![]() | #1 |
BHPian Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Hyderabad
Posts: 302
Thanked: 738 Times
| The Jungles of Pench ![]() Magnificent but underrated Pench is what I will say after visiting the wonderful forests. My love for wildlife and photography started a bit late in my life and I discovered this concept of travel thanks to team-bhp. Being a nature lover this idea excited me and my first real jungle trip happened in 2010 when I went to Corbett with wife and family friends who have been partners in crime ever since. Corbett was the first time I was planning such a big trip and I must confess that I got a really great contact there (again through one of the travelogues on team-bhp), who helped me with the bookings and guided us well, arranging everything for us. Corbett was a great experience, although we couldn’t spot the Tiger even after 10 safaris and getting close to it a number of times. We knew we were being watched by it but we couldn’t see it. The closest we came to seeing it was at night when we could hear its roar outside our forest rest house in Bijrani but with no lighting, getting a glimpse of the tiger was an impossible task to achieve. Also, we missed a big family on one of the early morning safaris. However, we quite enjoyed the forests, the plains, the rivers and the wonderful landscapes in and around Dhikala and Bijrani zones. Later we changed jobs, changed cities and couldn’t do much of these trips. The trips were limited to some wildlife reserves and parks in Gujarat where we were lucky enough to spot the Lion in Sasan Gir, in our first safari. Unfortunately, my wife wasn’t with us on the trip so she missed it and I took her the next time with the same gang but unfortunately we didn’t find the big cat this time and the forests didn’t enthuse my wife much as she expected something on the lines of the forests in Corbett, which she fell in love with. Just to confirm I still remain her first love. ![]() Fastforward to 2017 after a long gap, the same gang of 2010 decided to do a trip to Pench this time. I must confess that initially the plan was to go to Tadoba and the bookings were supposed to be taken care of a travel agent whom my friend’s wife knew. Unfortunately it didn’t work out and it was back to me again to plan a trip and this time with less number of days. Also, my friend’s family wasn’t in Hyderabad and they had to plan their travel to reach Nagpur and then depart from Nagpur with some pretty tight timelines. So working with all such permutations and combinations, we decided to go to Pench instead. After some research online, I got to know a great place to stay known as Village Machaan near Turia zone in Pench so finalized this as the accommodation after working out the safaris and prices. The idea was like this. Wifey and I would start the drive from Hyderabad early Friday morning on 10th March. Reach Nagpur and pick up my friend and his family from the railway station at around 11AM and from there we would drive to our resort in Pench. We had booked 3 safaris as follows: 1. 10th March – Turia zone evening safari 2. 11th March – Sillri zone morning safari 3. 12th March – Khursapar zone morning safari My friends needed to be dropped back to Nagpur on 12th evening while wifey and I decided to stay in Nagpur and start for Hyderabad on 13th morning. So this was our plan. How did it go? Almost perfect! ![]() Members: 4 adults 1 kid Car: Ecosport TDCI Camera: Canon 450D with 55-250mm and 18-55mm. Also used Honor 8. Day 1 Day 1 was Friday 10th March. With prayers on our lips for a safe and successful trip, we started from home at around 4:10am. Initially the plan was to start at 3:30am but you guys know how it goes. I live in Himayath Nagar so it didn’t take much time for us to get onto the Medchal highway (NH44) that goes straight to Nagpur. Google maps showed us around 7 hours and 45 minutes to reach Nagpur Railway station from our home and our friends were to be picked up by 11AM so I thought we were slightly delayed as per our plan. The concern for the delay was more because of our evening safari in Turia and not because our friends will have to wait for us. Our friends had already started the previous evening and were chugging along in the train. ![]() The Drive The drive was great, considering the wonderfully smooth roads till Adilabad and beyond. The 4-laning works have been completed till Adilabad so nowhere did we find a two-laned highway. Don’t get me wrong, the roads after Adilabad are good too but at some stretches they are still doing the 4-laning so the diversions along with the trucks and other vehicles slow you down. Till we reached Adilabad, we achieved an average of 90kmph as per our car’s display. Not sure how accurate that is. So by the time we reached Adilabad it was around 8AM. Just before Adilabad we were showered with a lot of mosquitoes/insects. The photos that you will see below will show how bad/good they were. I saw someone else’s photos and theirs was much worse. The only impediments to our progress were the slow-moving trucks overtaking each other and running parallel to each other before moving aside and the numerous toll booths on the stretch. We must have spent around Rs.300 for the tolls by the time we reached Adilabad. We stopped after a toll booth near Adilabad and had our breakfast that we had packed. Again thanks for the veterans on this forum who shared info that there are not much eateries on this stretch and also since we started quite early, we though it’s better to pack poha and take it. This proved to be a really good decision as we didn’t come across a single decent eatery that was open. After a short pitstop for 15-20 minutes for breakfast I also ended up cleaning the front, mirrors and ORVMs of all the insects and this took an extra 5-10 minutes. We were carrying drinking water abundantly so we could use some cleaning the front, else the front windshield was not offering a clear view. Thankfully this infestation of insects happened only after dawn broke so it was not difficult to handle the blurry view. After some broken stretches after crossing Adilabad and some stretches around Wadki the road became good again. But it took us sometime to negotiate some stretches with trucks and flyovers still undergoing construction. Finally we were able to reach Nagpur’s railway station by 11:05AM. A small break for capturing the sunrise but the wires ruined the shot for me so not sharing here ![]() The wonderful roads with not much traffic. This was an exception. ![]() The bug infestation effects ![]() ![]() ![]() Breakfast and cleaning time after crossing Adilabad ![]() Pickup Unfortunately the train that my friends were in, was stopped in Wardha for more than half an hour. It did give us time to reach Nagpur but that ended up delaying their arrival and by the time they arrived it was around 11:35AM. At one point we felt, we should have picked them up from Wardha but it would have been a slight detour for us but again no one knew they would be stopped there for such a long time. Anyways now our next concern was to get to Village Machaan resort in Pench by lunch and then safari that starts at 3PM. Drive from Nagpur to Pench After picking up our friends we wanted to take the route that the google maps was showing. But a proactive call from the resort regarding our arrival and our route clarifications led to us going in the wrong route. We realized that this was the wrong route only when we returned from Pench because the roads that we saw while returning were a lot better than the ones we were on enroute to Pench. So please follow Google maps when required, not always. Anyways the roads that we went on were through traffic and some narrow highways. We had to go towards a place called Kohka and before that take a left to reach our resort. The roads leading to Kohka are being widened from 2-laned to 4-laned. This looked a bit disappointing for us because I’m sure a lot of trees were removed for the road widening. We also noticed that heavy vehicles were plying even during the day time on this road. This definitely kind of spoiled our impressions of Pench and I personally was feeling if Pench was the right decision or not. Finally we reached our resort by 2:20pm just in time for a quick lunch and our planned safari Turia Safari The first safari in Turia was our best in the trip. We did get a bit late and by the time we reached for safari it was 3:30pm and thankfully the gypsy was right from the resort so not much time wasted anywhere. The good thing was this zone is just a 10-minute drive from resort so that definitely helped us in a way. The only regret was we couldn’t freshen up after reaching the resort but then we wanted to risk smelling a bit for the tiger to come to us. This safari held one more surprise for us when we were assigned a lady guide. I believe this is a great initiative towards equal opportunity employment for the ladies and getting them out of the typical expectations from the rural ladies. We were happy and felt she could be our lucky charm and indeed she turned out as one. Our first sighting apart from the deers and peacocks were the wild dogs. A pack of 8 wild dogs and this happened while the rest of the gypsies were stationed at another place where a leopard was supposed to be hiding behind a big rocky hideout. We stayed for 5 minutes there initially but since we didn’t see anything and since it was only the beginning of our trip, we decided to move on and come back later to that place. This proved to be a good decision as my wife first spotted the wild dog and then we realized it was a pack of around 8 wild dogs, we got excited and at the same time a bit concerned as ours was the only gypsy there. For a moment we felt outnumbered and with a child onboard in an open gypsy we were slightly concerned as the dogs were directly facing our gypsy and coming in our direction. But the driver and the guide assured us nothing would happen. True to what they said the dogs just moved away from us giving us sly glances and nothing more. They definitely gave us some good poses too. With some contentment, we thought we were lucky enough to see them and that too all alone without other gypsys or tourists for company. They look really vicious. ![]() ![]() ![]() The meanest one ![]() Later from there we returned to where the leopards were still supposed to be and by this time it was confirmed that indeed there was a leopard and already spotted but it was still there. Since we saw the wild dogs the guide felt now we can spend some time here waiting for the leopards to come out. The leopards did grace us with their presence but not as clear as we would have wanted. Only the binoculars or cameras were able to see them and that too not completely. Those without them waited patiently for these to come out as they were at a distance of almost 60-70 meters. As you can see the photos below, they were difficult to spot but later the surprise was that there were two of them and only when we looked closer in the photo we were able to spot the other one. Later it became clear that they had a prey and they were playing with it. The leopards then were kind enough to grace us with their presence in a clear manner as they started playing around and we could see them running and jumping around. Clicking photos was difficult as we didn’t get a good vantage point due to other gypsys and also the trees were blocking some angles. Nevertheless we were happy about spotting not one but two leopards with prey and were quite happy with how things were proceeding. The crowd waiting for the leopards to make an appearance ![]() The first glimpse ![]() Much better ![]() Now we are talking ![]() Now we see the carcass of the prey ![]() ![]() Satisfied that we got a decent glimpse of the leopards we decided to move on and explore other opportunities that lay ahead. Glimpses while moving ahead ![]() ![]() Now the thing about Turia zone is that there is a nice lake right inside the zone and it has the barks of dried up tree in the lake, something like what you would see in Thekkady. We had crossed this place while going in and now, we somehow returned to this place and probably the plan was to go to some other place inside the zone. We were losing light rapidly now and had to come out by 6:15PM and it was already 5PM now. We came back to this lake and from distance away we spotted 3-4 gypsys standing. When we climbed a slight incline and look into the direction that everyone was looking at it suddenly struck us. There was this huge tiger walking calmly towards the water. We were elated to say the least. Since there were less number of vehicles we could get a nice spot to click our photos. The only thing was this tiger was more than 100 meters away and so my limited camera zoom was finding it difficult to capture decent images and with shade and light running out it was definitely challenging to shoot a decent pic. The tiger graced us with its presence for nearly 10 minutes not caring about the tourists trying to get a glimpse of it. I will let the pictures do the talking now. This was an young adult confident male ![]() ![]() ![]() Cool the body as well ![]() This is all the time I have for you guys ![]() ![]() ![]() The last glimpse as it walks away into the shadows ![]() We saw a few peacocks and birds on our way out and we all were so happy that it was an eventful safari. The Indian Roller ![]() ![]() This safari brought to us a lot more than what we had anticpated and our joy knew no bounds. We all indulged in a 'tiger hug' as it nearly ended our 7-year wait of seeing a tiger in the wild. We tipped the guide and left for the resort and tipped the driver as well when we were dropped at the resort. The evening was spent recollecting the events, finally getting to bath and ending with a scrumptious dinner. Last edited by saleem_k : 8th April 2017 at 00:00. |
![]() | ![]() ![]() |
The following 10 BHPians Thank saleem_k for this useful post: | AJ-got-BHP, GTO, libranof1987, narmad, rednikhil, RoadSurfer, rockygidz, rosaf, Secretariat, siddarthab |
|
![]() | #2 |
BHPian Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Hyderabad
Posts: 302
Thanked: 738 Times
| Day 2 - Sillri - The Scenic Safari & Day 3 - Khursapar Day 2 - Sillri After a well-deserved sleep the plan this day was to go for the morning safari and then do nothing and relax in the resort and explore it more. This safari was in Sillri zone and it’s about an hour away from the resort. The resort had arranged for a swift dzire to take us there and from there we would go inside in a gypsy. The morning chill was quite evident even in the second week of March and we were a bit surprised. The good thing about morning safaris is the resort folks arrange for breakfast as well and send everything packed along with tea, fruits and other stuff. First sighting of a Crested Serpent Eagle ![]() Wild Boar ![]() Peahen ![]() An alert deer having its breakfast ![]() This zone is more scenic than Turia and has the backwaters inside the zone. The landscape is just beautiful and it doesn’t matter if you don’t see anything here. It still is a great experience and it definitely was. Probably the previous day’s sightings made us more relaxed and we were soaking in the forest better. So always good to see the major attractions first so that other safaris can be enjoyed more for other things. There is also a ‘Jannat Point’ inside this zone which basically gives a great view of the reservoir, grasslands and other small islands around. The guide was telling us that this area is usually underwater in monsoons. We didn’t find much animals but the highlight was definitely a ‘gaur’ that we saw. This kept crisscrossing our path often and gave us some majestic poses and looks to keep us hooked to photography. We came across a wild boar as seen in the earlier photos and then 3-4 wildboards grazing in the grasslands. We missed the cubs of a tiger here. They were hiding in the grasslands between the small islands and although we waited we couldn’t see them. Scenic view of the backwaters of the Pench river reservoir ![]() The water fills up everything in monsoon as per the guide ![]() Jannat Point as told by the guide ![]() This is where someone saw the tiger cubs but we couldn't by the time we reached. They went inside the valley formed between the two tree lines. ![]() We got to see some good birds here along with Vulture and the Indian Roller, which we also saw in Turia zone the previous day. The sambhar and deers were giving us good poses so overall we enjoyed this safari although we didn’t see other animals. There was a bit of drama in the grasslands where the deers were grazing and suddenly got alert and were running away. Everyone was hoping for some good sighting but were a bit disappointed as nothing turned up. We were hoping a tiger would barge out of the tall grass bordering the grasslands but nothing like that happened. The beautiful grasslands. They are so lucky so have such a huge playground. ![]() Indian Roller soaking up the sun ![]() ![]() These sprinting deers definitely made us stop and admire them. ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() The star attraction of this safari was definitely a young gaur. It was 3-4 years old as per the guide and was searching for his herd from which it got separated. ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Indian Vulture ![]() ![]() Sambhar giving us a good look ![]() Tortoise I guess! ![]() We then enjoyed a delicious breakfast at a designated point and concluded our safari. The drive back was a bit boring but we were lucky enough to spot a barking deer beside the road. It was too shy and we just about managed to click it. The rest of the day was spent inside the resort, playing some outdoor and indoor games and exploring the resort. I would definitely recommend this resort for the peaceful ambience and friendly staff. Day 3 - Khursapar This was the last day of our trip and we had to checkout by 12PM. We also had a morning safari in Khursapar zone. This was the most boring safari I have ever been to. The forest was very thick as well and we didn’t see the usual deer too for a long time. The only place where the sighting chances were high was a waterhole where all the gypsys from the safari converged on and waited. We all waited here for nearly 2 hours of the overall 4 hours of the safari but everyone was disappointed. Someone from the forest department had seen a tiger early morning at this waterhole and taking that lead everyone converged at that point but were left disappointed. The guide in this safari was also not up to the mark and didn’t make our experience any better. In this zone too, like the previous one there is a designated area where one can have breakfast and take a loo break in naturally built toilets. Thankfully didn’t have to use the toilets here. The only unique thing we saw in this trip was the Nilgai and even that we couldn’t capture well as we had to rush out of the zone before the exit time and the guide was already irritating us by then that we can’t stop for long else his officer will penalize him. Some photos below from this safari. The entry gate ![]() The thick forest with similar types of trees all through ![]() The water hole that looked barren without the beast ![]() We had a nice vantage position as no other gypsy would come in front of us but it felt like watching a flop movie with the best seats in a theatre. ![]() ![]() A machaan near the waterhole. Probably used for filming documentaries on tigers in Pench. ![]() Probably a Shikra but wasn't sure ![]() Practicing manual focus on this dragon fly was good for passing time near this waterhole. ![]() To be contd... Last edited by saleem_k : 7th April 2017 at 23:21. |
![]() | ![]() ![]() |
The following 6 BHPians Thank saleem_k for this useful post: | GTO, libranof1987, narmad, rav11stars, rockygidz, Secretariat |
![]() | #3 |
BHPian Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Hyderabad
Posts: 302
Thanked: 738 Times
| Day 3 - Return to Nagpur and Day 4 - The Drive Back to Hyderabad Day 3 - Checkout and drive back to Nagpur After returning from a rather boring safari, we had to pack up quickly as we were going beyond the checkout time. Thankfully the resort folks didn’t have too many customers checking-in that day so we could take our time for checkout. We started from the resort at around 1:30PM, went to Turia zone again, clicked some pics, purchased some memorabilia and set off for Nagpur. On our return we took lesser time as we came through a different and much better route. Had we travelled on this while coming to Pench, we would have saved at least half hour. The accommodation where we stayed ![]() ![]() The route from our resort to Turia is scenic and I'm a stickler for such bridges and small streams. Should be interesting in the monsoon. ![]() ![]() On our way back from the resort to the main road of Kohka ![]() ![]() We decided to have lunch in Haldiram’s Nagpur, which is famous for its food. Yes they didn't disappoint and both veg and non-veg items were delectable. We also purchased some famous sweets from the sweetshop below the restaurant and went to our hotel that was booked. Our friends’ train was scheduled to depart at 7PM from Nagpur so we first checked into our hotel 'The Legend Inn', everyone got fresh and we dropped them in the nick of time. Anyways the train was late slightly so we could say our goodbyes leisurely. Wifey and I returned to our hotel and spent the evening resting and watching tv after nearly 3 days. Day 4 – The return Next day we woke up leisurely, something we didn’t do yet on the trip. We had breakfast and checked out at around 10AM. The journey was pretty uneventful and after a short stop for lunch about 150 kms away from Hyderabad, we returned home by 5PM. The hotel where we stayed in Nagpur is near the airport and the best part was it was on the highway that goes to Hyderabad. So the next morning we could start leisurely and didn't have to worry about crossing Nagpur traffic. The view from our hotel room, having breakfast. ![]() Near the Penganga river bridge ![]() ![]() Roads near Adilabad ![]() Fort/watertank, whatever it was, it looked neat. ![]() The trip meter never lies ![]() Some pointers:
How did the car perform?
Thank you for reading and based on my limited experience of these forests, I would be happy to answer any query that the readers might have. Last edited by saleem_k : 8th April 2017 at 00:07. |
![]() | ![]() ![]() |
The following 16 BHPians Thank saleem_k for this useful post: | AJ-got-BHP, alphadog, GTO, HighwayHopper, libranof1987, mallumowgli, rockygidz, Rohit_Quad, rosaf, sanmish, schitre05, Secretariat, shivaru, SmartCat, sunny310c, VindyWheels |
![]() | #4 |
Team-BHP Support ![]() ![]() | Re: The Jungles of Pench Thread moved from the Assembly Line to Travelogues. Thanks for sharing! |
![]() | ![]() ![]() |
![]() | #5 |
BHPian ![]() | Re: The Jungles of Pench What a delightful and wonderful travelogue there ![]() Your travelogue made me nostalgic of our trip to Pench back in 2014. Link to my travelogue : http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travel...onal-park.html I am reliving the memories and sharing some snaps of our trip to Pench where we were blessed with 3 tiger sightings over 2 safaris. Sharing some random shots from our trip : ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() I wonder how much you must have wished that they could let you take your vehicle inside the National Park with the guidance of the Forest Official who could have tagged along ![]() |
![]() | ![]() ![]() |
The following 12 BHPians Thank AJ-got-BHP for this useful post: | aabhimanyu04, Aakarsh, alphadog, GTO, libranof1987, narmad, rockygidz, rosaf, shivaru, sunny310c, vsrivatsa, WheelD |
![]() | #6 | |
BHPian Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Hyderabad
Posts: 302
Thanked: 738 Times
| Re: The Jungles of Pench Quote:
I love driving but I love taking up the sights and sounds of the forest more. Moreover I wouldn't have been able to get some shots if I were to take my vehicle inside as an open vehicle would give you greater flexibility with regards to spotting and composing your clicks. So I'm happy that I didn't have to drive inside the park and I also believe that private vehicles shouldn't be allowed in any national parks. I unfortunately saw this happening in Corbett where private vehicles were allowed for safaris along with the guide and some of these so called 'posh' people were playing songs while on the safari. I saw one of them get down as well, which is a big no as there could be any wild animal around. ![]() | |
![]() | ![]() ![]() |
The following 3 BHPians Thank saleem_k for this useful post: | AJ-got-BHP, GTO, mallumowgli |
![]() | #7 |
BHPian ![]() Join Date: Sep 2015 Location: NBO,HYD,MAA
Posts: 227
Thanked: 484 Times
| Re: The Jungles of Pench @saleem_k: Amazing photos! Thank you so much for sharing those. And you are really lucky to have found a leopard and a tiger on the same trip! The planets definitely aligned for you ![]() You've really motivated me to go to Pench. If you have any suggestions about resort bookings or tips for the overall safari please do DM me. I'd love to get your suggestions. |
![]() | ![]() ![]() |
The following BHPian Thanks qr20de for this useful post: | saleem_k |
![]() | #8 |
BHPian Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Bangalore
Posts: 486
Thanked: 1,092 Times
| Re: The Jungles of Pench Awesome Travelogue & documentation. The Tiger you sighted is named as the Raiyakasa Male. He is the dominant male of that zone & is named after the area he is seen the most. Seeing a male tiger in central Indian forests is very special ![]() Heading to Pench next month. Your travelogue just made me get more impatient ![]() |
![]() | ![]() ![]() |
The following BHPian Thanks Torque123 for this useful post: | saleem_k |
![]() | #9 |
BHPian ![]() | Re: The Jungles of Pench A very good travelogue with great pics and documentation. I had crossed the Pench during our Ladakh Roadtrip 2015. Underrated indeed. Thanks for sharing. |
![]() | ![]() ![]() |
The following BHPian Thanks sami316 for this useful post: | saleem_k |
![]() | #10 | |||
BHPian Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Hyderabad
Posts: 302
Thanked: 738 Times
| Re: The Jungles of Pench Quote:
Quote:
![]() Quote:
![]() | |||
![]() | ![]() ![]() |
![]() | #11 | |
BHPian Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Bangalore
Posts: 486
Thanked: 1,092 Times
| Re: The Jungles of Pench Quote:
![]() ![]() Its unfortunate that your safari round in Khursapar did not result in any cat sighting. This season Khursapar & Touria have been rocking with cat sightings. May will be extremely hot. But its going to be the best time for cat sightings too. Will be doing 5 rounds in Kolsa range (Tadoba) & 3 rounds in Pench (have permits for Touria & Khursapar). Will be doing safaris in Touria or Khursapar based on the sightings/situation at that point of time. | |
![]() | ![]() ![]() |
|
![]() | #12 |
BHPian ![]() Join Date: Mar 2014 Location: Bangalore
Posts: 292
Thanked: 2,582 Times
| Re: The Jungles of Pench See how almost every commenter has characterised this as a delightful or awesome or amazing travelogue, for that is exactly what it is. Lovely photos and having been to Pench close to you, I can savour them even more. The photos of the tiger and jackals are priceless and spotting and photographing a leopard makes you a member of an even more unique club - despite many visits to many forests, I have never seen a leopard. Loved the photo of the deer in full flight. The only negative of your travelogue is that it is going to make Pench even more crowded ! |
![]() | ![]() ![]() |
![]() | #13 | |
BHPian Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Hyderabad
Posts: 302
Thanked: 738 Times
| Re: The Jungles of Pench Quote:
![]() You are right (about your comment on your travelogue), we all learn a lot from each other and that is the beauty of this forum and the reason why I'm hooked to it so much. ![]() Last edited by saleem_k : 12th April 2017 at 17:05. | |
![]() | ![]() ![]() |
![]() |