Other than the wildlife, Rajaji National Park offers amazing views and is a good option for the landscape/nature photographer. Here are some images that I have taken on my previous trips to the reserve. The best time to visit the park or nearby for some landscape photography would be in the winter and images would be less hazy. In addition to this, the dark clouds and mist give the images a bit surrealistic. Here is a showcase of landscapes of the national park. Equipment used is the Canon 5D Mark III and Canon 17-40mm f/4 L lens.
Travels
Elephant Sighting at Jhilmil Jheel
Jhilmil Jheel conservation area is part of Rajaji National Park and a good spot for sighting Elephants, Leopards, Sloth Bear and Swamp Deer. This is located near Haridwar and is 9349.23 acres. It is also the only Terai marshland where Uttarakhands only surviving herd of Swamp Deer live.
Review on Arundhati Nature Shop
This is a small shop located just across the road from Chilla entry gate. It is run by Viru Negi and stocks books, souvenirs, cups, t-shirts, toy or anything related to wildlife. Everything is reasonably priced and of good quality. T-shirts are available for people of all ages, some with tiger prints, some with leopard prints on them.
Birding in Rajaji National Park
Rajaji National Park is not only a great place for mammals but also a great spot for birding. Here is a showcase of bird photographs taken at Rajaji National Park. These were taken in the summer.
Mammals of Rajaji National Park
Here is a selection of images captured during my trips to Ranipur, Chilla range and also Ghori range of Rajaji national park. I had reasoanbly good sighting of animals when I visited the park in the months of May and June. Due to the heat even the animals are not easily seen and are in areas of shade. If planning a trip here in May or June then this is the time when there will be alot of traffic on the roads due to Char Dham Yatra and Rajaji is close to both Haridwar and Rishikesh which attracts alot of pilgrims every year.
Raptors at Rajaji National Park
Chilla is the most popular zone of Rajaji national park and it is in this zone that I have been able to capture a number of raptors. However the Crested Serpent Eagle is quite occassionally seen compared to the other raptors. The Chilla range has diverse habitat which include Sal forests, grasslands, dry forests, riverine forests, teak plantatations, semi-arid Bhabhar, mixed-moist and semi-moist jungles and due to this it supports a large range of wildlife.
Short Guide to Rajaji National Park
Rajaji National Park is one of the leading wildlife parks in the state of Uttarakhand and it borders with Jim Corbett National Park. This reserve was upgraded to a tiger reserve only recently in 2015 and then in 2016, it became the third reserve to be selected for relocation of tigers. Due to its accessibilty, one can arrive here by rail, road or air and this is bringing in more visitors each year. The reserve has a diverse range of wildlife from mammals of all sizes, birds and reptiles.
Dussehra Festival at Parade Ground in Dehradun
Dussehra is a major Hindu festival celebrated in India at the end of Navaratri each year and there alot of mythology to it which can be read by going to the wikipedia page. It is mainly a victory of good over evil.
Urban Birding in Dalanwala
Here is a selection of bird captures from my apartment in Dalanwala, Dehradun. Equipment used is the Canon 7D with the Tamron 150-600mm lens and Canon 70-300mm f/4-5.6 lenses. It is not an ideal place for bird watching or bird photography but it is amazing to see a number of bird varieties in an urban setting and that too without venturing far. It shows how birds adapt and thrive in urban surroundings inspite of noise, pollution etc.
Monsoon Photography
Now that the monsoons are over, here are some scenes of monsoonscapes taken during the morning in Dubra village near Dehradun. I got here with some friends by car. On arriving at the place, it seems very different in contrast to Dehradun. No traffic, no pollution, no noise and just the sound of nature and the other great thing is that it is only a small distance away from the main town of Dehradun.