Neora and Chilipata

It had been more than a year since I had a break from work. So I badly needed this trip to Neora valley and Chilapata wildlife sanctuary. This was again through India Terrain Nature Club (My spiti valley trip which I have blogged about in an earlier post was through them as well). This time it was a group of five - two of us from Bangalore and three more joining us at Calcutta.

Neora valley is at the border of Sikkim and West Bengal. And Chilapata is about 4 hour drive from Neora.

On 16th Feb, I flew into Calcutta. An overnight train journey to New Jalpaiguri and then a 3 hour drive brought us to the Neora Valley Jungle Camp. Situated on a mountain top, the cottages open out to a beautiful view of the valley. On a clear day, you are treated to a view of the majestic Kanchenjunga at a distance. The cottages were terrific and the food was delicious (even for somebody like me who is not really a foodie, I really enjoyed the food). We spent the next two days birding. Among others, we spotted yuhinas, forktails, thrushes but the best was spotting the yellow throated fulvetta and the black eagle.

On the 20th, we drove to Chilapata wildlife sanctuary. The resort here was a disappointment, it was not well managed and after the wonderful experience at Neora, this resort seemed like an afterthought. Be that as it may, what was more concerning was the wildlife sanctuary itself. During the safaris into the forest, I hardly saw any ungulates except for a lone gaur. Not one deer or sambhar were to be found. The forests here are dense and the habitat looks perfect for tigers but none exist. Naturally, since the prey base is so perilously low, it can barely sustain the few leopards that roam here. Rampant poaching has had a tragic toll on this place.

But the stay had its bright spots too. Apart from sighting a herd of elephants with calves, we were able spot an Oriental Hobby which is a rare sight. We even managed to get a glimpse of a solitary Indian Rhino.

Two days in Chilapata and now back to civilization and work. New friends made, new experiences lived and new memories to cherish. All in all, a good trip.