In the last few months my travel plans seem to have a mind of their own and I have travelled to majority of the places that I had not originally envisaged. Changes have been galore and several airlines have made a lot of money on my cancellations. Thankfully though via another unexpected change in plans I found myself in Jhira Bagh Palace in Dhar, Madhya Pradesh for a long 4 day weekend trip. And I am so glad that my earlier plans did not work out.
Jhira Bagh Palace, Dhar, Madhya Pradesh
Bidding goodbye to any year is never without mixed feelings. On one hand there is an excitement about planning for the new year anticipating new possibilities and potential opportunities. While on the other, there is a sadness like bidding goodbye to a good friend (time!), who has been a constant companion through the year, seen us through life’s ups and its downs, taken us to new shores, helped us grow another bit and discover that one other aspect about ourselves which we didn’t expect to find.
Clouds in water, Shudu Lake, Potatso National Park, Shangri-La, China
A friend once told to me that “jungles are an addiction” and I thought to myself, “that is just impossible”. Many material things can be an addiction, but jungles – no way. Little did I know then that one trip to Kanha would prove me completely wrong. And if you also think like I did, then its time you plan a trip to this amazing jungle. Below is a quick planning guide to help you find your way –
Introduction to Kanha National Park –
Kanha is one of the biggest national parks and a tiger reserve in Madhya Pradesh, India. By definition, a national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns and uses for conservation purposes. Although each country has their own ways of classifying parks as national parks, the common idea always is – conservation of wild nature for posterity and as a symbol of national pride. Per wikipedia, we have a total of 166 authorised national parks in India and there are quite a few more national parks that have been proposed by the state governments and awaiting approval.
Drive through trees
Visiting any new place is like a tour down an unknown lane of discovery, discoveries both big and small. My latest discovery was this local sindoor or vermilion that we saw in Madhya Pradesh. Sindoor is an integral part of the Indian culture and I have always seen my mom wear it. But for me sindoor was red powder in a box that always around. I never thought of how it was made or where it came from. Until recently when I saw this tree in Kanha that was used to make sindoor by the local tribal women.
The Flowers and the Fruit used to make sindoor
Ants live in cracks (in cavities of anything – walls, plants, etc), Ants live in hills (ant hills),
But ever heard of ants living in a nest in trees?
Tree / Weaver Ants, Kanha National Park
I had not, but met with these tree / weaver ants in our resort, The Baagh in Kanha. We were out for a walk when we saw these large funny balls of leaves hanging on trees with numerous red colored ants all over it. Our guide then introduced us to these remarkable creatures that live in large colonies in leaf nests hanging on trees and display a unique nest-building behaviour – where worker ants construct nests by sewing leaves together using larval silk.
Recently when I went to the Kanha National Park, the only image that crossed my mind was of the Tiger! This was going to be my first safari experience and according to me then, a successful jungle safari meant a good tiger sighting and that’s all. But one actual safari experience, and I was proven wrong beyond doubt. While a tiger sighting is one of the most beautiful and awe-inspiring sights, there are numerous other sights in the Kanha jungle that are equally breathtaking, if not more.
Kanha National Park, Madhya Pradesh
And I wanted to share my top 5 reasons for visiting the Kanha tiger safari, and not just for the tiger sighting:
“There is just something about seeing a tiger in the wild”. I had read and heard countless versions of this statement from many people and never paid much heed to it. Guess, I thought whats the big deal but little did I know that one trip to Kanha and I would join this bandwagon. Well let me rewind and restart. Earlier this year when I was setting my travel goals for 2014, I decided to include a jungle safari and hopefully catching a sight of the tiger to my list. And a chance call from Amit of The Detour Co, and I decided to join 14 other Tiger “aspirants” to figure what all the hoopla was about.
My first sight of the tiger in Kanha
When I came across this topic, I was instantly reminded of the world famous temples of Khajuraho. These Hindu and Jain temples are situated in Madhya Pradesh, India and mostly known for the erotica carvings. This is listed as a UNESCO world heritage sight and one of the seven wonders in India.
Intricate carvings on the temples
getsetandgo 
You must be logged in to post a comment.