[animeshc]

Hello everyone! This happens to be my first travelogue. I finally managed to take a small vacation during the Covid times and decided to pen down the experience. You might find this a bit long with my thoughts wandering off in different directions. It is partially due to the excitement of stepping out after so long (a lot of which came back while I was writing it down) and partially due to the fact that I am a software engineer used to writing long design docs, that too long after the deadline has passed hence the blog is just delayed by about 3 months

While 2020 has caused enough pain to a lot of people and confined us all to our homes, an optimist could argue that it has allowed some of us to relive our childhood memories and has brought back the nostalgia(albeit bitter-sweet) of staying at our native places for long periods of time.
Though I agree with the optimist, my childhood memories also include a lot of family trips which had been missing this year. Even though the covid restrictions were lifted and the instagram feed was full of celebrities traveling abroad, a family lineage of doctors meant extra paranoia about stepping out of the house for even getting groceries, so a vacation seemed out of question. Finally in October, when the Covid cases finally started to decline, we decided to end the vacation drought and take a 3 day trip to a town in the interiors of Rajasthan, Bera!

A quick introduction about the place, it is a remote town in Rajasthan bordering Gujarat and famous for its Shepherds (Rabari community, remind yourself of Mr. Bachan in Paheli) and Leopards! It's one of its kind places and if you have happened to watch any NatGeo documentaries on it, you would know that unlike any of the other wildlife sanctuaries, Leopards and humans coexist without any boundaries.

A common interest in wildlife across the family, a remote location without many tourists and no active Covid cases in Bera made it an ideal choice over Ranthambore (which is usually our annual pilgrimage!).

Day 1: Morning

So on the morning of 9th Oct, we started off. Bera is around 400 kms from Jaipur and the route is Jaipur -> Ajmer -> Pali -> Sumerpur -> Bera which is a 4-6 lane highway barring the last 30 odd kms. Expecting a 7-7.5 hour drive, we set an ambitious goal to start by 5 in the morning, but it was only around 6:30 that we left the house.

Keeping inline with my recently instilled YOLO philosophy (the optimist again thanks Covid for that), I decided that I would drive our Octavia only in sports mode (Who cares about FE!).

Assuming empty roads in the morning and a 6 lane highway, I was looking forward to breaking a 27 year old family record of covering Jaipur-Ajmer (~125 kms) in 1.5 hours (by my dad in an Omni!). It ended up being wishful thinking as we encountered heavy truck traffic. In an ideal world, trucks would stick to the heavy lanes and we would just breeze past them, but instead we were often left watching turtle races with 3 trucks in 3 lanes trying to ‘outspeed’ each other (ideas for the next betting app right here!). A long jam before Ajmer meant the record remained in-tact and we crossed Ajmer around 8:45.



A small roadside breakfast break ensued and we were off. With less traffic after Ajmer, we could finally utilize the true potential of the car. The acceleration on offer with the 1.8 TSI is just remarkable and you are left with a smile every time you press down the right foot (Money can’t buy you happiness but maybe you can work with an Octavia!). Moving in and out of lanes at high 3 digit speeds and listening to Kishore Da songs, what else do you want!

We made up for the lost time and reached Sumerpur around noon.The last 30 kms were pretty bad and took us almost an hour. The approach to our resort was especially tricky and I was worried about the ground clearance (the times when you wish for your octavia to be magically switched for a Thar) but we managed to cross it unscraped.



Our abode for the next 2 days was the ‘Bera Safari Lodge’. It's one of the few luxury resorts in Bera. In normal times one would find it difficult to find accommodation here because of the small number of rooms and a high number of foreign guests, but ‘Hey! thanks Covid’. The owner Mr. Shatrunjay greeted us warmly, accompanied by his Doberman Magnum.
Stepping into a resort after more than 6 months was a bag of mixed emotion. While I was reminded of the joy and comforts of staying in a resort (along with the realization that maybe we had started to take these for granted), there was a slight skepticism around the potential exposure to Mr. Virus! But within a few minutes, all the negativity had vanished as we lost ourselves in the beauty of the place and its overwhelming hospitality.

The resort is right in the lap of nature with the forest beside it. One could spend hours just sitting by the side of the large glass windows and that’s what I primarily did that afternoon. I was still soaking in the fact that we were having a vacation in the middle of the pandemic and wanted to make sure that I enjoyed every second of it!






Day 1: Evening
Around 4:30 in the evening, it was finally time for the Safari. As is the case with most Safaris across India, Maruti Gypsy is the default choice of vehicles (although, here a Thar is part of the fleet too). As we drove out in the Forest, I was reminded of what we had been missing for a while, sunshine in the face, wind in the hair and a plethora of forest sounds. It was just an extremely surreal feeling, difficult to capture in words.

Bera is not a national park, which means there are no well defined boundaries or entrances to the forest, nor are there any fixed zones or timings. In an astonishing exhibition of symbiosis b/w Leopards and Humans, the Leopards stay in the rocky caves above while the Shepherds graze their cattle in the nearby fields and villagers cross the roads below on foot or 2 wheelers. At night, the leopards come down for their hunt and go back to the top by morning. It's quite common for these villagers to cross their paths with the big cats during the wee hours of the morning or late evenings (it's also the best chance for the Safari vehicles to spot them in action). But surprisingly, there are no incidents of humans being attacked or vice versa! The villagers are compensated by the local authorities for any loss of cattle, thus ensuring harmony in the wild.

The villagers also act as scouts informing the Gypsy drivers of possible locations of the big cat. Acting on one such piece of information, we waited out most of the evening below a rocky mountain. The news was that there was a female with her cubs in the caves above and we waited for her to climb down. Now anyone who has even little experience with wildlife would tell you that it's a game of patience but it's a totally different level when you are trying to spot Leopards. (If tracking tigers is like watching a Test match, tracking leopards is like watching a test match when Rahul Dravid and Shivnarine Chanderpaul are batting together).

Our patience didn’t reap any rewards on the first evening, though we witnessed a lovely sunset and I was just happy listening to the chirps of the insects and taking in the fresh forest air!

Stepping out in the wild after ages!




By the time we came back to our place, it was around 7 and the forest had started to cool down considerably. A hot cup of tea in a cozy common area was the perfect foil to the cold weather.



Tea and Magnum!


A sumptuous dinner followed soon after, a host of authentic Rajasthani dishes prepared with homegrown vegetables and served with utmost elegance was the common theme across all the meals.

It's only once you step out of the cities that you realize watching a star studded sky is a rarity now and this was no different. We were told that we could see the Milky Way about 3 o'clock in the morning and were told to be cautious and only come out with a torch in-case we decided to step out of the rooms. It's not very uncommon for the leopards to venture into the property, even Magnum gets locked up at night to prevent him from being the dessert! (Hard to resist that joke ). Though we didn’t wake up that early, we did come out to soak in the sky around midnight and it was indeed breathtaking, unfortunate that we didn’t have a good camera to capture it.

Day 2: Morning

An early morning alarm signalled our wake up for the next day. By 5, we were in the forest at the same spot as last evening. The family was still expected to be there. We drove around the place, with the drivers expertly maneuvering the gypsy around the rocky boulders taking the vehicle to seemingly impossible spots. While we did get many scares when the vehicle hurdled down some steep slopes or reversed right to the edge of the rocks, but amidst all these nerve wrecking moments, we were witness to a beautiful sunrise in the backdrop of the Aravallis.





Around 7 am, the driver got a call that there was a sighting at another spot. In what felt like a Dr. Banner to Hulk transformation, the driver shot off as fast as he could, not caring one bit about the absence of proper roads or the poor passengers seated on the back seats jumping up and down clinging onto the metal bars. We were going so fast that it was hard to keep our eyes open (remember there is no roof or windshield), we were not sure it was the vehicle creaking or our body parts. I wondered if they should mandate some basic yoga and body stretches before embarking on these rides. After about 10-12 mins of mad rush when the dust settled (thankfully the vehicle didn’t disassemble into multiple pieces as they show in cartoons), we were at another rocky hill and there it was! A female leopard majestically seated on top of one of the boulders though fairly well camouflaged within its surroundings. Had the driver not been with us, it would have been easy to miss it.



While we sat there and admired the leopard, a couple of bikers drove past carrying out their daily chores totally unfazed by the presence of that animal, just showing how deep rooted is the coexistence b/w humans and animals. Once it got bored of our company, it just walked up and effortlessly jumped its way to the higher rocks and quickly disappeared onto the other side of the hill.







We were told that there were a couple of cubs as well (a different family resided here than our first spot), we waited for a while and drove around the nearby boulders to catch a glimpse of them. But without any luck.



On the way back, we went to see the Jawai dam which is a huge water body and the home to a lot of crocodiles (and also the source of the delicious fish we had at the resort). Its serenity was the perfect compliment to the adrenaline rush of chasing the leopards a few mins ago.




Who needs roads when you have a Gypsy!



When we got back, we got to know that the first spot had witnessed a male leopard trying to enter the caves and a subsequent bollywood like fight scene on the hill tops with the female trying to chase it away. We of-course missed it live but saw it on the camera of one of the co travelers which got us all excited for our evening safari.

A lazy afternoon was spent soaking in the sun and listening to all the insects and birds at work!

Day 2: Evening

By 4:30 in the evening, we were back to the first spot and saw the defeated male perched atop one of the rocks. It was at such a height that we could see it only through the binoculars or zooming in the camera to its max, kudos to whoever spotted it in the first place. While we urged for it to get up and walk around hoping to get a better view, it was just too lazy to even sit up.
Whenever I think of a leopard, I imagine an athlete dashing around at high speeds but in reality, they are as lazy as our household cats. Only when a herd of cattle passed by, it slightly raised its head.





The Rabaris of Bera, the cattle had the Leopard interested for a brief moment.




After waiting for more than an hour, one of the vehicles decided to check out the morning spot and soon we got a call that the cubs were out in the open. You know the Schumacher drill that followed!

On reaching the spot, we saw our morning friend seated with utmost poise and elegance! There were a couple of cubs who were appearing from the rocks behind every once in a while and scurrying back as quickly. We sat there for a long time, watching these beautiful animals at play forgetting about the worries of work or the pandemic till the sun gave way to the night sky. If I were an artist, it would have been the perfect frame to paint on a canvas!



Day 3 : Morning
For the final safari, we explored a different side of the forest. It promised a wider variety of flora and fauna. We soon saw a group of spotted deer and a jackal which quickly hurried away before we could capture it. After about an hour of the trip which was all on flat terrains, the drivers started taking us up the rocks, to places I would have never imagined a vehicle could reach! The previous trips also had their shares of nerve wracking moments, but this was another level. I am not an expert in off-roading but I am sure even the best would have appreciated the skills on display.

What awaited at the end of the climb was the most scenic sunrise of the year. Sitting atop the hill with the forest extending below and the sun rising from behind the Aravallis.







By 10 am we started back, with a lot of happy memories, a new found love for the place and of-course 5 kgs of fresh catch of fish from the Jawai dam (Bong traits at play!) and also a parting thought that if you indeed have to get quarantined, this may be the perfect place!. And oh yes, I agree with that optimist a bit more now.

[Gannu_1]

What an intro post dude! Welcome to Team BHP!

Lovely sighting of the cat too. Do tell us more of yourself in an intro thread. Thank you for sharing the travelogue!

[ABHI_1512]

Bera is one place that I wanted to visit this year but then the pandemic kind of halted all our plans. Bera has supposedly the highest density of leopards in the world and that’s actually wonderful that one can sight a leopard amidst its natural habitat from such close quarters.

Heard a lot about Mr Shatrunjay and his place. I hope you enjoyed the wonderful food on offer there. Thank you for sharing a log of the wonderful place and the experience. Wonderful read and I hope someday you get close to the family record of doing Jaipur-Ajmer too but till then the OMNI rules

Welcome to the forum and will look forward to your future escapades

[Rangy62]

Bera Safari lodge is an excellent place to stay. Visited them in March19. Very lucky to have spotted a mother with 2 Cubs. Procrastinating and laziness to blame, I have still not processed my pictures from Bera.

[catchjyoti]

Loved your pics and write-up. Nice to see the pictures of the wild cat.

Couldn't help but observe that you are a software engineer but have a Doctor sticker on your front windshield

[earthian]

Great start to the new year

Good pictures and crisp narration. I have been to bera twice and as you say,the sightings are very far off. The gypsy drivers are awesome and they put the car through some tough loops. The resort must have been pretty expensive though. We had heard stories that the tariff could be as high as 50- 100 k per night,,!

[devnull]

Loved it! What an engaging read with brilliant touches of humour. Great first post indeed. Always knew that you're a very good driver and cricketer , but didn't know you had this other ace up your sleeves. Hope you get to go on more road trips and post more of these. RJ is so on my list of areas to drive at after having driven in most of the other parts of the country.

[Tgo]

Originally Posted by animeshc

Hello everyone! This happens to be my first travelogue.

Hi Animesh, nice to see you after Xaviers. Tanmay here from 06.

Such a lovely write-up and pictures. Need to tell my dad about this as he’ll lap up the next opportunity he gets to leave the house to visit.

Hope to see more post from you...

[blackwasp]

Lovely travelogue there Animesh.

Rajasthan roads are fantastic and thanks for sharing your experience in Bera. It’s been a while since I last visited Rajasthan and I’m surely going to take notes from your travelogue for my next visit.

Cheers.

[animeshc]

Originally Posted by Gannu_1

What an intro post dude! Welcome to Team BHP!

Lovely sighting of the cat too. Do tell us more of yourself in an intro thread. Thank you for sharing the travelogue!

Thank you! Sure, will try to share an intro soon.

Originally Posted by ABHI_1512

Bera is one place that I wanted to visit this year but then the pandemic kind of halted all our plans. Bera has supposedly the highest density of leopards in the world and that’s actually wonderful that one can sight a leopard amidst its natural habitat from such close quarters.

Heard a lot about Mr Shatrunjay and his place. I hope you enjoyed the wonderful food on offer there. Thank you for sharing a log of the wonderful place and the experience. Wonderful read and I hope someday you get close to the family record of doing Jaipur-Ajmer too but till then the OMNI rules

Welcome to the forum and will look forward to your future escapades

Yes, its indeed a wonderful place for spotting leopards. Well, OMNI doesn't just rule, it rolls too (literally!)

Originally Posted by Rangy62

Bera Safari lodge is an excellent place to stay. Visited them in March19. Very lucky to have spotted a mother with 2 Cubs. Procrastinating and laziness to blame, I have still not processed my pictures from Bera.

I hope you share them soon!

Originally Posted by catchjyoti

Loved your pics and write-up. Nice to see the pictures of the wild cat.

Couldn't help but observe that you are a software engineer but have a Doctor sticker on your front windshield

Thanks. Wow, Good observation! That's because both my parents are doctors.

Originally Posted by earthian

Great start to the new year

Good pictures and crisp narration. I have been to bera twice and as you say,the sightings are very far off. The gypsy drivers are awesome and they put the car through some tough loops. The resort must have been pretty expensive though. We had heard stories that the tariff could be as high as 50- 100 k per night,,!

Thanks! Due to the Covid scenario the rates are quite reasonable right now.

Originally Posted by devnull

Loved it! What an engaging read with brilliant touches of humour. Great first post indeed. Always knew that you're a very good driver and cricketer , but didn't know you had this other ace up your sleeves. Hope you get to go on more road trips and post more of these. RJ is so on my list of areas to drive at after having driven in most of the other parts of the country.

Thanks a lot for the kind words , now you have left me wondering if we have played cricket together.

Originally Posted by Tgo

Hi Animesh, nice to see you after Xaviers. Tanmay here from 06.

Such a lovely write-up and pictures. Need to tell my dad about this as he’ll lap up the next opportunity he gets to leave the house to visit.

Hope to see more post from you...

Hey Tanmay! Thanks and what a pleasant surprise to hear from you, indeed been a long time!

Originally Posted by blackwasp

Lovely travelogue there Animesh.

Rajasthan roads are fantastic and thanks for sharing your experience in Bera. It’s been a while since I last visited Rajasthan and I’m surely going to take notes from your travelogue for my next visit.

Cheers.

Thanks, glad that it would be of use.

[vredesbyrd]

Great travelogue! Brings back memories of 2007-08 when my father was posted in Jodhpur. I'm planning a trip to Jaisalmer and rural parts in 2021 winters in my Superb. Couldn't drive back in 07-08 so I'll do this now. Thanks for the inspiration, I'll start putting some funds aside.

[ManneAtWheelz]

Wow, a well deserved 5 star rated travelogue post this is. What a way to start with, simply outstanding with humourous narration of your journey, lost count of how many times I laughed myself (family here thought I went nuts ) .

This post of yours reminded me of my past trip to Kanha national park in MP frame by frame except hills replaced with thick forest, gypsy replaced with elephants and in bone chilling atmosphere (about 2 degrees when we visited )

[kauphylover]

Lovely read and the place feels idyllic. Definitely adding Bera to the list of spots to visit when we visit Rajasthan.

[yesyeswe]

Lovely pictures and a must go place for anyone looking to spend some time close to nature, can you share the prices for the lodge as well, i checked their website and they haven't mentioned it there.

[animeshc]

Originally Posted by yesyeswe

Lovely pictures and a must go place for anyone looking to spend some time close to nature, can you share the prices for the lodge as well, i checked their website and they haven't mentioned it there.

Thanks. The current prices are around (16k + taxes) per night per room (dual accommodation), inclusive of all meals and safaris.