A short photologue
Dudhwa. The land of grasslands, swamps and tall sal trees. Renowned for its rich fauna, including swamp deer, Indian rhinos and huge tigers. And for the conservation efforts of Billy Arjan Singh, who was somewhat of a tiger himself. Contiguous to Royal Bardia National Park in Nepal, Dudhwa is located in the Terai region of Uttar Pradesh, and had been on my ‘to visit’ list for a while. I had thought that someday I would drive down and experience Dudhwa as an appetizer, while Corbett would be the main course. But this time when I got a chance to visit the park with a few friends, I jumped at the opportunity even though it meant flying down to Lucknow and then hiring a vehicle.
Forest road
The sun rises through the mist
Sunset behind a stalk of grass
Pastel sunrise
While I kept my hopes in check regarding mammal sightings (wrong time of the year), I was looking forward to the mist, dew and soft November light that I could expect to encounter. Incidentally, Frederick Walter Champion, the pioneer of wildlife photography in India, and an inspiration for Jim Corbett taking up a camera, spent a lot of time in these forests of erstwhile Oudh, taking some iconic photos.
I took a night flight to Lucknow. Early next morning we started for Dudhwa. We were traveling in an Innova that had done more than 2 lakh km, one couldn’t make out (hint: I drive a Toyota). Traffic was crazy, as was our driver. He kept honking like mad, expecting people, cows and other vehicles to jump out of his way. Often we scraped past an old person or a cow or a truck with 2 inches to spare. Not a good start to a trip that was supposed to be ‘relaxing’. We went via Sitapur – Lakhimpur – Palia Kalan to reach Dudhwa. Four years back, on the way back from Kumaon, I had driven on the Philibit – Gola – Lakhimpur – Sitapur – Lucknow stretch. The roads were a lot emptier then.
Great Indian rhino
Train line passing through the forest
Semi-tame rabbit on the lawn of the forest rest house
Swampdeer-scape
Gateway to light
Marsh harrier
We spent the first few days at a tourist complex right beside the forest entry gate. Shot a few interesting sunset photos during a late afternoon walk. The forest guards told us that a tiger is sighted regular behind the tourist complex. One evening around 8 pm we heard the alarm calls of cheetal and langur. Seemed the big cat was afoot. Went near the fence, and waited for a while. No luck. In the end, we didn’t see any big cats during our stay in Dudhwa, but another safari vehicle encountered a big male tiger in the evening when they were coming back from their afternoon safari.
An afternoon safari in Kishanpur was disappointing. I had high hopes of taking portraits and animalscapes of swamp deers, but they were too far away, and there was too much haze in the afternoon. My pre-visualized shot of a swamp deer stag, with its head emerging out of the mist, in beautiful light, didn’t materialize. Maybe someday. On the way back from Kishanpur, we stopped at Palia Kalan, the nearest small town. Went inside a dhaba, and gorged like crazy. No non-veg or liquid refreshments were allowed inside the tourist complex, which was run by the forest department. So we needed to make up a little bit for the last few days of abstinence.
The deer and the sun
Giant wood spider
Swarovski
Tunnel
Morning perch
Then we shifted to a forest rest house 13 km inside the park (the same one that Guru Dutt, may he RIP, wrote about on Team BHP, many years back). The mornings were misty, with dew shining on every grass blade. The sun took its time to rise, and for the first couple of hours in the morning, the light was quite magical. The evenings were a bit chilly, especially if one were driving around in a Gypsy. I would typically spend a few hours alone on the FRH terrace. The Milky Way would be out after 7 pm. The fireflies would be twinkling all around. The grassland would slowly get covered by the rising mist, and leopards would start calling (the forest guards told us that there were 8 leopards around the forest rest house). The deers would give their alarm calls as they were chased by the leopards. The moon would light up the misty grasslands after rising a little before midnight. The cold and crisp breeze would make my hands and nose a little numb.
Sunset over the wooden pillar of a forest bridge
The morning sun finds it difficult to penetrate the canopy
Butterfly at the FRH
Racket-tailed drongo
The trainline. Max speed of trains when passing through the forest is 30kmph. Still, animals get run over from time to time.
One night, on our way back to the forest rest house (it was pretty late), we narrowly (and luckily) missed an encounter with a wild male tusker. Imagine a forest trail lit up by the Gypsy headlights. Visibility is limited, since mist is swirling everywhere. And then you see the fresh footprints of a big elephant on the narrow track, which is flanked by 12 feet tall elephant grass on both sides (so no way of turning quickly, and lateral visibility is almost nil). The forest guide told us that the elephant had been on the road a little while back, and we needed to be very careful (apparently that pachyderm was a cranky one). So we ended up driving slowly and carefully through the mist, especially at every blind curve. I wasn’t too concerned, since I encounter elephants regularly when driving in the Nilgiri forests, so knew that as long as we saw it before it sensed us, and maintained a safe distance, we would be alright. I guess it was more thrilling for my friends who don’t face such situations pretty often
![Smile](https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/images/smilies/smile.png)
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Armour over the gaunt ribs of Baankey, the grand old rhino of Dudhwa. He was weak due to old age and after a nasty fight.
Sunset through undergrowth
Magical forest. Canvas effect added later.
Contempt #animal_behaviour This big male saw our vehicle, cooled walked across to a tree trunk, and started peeing to show his dominance and attitude. Sigh, this is what I end up shooting when I am starved of tigers. But the light was interesting lol.
Dew
Sunrise #haunting
In the end, this trip was not about sighting and shooting wildlife, but more about experiencing the forest with all my senses, and chasing the light. Not that it stopped me from cribbing when the scene was lovely and the light was perfect, but there was no animal subject for my photos. I plan to be back in Dudhwa next year, when the grass has dried up, and when there is a higher chance of encountering the Dudhwa tigers. There is another FRH that I am rather keen to visit. Perhaps I will do that long drive from Bangalore and club the Dudhwa trip with Corbett and Pangot.
Heron lit up by the early morning sun
Safari
Morning walk before sunrise
A friend saying adieu to the sun
![The misty grasslands & haunting sal forests of Dudhwa National Park-admiringthesunset.jpg](https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/attachments/travelogues/1581942d1690465175t-misty-grasslands-haunting-sal-forests-dudhwa-national-park-admiringthesunset.jpg)