POBITORA - Pride of India

               

                                “Travel becomes an art when nature is the artist”.

NorthEast India is beautifully canvassed by the mother nature with its crystalline rivers, pristine landscape, the benign silence of the forests, precarious rapids and warm people.

Those eight days in the NorthEast have rejuvenated my soul and would be cherished forever...

                                               Across the nation there were protests against the government’s decision on the amendment of the citizenship bill. Travel bans, internet ban and what not!  I took a deep breath when the pilot announced our takeoff from the Kempagowda International Airport, Bangalore.

ITINERARY

                

A day in Pobitora

                

Through the crowded roads of Guwahati city, we drove towards Pobitora. Passing Kamakhya Temple, University of Guwahati we slid towards the highway along the Brahmaputra river.

Two hours of drive and we reached Zizina resort, Pobitora. We had a quick look into the mudhuts of Zizina resort and kept our luggage in the respective huts and left for the safari.

Jeep Safari

Timings: 7:00 to 15:30

Cost: 1300+ 50/head

Jeep safari to the Pobitora WildLife Sanctuary was pre-booked and the safari-driver was waiting for us in the front yard. An armed forest guard joined us from the checkpoint, and we started the dusty ride through the forests of Pobitora.         

Migratory birds were enjoying their evening dip in the pools as we sped through the winding roads leaving behind a cloud of dust and gravel.

We were all enthralled by the silence of the forest and the dipping temperature as we crawled into the thickness of the foliage.

               

Driver made an abrupt stop and to everyone’s surprise a rhinoceros was few yards away looking straight at us. It was feeding near the dirt road and it decided to cross the road and slowly vanished into the grasslands. 

The rugged gigantic mammal crossing the dirt roads of Pobitora would be always one of my favorite moments from the wild. 

                

 As we progressed, we saw herd of wild buffaloes, wild boars, parrots, migratory birds and storks.
 Sun was bidding farewell for the day leaving a crimson trail above us. Darkness began to fall shortly as we started our retreat....

Zizina Resort

                   "You would find plethora of reasons to love this place." 

The hospitality, location, cuisine and beverages, hot shower in the mud huts, warmth of bonfire and night mists in the vast lawns.

The mist fell over our light conversations around the bonfire and our day ended with a wholesome dinner.

The bamboo leaves rustled in the cold wind as we walked to our huts. 

                

Elephant Safari

1st Ride:

Reporting time: 6:15 am
Time 6:30 am to 7:30am

2nd Ride:
Reporting time: 7:15 am
Time 7:30am to 8:30am

                

Woke up at 5 and it was still pitch dark outside the huts. Got ready by 5:45, took my camera and walked along the pathways to get some misty morning photographs. By 6:10 we assembled at the reception, the hotel staff took us to the checkpoint. The 15 minutes of walk to the checkpoint through the trails was immense and refreshing for the mind. Wisps of mist caressed the trees and the river as the sun climbed over the horizon. We walked past the river and reached the checkpoint.

                The Hanging bridge gates were opened for us by the forest officials and the staff walked ahead of us. Thick mist was swirling through the foliage, still waters and hung over the bridge making it a path to uncertainty. But it was clearer towards the other end…

                                      

               " Elephants lined up by their mahouts and the rising sun behind them was the reflection of how nature was tamed to our likeliness."

 Love for elephants was always there from childhood and this was the time to be on top of it for the next one hour. Elephants are taken good care as they are the bread winners for the mahout’s family!

                Almost 15 people took their turns and climbed onto the elephants. Elephants lined up one after the other and the forest guard gave signal to the mahouts. Through the winding roads that we covered yesterday in jeep, we started our descent to the forest. Seeing the misty woods and creaking sounds of the branches from the top of an elephant was mesmerizing. 

 From the dirt roads, elephants took the trails into the deep woods. Ten minutes through the woods, I saw the opening onto the vast grasslands that showed us the unobstructed horizon covered in the morning mist.

               

One hour of elephant safari would make you feel much closer to the nature and its splendorous creations. This is a must-to-do in Assam.

"Pobitora is a symbol of resilience to see the harmony of animals in the forests, an awareness for the people to save the dwindling rhinoceros population and to stand in solidarity against poaching and to save nature"

After breakfast, we headed towards Shillong crossing the villages of Mayang (land of Blackmagic).

Listen to the black magic stories of Mayang in the blistering cold of Shillong soon…