The dipping sun had just about cast its crimson glow on this vast stretch of rainforests when the guttural alarm cries of the nilgiri langur suddenly reverberated through the air. The gang of notorious poachers turned around slowly and looked over their shoulders. They could hardly believe their eyes — a tiger was lurking in the woods. With bated breath, I watched all this unfold, at this last remaining stretch of rainforests in Kerala. But my odyssey across India kicked off not from Kerala but at Alwar, one of the better kept secrets of Rajasthan.

Alwar, Rajasthan 

A detour on the Delhi-Jaipur highway at Behror took me to Alwar, the gateway to Rajasthan. And one bend up, the breathtaking Neemrana Fort-Palace on the far end, rose before me. The Neemrana Fort-Palace (which was under the sway of the descendants of Prithviraj Chauhan) was in ruins till not long back. Aman Nath and Francis Wacziarg, who chanced upon it in the 1980s, had over the years restored it back to its old glory. It has truly been a labour of love and today the Neemrana Fort-Palace is a boutique hotel that boasts of 46 rooms, a swimming pool and a spa and has won the hearts of many people from across the world, including the likes of Kate Winslet who chose to spend her honeymoon here.  

I tossed out of bed at this ‘non-hotel’ hotel at the crack of dawn the following day and set off on a camel safari across the out-backs of Rajasthan. And before long the awe-inspiring Aravallis, probably the oldest mountain chains in the world, stretched out before me. According to the epic Mahabharata, after losing in a game of dice, the Pandavas were sent to exile in the forests for 13 years. They were to remain incognito during the last year of their exile because if found, they had to go into exile all over again. Legend has it that the Pandavas chose to spend the thirteenth year of their exile in the lap of Aravallis.

We stopped en-route along the banks of Siliserh, a breathtaking lake spread over 13 square kilometres. I watched cormorants dive for fish in the sparkling waters of the lake as I relished a sumptuous Rajasthani lunch of dal, bhati and churma. And on that delicious note, ended the first leg of my odyssey.  

Chail, Himachal Pradesh 

A seven and half hour drive down the National Highway 22 from Delhi to Shimla (via Chandigarh) took me to the next leg of my odyssey across India — Chail. One of the lesser known hill stations in Himachal Pradesh, Chail is nestled at an altitude of 2250 metres above sea level atop the rolling Shivalik ranges. The picturesque vistas of the snow capped mountains simply took my breath away. The story of Chail actually began in Shimla, the capital of Himachal Pradesh. In 1890, the British Commander-in Chief Lord Kitchener’s daughter eloped with the flamboyant Maharaja of Patiala, Bhupinder Singh, from Shimla, the then summer capital of the British. The Maharaja of Patiala incurred the wrath of Lord Kitchener and was soon barred from entering Shimla. This enraged the Maharaja of Patiala and smarting at this insult, he vowed to build a hill station that would outshine Shimla. He zeroed in on the nondescript hamlet of Chail for his endeavour. 

The stately Chail Palace that the Maharaja of Patiala built atop the rolling hills of Chail is today a boutique hotel run by the Himachal Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation. En-route to the Chail Palace, my cab driver pointed out a cricket ground. I was pleasantly surprised when he told me that it is the highest cricket ground in the world. The Chail Palace, from afar, seemed to hang from the clouds.  

Tucked away under a thicket of deodar trees (some 50 kilometres from Chail) is Naldhera. In 1905, the then Viceroy of India Lord Curzon, who fell in love with Naldhera (he was so enamoured that he even named his daughter Naldhera) laid out a golf course here. The Naldhera Golf Course, which happens to be one of the oldest and most challenging golf courses in this part of the world, is a par 68 course with 9 holes. The yardage of the first round is 2149 and in the repeat nine, there are four additional greens and different tees, which increases the yardage of the second round to 2370.  

Bang on the Solan-Rajgarh road lies Gaura. The river Giri that flows out here is an angler’s haven. Avid fish enthusiasts can indulge in the luxury of angling for the game fish mahaseer. I ended the second leg of my odyssey with a spot of fishing here. 

Peermede, Kerala  

Ursula Le Guin said, “It is good to have an end to journey towards, but it is the journey that matters, in the end.” I couldn’t agree more. The last leg of my odyssey across India brought me to Peermede, one of the lesser known hill stations in Kerala. By the following morning I had set off for the vast expanses of tea, cardamom and pepper plantations that were ensconced atop the rolling hills of Peermede. The Peermede Development Society holds the distinction of pioneering the cultivation of organic spices in the country. Later in the day, I dropped by at the ultra modern Sahyadri Organic Tea Factory in Kuttikkanam to witness the process of manufacturing tea. I was really excited when off-chance somebody informed me about the Periyar Tiger Trail run near here in tiger country Thekkady.  

Thekkady is a vast stretch of rainforests cradled in the lap of the spiraling Western Ghats. The Periyar Tiger Trail, probably a one of its kind programme in the world, was kicked off here. Notorious poachers, who made a living by killing elephants for their tusks, were coaxed into giving up poaching and were roped in as partners in the effort towards conservation of rainforests and endangered animals like the tigers living here. These notorious poachers (who knew Thekkady like the back of their hands) now take discerning tourists from across the world into this last remaining stretch of rainforests in Kerala on the Periyar Tiger Trail. 

The dipping sun had just about cast its crimson glow on this vast stretch of rainforests, when the guttural alarm cries of the nilgiri langur suddenly reverberated through the air. The gang of notorious poachers accompanying me turned around slowly and looked over their shoulders. They could hardly believe their eyes — a tiger was lurking in the woods. Invariably, things happen to me when I least expect them. It was while rubbing shoulders with this gang of notorious poachers on the Periyar Tiger Trail that I set eyes on a big cat for the first time in my life. 

While basking in the splendour of the sunset, I turned over in my head all that I had experienced during my odyssey across India. My feelings are best described by these words of poet Robert Frost: “Two roads diverged in the woods. I took the one less traveled by. And that made all the difference.”

Brass Tacks

Alwar

• Alwar is situated about 125 kms from Delhi.
• The cost for a couple for 2 nights (including breakfast, lunch and dinner) at the Neemrana Fort-Palace works out to Rs. 10,000 onwards.
• The best time to visit Alwar is between October and March.

Chail

• Chail is situated about 50 kms from Shimla.
• The best time to visit Chail is between April and September.
• For more information on Chail log on to www.himachaltourism.nic.in

Peermede

• Peermede is situated about 175 kms from Cochin.
• The cost for a person on the 2 nights/3 days Periyar Tiger Trail (including breakfast, lunch and dinner) works out to Rs. 5000.
• Peermede enjoys a salubrious climate all through the year.

(Sanjay Sivadas is a travel writer from Bangalore bitten by the ‘wanderlust’ bug)

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