My First Jungle Safari experience at Rajaji National Park, Haridwar

For quite a few days now I am planning to start a blog. Somehow or other with my 3yr old daughter I never managed to find time. But my first ever jungle safari experience couldn’t stop myself from sharing it. Last Sunday, we went to Rajaji National Park in Haridwar, Uttarakhand which is known for its elephants. Very quiet a few people know about this park. The park is about 40kms from Roorkee. So we thought to go on bike along with our friend’s family. Instead of taking highway route, we preferred another route which goes along the canal side. We started our journey at around 8am in the morning. As it is winter here, temperatures are bit low but we nicely packed ourselves in winter coats to protect from cold. The drive along the canal side itself is a wonderful experience with Ganga canal on one side and fields n cattle on the other side. On the way we can see amazing civil hydraulic structures built in pre-independence era for bypassing the canal over different terrains.

We reached the park at around 9-30am. From there we booked an open top gypsy to go into the forest. This Park is situated along the foothills of Shiwalik ranges in the Himalayan foothills and the famous gages river passing through the national park harbours variety of fishes. Our kids very much enjoyed the bumpy rides standing in the open top safari, seeing fishes in the waters n splashing waters as our jeep passes through the river channels flowing across the road. Ofcourse it’s a wonderful experience to anybody as we see such scenes only in movies J As this is our first experience, We were very much thrilled with the natural beauty of the wild life n scenic beauty of Shivalik mountains. Taking pictures along the bumpy rides in an open top jeep is bit risky for the camera but we captured the wild beauty as much as possible. As the jeep goes further into the forest, we came across different types of deers namely sambar (not the sambhar in famous idli sambhar, it’s a type of deer J), barking deer, wild pigs, wild hens n cocks, horses, wild bulls and few birds . As this park is famous for its Asian elephants, we wish we could spot a few but unfortunately we couldn’t find anyL. Ofcourse this will keep the thrill and excitement alive for our next jungle safari. This park also houses tigers, leopards, king kobras and many bird species. Overall, we thoroughly enjoyed the scenic beauty of the forest and our kids enjoyed the 3hrs open top bumpy safari to the most. Definitely this park is a good place for both nature lovers as well as for wildlife enthusiasts.

Quite different from spending my weekend with routine household works, this trip has really rejuvenated me and encouraged me to find time to start a blog. I will surely suggest everybody to visit this park if u get any chance to go around haridwar. Thanks to our friends Dr. Satish n Kavitha for planning such a wonderful trip.

General information about the park:

Directions: Around 4kms from the famous chandi devi temple in haridwar

Activities: Campfire, wild safari, trekking, walks outside the park and plunge in streams, rafting in ganges.

Park Timings: 9-30am to 6pm (Early morning and Early evening are best for jeep safari)

Best Time to Visit: December and March (Park is open to visitors from 15th Nov to 15th June and is closed during rainy season)