safari
Sundarbans 2025
What have you heard about the Sundarbans? I’ve heard all kinds of things. Most of the tigers are man-eaters.People who step out hope not to see a tiger because if they do, they probably…
Pench 2025
Pench is magical. I’ve been there five times now, and each time, I come back refreshed because the forest is so breathtakingly beautiful. There’s Venuban (Bamboo Forest), a canopy of bamboos, full of secrets.…
Kadbanwadi Grasslands
Ever since grassland safaris were launched several months (years?) ago, we’ve been meaning to go. Although we’ve been on countless safaris in the forest, the grasslands were new to us, and the idea of…
Burrapahar, Kaziranga
You know how in the buffer zone, they keep telling you that anything can happen? You know how all guides have stories about sightings of big animals on the main road? It never happens to…
Agaratoli, Kaziranga
The eastern zone of Kaziranga is much more forested, not primarily grassland. It was joyous being in there, looking at the crazy trees and ferns. Some trees look like they’ve set up hanging gardens…
Bagori, Kaziranga
Pelicans! The safari in Mihimukh showed me not just the Lesser Adjutant Stork and the Woolly Necked Stork, but also the Open-Billed Stork, Bar-Headed Geese — and pelicans! When Bakul first pointed them out,…
Turtles, Ducks and Elephants, Kaziranga
Turtles, Ducks and Elephants, Kaziranga
Bakul identified the turtles for us. I did not understand at all, not even enough to figure out for myself later. Himalayan Box Turtle? Perhaps. That was a name I discovered. But I know…
Rhinoceros Unicornis, Kaziranga
Rhinoceros Unicornis, Kaziranga
“Haan, rhino hai, udhar,” said Bakul. “Rhino?” I repeated. I had to have misheard. He could not be so calm. He could not tonelessly say ‘rhino hai udhar’ and leave it at that. In my…
Mihimukh, Kaziranga
How different Kaziranga is from the other reserves I’ve visited! For one, you can get off the jeep in several places. In each zone, there’s a watch tower which you can climb to look at the world around…
Back from Kaziranga
Elephant grass. Anything could be hiding there. (A rhino, perhaps?) Huge birds that made me think of pterodactyls. (Wasn’t it enough that the word ‘rhinoceros’ tempted me to say ‘rhino-saurus’? Hog deer. (My auto…
