Travel With a Couple

The year 2010, hopefully augurs well for us in travel. After the good start in the new year week, one of us had a solo trip to Bangkok, while the other had a solo to Coimbatore and Kerala. But the most awaited trip of January was to Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR) in Chandrapur district, Maharashtra. The planning had started in November itself.

The tourism/forest department calls Tadoba the real land of tiger. Perhaps rightfully so. For the first time, we spotted the big cat. Albeit for a short while without giving us enough time for clicking. With multitudes of Maruti Gypsies following, it quickly vanished into the jungle.

Tadoba is the only sanctuary in the country that is open throughout the year and is also the place where sighting chances are very high. That perhaps explains why we came across so many professional photographers in one place.

Spread across 625 sq km, the mixed dry deciduous forest with bamboo, teak, dhvada, and many other trees is home to a wide variety of mammals and birds. We had done advance booking with MTDC for stay and 3 safaris. Safaris in open gypsies are organised by local operators. Private vehicles are also allowed inside accompanied by a guide.

An hour-and-a-half delay at Nagpur as our train reached late cascaded to rest of our schedule and we reached Tadoba only by 3.15 or so in the afternoon. The safari was to start at 2 and we effectively lost an hour. On reaching MTDC, we just ensured the rooms are indeed booked in our names and hopped into the waiting gypsy, without even checking in.

For the next one-and-half days, Shravan, our enthusiastic local guide lead us through many trails whetting our appetite for nature, birds, and animals.

Through the first half of the morning safari on the second day (till about 8.30), we were literally shivering due to the chill. There was a short break at the forest check post at the border of Moharli range and Tadoba range. We tucked in the packed poha (riceflake upma) from MTDC and sipped hot tea offered by a local family at the check post.

The vast Tadoba lake at the middle of the sanctuary was a delight. Deer and sambhar thronged the banks, unmindful of the huge croocodiles waiting for an opportunity. The forest department initially had a rest house on the banks of the lake, but later dismantled it to avoid human interaction at the core area. The crocodile breeding centre also is now discontinued as there is sufficient number of crocodiles in the lake.

More on Tadoba soon…

Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR) is in Chandrapur district of Maharashtra. Chandrapur is about 150 kms from Nagpur. The Moharli range entrance to TATR (where MTDC has a resort) is about 27 kms from Chandrapur. The tiger reserve is open throughout the year. But during summer temperatures might exceed 45 C.

The year 2010 also began on a good note. After a packed last weekend of 2009, we were in Bangalore on the first weekend of 2010. Though this time, it was catching up with cousins whom we have not met for over 10 years and some friends after 5 years.

That meant not much of travel.

Yet, we did a little bit of star gazing – albeit a little different. We have never been to a planetarium – which most people would have visited in their school days.  The Nehru Planetarium in Bangalore was our destination on Saturday, January 2, 2010.

Kanchipuram – Mahabalipuram (Mamallapuram) is barely 70 kms and is connected by good roads. Not a wise idea to combine both these places on the same day as you are unlikely to do justice to both the places.

Mamallapuram is a 7th century port city built by Pallavas and is supposeed to be named after the Pallava King, Mamalla. Mamallapuram is classified as UNESCO World Heritage site. With some of the rock cut temples resembling the Buddhist/Jain architecture, it is believed that the Pallava kings bought artisans and sulptors from central India after they won over the Chalukyas.

We unfortunately missed the most important site – The shore temple, which was closed by the time we reached. We had to limit our explorations around the rock cut temples. The annual Mamallapuram Dance Festival was on we caught a glimpse of some folk dance.

Mamallapuram is on the Chennai – Pondicherry East Cost highway (ECR) and connectivity is not an issue. Tamilnadu has one of the best bus network in the country and the deal just got better with the introduction of new Volvo city buses connecting Mamallapuram with Chennai city.

The year 2009 ended on a good note with a packed weekend. We were back to Chennai after 5 years for a family get together. But we did manage to plug-in an active one-day travel.

It is a matter of shame that we lived in Chennai for 7 years and not even once we visited Kanchipuram or Mahabalipuram. We were not in our elements then for sure.

So it was Kanchipuram and Mahabalipuram. We planned the timings so that we will be at Kanchipuram Saravana Bhavan for breakfast.

Kanchipuram is known as the city of temples and is one of India’s seven sacred cities, second holiest after Varanasi. The temples were built by different dynasties as the city changed hands. The Pallavas from 6th to 8th century AD, followed by Cholas and the Vijay Nagar kings. Kanchipuram is also unique in the sense that it is a seat of the two sects of Hinduism – Vaishnavism and Saivism. The Varadaraja Perumal temple is a centre for Vaishnavism, the Ekambaranathar temple is a Saiva centre, with the Kamakshi Amman temple tucked in between.

It requires a minimum of one full day to explore Kanchipuram completely. And yet again – at one more place, we made a promise – to come back.

Most often, one misses the simple pleasures and beauties near home.

We knew Uran had something to offer for bird watchers, but had never ventured.

So in one of our short treks to Vyagreshwar, Nature Knights decided to pack in an early morning birding. And it was worth it.

Ibises, coots, whistling ducks, bee eaters and many more unnamed birds gave us company 0n a winter morning.