshold. We continued the safari and on the first day itself we succeeded in catching the sight of alligators, crocodiles, deer. Although we were not able to see what we were all super-excited for, the tiger; yet the first day was an exciting experience in itself. We came back to the accommodation (Gairal) at 5.30 PM where we came to know that there will be no light and no mobile signal, though surprisingly there was a 4*4 green box where signals were available. We had an amazing candle light dinner, the cost was nominal 200 per plate and the quality of food was worth the amount paid. The best part of the night was the beautiful walk under the canopy of stars covering the sky, just like pollution covers the sky in metro cities. The scene reminded me of a Hindi track CHANDANI RAAT HOGI, TAARO KI BARAT HOGI. After spending few minutes under the sky, we dozed off to sweet sleep in the nature’s own lap.

Next day we were ready by 7 AM because we were told by our driver that the tigers show some movement at the time of dawn. We went to Champions Road, the road which I must say one should go to feel what fear is. Although we failed to see tigers even inspite of certain calls; yet we were terrified in true sense. Some experiences can’t be understood without experiencing them and I guess this was one such. Next we went to Dhikala and saw the deciduous forests that was such a treat to our eyes. The view of Ram Ganga river was heavenly. We roamed around the jungle for full day and saw various animals including tusker elephant and innumerable birds. Seeing us obsessed of tigers, the guide and driver shared their respective encounters with tigers that were not only spine-chilling but also very intriguing to us. The guide told us that even vultures don’t eat tiger after they die and the body decomposes naturally, such is the personality of our National animal. We came back to Dhiakala again, had finger-licking good dinner and sank in our beds to a peaceful sleep.

This morning we got up at 5:30 am, got ready by 6 and set out in the excitement to catch the glimpse of the tiger. The probabilities were high to see the tiger at this time of the day. And the guide confirmed the presence of tiger around us after hearing the call. The time when other animals used to give call after seeing the move of tiger made the Safari even more excited. All other Safaris including ours used to stop just at that place from where we heard the call just hoping that the King will give public appearance. But when has it been so easy to get the glimpse of Almighty King? We waited for approximately 2 hrs at the same place. But the king was not in the mood of giving an appearance to us. Maybe he wanted us to come back again or may be he wanted us to take efforts. Disheartened but happy, we started our journey back to Ramgarh. The journey ended with memories in heart, with feelings rejuvenated, with a soul more pure and ultimately with a hope to come back yet again. I think I’ll surely travel back there pretty soon not just to enjoy the delightful nature in all its lush and green attire but also to finally quench my excitement by stealing the glance of the mighty tiger that has charmed the jungle with its strength and power.

About the Author

Anilesh Tewari is working as the Consulting Editor at Agrasar Foundation. He has traveled widely across India, and has covered almost all the major places in India. He is a travel enthusiast and loves to travel on his bike, living in Delhi at present and belonging to Lucknow, he has covered a range of destinations time and again.

Adventurous by nature he considers risk, thrill and enthusiasm to explore new places as the core of travelling. Rafting being his favorite sport, he has been to Rishikesh several time.