Travel Bug - On the wheels !

Kanha National Park is experiencing a rocking season this summer with some great sightings. Every day, some exciting news is coming from Kanha and sightings are happening across all the zones of the park. As expected,  Our trip in the middle of April also started with a bumper sighting of a sub-adult male cub of MV3 who was just separated from its mother and trying to establish his territory in the Kisli zone. He already started looking like a young and dashing male tiger who was quite bold and comfortable with the vehicles around. We spent a good amount of time with him and he gave us some fantastic photographic opportunities.  After such a perfect start to the tour, it was time to visit our all-time favourite part of the park which is  Mukki zone and   of course,  there is a reason why it is special for us. In April 2017, we visited Kanha National Park for the first time and we fell in love with this magical jungle and its mixed landscapes of evergreen canopie...

काही वर्षांपूर्वी कुटुंबियांसोबत पावसाळी ट्रीप साठी पन्हाळगडावर गेलो असताना तेथील बाजी प्रभूंच्या पुतळ्याजवळ खूप गर्दी बघायला मिळाली, थोडी चौकशी केल्यावर समजले की त्या दिवशी (१३ जुलै), बाजी प्रभू देशपांडे यांची पुण्यतिथि होती आणि त्या निमित्त काही ट्रेकिंग संस्थांनी पन्हाळा ते पावनखिंड हा २ दिवसाचा ट्रेक आयोजित केला होता आणि त्या साठी सर्व ट्रेकर्स मंडळी तिथे जमली होती. मुळातच ट्रेकिंग ची आवड असल्यामुळे या ट्रेक बद्दल जरा अधिक चौकशी करून संपूर्ण माहिती मिळवल्यावर समजले की, हा फक्त एक ट्रेक नाही तर ही एक ऐतिहासिक पदभ्रमंती मोहीम आहे. १६६० साली आषाढ पौर्णिमेच्या रात्री, छत्रपती शिवाजी महाराजांनी बाजी प्रभू आणि त्यांच्या ६०० मावळ्यांसोबत पन्हाळ्याचा वेढा फोडून एका रात्रीत पन्हाळगड ते विशाळगड हा जवळपास ६० km चा पल्ला गाठला. या दरम्यान त्यांनी कसा अनेक अडचणींचा मुकाबला करत, पाठीमागून येणाऱ्या हजारो च्या सैन्याला चकवा देत डोंगरदऱ्यांमधून हा खडतर  प्रवास केला असेल याचा एक अंशतः अनुभव घेण्यासाठी आणि या सर्व वीरांना श्रद्धांजली म्हणून दर वर्षी जुलै आणि ऑगस्ट महिन्यांमध्ये अनेक ग्रुप्स ही मो...

B higwan , also known as "Bharatpur of Maharashtra" is a must-visit place for every bird enthusiast and wildlife photographer in Maharashtra during the migratory months (Dec-Mar). I have heard a lot about this place in various birding communities, especially about the Greater flamingos (Pink beauties) that migrate here mostly from Africa but never managed to visit the place. This time I was continuously keeping an eye on these tours from the beginning of the year. As the water levels start to get down in February, the number of these migratory birds increases drastically and we get a good opportunity to see and photograph them closely. Finally, I got to know about a photography tour organized by a well-known photography group in Pune called " Impressions photography workshops and expeditions ". It was a full-day tour with boat rides in the morning as well as the afternoon so we can capture these beauties in different lighting conditions. The tour also had a small b...

For the past 2 years, we have all been suffering through the pandemic and my yearly ritual of visiting at least one Tiger reserve in India had gone for a toss since 2019 due to the restrictions. But this time I was determined and fortunately, covid cases were also decreasing and we got a perfect opportunity to plan our trip for the month of April. This time the destination we chose was none other than the  Kanha National Park  - The biggest national park in central India. All of us were really much excited as we were badly missing those Jungle days for the last couple of years. Because some of us visited Kanha in the past, we knew the best people and resorts in the area. Once the date was finalized, Rahul Yadav and Noorul were just a call away and they did all the stay, food, and safari arrangements at our own  Pugmark Resort  which is very near to Khatia gate. Everything was perfectly planned and it was time for some Jungle therapy and we were counting on the d...