The Winged Beauties of Satpura

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 Winged Beauties of Satpura

The first thing that struck us at the Denwa Backwater Escape were the number of butterflies and dragonflies fluttering around.

The colours and their patterns had us bemused and fascinated, little though we knew about them.

Over the next couple of days, our guides rattled off names and species, though I remember only a few today. Which is why, I am settling for showing you the wide variety we saw, minus names and details!

When it came to birds, however, we remember a lot more of the names. After all, we were seeing some for the very first time!

Spot Billed Ducks and Ruddy Shelducks, together, in pairs!

Whether we were walking around the resort, venturing into the jungle, taking a boat ride on the river, or simply sitting near the backwaters, there were plenty of birds to be seen.

We saw over 50 varieties of birds, without really going in search of them! These pics are just a few of those I managed to capture!

This beautiful raptor posed for us on the ground, but I can't seem to identify him! Help please!

This Black Winged Kite eluded us all day, but settled on a tree in front of our window, just as we were getting ready to leave!

I have created a collage of the photos simply to reduce the number of photographs in this post. For those of you who want to look at each pic in detail, here is a slideshow…

Or, to head over to the Album, click here.

This was in November, before the migratory birds had arrived. You can imagine what it would be like now!

I visited Denwa Backwater Escape in November 2014 on an invite from Pugdundee Safaris to explore the Satpura Wildlife Sanctuary. You can read more about the trip on my other posts about the experience.

Information:

The Satpura National park is located in Madhya Pradesh, and the backwaters of the Denwa river from the Tawa dam marks one of its boundaries.

How to Reach:

By Air: The nearest airport is at Bhopal (176 Km)

By Rail: The nearest major railway station is Itarsi (70 Km), which is well connected to all parts of India. Other accessible railway stations are Pipariya (50 Km), Sohagpur (19 Km) and Hoshangabad (50 Km).

By Road : There are a few local buses to Sohagpur, but there is hardly any regular public transport to the sanctuary itself. It is best to hire a car from Itarsi or Pipariya.

Where to Stay: There are plenty of hotels in the vicinity of the sanctuary to suit all budgets. We stayed at the Denwa Backwater Escape, which is certainly one of the best options in the area. The forest department also has accommodation near the entry gate of the sanctuary.

The Havelis of Bikaner - A Photo Post

The lanes are narrow , twisting and turning amidst buildings old and new. Crumbling old structures with intricate workmanship stand side by side with art deco buildings, and more modern constructions, which follow no particular style. Autos, bicycles, motorcycles and vans rush past, blowing their horns as loudly as possible, while cows saunter past peacefully, completely unaffected by the noise. In the midst of all this chaos, children play by the side, and women go about their chores, as we explore these by-lanes of Bikaner, and its beautiful Havelis. Facade of one of the Rampuria Havelis

Bhedaghat - Home of the 81 Yoginis

The Narmada flows down the mountains , carving out a path for herself as she makes her way down to the plains of Central India. She cascades from the rocks, her fine spray making it appear as if billows of smoke (dhuan) arise from the flowing streams of water (dhaar), giving it the name Dhuandhar. Dhuandhar Falls The force of her flow creates a gorge , smoothening and carving out the rocks into fantastic shapes, the pure white of the rocks standing starkly against the shades of the water. It is a joy to cruise down the river in a boat, seeing the natural contours created by the river, now famous as the Marble Rocks. We are at Bhedaghat, located on the banks of the Narmada near Jabalpur, where thousands of visitors turn up to see these natural landscapes, creations of the sacred Narmada, and pay obeisance to her. However, to me, the most interesting thing about Bhedaghat, isn’t the falls or the rocks, or even the river. What makes Bhedaghat special is t

Kabini Part 3 - After the Rains

Visiting Kabini in peak summer, we hadn’t bargained for the rains, which dominated our three days at the Lodge. While animal sightings were understandably lesser than usual, seeing the forest in the rain was an interesting experience in its own way. However, as we headed back into the forest for our second and third safaris, we hoped the rains would let up, and allow us to see more animals! Winding jungle paths

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