A Trip to Rajaji National Park

                                                       An evening @ Rajaji park  

                                     
      Being bored with daily college routine , me n my friends wanted to take a break. A thought of merging up with the nature, at least for a while automatically makes the mood light. We just needed such a serene place to rejuvenate ourselves.  So we planned to go on a trip to Rajaji National Park which is so close to Haridwar.  One can take a taxi from the Haridwar bus stand/railway station. "Chilla" gate is the nearest gate to haridwar. Private buses that ply via Rishikesh take the route from Haridwar via Chilla.  A 20 minute raid in the bus dropped us off at Chilla, the entrance to the park. The road to the park was beautiful, going through the thick jungles. The place was filled with serenity and solitude. We reached there by 11:30am and the park was closed for visitors. So we had to wait till 2:30pm. Of course, the view around was so attractive that we did not much bother about waiting. We roamed and around and gathered at the entrance back by the scheduled time. Our trip started at 3:15pm and the ride into jungle was awesome. Closely packed trees, with a chill in the air, a distant hooting of birds added flavor to the forest. Rajaji park is famous for elephants (so I was told). Once the safari started, we kept a hawk's eye to watch out for the wild. Just five minutes into the jungle,our thirst was quenched (although slightly) , by the three wild elephants including an old one and a cub. Gypsy had to move away from the road to give way to the walking magnificent giants. But all in our minds, we wanted to see a tiger/leopard in wild, so close. We kept on looking for that ,but however finally we were disappointed as we couldn't find one. But we saw many deer, antelope , monkeys, peacocks, etc etc. Even though  the desire to watch a tiger in action was unfulfilled , merging with nature at its wildest side made our hearts leap in joy. The trip has left invaluable memories on our hearts. The innocence of the deer , peacocks glimmerig in the sun , everything reminds us of the beauty of nature.

   Here is some information for those who would like to visit . Apart from the information which is available over the website, (as haridwar is reachable from almost any part of India,I mean to say just some five hour drive from New Delhi, I will start the route guide from haridwar).

• Private buses which start from haridwar have their starting point just outside the haridwar bus stand. 
• Its a 20 minute journey from haridwar to chilla. 
• Conveyance facilities are not so developed along the road, so one has to choose either a taxi or this bus.
• The frequency of the buses is high during the mornings.
• Vehicles(gypsies) are available at the park entrance to take the tourists on a safari. A 34 km ride at 20 kmph in gypsy is worth going.
• A few stalls meeting  the common needs like drinking water and snacks are available at the entrance of the park.
• As per feb 2013, the amount a gypsy charges  1200 INR (excluding the entrance ticket and the road tax) per trip. For example, it costs 1900 INR (incl. of all taxes) for a three membered team per trip.

  The place is worth watching as one walks into nature's lap with its unpolished look at its best.