My trip to Pench National park

We finally saw her, a beautiful brownish-orange animal with black stripes all over and with full grace was she looking here and there sitting in the shadow of the trees licking and rubbing her face. She was Baaras, a three year old female tiger. She really made us feel excited.

    Yes, it’s true that we have visited almost all the national parks of India but hadn’t seen a tiger, not even its tail. It then became our belief that there are no tigers in the jungles of India until we saw Baaras in Pench National park.

The Pench Tiger Reserve and its neighborhood is the original setting of Rudyard Kipling’s most famous work, ‘The Jungle Book’. During his second visit to India, from 1882 to 1889, he worked as a journalist, keeping exhaustive notes about life in that country. These notes became the basis of many books, including the children’s story - The Jungle Book. He received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1907.

    The reserve gets its name from ‘Pench river’ that bisects the Pench Reserve into two parts i.e. East Pench and West Pench. The Pench National Park and Tiger Reserve extends over an area of 660 sq.km. in the lower southern reaches of the Satpuda hill ranges, along the northern boundary of Nagpur district. In 2011, the park won ‘The Best Management Award’. 

    There are six gates to enter the park – Sillari, Chorbahuli, Khursapar, Kolitmara, Surewani, Khubala. There are few more from the MP border side as well.

    The Pench Tiger Reserve is a dry deciduous forest of predominantly teak trees and as such supports a rich and diverse array of wildlife. Tiger is the main cat species of the park. As per tiger estimation of 2017, there are about 44 adults and nearly 23 sub adults (cubs). Commonly seen animals are spotted deer (chitals), bluebull (nilgay), sambar, wild boar, gaur (Indian bison), wild dog, jungle cat, barking deer, jackal, etc. Other wild animals found are leopard, sloth bear, wolf, ratel, rusty spotted cat, porcupine, fox, flying squirrel, crocodile, etc. There are more than 300 species of birds including several migratory ones. Some of them are peafowl, jungle fowl, orioles, emerald doves, drongos, teals, shovelers. The park boasts of healthy population of vultures and four hornbill species.

    We started from Pune at 5 a.m. on 20^th May. We were all very excited about the trip. It was a long tiring journey. We reached Nagpur at 5 p.m. in the evening. The National Park is two hours away from Nagpur. Till 7, we reached our forest resort Amaltas Tourism Complex at Sillari, where we were going to stay. To our surprise, it was quite well maintained. The rooms were clean and tidy. The area was quite big with many cottages. There was some playing area for kids, community hall, canteen, museum, auditorium, dormitory room facility, rest house, booking centre of safaris, etc. The resort was located near the main gate at Sillari.

our room

    Next morning, we woke up at 6 a.m. and were just wandering in the campus area when we saw some safari jeeps standing in the parking area. There was no one except for the drivers and the guides idling along. It was indeed surprising as generally in the peak season, there are fights over booking of the safaris. As we had nothing to do, we enquired for an off-line booking of a safari and yes, we got one. We grabbed the cameras and all the other essentials and jumped into the jeep along with our guide, Mahadev.

Ready for Safari!

We entered Sillari gate and were welcomed by various animals like spotted deer, blue bull, gaur and the birds like peacocks, jungle fowl, tree pies, orioles, doves, drongos, etc. Our guide gave us lot of information not only about birds and animals but also about plants and trees as well.

    On our way, we came across the pug marks of the tiger. We later on came to know after moving on further that it was not only one, two but three of them, one being a mother and the other two cubs. This increased our excitement.

Pug marks of atiger

    We visited Bakhari Lake, famous for spotting tigers, a vital water source surrounded by dense forest and favorite spot for tourists. There were some water birds floating on the water, some peacocks were feeding, a serpent eagle sitting high up on the tree. We then moved to Bhivsan Kendra  where we had a 5 minutes break followed by Jannat point ( Juna Boat Camp).The undulating dunes of this landscape offers a paradise for photographers and bird watchers. Jannat means heaven in Hindi and the name was right in its true sense.

On our way to Jannat point

    While returning back, we decided to go by the same route we had come. It was about 9:10 when we were passing through Bakhari Lake when we saw some crowd gathered in a place. When we went there, we came to know that there was a tiger sitting in the jungles at approx. 200 meters away from us. It was a female waiting to drink water from the lake. She looked tired.

And we spotted a tiger!

    
      We were as grateful as it was the first time we saw a tiger in the jungle. Unfortunately, as the park gets closed at 9:30 a.m., we had to leave the place. Yes, we enjoyed our first sighting of a tiger. Could we see more of them, we wondered!

    After 9:30, we then returned to our resort, got refreshed, had our breakfast and then we sat in the verandah of our cottage looking, observing various birds and the mischief played by langoors and monkeys. It was then 12:30 p.m., time to have lunch!

     This place has nothing much to do except for the safaris, hence the place is highly recommended for nature lovers or the people who like to observe nature and learn from it.

    We had a nap at noon and then got ready for our next safari. It was 3 p.m. We didn’t saw a tiger this time. Instead, we saw many sambars wandering here and there. This time, we went in another area. First we went to Salama colony, followed by Totladoh dam, a dam on the Pench River, situated inside The Pench Tiger Reserve. The power generated is used by Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra.

Then we went to Ambakhori falls, a picturesque location situated on the banks of Pench River where there is a beautiful waterfall for almost 9 months of the year. While going to Ambakhori, there was a brook where a fish owl was sitting. We were observing it when suddenly; we heard some calls of monkeys. The area was quite hilly and lonely. There was a Sambar nearby who started stamping its foot making a noise like “phank”. We thought it to be a leopard but maybe it ran away. I found this area little boring. Apart from Sambars, we saw many peacocks, monkeys, etc.

Sambar seen on our way 

Fish owl

    But this time, we experienced a different nature of the jungle. On our way back to Salama colony, dark clouds gathered and it suddenly became stormy. Trees started to sway rapidly, it became windy and it started lightening. We were quite fortunate that we were close to Salama colony.

    We rushed in the check post of Salama and took shelter till the rain, storm stopped. It was 5:30 then. We were just staring at the wind, the rain and the lightening in full flurry. What else could we do than to stare at the forces of the nature? I realized one thing there that man and animals are totally helpless in front of the nature. Hence, we must always respect and obey nature.

    We waited there for almost an hour but of no use. Finally, we decided to tie up the plastic sheet and move on further. The storm had calmed down but it was still raining and lightening.

    We reached Sillari gate after covering a distance of approx. 13km and found out to be the last one to leave the park. When we came back to the resort we were shocked to see the place dry. It didn’t rain near our resort. It was indeed a different and unexpected experience.

     Next day, we were ready for yet another morning safari. We entered the park, a little disappointed as the rain had not stopped till that moment. This time, we again visited some new places like Saddle dam, a scenic landscape providing a breath taking view of forests with a back drop of the backwaters of Totladoh dam. We didn’t see any new animals there, just the expected ones, i.e. sambars, monkeys, peacock and other birds. On our way, we saw a female sambar who was about to give birth to the young one. We then went again to Jannat point. According to our guide, a tiger was spotted there last night but today there were no traces. We then came to know that one of the tourists did spot a tiger in a place called Bamboo Van. This patch of forest is home for plenty of herbivores in the back drop of tall bamboo forest making it a good hunting ground for big cats. We went there through Bhukamp road. Bhukamp means earthquake. There is a seismometer to measure earthquakes here and even the roads are full of ups and downs, turns and steep slopes.

Jannat point

    On reaching Bamboo Van, we did hear the calling of monkeys which was a clear indication that there was some wild animal behind the bamboos but maybe it ran away as the calls stopped after sometime. We were sad because we were expecting a tiger there. We went back again to Totladoh dam and come back to Salama colony and returned back to the resort disheartened.

    Sillari gate remains closed on Wednesday so we had nothing to do on Wednesday. The Manager, after having a 5-10 minutes talk, asked, “Are you guys interested in one more safari? I will make some arrangements for you. I will ask for a safari through the Khursapar gate (which incidentally was open that day). I will come with you”.

    Khursapar is another gate located on the borders of Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh which is famous only for tiger spotting but the problem was that it was quiet away from Sillari gate. So, we were not sure about this safari but when the manager was convinced about guaranteed spotting of the tiger we too agreed.

    After having our lunch we saw the museum in the resort and were shown some documentary films in the auditorium. They even showed us a movie, ‘Two Brothers’ which we thought was unnecessary because it was not related to Pench Tiger Reserve. However the auditorium was indeed well set up and had good audio and seating arrangements. Something which is rare in the middle of the jungle!

Th auditorium in our resort

    We were all alone in the resort. Hence, it was quiet and calm. We then decided to go to Chorbahuli, another gate which is located near NH7, 57km away from Nagpur. We enquired about the safari for a safer side. Finally it was decided till 8 o’ clock in evening to go to Khursapar.

    23^rd May. We woke up early in the morning at 4:30 only to know that it was and raining out there. We were ready and the manager came with a jeep. It was decided then to wait for 5-10 minutes, see what’s happening and then decide what to do but certainly, the rain was not going to stop. We decided to go on for it and managed to reach Khursapar gate till 5:45 a.m. Fortunately, the rain had stopped and the sun began to shine.

    We complete the  booking formalities and went in. I was surprised to see that forest department has appointed some female guides too which is praiseworthy. We were accompanied by one of them. Her name was Seema and she told that including her, there are total 8-9 of them working for the forest department.

      As usual, we saw some herds of spotted deer. This made me realize one thing that you may not see a tiger in an Indian forest but you will certainly see a deer grazing that too, in herds. While we moved further, we again came across some crowd. We were expecting a tiger and yes it was! The female tiger Baaras!

Baaras- the tigress

    I was looking at the expressions of the people, as if they had appeared for some really hard exam and now have successfully got through it with flying colors. There was a pride on everybody’s face.  We all could see Baaras but she was sitting deep into the jungle cleaning herself and in no mood to budge. With a very heavy heart, we left the place after some time in search of something new. We saw some peacocks dancing, sambars, chitals, jungle owlets and a pair of barking deer. We even saw some nail markings of a tiger on the tree. We wandered in the jungle for some time and then went near the canteen for a 5 minutes break. There we saw a fan-throated lizard fanning out its yellow fan.

The crowd gathered to watch the tigress

    After the break, I don’t know how, but we again came back to the place where we first saw Baaras. She had moved further, approximately 200m away from us. Our guide told us about one of her habits that she eats very much and being a juvenile, she cannot digest the food and faces problems such as indigestion and constipation. According to her, she was facing the same problem this time. She gave us some more information about Baaras saying that being a younger female; she was being allowed to live in area of Durga (her mother) who is now a mother of three 5-months old cubs.

    Why the name ‘Baaras’? Because she has number ‘12’ (Bara in Marathi/Hindi) above her left eye. I felt her to be cute and chubby.

The place was quiet and distinct. Just besides the jungle track was a water hole, about 100m away. Beyond the water hole, there was a sudden steep slope maybe a dried up gorge and immediately after that was a hill on which she was sitting. Suddenly, Baaras stood up and disappeared into the gorge .All that were present there were waiting patiently for her to come back. She was moaning sitting in the gorge. and we could hear her faint sounds ‘AAOUU’.  Every one stood with baited breath for the animal to come out. Suddenly, a peacock nearby saw her and gave a call. Few minutes later, Baaras started walking towards the hill but something caught her attention. There was a herd of spotted deer nearby, grazing, which hadn’t seen Baaras. Baaras took position. Maybe she wanted to attack on a deer but something stopped her and even the deer ran away a couple of moment later on seeing her. Frustrated, she then walked a bit further parallel to the hill and stopped, thinking. She started walking back to the gorge but this time, she was just behind the water hole. We thought we lost her. Our guide was standing on the seat next to the driver seat looking for her. She murmured, “First foot placed.” We started thinking what this exactly meant? Nevertheless our eyes were keen to see the tiger. No sooner she said this, the tigress came up near the water hole. Whoa!  A three year old beautiful tigress just in front of us! The sound of the shutter clicks suddenly filled the ears. Everybody started clicking photographs of her, some video shooting, some were taking selfies but Baaras, she was least bothered of what we people were doing.

Why Baaras? Look at the eyebrow

     She bent her fore limbs and drank some water with her eyes towards us and ears turned backwards, maybe judging the movements of the deer. Oh, what a wonderful sight it was! She then turned and with her hind legs in the water, she moaned again. Then she sat down with her back in the water facing towards the hill for a long time.

    It was nine now and we were quiet far away from the exit gate. Hence, one by one the jeeps started leaving the place. We too were going to leave the place, when the tigress got up and started walking on the borders of the waterhole and then stood thinking more than five minutes. Then this graceful animal started walking down in the gorge and then disappeared out of sight. It was an unforgettable pleasing experience. There was regret of leaving the place in our mind but the tigress had already left and there was time limit, so we had to return. We had to rush through the jungle to reach the exit gate in time. The road was curvy, full of stones and pebbles and potholes but it was a great fun.

    We came back to our resort till 10:15, got refreshed, had our breakfast and then decided to pay a visit to Madhya Pradesh side of the park. We went to enquire for Turiya gate but the gate was closed that day. The surrounding area was not that good. The roads were poorly maintained but the resorts and hotels were quiet luxurious. We had our lunch while coming back to our resort on the way. After having some rest, we started packing our bags for the upcoming day.

Turiya gate

    I was feeling sad the next day. I didn’t want to leave because it was a lovely place. This was the first ever National Park where in we saw a tiger hence wanted to stay as long as we could but that wasn’t possible, you know, as our next destination was beckoning us- Ajanta caves.

    We left Pench at about 8:30 a.m. with a very heavy heart. The road was seriously checking our patience as there was traffic jam in between and there was no scope in moving forward and backward. We were there for almost half an hour. Even after getting out of it, our destination was far away from the place.

    It was a dry area with no trees and with dry air. There were only shrubs. Somehow, we managed to reach the place, Fardapur, a village near Ajanta caves at about 5 o’ clock in the evening. It was an exhausting day. The village surrounding the caves is not at all good but the caves are worth seeing.

    Ajanta caves are 29 rock cut Buddhist cave which date from 2^nd century BCE to about 480 CE in Aurangabad district of Maharashtra state. The caves  include the paintings and rock cut sculptures described as among the finest surviving example of ancient Indian art, particularly expressive are the paintings which present emotion through gesture, pose and form.

Ajanta caves

    The caves were covered by jungle until accidently ‘discovered’ and brought to Western attention in 1819 by a colonial British officer on a tiger- hunting party. The Ajanta caves are located on the side of a rocky cliff that is on the north side of a U-shaped gorge on the small river, Waghur, in the Deccan plateau. Further, round the gorge are a number of waterfalls, which when the river is high, are audible from outside the caves. Along with the Ellora caves, Ajanta is the major tourist attraction of Maharashtra and is heritage site.

     The next day, we woke up at 6:30 in the morning and started from our hotel at about 8:45 towards the caves after being refreshed. The caves were almost 2-3km away from our hotel. There was a parking area allotted for the visitors. There is a bus shuttle service from parking area to the caves. You have to climb up a small hill to reach the caves. The mesmerizing beauty of the nature seen here is completely startling.

    There is information displayed outside each and every cave except for the few as their access is closed, hence it is not necessary to hire a guide spending a lot of money unless and until you want to actually study the caves in detail.

    It took 2-3 hours to see the caves. The paintings in the cave are surely very beautiful but now being quiet old, most of them have got damaged. There are sculptures and monuments in the rest of the caves.

Caves and sculptures in Ajanta

    We came back to the hotel by 11:45 a.m., had our lunch and took some rest. We started again from our hotel at 4:45 in the evening to go to The Top View Point. This is a place on another hill from where you can see all the caves in U-shape and this is the place from where these caves were first discovered. The scene was brilliant. Standing there, I was watching and just thinking how wonderful it would be in monsoon when it is in summer. This is the place where you can see beautiful sunset.

    We sat in the park near our hotel for sometime till the evening. I was in grief. The holiday trip had come to an end. I was going to miss the places I had visited. The next day, we started from Fardapur at about 8:15 and reached Pune at 5 o’ clock in the evening.

      I liked this place so much that I hope that I will once again get a chance to visit Pench in future

 Photo credits: 

 Mansi Wagh
 Chetan Wagh

Watch the Youtube video of the safari here