En route Half-moon beach from Om beach
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View from the trek route
Sunset at Om beach
My likeness for
nature, wildlife and photography, and a curiosity to meet Shere Khan in his
natural habitat, took me to the Mougli land, Pench national park.
I took a train from Hyderabad till Nagpur, and
then a taxi to Pench. I was planning to take the jungle safari from the Turia
gate in Madhya Pradesh, so I stayed in one of the resorts close to the gate.
There are two safaris per day from Turia, one in the morning from 6A.M. to
10A.M., and another in the evening from 3P.M to 6P.M. You can make online
reservations for these from here (I will recommend making prior reservations,
especially around weekends). I stayed there for 2 days and did a total of 4
safaris, two in the morning and two in the evening, and I spotted a tiger in
one of the morning safaris. Tiger sightings are more probable in the morning,
and more the number of safaris you do, better the chances of sighting the big
cats, so plan accordingly.
Apart from the Bengal Tiger, the jungle is also
home to many other species of animals and birds. Here is what I saw:
Birds: Indian
Roller, Peacock, Junglefowl, Pipit, Collared Scops Owl, Vulture, Crested Hawk
Eagle, Kingfisher, Rufous Treepie, Racket Tailed Drongo, White-bellied Drongo,
Parakeet, Grey Hornbill, Malabar Pied Hornbill, Woodpecker, Green Bee-eater,
Stork, Red Wattled Lapwing, Brahminy Duck
Animals: Tiger, Spotted Deer, Sambhar Deer, Nilgai, Indian Gaur,
Elephant, Wild Boar, Jackal, Langur, Common Monkey
Apart from the
above, with beautiful scenery, fresh air, chirping of birds, and the rare roar
of a tiger, it was a wonderful experience overall. If you concentrate too much
on spotting a tiger, you might miss out on rest of the experience. Enjoy the
journey through the jungle as a whole and rest assured that you will not come
back disappointed
Day 1: Hyderabad
to Haridwar
I took a morning flight from Hyderabad to
Delhi. I then took an afternoon train to Haridwar. It took 5 hours to reach
Haridwar. I checked into a hotel close to the railway station and stayed the
night.
Day 2: Haridwar
to Joshimath
The Haridwar bus stand is very close to the
railway station, and from here you easily get buses to Joshimath. However,
there are only early morning buses, so you will have to start early. I took a
bus at 5 A.M. and reached Joshimath by 3 P.M. I checked into a hotel and stayed
overnight at Joshimath.
Day 3: Joshimath
to Ghangaria
I checked out and started early in the morning.
Since I was planning to return to the same hotel after the trek, I left my
luggage there and carried only the things essential for the 3-day trek. I took
a jeep to Govind Ghat from the local taxi stand. From Govind Ghat, you need to
take another jeep to Pulna, which is the starting point of the trek. From here,
it is a 10 km trek uphill, to Ghangaria. I started the trek around 9 A.M. and
reached Ghangaria by around 2 P.M. Most part of the route is dotted with frequent
stalls from where you can get water and food, and the trek route is pretty
clear throughout. After checking into a hotel at Ghangaria, I took a stroll to
a nearby waterfall, which was less than a kilometer away. I spent some time
there before retiring for the day.
Day 4: Valley of
flowers
I got some food packed for lunch and left my
room early in the morning. The check-post to the valley opens at 7A.M., so make
sure you reach on time to make the most of the day (The entry point is about a
kilometer from Ghangaria). It is a unidirectional (except for a small detour to
the Legge’s memorial grave) trek with a clear trail that you can do on your
own. There are no stalls in this route, so go prepared. Camping inside the
valley is not allowed since it has an exit time of 5.30 P.M. An average person
should be easily able to make it till the Pushpavati riverbed and back to the
gate on time, covering a total of about 12 km.
Day 5: Hemkund
Sahib
I got some food packed and started early
towards Hemkund Sahib. This trek route is also dotted with frequent stalls
throughout. It is a steep 7 km climb one way, to the Gurudwara situated on the
banks of a scenic lake. There is no place to stay at the top. After spending
some time by the lake, I returned back to my room in Ghangaria and retired for
the day.
Day 6: Ghangaria
to Joshimath; Auli
I checked out from my hotel at about 6 A.M. and
started trekking back to Pulna. This is the same trail that one takes from
Pulna to Ghangaria but climbing down was easier and I reached Pulna by 9 A.M. I
then took a jeep to Govind Ghat and then another one to my hotel at Joshimath.
After checking in and having lunch, I left for Auli. I took the ropeway from
Joshimath to Auli. After spending some time at Auli, I returned back to
Joshimath by ropeway again.
Day 7: Joshimath
to Rishikesh
I checked out early and took a bus to
Rishikesh. There are only early morning buses available, so you will need to
start early. I took a bus at 5.30 A.M. and reached Rishikesh by 3.30 P.M. I
checked into a hotel and rested for the day.
Day 8: Rishikesh
Monsoon is off season at Rishikesh, so none of
the adventure activities were open. I rented a two-wheeler from one of the many
bike rentals available and spent the day at Beetles ashram, Ganga view cafes,
Laman Jhula, and Neergarh waterfalls.
Day 9: Rishikesh
to Hyderabad
Day 1
I took a morning
flight from Hyderabad to Dehradun via Delhi. There is a pre-paid taxi stand at
the airport, from where you can take a cab to Rishikesh. It takes about half an
hour to reach Tapovan area in Rishikesh. After checking in at the hotel at
around 2 PM, I went rafting. There are many offices in Tapovan which cater to
this. You can also ask the staff at the hotel to arrange for the same. They
pick you up from the hotel, take you till Shivpuri which is the starting point
for rafting and also drop you back later. The activity takes about 3-4 hours
and includes rafting (16 km), bodysurfing and cliff jumping.
Day 2
I spent most of
the day in local sightseeing, covering Laxman jhula, Ram jhula and Goa beach.
Rishikesh is best explored on feet, and moreover these places are not too far
away from each other and from Tapovan, so I did not need a taxi. While you are
at it, there are many cafes near Laxman jhula that provide great food at
nominal rates, that you can try. Pick the ones with a river view to unwind and
relax.
Day 3
This day was
well spent at Jumpin heights, an extreme adventure zone less than an hour away
from Rishikesh. Their office is in Tapovan from where you can take a shuttle to
reach the jump zone. They have three adventure activities including bungee
jumping. It took me about 5 hours (including wait time) to finish all three
after which I took the shuttle back again to Rishikesh. This place is highly
recommended, and it is better to make prior reservations, especially for the
bungee. You can find more details here.
Day 4
I rented a
two-wheeler for half a day (You can easily spot bike rentals all around
Tapovan) and went around the hills, looking for serene views. I found quite a
few of those, where I spent some time relaxing and clicking pictures. I checked
out from the hotel after lunch and took a cab to Dehradun. I then flew back to
Hyderabad, again via Delhi.
I’m Kavipriya
Adhinarayanan, a travel and photography hobbyist based out of India. For
queries or collaborations, you can reach me at kavipriya[at]experimentalexplorer[dot]com
