Ramgarh - The mountains are calling and I must GO!!!

I have been to Ramgarh a couple of times earlier and everytime I go, the love for the place deepens. There's nothing much to do in Ramgarh except for the long beautiful walks. We stayed in Neemrana's Ramgarh Bungalows. 

I somehow love their properties. They call their properties "NON HOTEL HOTELS". There are no T.Vs in the rooms and no telephones either. For us, this is a perfect recipe for a peaceful holiday. 

Ashok Vatika, Neemrana Ramgarh Bunglows

Ramgarh is a small beautiful hill station ahead of Nainital on way to Mukteshwar. The air is fresh, the weather is lovely, the crowd is less and you get unobstructed view of the snow-capped ranges of the Himalayas. 

          Green structure is AshokVatika

The map shows you the location of Ramgparh. Ramgarh is around 360 Kms fromP Gurgaon and if you leave early around 4 am, you should reach your destination by lunch. 

Breakfast With A View

We love eating out in the sun and with views like this who would want to sit indoors!!!

Blue Room

Our room had a huge bed and beautiful setting. Ashok Vatika has four room:-
1. Blue
2  Green
3. Yellow
4. Pink

We advise you to book either Blue or Green rooms as they have beautiful views of the mountains and the valleys. We had booked Yellow room but upgraded ourselves to Blue as it was available and much nicer.   

We clicked the above photo while one of our beautiful walks.

Sitout Area

The property has some beautiful sitout points which are ideal if you love to read. 

Out for a short drive

It rained quite a bit and we decided to head out for a small drive in the mountains. There were clouds all around as we drove half way upto Mukteshwar.

He invited himself for the drive!!!

As mentioned earlier there are few beautiful walks around the property which are worth exploring. You walk thru the villages and fruit orchids. 

Other properties in Ramgarh are:-

1. Welcome Heritage Taradale Cottage 

2. Seclude Ramgarh 

3. Cedar Lodge

Foggy Sunday Morning In Asola Bhatti Wildlife Sanctuary

As we drove on the unpaved roads inside the Asola Bhatti Wildlife Sanctuary, we were pleasantly surprised to see that we were in a jungle right in the middle of our concrete Delhi. The clock showed 8.30 am and it was still very foggy. 

We had come here for the Winter Bird walk organized by Mr Ishtiyak Ahamad of Conservation Education Center but the weather Gods had some other plans for us. It remained foggy almost thru out the day leaving little possibility  photography and sighting of birds. But to be honest I did not miss the birds, loved the drive and walk inside the jungle. We drove almost 14 kms inside the Sanctuary to reach the Bharadwaj Lake aka Asola Bhatti Lake. 

Peacock

We did spot a few birds but were not able to photograph them because of low light.

Sparrow

Asola Bhatti Lake or Bharadwaj Lake

The sanctuary has many lakes but Asola Bhatti Lake is one of the biggest and most pristine of them all. A part of lake also has a beautiful sandy beach making it a perfect place for nature lovers to spend a day.

 

The sanctuary is home to over 200 species of birds. Many migratory birds also make the sanctuary its home during this season.

Crystal Clear Water Of Asola Bhatti Lake

As the sanctuary is not promoted much by the Delhi tourism, most of us are also unaware of the presence of  these beautiful lakes in our Delhi.

Walk Inside the Forest

The are many trails inside the jungle to explore. As there are no sign marks so its almost necessary to have an experienced guide with you.

Leopard Scratch Marks On Tree

As it was foggy and spotting birds was almost impossible so we went on one of the Leopard trails inside the sanctuary.

Spooky

The terrain provides them perfect camouflage. They say as per the census there are close to 6 to 7 Leopards inside the sanctuary.

Down The Hill On Leopard Trail

Don't forget to bring a good camera or a binocular if you are a birding enthusiast. .

 

We came out around 1.00 pm and not before one of us had a flat tire inside and the gentleman had no spare tire too. The roads are unpaved and at places rocky too so make sure that the tires of your car has good rubber left on them. Also a car with higher ground clearance will surely help. Also bring your packed lunch and water as nothing is available inside.

To sum it all, I loved the experience and would encourage nature lovers to go and explore the little bit of Jungle left in our Delhi.  



Location :-

The entry gate is from Dr Karni Singh shooting range road , New Delhi. If you are driving from Delhi towards Faridabad on Shooting Range Road, you will see Asola Bhatti Sanctuary gate on your Right hand Side. 


How To Get In :- 

You have to take permission from the Delhi Forest department to get inside the sanctuary and that too a day or two in advance.  The best way is to contact The Conservation Education Center and they will arrange the entry permissions for you or you can also join their one the many Nature walks which they keep on organizing. Their contact details are :- 

Bombay Natural History Society,
Asola Bhatti Wildlife Sanctuary
Near Dr.Karni Singh Shooting Range,
New Delhi - 110044
Contact Number: 8800748967, 8800741864
E mail- cecbnhsdelhi@gmail.com
Website- www.cecdelhi.org

They are organizing the next bird walk on 14th Feb 2016. If you interested than following are the details :-



Date: 14th February, Time: 8.00 am- 10.30 a.m.

Venue: Asola Bhatti Wildlife Sanctuary

Fees: Rs 350 per head/- (Includes entry fee and expert guidance)

For Registrations contact: Mr. Ishtiyak Ahamad, Education Officer on 011-26042010 or 8800741864, 9868441983

Email: cecbnhsdelhi@gmail.com

Last date for registration: 13th February 2016