Jogimatti

Yesterday at 6 AM we started to drive towards Chitradurga. It took nearly 4 hours to cover the distance of 220+ kms. Had breakfast at my cousin's house and went straight to Jogimatti.

Jogimatti, a mini hill station with highest wind flow in Asia(people there say so !!!)  is situated at 12 kms from Chitradurga. It’s nothing but a group of hills. There is a narrow winding road to the top of the hill which takes you through thick shrubs and nice vegetation. May be because of the fast winds, the trees and other plants are shorter than normal here.

There is a watch tower on top of the highest peak. Just climb that and you will have an awesome view on the surrounding valleys. The wind is so strong that you need to hold the railings to ensure that you are not blown away. The view is so good that one can spend 2-3 hours easily on top of the watch tower.

There is an IB (Inspection Bungalow) on the top and general public is allowed to stay there with proper permission and with a nominal charge. There is a check post at the beginning of hilly road and you need to take permission there to enter the area. If you are driving to the top, then you r vehicle needs to be registered.

There is a trekking route (12 kms) through the forest. Planning to do this before December 09. There are a lot of Leopards, peacocks and bears in this area and chances of sighting one are high compared to other places.

If you are ready to pack your bags, wait, the IB is under renovation and it will take some time for re-opening. And, now there are only few beer cans and very little plastic derby around, please do not add to that. This is one of the most clean and green places I have ever seen, let it be like that and enjoy the beauty.

Note: if you are looking for a park or a proper hill station, stay away. It’s not yet up to the mark. Mornings are quite misty and cloudy during September to January and I think it’s the best time to visit.

Photos : (From my 2 MP Sony Ericsson Mobile)

Nehru Zoological Park - Hyderabad

“Catch bus no95 from the Medical College bus stop near Women’s College, get down at Nehru park bus stop” , politely he guided us with a big smiling face at Koti bus stand. He, in pure white dress, aged around 50 years,  is as usual at his best in service of the people. We had bought “Travel as You Like” pass costing Rs. 25, is a daily pass in all normal buses till midnight ! Perfectly we landed at the Nehru Zoological Park bus stop, on Bangalore-Hyderabad highway.

Arch kind of structure welcomes us at the entrance. Al mosts in every section of the park we can find the scripture like “Inaugurated by Sri, N.T Rama Rao” ! Pay a 25 rupees for the adult ticket, for camera pay another 25. Pay Rs. 500 if you wish to take your personal vehicle inside park, else park outside !! Visitor vehicles, run by CNG, are available at the entrance of the park to go around the 5 km circumference of the zoo park. I didn't try it as I walked around the park myself ! There is a train which circles around the park in slow motion, train ticket being Rs.15 for each adult.

A statue of Deer attracts us just inside the entrance. For me it was cafeteria situated in arms distance had more attractive power !!

I was searching for a map of the park which I could see after walking a little bit. Park is built on the sides of Mir Alam tank that provides water for the park. Park can never have water scarcity problem throughout the year. There is an outer ring road covering entire park, besides this train track is laid down. On the left side of this road, first we can meet our ancestors, then elephants and then lion, tiger, bear safari facility and so on as depicted pictorially by the layout map. 

 

We paid Rs. 25 for lion-tiger safari. They took us in completely grilled Swaraz mazda vehicle for around 15 minutes. Don't get into the mood  to imagine yourself in a African safari commonly shown in Animal Planet. It is no way comparable to that ! Around 3-4km area is divided for Lion, Tiger and Bear and these animals of the Zoo are allowed roam freely in this area in a cyclical order. Rest of the time they have to live in a small world, thats all !!!

Rest of the park has rest of the animals of animal kingdom!! I won't rate this zoo as the best zoo I ever seen, but 'ok' can be sufficient!! 

There were people with lengthy Canon and Nikon camera hanging on their neck, always looking upwards with a hope that they can catch some flying action of bird! After an hour I found them in cafeteria having snacks. We too took some refreshments and left to other parts of the zoo, came back again to the same cafeteria after nearly an hour. The lengthy lens group consisting of young and old was still chewing samosas, finally landed up having several round of group photos! I chuckled myself, left immediately to see rest of the animal world !!

 

Now, don't ask me questions such as which camera you used, what is the mm of zoom lens etc. I have no answer to any of your queries. But let me tell you in short, a secret. I took all my photos in Hyderabad with Nokia 5130 Express music mobile having 2MP camera!!!