We left Lucknow by road in a car to travel to Kishanpur Wildlife Sanctuary and then to Dudhwa National Park 30 Kms away, located in the Lakhimpur -Kheri district of the North Indian state of Uttar Pradesh adjacent to the Nepal border.
After a five hour drive we arrived at Kishanpur Wildlife Sanctuary, near Mailani in Uttar Pradesh which is part of Dudhwa National Park.
We checked in to Dudhwa Wilderness Camp located on the edge of the eastern boundary of Kishanpur Wildlife Sanctuary.
It's a peaceful and enchanting campsite, providing modern amenities and comfortable stay and food.
We met our guide Liladhar Sonu and Ashok our driver with his Gypsy, who were waiting for our arrival!
Founded in 1972, Kishanpur is a relatively small forest, about 200 sq km, lies along the banks of river Sharda. A number of resident birds, and 300 species of migratory birds visit Jhadi Tal wetland, a premier water body skirted by forest and grassland!
This area is excellent for bird viewing and we saw Egrets, Mallard, Dabchicks, River Terns, Grebe, Pintails, Darters, Black Necked Storks and Herons.
It was wonderful, as we got to see many Barasingha's (Swamp deer), which have an ideal habitat here!
Lots of Chital, wild Boar, Peacocks dancing away trying to attract the Peahens, lovely sight!
We just missed seeing a Leopard dash off into the forest! Ashok our driver saw him and called out to us, as we were watching the Barasingha's at Jhadi Tal, we came running to the parked Gypsy, but alas, the Leopard had disappeared!
There is a high density of tigers in this range, but sadly we did not get to see any!
After a comfortable nights rest we went for our morning Safari through magical Kishanpur Wildlife Sanctuary keeping a keen eye and ear!! As we were the early birds, we blazed the forest trails, for others to follow!
Unlucky again as Tigers were elusive! Unfortunately the unseasonal rain over the previous few days in February had spoilt our chances of sightings!
Kishanpur and Dudhwa are not contigous, there are agricultural lands located between the two.
After the Safari we had a good breakfast of omlette,buttered toast, aloo paratha, pickle and curds and left Kishanpur for Dudhwa in our gypsy.
It took us an hour to reach Dudhwa, a bumpy, dusty ride! The roads are bad and need immediate attention. There is a lot of traffic as, tractor trailers and trucks carrying sugarcane crop for crushing to the many sugar factories in this area. Uttar Pradesh being one of the largest sugar producing states in India.
After checking in to Dudhwa Campus, we were allotted Cottage No 13 Oriole. The cottages in the campus are named after different birds.
The accommodation is basic.
After lunch we were off on our first Safari in Dudhwa.
As soon as we entered the forest I was totally awed by its beauty with tall Sal and Teak trees! Some of these trees stand 70ft tall and are 150 years old!! A quiet hush descended upon me!!
Dense vegetation everywhere and open meadows with yellow grass , a perfect camouflage for the Tiger!
Dudhwa is a paradise, exists today, because of one man's efforts of 60 years, his name is Kunwar "Billy " Arjan Singh hunter turned conservationist.
Arjan Singh was born in the royal dynasty of Kapurthala. He was commissioned Second Lieutenant in the British Indian Army. When he left the army he was 28 and jobless! He landed in Palia Kalan in eastern Uttar Pradesh and bought land for farming, later to become Tiger Haven!! Born in royalty but preferred to live in the jungle!!
Major attractions of Dudhwa National Park are the Tigers and Swamp deer ( Barasingha).
"Billy" Arjan Singh successfully hand-reared and introduced a zoo-born tigeress named Tara, meaning "Star" and an orphaned leopard cub was offered to him for adoption, he took him in and named him Prince. Finally Prince took to living in the wilds of Dudhwa, but never forgot his master!
He helped the Barasingha population by saving their habitat!
No Tigers in sight sadly.We still had hope as we had one more Safari the next morning before we left Dudhwa!
Dudhwa's beauty is in the uncommercialized ambience, an ideal habitat for the wild creatures to find nature's serenity!
Today we were to leave Dudhwa for Lucknow. The morning was the last Safari we had, and see whether lady luck favoured us and we could see the most elusive of the big cats, the magnificent Tiger!
We were unlucky and very sad we did not get to see a single Tiger!! Knowing very well that it is completely a matter of chance!!
After a good night's rest we were up at 5.45 a.m. waiting for our morning tea, all charged up for the Safari at 6.30 a.m.
It was a cold February morning and we were comfortably dressed in our woolies, the early morning mist blankets surround your open gypsy. As we advance into the heart of the forest, on our Safari through Dudhwa, a sense of expectation grips us!!
We had Liladhar Sonu our guide and naturalist alongside us all through our trip from Kishanpur to leaving Dudhwa,explaining about the flora and fauna of the Park. He knows the Park like the back of his hand and is very alert to the sights and sounds of the jungle!! Sonu a gentle man to the core, took very good care of us. With him alongside, we were very comfortable throughout our trip.
My long time dream of visiting Dudhwa National Park was fullfilled!!
It was a beautiful drive and we were enjoying, the sights and sounds of the jungle, while keeping a keen eye for the Tiger!!
We saw many Rhesus Monkeys, Owl, Serpent Eagle, Hornbill's, Crocodiles sun bathing, in our Safari's.
We were unlucky and very sad we did not get to see a single Tiger! Maybe it was the weather, as it had rained a day or two before we reached Kishanpur and Dudhwa.
My advice to all, enjoy the jungle and its myriad mosaic, do not go with a one point agenda of only seeing the Tiger!
Morning and evening Safari's are for three and half hours. You can book Safari's online.
Kishanpur and Dudhwa can be reached by road from Lucknow, Bharaich and Kanpur. There are trains running from Lucknow to Mailani. By air arrive at Lucknow and drive down.
