Madhya Pradesh – VAGABOND IMAGES

Time back to travel! Madhya Pradesh opens its National Parks today

Upendra SwamiJune 15, 20203437 Views2

For all those with travel lust and right now feel like being chained in their homes due to COVID19 situation, there is a trickle of some good news. Among the first states to do this, Madhya Pradesh has reopened its State Tourism Development Corporation Hotels, resorts and many private hotels at tourist destinations for tourists and hoteliers. A tiger at Panna Tiger reserve in Madhya Prdesh Among the efforts to promote domestic tourism state is now allowing all tourists from within the Country. Not just that, another big news is that Madhya Pradesh Forest department has also issued a circular regarding re-opening of its National Parks from 15th June 2020. Buffer zones in these national parks will remain open during monsoon season as well. Normally, all the national parks a...

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Madhya Pradesh welcomes you to Orchha with a brand new festival

Upendra SwamiJanuary 11, 20203616 Views10

Adding to its ongoing initiatives to promote Madhya Pradesh as a leading tourism destination in the country, the State Tourism Board will be organising “Namaste Orchha”, a new festival scheduled to be held from 6-8 March 2020, celebrating the cultural landscape of the state in the historic town of Orchha. This will be an annual event now onwards in the MP tourism calendar. Festival was announced in a curtain raiser in Delhi on Friday. View of Orchha from the other side of Betwa river The three day extravaganza in this ancient and quaint town will feature diverse activities of music, art, wellness, travel, nature, adventure, history and culture. These activities would be led by experts in their respective fields with participants comprising invited delegates. An immers...

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Hanuwantia can be the change you need this new year!

Upendra SwamiDecember 29, 20173032 Views5

On the lines of Rann Utsav of Kutch, Madhya Pradesh tourism has dared to do the unthinkable of bringing tourists to a location as remote as Hanuwantia with nothing to lure them. Now Hanuwantia is a hub for air, land and water adventure activities. Jal Mahotsav is in its third year now and gradually increasing its time span. For ten days two years back, it increased to one month last year and now 80 days. This year Jal Mahotsav specially targets the year-end tourists. So, if you are looking for any new destination this new year eve, why not try Hanuwantia. This year festival started on 15th October and will continue till 2nd January 2018. The vision of Hanuwantia Festival was actually inspired by Sentosa island of Singapore. Although these are very early days for Hanuwant...

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Panna Tiger Reserve : Few images sans tigers!

Upendra SwamiMay 10, 20162442 Views14

This is last post from my visit to Panna Tiger Reserve and National Park last month. And this one is not about tigers. I had always enjoyed wild, whether there is sighting of a big cat or not. Wild is always beautiful. Wanna Tiger Reserve and National Park has a beautiful topography and it owes much to the beautiful Ken river flowing through the reserve. It works as a lifeline for the forest and the wildlife here as you can see in the image below. A pair of Nilgai, no jungle in India is complete without them! A male sambhar crossing the road. This is one of the favourite foods of big cats. Something I captured for the first time- a spotted deer making a mating call to his partner. Novices will often misjudge a deer's mating call as an alarm call for the tiger sighting....

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Two cubs on play at Panna – a photo essay

Upendra SwamiMay 3, 20161403 Views10

Tiger is a solitary animal, it likes to be alone in its territory along with his female partners. Often tigers get injured, many times fatally in territorial fights. Even two brothers will search for different territories once they are adult enough to hunt and feed for themselves and hence eventually their mother will leave them. As I mentioned in my last post (Read: Returning to the tiger in Panna) I was fortunate to watch two cubs on play. Mother was around but we couldn't see her as she was down in a nullah at a cooler place. Cubs don't look like cubs as they were almost more than a year old, but were still with their mother. We and the few other tourist vehicles located this family on a grassland right on the banks of the Ken river. Ken river flows through Panna Tiger reserve. So he

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Returning to the tiger in Panna

Upendra SwamiMay 2, 20161906 Views10

Panna tiger reserve has a special place personally for me. I have three personal firsts associated with this national park. It was here that I had my very first tiger sighting in the wild. This was also the place where I had my first and only tiger sighting while sitting on an elephant. Lastly, this is the only tiger reserve where I visited twice and had tiger sightings on both the occasions. And this time around, it was fortunate sighting of two cubs (photo above and below). Unluckily though, their mother remained elusive, although she was around. The gap of almost eleven years between these two visits to Panna had been a period of turmoil for this Tiger reserve. The story of Panna Tiger Reserve has not an ordinary one. A story of all hopes lost to an extraordinary resurrection. By

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Spot the tiger in this wild image!

Upendra SwamiApril 30, 20163976 Views6

However close you watch a tiger in a zoo, you won’t get that excitement. But you won’t be able to contain your anxiety on the thrill of watching a tiger in wild, in its own territory- however distant it might be. Am I wrong? You won’t say so, when you see satisfied faces coming out of tiger reserves after end of every safari, especially in India- home to most of the tigers in world in wild. Its different every time- the thrill, as I have felt in my all sightings of tiger in wild. This one was no different. So, can you spot the tiger in this photo below, taken on my very recent visit to Panna tiger reserve? Have a closer look- Tough, isn’t it? Spotting wild cats in the wild, especially the elusive ones, need a sharp pair of eyes and a powerful camera to shoot. But even a 400mm tel...

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Pandav Falls : Bit myth, bit history and a lot of nature!

Upendra SwamiApril 14, 20164614 Views13

Pandavas can be credited, besides Mahabharata, also for being the earliest tourists. Their 13 years in exile were actually years of travel around the country. Almost in every part of the country we will find a place dedicated to Pandavas- either they visited there, or stayed there or meditated there or did many other type of things. And, all these places were visited by them during their years in exile. Pandav Falls inside the periphery of the Panna Tiger Reserve and National Park is also one of the place associated with this mythological story. Pandav Falls is not a destination into itself, as we can consider Raneh Falls to be. Pandav Falls is part of the bigger itinerary of Panna Tiger Reserve and Khajuraho temples. But it is descent place not to be missed. Pandav Falls is a multiple

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Raneh Falls : Rare and Breathtaking!

Upendra SwamiApril 8, 20164567 Views20

This might be one of the most underrated tourist destinations in India. But it is as much rare and fascinating. Raneh falls is just around 20-25 minutes drive from temple town of Khajuraho, which has been among the top destinations for foreign tourists in India. But still, not even ten percent of the tourists coming to Khajuraho go to Raneh falls. Often you might be the only tourist around. As was with us this time around, when we couldn't find any other tourist in the Raneh falls area. Well, obviously, it doesn't have that glamour. But that can't undermine its beauty. Raneh falls are natural. They are actually a canyon formation which you will not find anywhere else in India. It is said that these canyons would have formed because of volcanic eruptions thousands and thousands of years

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White Tiger: When Mutation becomes Exhibit!

Upendra SwamiApril 7, 20164898 Views8

This might be a very rare happening in the history of wildlife conservation. A gene mutation has become something exotic and an aberration is been celebrated. Perhaps, beauty of a white tiger has lot to do with that. So fascinating that we have gone very far in actually preserving and breeding that mutation. That has brought us to a point where we have world’s only white tiger safari at Mukundpur in Satna district of Madhya Pradesh. The safari was thrown open for public this Sunday. I was there at that occasion. Why Mukundpur? White tigers have association with this region. Although Mukundpur is in Satna district, it borders adjoining Rewa district. Erstwhile royal family of Rewa has been the corner stone of conservation of white tigers. Actually, fact is that there has been no ...