Wild & wondrous in Satpura

Dense forests, unspoilt wilderness, and the prospect of seeing Baloo the bear from ‘The Jungle Book’, takes Susheela Nair on a riveting trek to Satpura National Park

Darkness had descended when I zoomed into the jungle lodge in Reni Pani, a village on the outskirts of the lesser-known Satpura National Park and Tiger Reserve in Central India.

This forested village in Hosangpur derives its name from ‘reni’ — some kind of berries that grow locally here. With grasslands spreading over a massive 524 sq km, Satpura National Park in Madhya Pradesh is one of a kind with hilly terrains and virgin forests. Its presence dates back to 1862, when Captain James Forsyth of the Bengal Lancers stumbled upon it. It was then that the lush green woodland areas were declared as India’s first reserve forest. Later, it was declared as a Tiger Reserve by the Government of India.

A peacock flaunting its feathers

An experience

After dinner I was escorted to my cottage by a personal butler with a flashlight. To ensure safety, I was cautioned not to loiter around without an escort after sundown since there is a chance of encountering wild animals straying into the lodge’s premises from the neighbouring woods. The lodge exudes a real jungle experience. All the rooms are sans ‘room service’ of the hotel kind. I was advised to honk the horn in my room in case of emergency in the night. There was a knock on my door at 4 am as there were no intercoms in the cottages in the jungle lodge. A jeep was waiting to trundle the guests into the jungle. As the river was dry, I had to cross over to the park on the opposite side by treading cautiously on a makeshift bridge. I hopped onto a forest jeep which was waiting to ferry tourists into the jungle. Many of them are donated by the lodges in the area. As only 12 jeeps are allowed into the tourism area at any given time, we rarely encountered another jeep, so it turned out to be a private game viewing experience.

The forest was full of promise in the morning light. As the sun began to filter in, the jungle came alive with the twittering of birds. The white, barren ghost tree holds my gaze awhile. As our jeep snaked through undulating terrain, we sighted a variety of animals like monkeys, sambars, jungle cats, gaurs by the dozens and a spotted owlet peeking from its roost.

Bovine vigil

In search of Baloo

Though the sloth bear, which is endemic to the Indian subcontinent, is frequently seen in Satpura, my luck with sightings of them wasn’t great. I had only a glimpse of one rooting for termites in a clearing from afar. On hearing the jeep sound it shambled away with its cub, clambered over a rocky outcrop and vanished into a cosy cave. Satpura is a birdwatcher’s haven and more than 300 species can be seen here. We spotted birds in plenty including a crested hawk eagle perched on a branch. Though we ran into several tiger pug marks, the big cat remained elusive.

Our naturalist shared interesting snippets of information about the forest and its inhabitants.We learnt that the park borrows its name from the Satpura range of hills that huddle around its periphery. In local parlance Satpura means seven peaks. Interestingly, it is the only park in Central India where one can find teak as well as saal forest. The Satpura Hills are historically believed to be the bridge between the Western Ghats and the Eastern Himalayas. This history has made Satpura unique in Central India and has resulted in the extremely high bio-diversity and occurrence of some rare species.

Bovine vigil

Accompanying us on our wildlife safari, Aly Rashid of the Bhopal royal family, who is also a hardcore naturalist, explained, “Unlike most other national parks in the country, here visitors are allowed to walk through the classic tiger country and engage more deeply with the forest. There are multi-day walking safaris with two to three-day options under the Satpura Under Canvas programme. It is a mobile camping and walking experience that offers a unique blend of subtle luxury in unspoilt wilderness. The hike begins in Panchmarhi and provides plentiful opportunities to sight animals.”

As I relished the dinner under a starry sky, I realised what makes Satpura a special experience is that most of the parts are untouched by tourists. I wished it remained the way nature wants it to be, wild and non-commercialised.