• Pench Madhya Pradesh, Travelwithacouple, Unny Radhakrishnan, Bindhu Unny
    Birdwatching - Nature's Wonders - Places - Sanctuaries

    Where Mowgli Roamed – Pench National Park

    June 21, 2009 - By 

    As the dawn was breaking the Sambhur belled Once, twice and again! And a doe leaped up and a doe leaped up From the pond in the wood where the wild deer sup. – The Jungle Books, Rudyard Kipling Every morning, Mowgly and his friends perhaps would have woken up to this scene. We too were hoping for the same. The early morning drive from the Maharashtra side of Pench Tiger Reserve to the Madhya Pradesh side of Pench was filled with expectations. Never mind the rattling of the old Toyota Qualis and the chilly wind. We had to cover…

  • Nature's Wonders - Places

    After the Divine tree, Now a Sexy tree

    May 4, 2009 - By 

    After the Divine tree darshan, let us take you to this tree we came across at Pench National Park. This is not the first time we are seeing a Ghost Tree. But something that can let your imagination fly – is the first time. Ghost tree is called so because its bark gives a ghostly appearance in moonlight. Ghost trees are often found in the Sahyadris. Known as Sterculia Urens by its biological name, and as Gulur, Kadaya, Karaya etc in Hindi, this is cultivated in some parts of northern India for its gum. These trees grow in dry deciduous…

  • Nature's Wonders - Places

    Old Fears Die Hard

    January 1, 2009 - By 

    The surprise element in the three-day Ratnagiri mountaineering camp organised by Nature Knights was the ‘Snake familiarisation’ session by the Ratnadurg Mountaineers. For some of us, it was a pleasant surprise while for others it was perhaps a dreadful one. A bagful of snakes. All captured/rescued from the human habitat around Ratnagiri town, and ready to be let out to the forests. The session was to make us, the city folks, understand and appreciate the ‘other’ friends around us. There were a few varieties of them. Some of us touched them, felt them, and almost all of us allowed the…

  • Nature's Wonders - Places

    Dandeli: Syntheri Rocks

    November 9, 2008 - By 

    There is a warning board which says ’12 dead till now. Please do not add to it’. And there is a lone watchman by its side  – Lost in his thoughts and bidding time looking at the ferociously flowing water deep down. Deep inside the jungle, in the middle of nowhere. . Syntheri is a good 30-km drive from Dandeli town. The narrow and pot-holed roads meandering through the forests rarely have sun rays touching the ground even on sunny days. Apart from langurs and monkeys, all we saw were a couple of snakes crossing the road. But trampled bamboos…

  • Nature's Wonders - Places

    A Motley Crowd and a Mighty Mountain

    August 11, 2008 - By 

    A Sunday morning. A motley crowd in their 20s to 40s. A mighty mountain – Gorakhgad. We cribbed about the hot sun and the lack of rain only to realise later that descending would’ve been difficult had it rained. The wind at the top was strong enough to blow one away. One of us was reluctant to remove her backpack fearing she might lose her balance. Climbing down was a little hard at a few points especially for the first-time trekkers. Sliding down was the choice of many. But as usual Nature Knights pulled it off. A dip in the…