After Fatehpur Sikri it is late enough in the day to drive directly to our accomodation, Chambal Safari Lodge. This is the one accomodation that we really wanted to stay and even went through the difficult process of paying a deposit via bank transfer that took over a month to go through and be confirmed. In order to get there we have to pass through Agra where we will return in two days and we exchange a few more dollars as again we have a shortfall it seems.
As usual there are many restaurants that seem to be dedicated only to weddings and parties, they are quite colorful and open only for ceremonies.
The road is lined with the results of the two major businesses here, brick baking and dung drying, lots of bricks and dry dung everywhere. Of course we also see the means of production, kilns all along the road and of course cows, lots and lots of cows.
The cows are everywhere but here there are even some that are regimented into herds and not only free roaming, maybe to collect the dung better.
And then we arrive at the Lodge, it is quite beautiful even though we understand that we can see only the Main House and there are cabins hidden among the forest and we will stay in one of them. But first we are welcomed with masala tea, an Indian speciality, and cookies and we search for birds in the forest while our future guide is working to finish our check in.
Our cabin is quite beautiful, with two units and one of them is empty during our visit, cool. The room is beautiful and we really enjoy the isolated location and the amenities which include everything except Wifi unfortunately.
But who needs Wifi when you have a lake nearby and a forest to explore for birds and mammals. Not we of course.
We arrange a four PM nature walk with our assigned guide and while waiting we already find bee hives and many flying foxes right above the trail. In fact we have to be careful not to be right below them in case of an …accident.
The nature walk starts with our guide taking us to two owl roosts, one is of two beautiful Indian Scops-Owls just resting near the trail and the second one is a Brown Boobook who really does not want to show its face but we can still glimpse it through the foliage.
The guide shows us many different medicinal plants and also takes us past sights linked to the history of the farm like a deep well where a mystic lived and had to be fed by lowering the food down the well. There are also a few tombs of the previous owners of the farm that were relatives of the current owners as the land was passed down from generation to generation.
But we are here for the birds and the guide is really good at finding them. We see a beautiful Orange-headed Thrush that is taking a bath and a Tickell’s Thrush that just passes through as we are engrossed in watching the Orange-headed Thrush.
We pass through different habitats from the lakeside through the mustard fields and then through the former orchard which holds many interesting warblers.
The walk ends in a large mustard field with many beautiful birds and some very interesting ones like Indian Stone-Curlew and the Yellow-wattled Lapwing that we wanted to see for some time already.
And then the guide takes us to the middle of the field where there are a few benches and there is a picnic set up. We soon understand that it is for us with some good wine, juices and a platter of cheeses. And all is included in the price of the room which is nice.
Afterwards we return to the room but our guide invites us to a night walk later. We are tired but when he said the word civets we are ready to go. And soon after a short walk we find our first civet and then another one and then another, quite fun and surprising! And then it is time to eat dinner which is a buffet type affair where you can order homemade roti and naan to complement the dishes. We are really tired afterwards so it is time to return to our cabin and rest as tomorrow we have a full day of exploring the area with our guide searching for cranes and crocodiles.
