Over 2000 Km by road, in around 10 days. Stunning landscapes, wonderful people. That sums up our Ladakh trip. But how did it actually work? How did we make it happen? Read on to find out! Leh, the capital of Ladakh , is accessible by air and road. Flying into Leh is the easiest, and time-saving option, while the road is the time consuming one, but with the added advantage of driving past some of the most beautiful landscapes in our country. Each option has much to recommend it, and we chose the road for just one reason – altitude sickness. Altitude sickness was one of my biggest concerns, since I suffer from motion-sickness. Yes, I do travel a lot, but that is despite my condition, and, over the years, have learnt how to handle it. I struggled with it when we visited Nathu-La in Sikkim, and wondered if I would be able to manage a week at the even higher altitudes that we would encounter in Ladakh. This was the reason we stuck to a basic plan, of only 9 days in Ladakh, though we
The Malabar Giant Squirrel
or Indian Giant Squirrel is described as “an upper canopy dwelling species,
which rarely leaves the trees. It is a shy, wary animal, not easy to discover;
it is active mostly early in the mornings and evenings, resting in the midday.”
Till recently, I had only
had fleeting glimpses of the Giant Squirrel, usually as it disappeared into the
dense canopy before I could get a close look. Which is why, when I saw one
perched atop a tree outside my room, I waited till I got some decent photos
before calling out to Samhith and the others, informing them of its presence.
As it turned out, I needn’t
have worried. It was a regular visitor here, having its breakfast, and in no
hurry to leave before it had its fill! It stayed on that particular tree for
over an hour before finally taking a massive leap to another one, and
disappearing in seconds!
The Malabar Giant Squirrels
are a species endemic to the deciduous and moist evergreen forests of
Peninsular India, extending as far as the Satpura hill ranges of Madhya
Pradesh.
Incidentally, it is also
the State Animal of Maharashtra, and is called ‘Shekru’ in Marathi. The
Bhimashankar Wildlife Sanctuary was created in 1984, specifically with the aim
of protecting its habitat. However, I saw it, not in its protected sanctuary,
but at Dandeli, at the Dandeli Jungle Camp, where I stayed for a night during
my recent trip.
Great clicks, Anu..
ReplyDeleteThank you, Meghana!
Deletewe recently saw the Malabar giant squirrel when we visited thekkady and went to the deep safari, it was there lazing and sleeping on top of the tree
ReplyDelete