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15th February 2007
Our next destination was Ranthambore National Park. It was exciting to be going to our first tiger reserve. Ranthambore National Park is in the Sawai Madhopur District of Rajasthan state. This is one of the finest places to view animals, especially as they are used to being stared at here. The park covers an area of Approximately 400 sq Km and if combined it with the area of Sawai Man Singh sanctuary area, it is around 500 Sq km. Ranthambore National Park was declared a wildlife sanctuary in 1957 and in 1974 it gained the protection of "Project Tiger". It got its status as a National Park in 1981. There are many water bodies located all over the park, which provide relief during the extremely hot summer months for the forest inhabitants. A huge fort dating to the 9th century, after which the park is named, towers over the park atop a hill. There are many ruins of bygone eras scattered all over the jungle, which give it a unique, wonderful and mixed flavour of nature, history and wildlife. Tigers at Ranthambore have been known to even hunt in full view of human visitors, due to their lack of fear of human presence in vehicles. The Dev Vilas Hotel was wonderful. Mr Balendu Singh, the owner and host was the most affable and informed person we met on our holiday. He gave a potted history of wildlife conservation in Ranthambore and elsewhere. I particularly enjoyed his response to the question of whether we would see a tiger – “fair”, he said. When we explained that we were going to Bandhavgarh he changed his answer to “very fair”. He made us laugh when he told us of the Kaziranga National Park Warden who had a collection of dead poacher images displayed where others may have kept their severed animal heads. Permits for visits to Ranthambore were scarce, with large numbers of domestic tourists competing for slots. Some of the trails in Ranthambore were good for tigers. We were allowed to visit the fort area in the afternoon, which is outside the core safari area. Although impressive and accessible we were starting to get a little blasé with forts. The number of langur monkeys was truly amazing. One had been killed by one of India’s burgeoning numbers of feral dogs. The other monkeys just stared. Dogs have replaced vultures over vast areas of India as the prime scavengers. 16th February 2007 Our guide for the morning safari, Pankaj, had 21 years of experience in Corbett. Within 15 minutes he was our newest best friend as we were staring at a two year old female tiger as it strolled around a corner toward us and then alongside our vehicle, totally ignoring us. A few seconds later and we would have run into it. FANTASTIC. Relaxed now! We searched for others but aside from some loud roaring we saw no more, but we didn’t care too much! We returned for breakfast and then used the opportunity to roam “by leg” around ancient hills dotted with forts, mausoleums and earthworks with the odd bird here and there. We watched our first red-headed vultures at close range and flushed numerous painted sandgrouse. In our afternoon safari we had a leopard run in front of our jeep and then wander up a hill, giving superlative views. Beers were enjoyed. We had bought these in the nearest town before we checked in. The hotel manager even gave us some ice despite the fact that we were eroding his business by not buying them from him. That’s service! 17th February 2007 Ranthambore Roulette had the added buggerance factor of a trainload of rich dudes and many extra jeeps. Pankaj suggested a place where every known unseen bird in the universe holed up on such occasions. The site description had caused foam to run from my mouth and down my shirt. The distance quoted to get to this bird Eden was 35 kilometres. A previously undocumented law that dictates that the closer you get to the quoted distance the further you have to travel, took over. After 60 kilometres or so we arrived at a shallow river with crops growing all over it. A short distance downstream was a deep narrow lake with a bird on it. I dare say that if you lived at this over-promoted site you would soon compile a worthwhile list of birds. We arrived back at Dev Vilas at 1100 and left for Bharatpur shortly thereafter. We check-in at new home, the Laxmi Palace, a grand building dating from 1888. While we were enjoying a beer or three, D.D. Mittal, our birdwatching guide arrived to explain the next day’s program. The word on the street was that there were some good birds to be had ex-park. Everyone in Bharatpur talks bird. KEOLADEO GHANA NATIONAL PARK (Bharatpur): A paradise for the avian world, and a pilgrimage site for the bird lovers, it was once known as the best duck shooting resort in the British Empire. It was declared a reserve for birds in 1956 and later upgraded to National Park. UNESCO has listed it as a world heritage site. The geographical location is ideal as it is on the main North-South avian route of India. Although small in size, only 29 sq km, it boasts more than 375 species of birds, and more than 132 of them breed inside the Keoladeo Ghana National Park and nearly every year new ones are added to the list. The sanctuary not only attracts birds from India but also from places like Europe, Siberia, China and Tibet. 18th February 2007 D.D. took us into the park on a long circuit that took in a number of habitats. The highlights were my first sighting of brown-headed barbets and an awesome dusky eagle-owl sitting on its nest. A five metre long Indian rock python added to the mix. A post-lunch tour of the city’s drainage canals produced an amazing number of birds. The canals were in reality sewers with all the fun things that sewers have. One special sewer had a fair scrum of greater painted-snipe, a wonderful bird if ever there was one. Next on the street theatre menu was a motorcycle getting squashed by something bigger, scattering its occupants hither and yon. Screaming and bleeding could only enhance our experience of the sewer tour. Max was really getting into it and I started to fear that he was actually interested in finding birds. D.D. tried to find us some bitterns but we had no luck. Birding degenerated into a pretty good city tour, which included the town fort, complete with moat. Early drinks were called. D.D. didn’t have to be asked twice and by the time my mammal-watching friend Jon Hall arrived (as planned) we were well on the way. A good gas-bag was had by all. 19h February 2007 We left Bharatpur on the short drive to Fatehpur Sikri. It was foggy but that didn’t slow the traffic. Less of it reached its destination though. FATEHPUR SIKRI: 37 kms from Agra is a city built predominantly in red sandstone called Fatehpur Sikri. It was built by the Mughal Emperor, Akbar, and finished in 1585. He had planned this city as his capital but a shortage of water compelled him to abandon it. After 20 years, the capital of Mughals was shifted to Lahore. This deserted city has retained many of the old structures and is one of the finest examples of Mughal architectural splendour at its height. The mosque is said to be a copy of the mosque in Mecca and has designs derived from Persian and Hindu architecture. The old city was a surprise as I had never heard of it. It was uncrowded, quite stunning, and our Islamic guide Saeed made our visit all the more interesting with a professional tour and his encyclopaedic knowledge. The drive to Agra was very short. The Hotel Grand Imperial was grand enough. The Taj Mahal is an attractive building. We lobbed at midday on the middle day of our holiday. There weren’t too many other tourists for our visit and it was clear that Saeed, like every other guide, knew how to maximise our experience. He had all the camera angles sorted and rattled off the historical and architectural details proudly and well. THE TAJ MAHAL, mausoleum of Mughal Emperor Shah Jana's chief wife, Mumtaz Mahal, is synonymous with India. It’s curving, gently swelling dome and the square base upon which its rests so lightly is a familiar image from hundreds of brochures and travel books. The Taj is undoubtedly one of the most spectacular buildings of the world. Renowned for its architectural magnificence and aesthetic beauty, it counts among man's proudest creations and is invariably included in the list of the world's foremost wonders. As a tomb, it has no match upon earth, for mortal remains have never been housed in greater grandeur. It is situated more than 900 ft. (275 m.) away from the entrance at the opposite end of the garden. Towering almost 200 ft. (76m.) in height, the tomb stands on its own marble plinth, which rests on a red sandstone platform that serves to level the land as it slopes to the river. Four tall minarets rise up from the corners of the white marble plinth. They taper to a majestic height of 138 ft and are crowned with eight windowed cupolas. The Taj Mahal is as much a Hindu monument as it is an Islamic mausoleum. Lunch at an outdoor restaurant was good, save for Sir Giles. The Red Fort was significant and good. I am not sure why they built it – I forgot. But they must have had a very good reason because it is really big and strong. THE RED FORT: This magnificent structure in red sandstone looks strong and invincible. The common belief goes that it was build by the Mughal emperor Akbar and further developed by his heirs. But in reality the fort was actually a small fortress that a Hindu warlord had built in the 5th century considering the strategic importance of Agra on the banks of River Yamuna. Later when the Hindu kings and their dynasties were taken over by the Muslim rulers, the small fortress was developed which took the shape of a massive fortress. The Lodhis rebuilt it in the 13th century and Mughal emperor Akbar renovated the Fort in 1565. Though Akbar built it for military purposes, his heir son Jehangir and grandson Shahajehan turned it into a palatial fort. The majestic structure nearly 3 sq km in area and the walls are 20 feet high. It is surrounded by a moat full of water and crocodiles. Many buildings inside the fort were built by Shahajehan, unique among which is the stunning pearl mosque. Back at the hotel and Brother Raymond and I braved the traffic, turds and tuk-tuks to find a beer retailer.
A Wildlife, Culture An Lifestyle Experience Trip
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