CHAMBAL NATIONAL PARK

From Bharatpur we hired a car and left for Chambal National Park (Also called the National Chambal Sanctuary) which is about 125 km from Bharatpur.  En route we took in a quick visit to Fatehpur Sikri the city established by Akbar the great, admired the grandeur of Salim Chisty’s tomb, the Jamma Masjid, the Diwan- e- Khas  and of course the magnificent and imposing Buland Darwaza.  We also got a fabulous view of the city from the ramparts of the fort. Having spent an hour here we started towards Chambal.. which was a drive about one hour.

Arriving at Chambal National Park, one does not see any signs of a National Park. There are no gates, no security personnel, etc. You just drive down from the highway  onto the banks of the river Chambal. There in a small make shift cabin is the  office of the Chambal National Park. Here one needs to buy a ticket for a boat ride. You stipulate the time in advance and you are given a motor boat with a guide & motor boatman. And your river journey starts.  As you head upstream, we passed by a few black cormorants and darters sunning themselves. Going slowly upstream one is mesmerized by the silence of the surroundings. The only sounds you hear are of the Chambal river slowly winding its way and of course the harsh sound of the outboard motor. In between you hear the cry of some birds. And along the banks of the river and is small mud islands between the waters we found an amazing abundance of wild life. Turtles sunning themselves,  lying motionless on the rocks, Bhraminy Ducks lazing on the shores, spoonbills & egrets standing patiently in the water and of course the famous  but threatened Muggar Crocodiles. 

These huge crocodiles lie on the sand banks for hours on end and don’t bother even when a motor boat with tourists on board come reasonably close. They just go on  sleeping peacefully, sometimes opening one eye for a bit. We saw quite a few of these huge creatures, lying in various positions of rest and relaxation. Some of course (the more energetic ones I guess) were in the water swimming.

We were also fortunate to spy many critically endangered Ghariyals  (  I do not know how to classify them as crocodiles or alligators). These are smaller and much more slender than the Muggar Crocodiles. They have a long narrow snout as compared to crocodiles. The ones we saw were together.. Gharial  parent & offspring, I guess.

There were baby Ghariyals as well sunning themselves. But as soon as they heard the noise of the motor boat they slipped into the water and swam away from us. It is a wonderful sight to see these “masters of camouflage” swimming in the water with nothing but a small tip of their snout exposed over the surface of the water. Our guide informed us that they were very shy creatures and at the first sight of an approach, they slip away. We were lucky to see so many and even got a few reasonable shots.

On our boat ride back to the starting point we happened to see some small white birds on the far bank. Excited we asked the boatman to cut off the engine and slowly steer us towards these small white birds. Getting closer we saw an entire flock of Indian Skimmers. But we couldn’t get too close to them for fear that they would fly away. 

But just sitting in the boat and observing their behaviour is a rewarding experience in itself. These  are medium sized black (upper part) & white (lower part) birds with a pronouncedly orange beak that fades to become yellow at the tip. Unfortunately  could not sight the Palla’s Fish Eagle.

After about 20 minutes of observing them, it was time to hit the road and get back to Mathura station. In time to catch our train back. With a bagful  of fantastic memories of a never before imagined trip. And full memory cards to cherish those rare moments.