Well, we're nearly ready to go again. So much has happened in the last three months that, all things considered, it was touch-and-go whether I would cancel this trip at more than one point. In the end though, Dad would have wanted me to go, no matter what happened and that's what I've decided to do. There might even be a little bit of my usual nervousness having been responsible for my doubts along the way.
It's tricky, when everyone around you is either telling you that India is wonderful or that India is terrible, to come to your own view without actually going and seeing for yourself. I only have my travelling companions to truly rely on in this regard. Fred has consistently repeated, time and time again, that he really doesn't like India, for a number of reasons. However, he keeps coming up with an excuse to go back, meaning that there must be something really worthwhile to draw him, despite his reservations.
This time, that was a set of photos on a trip report made by some of his friends on Trip Advisor. All he had to do was show them to me as well and I was hooked. While the main focus of this trip might be those huge striped cats, there does really seem to be so much more to be seen.
Our trip will be a little bird-heavy. Sometimes this is a complaint, especially when it is in a place that you've visited before, but India's birds will be mostly new to me and that's just fine. I've called "Jungle Fowl" in almost every country in Africa, only to be consistently told that the roadside chickens aren't native. Now's my big chance to tick it off the list once and for all. That's probably also true for peacocks and pheasants.
So, I have my passport, I have my Visa and I have my yellow fever card. Cameras have been checked, new batteries have been purchased - at great expense - and my laptop has been cleared for the influx of photographs. I'm as ready as I'll ever be to experience India on my own terms and I'm ready!
Here's a very basic itinerary with a few comments.
27th of February 2025/ Thursday:- Delhi to Agra
We will have spent two nights in Delhi, mostly to recover from our long flight and to adjust our internal clocks to a big difference. May go and look for some birds around the city. Agra is close enough that it should be a must. While my culture-lust is minimal, I can't skip the Taj Mahal.
28th of February 2025/ Friday:- Day visit to Chambal
Birding and wildlife watching on the Chambal River. Might see Gharial and will see lots of birds. Close to Agra, so it makes a lot of sense.
1st of March 2025/ Saturday:- Agra to Haiderpur
Up at dawn to visit the Taj Mahal and get those classic photo opportunities before we start to head north. Watch out for me messing with different lenses and cameras as I try to get a new twist on an ancient wonder.
2nd of March 2025/ Sunday:- Haiderpur to Corbett
Haiderpur is a Ramsar wetland that was formed when a barrage was built across the Ganges. It is now a wildlife haven, filled with water birds, mammals and reptiles.
3rd of March 2025/ Monday:- Drive to Dhikala Zone
It might be said that there's only one reason for us to go to Jim Corbett National Park and, to a degree that would be true. It truly is a tiger hotspot and, to give me the best chance of seeing one, we're spending well over a week in the area, including five full days in the park.
4th & 5th of March 2025/ Tuesday & Wednesday:- Dhikala Zone
Tigers, tigers, tigers?
6th of March 2025/ Thursday:- Dhikala to Vanghat
Maybe a few elephants?
7th & 8th of March 2025/ Friday & Saturday:- Vanghat
Vanghat is a change of pace, offering the unique opportunity to walk in a park that has more than 250 tigers in it. Lots of birds, of course, and the chance to see some of the smaller mammals up close.
9th & 10th of March 2025/ Sunday & Monday:- Vanghat to Manila
Staying outside the park, higher up in the foothills of the Himalaya.
11th of March 2025/ Tuesday:- Manila to Corbett for Day visit safaris
Back into the park for different perspectives and opportunities.
12th of March 2025/ Wednesday:- Jhirna Zone
The south of the park, just in case I haven't seen a tiger yet!
13th of March 2025/ Thursday:- Jhirna to Sattal
14th of March 2025/ Friday:- Sattal
The forests areound Sattal Lake are described as a bird-watcher's paradise. Time for a bit of a birding blow-out.
15th of March 2025/ Saturday:- Sattal to Delhi
This is the end of the first part of our trip, returning to our hotel in Delhi for a night before we head north - way up north.
16th of March 2025 to 22nd of March 2025:- Leh, Ladakh
It wouldn't be a Fred-organised trip without an excursion into the true wild. Leh might not be wild, exactly, but it is well off the beaten track and radically different from the rest of India. It's up in the bit of the map of India where most of the borders with other countries (Pakistan and China) are marked in red because they can't agree on them. I don't expect to come under shell-fire, but it isn't unheard of.
Here, north of the Himalayas and south of the Karakoram, the dry, snow-covered Indus valley offers us the best chance in the world to see a snow leopard. We'll range from 10,000 feet at Leh up to over 17,000 feet in the high Himalayan passes. Sightings are not very likely, I'm sure, but there is always hope and luck. Add in Pallas's cat, lynx, bears, foxes (red and Tibetan), jackals, wolves, ibex, marmots and pika to make it quite a safari.
Finally, back to the Isle of Man on Sunday 23rd of March.