Top Wildlife Destinations of India

Some Most Desirable Indian Wildlife Holiday Destinations

Indian subcontinent is richly endowed with varied climatic divisions and geographical floras and faunas. This diversity has resulted in creating a perfect environment for an equally vast variety of wildlife flora and fauna. Indian wildlife reserves offer some great wildlife experiences to the nature lovers. They range from majestic Himalayas of north to moist Nilgiri Hills in south with various lakes, deserts and forests in between. So let us take a look at some of the best wildlife destinations offered by the country to the nature lovers…

Kaziranga Tiger Reserve, Assam

Best season to visit: Nonmember to March

Location: 260kms from Guwahati

Also listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site, this tiger reserve is home to some of the rarest and most endangered animal species of Indian subcontinent such as Indian one horned rhinoceros, capped langur, wild water buffalo and several others. No nature lover can get bored in the area as the topography keeps on changing from woodlands to swamps to elephant grass to even evergreen forests and majestic hills. It is this diversity that the place offers great opportunity to check out a rich mammal, reptile and bird life. To make your trip more memorable, there is also the opportunity to climb atop an elephant and get in close contact with the wild denizens of Kaziranga.

Gir National Park, Gujarat

Best season to visit: All times during the year except for the monsoon

Location: 365 kms from Ahmedabad

Pay court to the king of jungle in Gir Forests of the Gujarat as it is the only place in India where you can visit him. Their court and lineage has survived many battles and military coups. With a diverse wildlife and a large topography, the forest offers a lovely green setting right amidst the dry part of the state. Visit the park and you will most certainly be overwhelmed with the majestic presence of the Gir lions.

Corbett National Park, Uttarakhand

Best season to visit: October to June

Location: 230kms from Delhi

Considered to be one of the most sought after wildlife tourist destinations of India, Corbett National Park also enjoys the unique acclaim of being India’s first national park and oldest in Asia. Dedicated after the famous wildlife writer Jim Corbett, the park has healthy numbers of tigers, elephants and leopards living in its midst. If you are lucky, you can even get to spot the very endangered Gharial in the Ramganga river part of the park. However, to experience the true wildlife experience, do take up accommodations at the Dhikala lodge that is located in the inner reaches of the park. Though the lodge is completely fenced, yet you can experience the true wild by living so close to them.

Nagarhole Tiger Reserve, Karnataka

Best season to visit: All year round, especially beautiful in monsoons

Location: 200kms from Bangalore

One of the only few tiger reserves of the country to remain open all year round, Nagarhole tiger reserve witnesses the biggest cogregeration of elephants in the season of summer. In fact, it offers the best opportunity in the world to sight leopard in its natural settings. Not only this, the place is treasure house for the nature lovers as it is a fantastic viewing place for tigers and various species of birds too. In order to enjoy the place to its fullest, do take a ride onto the boat cruises or the jeep safaris that will take you into the depths of the reserve and give you the ultimate wildlife experience.     

Ranthambore Tiger Reserve, Rajasthan

Best season to visit: To view tigers- March to May and or a full wildlife experience- November to February

Location: 180 kms from Jaipur

Rajasthan and royalty are something that go hand in hand. Ranthambore with its tigers are considered to be one of the royal jewels of the state in its wildlife crown. Located amidst the oldest mountain ranges of India- the Aravalis, Ranthambore offers an oasis of wildlife in the otherwise barren mountain area. The reserve’s lake also plays host to a lot of winged visitors from places afar every winter. You can even spot Machli, the reserve’s own tiger that enjoys the tag of being the most photographed tiger of the world. Share some of the most exciting tiger stories at the beautiful ancient temple on the top of Ranthambore Fort.    

Perfect Time To Visit Valley of Flowers National Park

If words could describe the Valley of Flowers National Park in Uttarakhand, then

Eternity begins here in the “Valley of Flowers”. A land of endless meadows, with insurmountable snow capped peaks bearing icy glaciers that burst into streams, and a background of birdsong. Flowers carpet the entire valley and the leaves form a porous umbrella

Location:

The valley of flower lies in Uttarakhand bordered by Nepal and Tibet comes alive with the monsoon rain. The valley of flowers spread around 87 sq.km and declared as national park in 1982. The main Valley of Flowers is a glacial corridor, around five kilometers and 2 km wide. The Valley of Flowers National Park is located in Chamoli Garhwal, close to Nanda Devi National Park. It’s about 600 kilometers from Delhi, the nearest Airport is Dehradun and nearest railway station is Rishikesh.

Best time to visit:

The valley of flower opens from starting of June and the end of September as it's covered in snow the rest of the year. The best time to visit is from mid July to mid August, when the flowers are in full bloom after the first monsoon rain. The Valley of Flowers presents a different look each day when it becomes accessible from May to September.

Valley of Flower:

There are no human settlements inside the national park and grazing has been completely banned.

This richly diverse area is also home to rare and endangered animals, including the Asiatic black bear, snow leopard, brown bear and blue sheep.  The valley is also home to several fauna like Himalayan musk deer, yellow throated marten, snow leopard, blue sheep, black and brown bears. It is also home to a variety of birds like Himalayan golden eagle, snow partridge, Himalayan snow cock, Himalayan monal, snow pigeon and sparrow.

Where to stay

There are no accommodation facilities inside the Valley in Flowers as visitors are not allowed to stay inside the park. Hotels and lodges can be found in Ghangaria.

Where to eat

Like options to stay, there are no options to eat inside the park too. It is advisable to carry enough food stocks to last your trek. Ghangaria is the place where one can find restaurant and hotels.

Important Tips:

Access to the National Park is checked at the entrance to the gorge just above Ghangaria, where a small entrance fee is payable.

Don't trample on flowers to take those photographs!

Wear warm clothing and carry packed food and water.

Make sure you're physically fit to undertake the trek. Carry first-aid and any medication that you are normally advised.

Some Unknown Indian Historical Facts

India is a country of diverse cultures, varied religions and innumerable languages and dialects. There are several fascinating things about this country’s history that you may not know. Here are just some of them…

·         World’s first university was built right here in India. The University of Nalanda in Takshila was established in 700 BC and is often termed as one of the biggest achievements of ancient India in the field of education. Students from all over the world came here to study courses in more than 60 subjects.

·         The three mathematical subjects Trigonometry, Algebra and Calculus have their origins in India. In fact, Sridhatacharya used quadratic equations as early as eleventh century. According to historical records, for Germans and Romans, the largest numbers were limited to 106 whereas Hindus used numbers as large as 10*53(10 to the power of 53) as early as 5000 BC with specific names for each. Even now, the highest that modern mathematics has gone to 10*12(Terra or 10 to the power of 12)

·         Indian medicine history shows usage of anesthesia from ancient times. Many ancient Indian texts give detailed account of the knowledge the ancient medical practitioners had of embryology, anatomy, metabolism, digestion, etiology, immunity and genetics.

·         Ayurveda enjoys the distinction of being the earliest known school of medicine known to mankind. It was actually consolidated by Charaka, also known as Father of Medicine, over 2500 years ago.

·         Your favorite board game, Snakes and Ladders, was created in this country by a 13^th century poet Gyandev. Originally known as ‘Mokshpat’ and played with dices and cowrie shells, the ladders and snakes were a way of indicating virtues and vices that happen in a person’s life.  The game was a way of showing that good deeds are a way of taking a man up in his life while the snakes indicated the evil that takes a man through the cycle of rebirths.

·         One of the greatest contributions of India to western philosophy is grammar. Composed by Panini, the world had its first formal grammar lesson between 750 and 800 BC through his Astadhayi.  

·         It was Bhaskaracharya who calculated the exact time taken by Earth to orbit sun hundreds of years before the famed astronomer Smart. He gave the time to be 365.258756484, later confirmed by Smart.

·         It was recently proved by USA base IEEE organization that it was Prof Jagdish Bose and not Marconi who pioneered the wireless communication.

·         Surgery was an intimate part of Indian Medicine. In fact, Sushruta is termed as father of surgery as even 2600 years ago he was performing complicated procedures of brain surgery, plastic surgery, artificial limbs, cataract, caesareans, and urinary stones along with his fellow scientists. Over 125 surgical instruments were found to be used by them for these procedures.

·         Sanskrit is said to be the mother of all European languages. In fact, according to a Forbes magazine report, it is the most suitable language that can be used to design a computer software.