Reminiscing those hot coffee sips and chats at 5:30 AM on a cold winter morning.... with my bestie my Mom from room no 6 Khekranala MTDC resort.
MTDC Resort : https://www.maharashtratourism.gov.in/properties/property/mtdc-resort-khekranala
The morning after an adventurous day is normally lazy ! Not in our case, we were so charged up !More than the coffee in my hand, I was sipping in all the beauty of the place before leaving.....
Khekranala literally means 'ravine full of crabs' is just 55 kms from Orange city. A pleasant 50 mins ride through 4 lane National Highway will lead you to this sleeping beauty of Vidharba(Khekranala). As you near this magical place, the view all over will amaze you at times even make you agitated! It is a Mini hill station , laden with flora and fauna,still lying secretly in Nagalwadi Jungle( Pench buffer area).
First look of the resort..
smiling welcome by these lovelies...
View from room no 6( best room in the resort)
Cotton fields + Mountains on the background can make a Nagpurian mad !
We halted at MTDC resort Khekranala. As I write this blog.I can't stop myself from mentioning the crisp hot fish fries that we had. The resort has all the basic amenities, one requires to have a decent stay ! We reached there at around 11 : 00 AM on a Saturday morning.
After settling down and enjoying the view around the resort.We were all set to see Khekranala reservoir.
Steps to the top ...
DAM from all possible angles..
Super breezy ! The lake has blue crystal clear water..We spotted schools of fish swimming at a distance( that clear is the lake). Khekranala Dam I learnt from a local is an earthen Dam.Earthen Dam's are built using soil material ( sand ,loam , clay and so on).
There was an old lady selling 'channa' on the banks of the reservoir , She had a blind date with tiger, near the reservoir, 20 years back ! 20 years was too long....I felt a little safe..but does that mean NO MORE TIGERS ?
There is a temple visible from the reservoir, steep steps lead to the temple. The lady informed that the Temple belongs to Masoba. He is a local deity worshiped in some parts of India,specially in Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh. Masoba temples are located outside the village or near shamshan. Regarded as guardian diety , Masoba is worshiped as he wards of evil spirits.We could not go near the temple as the steps did not look that inviting.
source : http://www.mymulshi.com/mhasoba-devasthan-kharavade/
I did click pics of the temple from the reservoir.
As I have mentioned earlier, Khekranala lies nestled in the heart of Nagalwadi village. Night safari is available in Nagalwadi forest. Another exciting destination lies just 12 kms from the resort named Mansinghdeo Wildlife sanctuary. It was declared a protected site in 2014 ,making it the 42nd protected forest area in Maharashtra. Tiger , Sloth Bear, Leopard , Bisons ,Deer and a variety of birds can be sighted according to MTDC website.For us the ride to the reserve was thrilling.We hired an open jeep from the resort. The journey was through a small village and kaccha road . The forest is scary, loaded with trees ( Aranyacious). At the entrance of the forest, a forest guard joined us for the safari. We were able to spot tiger pug marks. The forest ranger/guard informed us that the tiger was out as the pug marks appeared fresh ! I was scared, as in the jeep with me ,was my 2 year old baby ! Moving further we spotted bear scratches on a tree ! Many wild birds, monkeys and in the end a Sambar( Large Deer).
The list is not that bad !
Please note:
Thursday -Closed
Safari timings - 6:30 AM-10:30 AM, 3:00 PM - 6:00 PM
Best season to visit - March to June.
The term "buffer zone" gained international prominence through UNESCO’s Man and the Biosphere Programme in 1971.
It is petrifying for me to even think how man can thrive so close to big cats ! but, that is the ideology( live and let live) behind buffer zones. Mansinghdeo wildlife sanctuary provides crucial buffer to Pench. One of the most commonly cited definitions of buffer zones is: “an area peripheral to a national park or equivalent reserve, where restrictions are placed upon resource use or special development measures are undertaken to enhance the conservation values of the area. source: http://www.biodiversitya-z.org/content/buffer-zones.
Forest Ranger and us.
Pench national park lies in Madhya Pradesh. We were taken to the core area of the forest, that is MP. " Jungle Jungle baat chali hai" song was continuously playing in my head. This is where my childhood hero Moogli, Bagheera lived and also the supervillan Sherkhan ! (Moogli is a fictional character from Rudyard Kiplings ' The Jungle book stories'. He is an orphan child raised by a pack of wolves in PENCH FOREST !) I also learnt that the area of present Pench has been described in Ain-i-Akbari( Detailed documentation of Akbar's empire.)
Bear Scratches on a tree...
Ghost tree ! Sterculia urens is a species of plant in the family Malvaceae. It is native to India. A small to medium-sized tree with a pale-coloured trunk, it is commonly known as the भुत्या in Marathi (meaning ghost tree). source: wikepedia. I inquired from the ranger, why the name? Answer came ,because the tree shines on Moonlit nights ! It would be wrong ,if I skip mentioning that apart from being a bit scary looking, Ghost tree is economical very useful ! A natural gum known as gum karaya is exuded by the tree when the bark is damaged. It is used as a laxative, used as a thickener in cosmetics and adhesive for dentures.
My entire Gang...
In trips like these, I regret not having a professional camera.
It takes almost 3-4 hours to complete the safari. Zigzagging through the forest in hope to get the grand darshan of (Sherkhan)Tiger is a feeling that I shall never forget ! We were also shown a natural cave ! Where only me out of the entire group thought a Tiger was sitting and staring us !
Steps to the top ...
DAM from all possible angles..
Super breezy ! The lake has blue crystal clear water..We spotted schools of fish swimming at a distance( that clear is the lake). Khekranala Dam I learnt from a local is an earthen Dam.Earthen Dam's are built using soil material ( sand ,loam , clay and so on).
There is a temple visible from the reservoir, steep steps lead to the temple. The lady informed that the Temple belongs to Masoba. He is a local deity worshiped in some parts of India,specially in Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh. Masoba temples are located outside the village or near shamshan. Regarded as guardian diety , Masoba is worshiped as he wards of evil spirits.We could not go near the temple as the steps did not look that inviting.
Please note:
Thursday -Closed
Safari timings - 6:30 AM-10:30 AM, 3:00 PM - 6:00 PM
Best season to visit - March to June.
The term "buffer zone" gained international prominence through UNESCO’s Man and the Biosphere Programme in 1971.
It is petrifying for me to even think how man can thrive so close to big cats ! but, that is the ideology( live and let live) behind buffer zones. Mansinghdeo wildlife sanctuary provides crucial buffer to Pench. One of the most commonly cited definitions of buffer zones is: “an area peripheral to a national park or equivalent reserve, where restrictions are placed upon resource use or special development measures are undertaken to enhance the conservation values of the area. source: http://www.biodiversitya-z.org/content/buffer-zones.
Forest Ranger and us.
Pench national park lies in Madhya Pradesh. We were taken to the core area of the forest, that is MP. " Jungle Jungle baat chali hai" song was continuously playing in my head. This is where my childhood hero Moogli, Bagheera lived and also the supervillan Sherkhan ! (Moogli is a fictional character from Rudyard Kiplings ' The Jungle book stories'. He is an orphan child raised by a pack of wolves in PENCH FOREST !) I also learnt that the area of present Pench has been described in Ain-i-Akbari( Detailed documentation of Akbar's empire.)
Bear Scratches on a tree...
Ghost tree ! Sterculia urens is a species of plant in the family Malvaceae. It is native to India. A small to medium-sized tree with a pale-coloured trunk, it is commonly known as the भुत्या in Marathi (meaning ghost tree). source: wikepedia. I inquired from the ranger, why the name? Answer came ,because the tree shines on Moonlit nights ! It would be wrong ,if I skip mentioning that apart from being a bit scary looking, Ghost tree is economical very useful ! A natural gum known as gum karaya is exuded by the tree when the bark is damaged. It is used as a laxative, used as a thickener in cosmetics and adhesive for dentures.
Definitely a day well spent with my family ( my daughter, parents and maternal uncle and aunt). Would like to thank all for always supporting my crazy travel ideas....
#Tiger #tigerreserve#Maharashtratourism#nagpur
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