Today was an amazing day. The rain had all but stopped and we set out in the morning towards Machore. The country to the right of Infinity steadily rises and I was thrilled by the amazing views of the Kosi and the Kumaon hills. We then came to Mohan, a major outpost in the Corbett saga, and turned left towards Pauri, one of the places visited by Corbett during his quest for the man-eating leopard of Rudraprayag.
The views of the Pauri-Garhwal hills are truly breathtaking and I was glad to be able to see it. Our driver, Majid, has, quite literally, the eyes of a hawk, and the icing on the cake was his spotting two ghoral, or mountain goats, perched precariously on the side of a hill. Once he told us where they were it was blindingly obvious that these two goats were there, but if you did not know they were there you would not have seen them.
We then drove back to Infinity after which we drove towards Jhirna, to Dhela to meet with a family of Gujjar’s who had benefited from the work of The Corbett Foundation. Their settlement was extremely compact, clean, eco-friendly and wonderfully aesthetic. We spent an hour with these handsome people who are originally from Jammu and Kashmir, but yours truly was carried away by the sight of a Bhotia sheepdog that lay dozing in the compound. The darkly-brindled beast was as handsome as any dog I have seen at Crufts.
The views of the Pauri-Garhwal hills are truly breathtaking and I was glad to be able to see it. Our driver, Majid, has, quite literally, the eyes of a hawk, and the icing on the cake was his spotting two ghoral, or mountain goats, perched precariously on the side of a hill. Once he told us where they were it was blindingly obvious that these two goats were there, but if you did not know they were there you would not have seen them.
We then drove back to Infinity after which we drove towards Jhirna, to Dhela to meet with a family of Gujjar’s who had benefited from the work of The Corbett Foundation. Their settlement was extremely compact, clean, eco-friendly and wonderfully aesthetic. We spent an hour with these handsome people who are originally from Jammu and Kashmir, but yours truly was carried away by the sight of a Bhotia sheepdog that lay dozing in the compound. The darkly-brindled beast was as handsome as any dog I have seen at Crufts.
(Nokia E63)
A quick lunch and a drive to Jhirna in the afternoon. We sighted a Savannah Nighjar (Caprimulgus affinis) near the Forest Rest House and spent a few moments observing it. We also spotted both morphs of the Asian Paradise Flycatcher (Terpsiphone paradisi).
That evening, at dinner on The Deck at Infinty, the Kosi’s roared, fuelled by the previous day’s incessant rain. It was a beautiful night and we were rewarded by fluffly white clouds streaming across the dark skies, and the entire tableau lit by a near-full moon.
That evening, at dinner on The Deck at Infinty, the Kosi’s roared, fuelled by the previous day’s incessant rain. It was a beautiful night and we were rewarded by fluffly white clouds streaming across the dark skies, and the entire tableau lit by a near-full moon.
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