The land of the Sugarcane Tigers - Pilibhit and Kishenpur

Visiting a new forest always sets my adrenaline rushing. There is something addictive about exploring new forests, the thrill and anticipation of finding something new at every turn! - Hence, when an opportunity to explore a new forest patch presented itself, I absolutely grabbed it with both hands. This time I, Moumita, Shuvomay and Kaustav were about to explore a completely new forest - we were headed to the land of sugarcane tigers! - Pilibhit and Kishanpur Tiger Reserves.

For the uninitiated, these two forest are tucked away in the foothills of the Himalayas, in the state of Uttar Pradesh. Since, this region is one of the largest sugarcane producing belts of the country, tigers often stray into the sugarcane fields seeking refuge - hence the unique epithet of Sugarcane Tigers.

Our journey started from New Delhi Railway station, and a 4 hours journey by Shatabdi took us to Rudrapur, where our car was waiting to take us to Pilibhit. The weather was so awesome, that we couldn't resist a group photo in the otherwise nondescript Rudrapur station

It's a 3 hours drive from Rudrapur to Pilibhit Tiger Reserve, and we finally checked into our Homestay. The Bagh Homestay is adjacent to the forest, and operated by Zeeshan Ali, who is a local guide and a really helpful man. In fact he had arranged our entire trip seamlessly. I shall leave his contact details at the end of this blog.

The Pilibhit Bagh Vann is a perfect blend of convenience and comfort - Located at the edge of the forest, it provides a comfortable stay at very affordable price. They have a beautiful lawn, where we would spend a lot of time sun bathing after our morning winter safari.

The magical Terai habitat of Pilibhit - dense Saal forests, dissected by the safari track!

A beautiful spotted deer stands motionless in the magical winter light

Our Lucky Star...

On our first safari in Pilibhit, as we were ambling along the forest tracks, we were informed by our driver that the current queen of Pilibhit's Zone 1, was a young tigress called Star. She was famous for her intrepid nature and has earned a reputation of being quite a showstopper. At around 4 PM, we were greeted by another vehicle, who informed us that they have caught a glimpse of this tigress, however, she then disappeared into the thickets. Our guide, an experienced man, however was confident that she would reappear. As we quickly headed forward, we saw a few other vehicles, who were waiting for her to appear, when suddenly, the forest reverberated with alarm calls of Langurs. As we strained our eyes, to catch a glimpse of her, the young tigress finally stepped onto the safari track! - After walking a few paces along the safari track, she gently slid down, onto the dry canal. We thought she would quickly disappear, however, what followed was half an hour of absolute delight.

The beautiful tigress was walking along the dry canal, continuously marking her territory and stopping every now and then to observe the beeline of gypsies jostling to catch a glimpse of her.

Having walked a substantial distance, she decided to drink from a puddle of water along the canal bed.

And finally, after putting up a grand show, the tigress crossed over to the main road, and out of our sight. We came back with our hearts filled with joy and satisfaction...what a start to our Pilibhit trip!!.

Sun-rays pour through the canopy like a golden waterfall...A typical winter morning vista in the forests of Terai.

S2 makes his first appearance of the season...

With our first safari starting off with a bang, we were keen to catch a glimpse of Pilibhit's famous male tigers, who have a reputation of being gigantic. Something to do with the Terai gene pool I guess 😉...

On our second day, during the afternoon safari, we were driving through Zone 2 of Pilibhit, when Zeeshan suddenly received a tip-off, that there has been a tiger sighting nearby on the Kacchi Patri (Unpaved Road). As we rushed forward, we could see a queue of vehicles, but there was no tiger to be seen. Our hearts sank, as we thought that we have missed the tiger...That's when Shuvomay, exclaimed "Huge, Huge !!" - That's when we saw! - A massive head emerging from the thickets. This was S2, one of the shy, yet dominant male tigers from Pilibhit. S2, finally came on the road and crossed over to the dry canal, leaving us in awe of his sheer size. Apparently this was his first appearance of the season, and the guide and drivers were relieved to know that he is hale and hearty.

S2 walks across the dry canal bed, in his characteristic gait, befitting a male tiger of his proportion

An Oriental Pied Hornbill sits on the ground, foraging for fallen fruits and seeds...

A frozen morning and trip to Chukha Beach Resort...

This was turning out to be a dream trip with luck favouring us as far as tiger sightings were concerned. However, on our last day at Pilibhit, we were greeted with a thick veil of fog as we woke up for our morning safari. We decided to skip running after tigers, as chances of finding one in such weather was slim, and visit the Chuka Beach Resort. This place is an amazing location with a massive reservoir, where tourists can stay overnight. While the place isn't much on its own, but we enjoyed some hot maggi and tea in the shivering cold.

The cold was oppressive, however, the hot, and tad over sweetened tea along with some steaming maggi and the company of friends, kept us warm (along with 2 layers of warm clothes of course!)...

With the sun finally out, we decided to pose for a moment in front of the Chuka Ecotourism Spot entrance...Much relieved to have the sun shining down upon us warmly 😊

The Sharda Canal runs across the Pilibhit Tiger Reserve and is the lifeblood of the forest, providing water throughout the year.

Kishanpur and Nak-Katti

After our last safari in Pilibhit, we were now all set to travel to Kishanpur, which is a range of the famous Dudhwa Tiger Reserve. From Pilibhit, it's a two and half hours drive through some beautiful forest patch. Our place of stay in Kishanpur was Dudhwa Wilderness Camp, which is close to the forest gate and surrounded by sugarcane fields. The resort looked beautiful from outside, however, the rooms were small, smelly and lacked basic amenities. Thankfully were supposed to spend only one night here, yet it was quite disappointing (hopefully they will take our feedback seriously). On our first afternoon safari, we caught a glimpse of the famous Beldanda female at the fag end of the safari, but we were yet to have a gratifying tiger sighting in Kishanpur.

Enjoying a bonfire at the camp - While the rooms were cold and damp, we had a nice time chatting and drinking by the crackling fire.

Kishanpur is one of the last bastions of the Indian Swamp Deer (Barasingha) and you can observe them wading in the massive waterbody in Kishanpur.

The next morning, we were up and ready quite early, as we wanted to avoid the dust. Also, our expert driver Indrapal was of the opinion, that we have a good chance of catching Beldanda and her cubs if we were early into the forest.

Kishanpur's landscape is beautiful blend of grasslands and woodlands, interspersed by expansive water bodies.

From pug marks we could tell there was a lot of tiger movement, but none came to view. We took a pit stop and indulged in some photo session, but we were hardly prepared for what was about to unfold.

After having spent nearly an hour searching for Beldanda and her cubs, we were getting a tad impatient. However, since the weather was so soothing and the forest so beautiful, we were not complaining. Indrapal Ji, however was upbeat and positioned our vehicle at a crossroad, since he anticipated some movement. As we strained our eyes to catch any movement, our guide suddenly exclaimed "Tiger!!"... And boy, there she was - A majestic tigress standing on the road, framed by the magnificent habitat of the Terai.

An absolute dream frame from the Terai - The thick canopy, and tigress staring straight into the camera.

The tigress was none other than the famous Nak-Katti (Torn Nose), who has a gash along her nose, and known for her fiery demeanour. We saw her several times over the next few minutes, as she was constantly on the move along the forest floor, before finally vanishing into the grasslands. Getting to see a gorgeous tigress in this beautiful terrain was an experience par excellence. It makes you reaffirm how badly we need these habitat and these animals so we can feel happy and grateful in our city-based lives.

A flock of parakeets take flight across an agricultural field just next to our resort.

With that we concluded a memorable trip with my favourite people and are looking forward to many such trips together.

Important Contacts and Facts.

For those planning a trip, here are a few tips. Pilibhit and Kishanpur can be accessed easily from Delhi and Lucknow. From Delhi, the best way to approach Pilibhit is to take the morning Shatabdi to Rudrapur, from thereon it is a 3 hours drive. For accommodation and safari in Pilibhit, Zeeshan Ali is your best man. You may contact him on +91 88598 89425.

Kishanpur is again a 3 hours drive from Pilibhit. Personally I found it be more rich and diverse than Pilibhit. For safari and accommodation we found Indrapal to be fantastic. You may contact him on +91 91617 17107.

Hope this helps all of you to plan a good trip into this wonderful land of Sugarcane Tigers.