I had been planning to visit Rajaji National Park for quite a few months and was wanting to do 2 or 3 safaris before the park closes. I came to know that there was a small group of wildlife enthusiasts organizing a safari at Mohand range that comes under Rajaji National Park. This is the nearest gate from Dehradun. I went on both the morning and evening jeep safaris. The morning was very well worth it as it was my first time to was able to capture it on camera as it walked across the road. The evening one was just okay even though we spotted some leopards but were not able to get a good photograph of them as they were shy in our presence.
Tag: wildlife
Bird and Nature Photography at Sandwell Valley Country Park
Sandwell Valley Country Park is resident to a number of both water birds as well as woodland birds and small mammals. This park which is located in West Bromwich, England has a lot of birding activity and has a lot of open space from walking trails, open meadows, water bodies and areas of woodland. Here are some of my favourite captures over the past 8 years. I had used a number of different camera setups from starting with the Canon EOS 600D in 2014 to now using the Canon EOS R6.
Safari at Jim Corbett National Park in June
In June, I had visited Jim Corbett National Park. I had booked safaris for Bijrani, Jhirna, Garjia and Dhela zones as booking for these places were available a month in advance. I had stayed at Sparrow Nest Corbett Homestay for around 4 nights and done a total of 6 safaris. Everything was organized by Ramesh Suyal who is also the owner of the homestay. The trip from Dehradun to the homestay which is in Ramnagar took around 5 hours. I would recommend staying here for those who are planning to visit this national park as the meals are well cooked and feels like home.
A Few Days At Shuklaphanta National Park
To get to Shuklaphanta National Park, one has to take a short flight to the small town of Dhangadi which is located in the Western Nepal near the border of India. The park is located at a short distance from the airport. After arriving at Dhangadi, I took a cab to Shuklaphanta Jungle Cottage. This is a great place to stay right next to the main entrance of the park. Rooms are quite comfortable and food served here is well cooked and feels like home cooked food.
A Week at Chitwan National Park
After I had finished my Everest Base Camp Trek, I had decided on my next venture which was to visit Chitwan National Park. This was actually my third trip to this place and during this trip, I had spent a week here. The best way to get to Chitwan is a 3 to 4 hour drive to the village of Sauraha from Kathmandu. Here I had done a few jeep safaris plus some foot safaris as well. Foot safaris are more economical but there is always risk of wild animals and for this reason there are either one or two people while out on a foot safari.
My Everest Base Camp 3 Peaks 3 Passes Trek
Back in September of 2021, I decided to visit Nepal around December to trek along the 3 Peaks and 3 Passes trek within the Everest region. However my plan did not go in effect until February of this year. Between mid November to like around end of March, the mountains are really cold. I had booked my trip through Makalu Adventure and overall it was a great trip. I had completed the entire trek in 35 days.
Elephant photography at Jim Corbett National Park
Elephants are very easily seen here in the national park and are quite interesting animals to observe and photograph. These are social animals and the largest and oldest female in the herd known as the matriarch leads the group and the group follows her where ever she goes. The group consists of daughters of the matriarch and it’s offspring. The herd can include male elephants but until the age of 10 to 12 years. After that they achieve sexual maturity and in order to avoid inbreeding, they are expelled from the group by the matriarch. The matriarch is the one who makes decisions for the entire herd family because she is the oldest and most experienced. The animals have strong social bonds and they also help each other with social care. Anyway not too get too detailed in this post, I am sharing a number of photos which I took on this trip.
Tiger photography at Jim Corbett National Park
I had taken a cab from Dehradun to Ramnagar to join a few friends for a one week safari at Jim Corbett national park. The first night we had stayed at the “Corbett Green View Garden and Stay” guesthouse. The trip from Dehradun took around 5 hours and on arrival met up with Maneet Pal Singh, Samyak Kaninde and Manmohan Bindra, all three with a deep interest in wildlife photography. Anyhow on arrival at the guesthouse, I met up with them in the dining area after I had checked into my room. I paid the cab driver and after that he took off.
Day trip to Chilla zone
Few days back on a Sunday morning, me and a few others had decided to visit Chilla zone of Rajaji National Park. We left around 11:30 from Dehradun and arrived just within the hour. Gates did not open until 2:30pm so we had plenty of time. On this trip, we only opted to do the afternoon jeep safari. We did all the bookings on arrival. Jeep costs are Rs.2000 plus Rs.250 for vehicle road fee and an additional entrance fee of Rs.150 per person depending on the number of people there are for the safari.
Dudhsagar waterfalls in February
On my last day in Goa, I made a plan to travel to Dudhsagar waterfalls which was just over 90km drive. The waterfall is located in Bhagwan Mahaveer sanctuary within the Western Ghats. This area is rich for birds and wildlife.I had booked a cab a day earlier to travel to this place. We had left early morning by 8am and reached the location by midday. On the way, we had made a quick stop for breakfast somewhere in Panjim. On arriving at the destination, I had to pay the entry fees for the jeep safari which cost Rs.400 as well as camera fees which I think was around Rs.300. The jeep ride was quite bumpy.