No, we did not spot a tiger or a leopard though Sariska Tiger Reserve has around 30 tigers, not counting leopards. At one point, we were apparently quite close to a leopard — according to our guide — but all we heard were monkeys screaming even as the big cat chose to remain behind the bushes. I didn’t mind not having seen it. The thrill of the chase — on a couple of occasions we vroomed ahead on bumpy roads when someone called the guide to say a tiger/leopard seemed to be around — was worth the safari. My friends and I chose Sariska for a weekend trip from Delhi because it was the closest, the distance being a little more than 200 kilometres. We set out in the afternoon, and reached our stay late in the evening. The highway is great and we got breathtaking sunset views
All photographs by the author
A view of Tehla fort from my stay. The Tehla gate is the less popular entry to Sariska Tiger Reserve. It's a small village overlooked by the abandoned fort, which locals say, is home to monkeys and small leopards. It is possible to hike up to it, and even get inside. It's not risky, the locals say, but recommend that you go in a group
Some trails are peaceful and spooky like this one. There is a temple inside the forest accessible to the public twice a week, when private cars are allowed to use the main road in the forest, but not these trails. Unfortunately, at times, there are so many cars going up and down — like the day we went — it can be annoying when you are trying to look for an animal and trying to be quiet
This is a post inside the forest. One of the tigers has a transmitter attached to it and it is possible to track it if it is within a certain radius. The man with the tracker is visible here. Sadly, the tiger appeared too far away and we couldn’t find it. On the way back, we saw some wild boars that reminded me of Asterix and Obelix
