Jim Corbett safaris

Foggy mornings at Jim Corbett

In Jan this year, I finally made it to Jim Corbett National Park, a park I have been trying to visit for years. It was a 4 day trip, with two days spent in travel from and to Delhi and two days of safaris. I loved the jungle, it was so green and dense and pristine, so stunning in its rawness. And even though we barely spotted a tiger, it was still fine as we saw a few other wild animals in their natural surroundings. But given it was January, the cold made it quite an average trip as we were always so cold, we could barely move or explore anything outside of the safaris we went on. So as much as I enjoyed this trip, I know I need to go back when the weather is more tolerable, and this time, get to see the real park, its animal, its trees, its rivers and explore all it has to explore, much more than what I was able to do on this trip.


Getting There

We had planned for a 4 day trip to the Park and we got a driver to drive us from and to Delhi. Google Maps shows the driving time to be about 6 hours but we took a bit longer, given the bad traffic and fog on the way. We were staying at the Corbett Riverside Resort which is located in Dhikuli near Ramnagar. The route from Delhi to Dhikuli goes through small towns of UP and Uttarakhand - Hapur, Moradabad and Kashipur, names I have always heard but had never been to. We took quite long to get out of Delhi given the usual city traffic. And thereafter, the drive was just about comfortable.

The road is most of the way a single lane road with crazy traffic going both sides. And I could easily see why it was a good idea for me not to drive on this trip - the driving skills required to drive in such smaller roads in India are beyond me. Where vehicles overtake each other even when there is oncoming traffic!! And 2 vehicles could at the same time be overtaking the same vehicle!! This is the kind of driving I had never learnt and given how long I have been driving outside India, where you have to follow the rules of the road, I don’t think I can handle this anymore 😁. Its best to leave such driving to the experts.

It was very cold and foggy most of the way on the drive. And we could see rural India waking up and getting on with its daily tasks. There were small towns all the way till Ramnagar, the rural parts of UP which reminded me of my childhood days when I used to be in touch with and see a lot more of the real India. Everything felt so nice and fresh in the January fog. With small mud or brick houses, small settlements, cattle walking around and people going on about their agriculture based life. There were many people sitting on the sides of the roads, around a burning fire and having their morning teas. And even though it was so cold, they were not wearing as many warm clothes as I was.

The roadside was quite green most of the way. We crossed lot of fields full of sarson and sugarcane. And also some industries on the way. We also crossed the Ganga which always feels surreal. The last part of the road before we got to Ramnagar got worse in quality and gave us a lot of bumps on the way. But overall the journey was quite nondescript.

Ramnagar was the nearest town to our resort. It is located in the foothills, and right after that you start going up the mountains. Dhikuli and Garjiya are popular places to stay nearby, on the banks of river Kosi. These were erstwhile villages which now are a huge stretch of all kinds of luxury hotels lining the narrow mountain road, close to the Bijrani entrance to the Park.

A lot of India - its towns and cities - are so imperfect that way. Its cities are not as pretty as in say, Europe and nature is also beautiful only in the mountains and near the sea. Most of the plains are bereft of any obvious beauty other than the lush green fields during season. But this is what home is like for me. I thought a lot during this drive, comparing my life now and what my home is like. Now these scenes feel like from a different century, a place I have left so far behind that I worry sometimes if I can relate to it anymore? Its not happened yet, but can it happen some day?


Our Accommodation - Corbett Riverside Resort

We reached our hotel, the Corbett Riverside Resort - slightly late at night after it had got dark. It was along the line of resorts, towards the end, nearer to Garjiya and was right on the banks of river Kosi. Our first impression of the resort was not great though. We had expected better rooms but the ones we saw hadn’t been upgraded for years. Given it was late, it was tough to change our hotel but we looked at a few of their other rooms and shifted to the tiger den which was definitely much better.

Outside tiger den

So it turned out they had an older set of rooms which were not great and looked nothing like the ones on booking.com. But as you went inside the resort, the ones closer to the river Kosi bank were a lot better. So we took the best ones and felt slightly better about the trip after the initial shock 😊. The tiger den rooms were huge, well decorated and had a pool and swing right outside the room. It was definitely an upgrade and would have been even more awesome in summer.

Grounds in the resort

The hotel had a lot of open and green space, lined with trees, flowers and even a kitchen garden. It was enjoyable to sit outside and enjoy the sun. The service was good as everyone was trying to help the residents. Right outside the huge green space was the river Kosi, lazily flowing on a wide riverbed and across it were small mountains. The whole view and ambience was picturesque and relaxing. At least during the day, it felt that the resort would have been awesome when it was first developed and had definitely seen better days.

They had a restaurant on the river banks which served buffet breakfast, lunch and dinner. We had breakfast there daily and dinner only the first day. The breakfast had a good spread and was tasty. The dinner though felt overpriced and average. At night, they organised bonfires outside where live singers belted out hindi songs at night, with the fire keeping the residents warm as well as cooking food. It would have been fun to come here in a big group (and also if it wasn’t so cold). Also apparently tigers had been seen outside the resort gate at least 5 times in the last few years. So it was definitely a fun place to be, though we of course didn’t get to see the tigers, even inside the park 😜.

Kosi river bed

The Kosi riverbed was huge and wide though currently there was not a lot of water in the river and all the stones underneath were exposed. We saw people playing in the water when the sun was out, which was surprising. And some people were walking their donkeys or crossing with their horses through the river. I really wonder how they were able to get into the cold water! Maybe it wasn’t as cold as I thought, but I did not dare venture in to check.


Weather

When we were there, it was the peak of foggy winter. So temperatures were very low and there was fog all over the park, and even outside. But two mornings, the resort right outside the Park was all sunny and clear, which made us expect clearer safaris, but that was not to be, and it was still all foggy and cold inside. Apparently it was so because there had been no rains and winds from the hills for some time, so the fog just stayed there forever. Sometimes though the sun came out and it got warmer but there was still a chill in the air which made us all very lazy to get out of our rooms much (as they had heaters on).


About Jim Corbett Park

Jim Corbett Park is one of the largest national parks in India and extends mostly in the foothills of the Himalayas, in Uttarakhand. Only about 20% of the area is designated as tourist allowed zones, the rest is not open to public. It has 5 major tourist zones each with its own safari entry gate. There were villages earlier inside the Park but most of them have been moved away. The names of the tourist zones and gates are the only memories of the villages which now remain.

It has about 200 tigers in total, all of which are tracked and counted regularly by an office in Dehradun. It is also one of the most respected national parks in India - here most of the rules are followed, the forest is well maintained and there is very little litter (which is saying a lot for any place in India!). And you can see the pride in all the people who work here. It does provide employment through tourism to the residents around but you can see how much they enjoy and value working here, talking about its animals and how the Park has done a great job of protecting them.

Bijrani guest house in the park

Even within the park, there is a buffer zone which still has villages and locals staying there. You need to cross the buffer zone to get in and get into the main park. Inside it also has forest offices and guest houses located in each of the zones. These are from British times and have an old world charm about them. The rangers and forest officials stay inside, for conducting their research and protecting the animals. Also, the park if open for most of the year except the rainy season when all the rivers and river beds fill up with water and that is when it shuts down.


About the gypsy safaris

Bookings for the safaris opens only 45 days before and mostly rules are followed for booking. At max, 2 VIP permits are allowed last minute, not more. We went for safaris to the Bijrani and Jhirna zones. For the Bijrani gate, at max 30 gypsies are allowed daily and this is tightly controlled. Each safari has a guide and the driver who work as a team. All of them are locals and know each other, they have been working here all their lives,and regularly share info with all the passing gypsies. They can also guess looking at people’s faces if they have seen tigers yet or not 😜.

We had booked our safaris early on - 4 gypsy safaris with a guide and driver, 3 of them in the Bijrani zone where tiger sightings are more common and one in Jhrina zone which was a bit farther and smaller. We did two morning safaris which start at 6 am and two evening ones for which you leave around 2. The gypsy comes and picks you up from your hotel, and then you can go and lineup at the gate, waiting for your turn to go in. People queue up very early as they want to be the first ones to go in, before the other gypsies come in and disturb the peace.

Gypsy safaris

The morning safaris were crazy. First of all you leave when its still very dark. On top of it, it was so so cold in the fog, we could barely keep our faces out of all the layers and blankets we had on top of us. And then driving around in an open gypsy doesn’t make any of it any easier. But this is the best way to spot maximum animals and so there we were.


Flora and Fauna - Bijrani zone

Small rivers

We did 3 safaris (2 morning and 1 afternoon) in the Bijrani zone. It is one of the larger zones, with some small mountains, a river bed, some small rivulets, a beautiful valley and lot of greenery, tiger grass and forests in this zone. Once inside, you end up driving all along the criss crossing roads in the zone, tracking animal calls and trying to spot the elusive tiger.

Jungles of Jim Corbett

To be honest given how dense and green the jungle was, and how cold it was, we saw very limited animals. In fact in one of the safaris, we only saw a few deer in the entire 2 hours! This is quite in contrast to the African safaris where you see a lot more animals because of the dry grasslands. But I think that’s where the charm of Jim Corbett park is. Its dense and green jungles make it tougher but also more satisfying when you spot an animal suddenly which had been casually hiding in the foliage till a second ago. Most of the vegetation here is made up of semi-deciduous trees, with more than 100 varieties of trees found here, sal being the most common one. And apparently, the forest here is always green. The different trees have different seasons for shedding their leaves, so there will always be a part of the forest green anf flowering.

Jungle evenings

There were some small mountains and a bit of undulating landscapes but not too much. We drove by a lot of small rivulets and through a river bed where tiger spotting is common. Except that it was too foggy to see a tiger even if he was right in front of you 😁. The whole jungle was very calm and serene all through, very quiet, with huge trees all around you. And there weren’t too many gypsies either given the winter weather.

Sunrise on a cold foggy morning

We saw a stunning sunrise one of the mornings with sun rays falling on the grasslands, the river bed and the mountains which felt even more charming against the white fog. The trees looked exquisite in the sunrise, with shades of yellow and green. But the fascinating scenes in the mornings were not enough for us to even get our faces fully out of our jackets! It was too cold and I really wish the weather had been just a tad bit warmer.

Sambhar

We spotted a lot of animals overall in the safaris. We ran into a few sambhars in the foliage, the tiger’s favourite prey.

Barking deer

We spotted a few barking deer which I had seen for the first time. They are very small and reddish in colour. They are very sensitive by nature, prefer to graze around solitary and run away at the slight sound of people. We heard one of it bark too and they sound like dogs barking, hence the name.

Hunched langur

We saw a few spotted deer, chitals and rhesus monkeys here and there, but even those were too few and far between in the morning safaris. The langurs that we saw were mostly on the trees, sitting in a slouched pose, hugging themselves in the cold. They were always hanging out in groups and are generally one of the most dependable animals for giving timely tiger alarm calls. Apparently langurs and spotted deer are good friends too, they hang out together and help each other against other predators.

More langur

We spotted a few birds too in the jungle - some peacocks, an orange woodpecker, a couple of yellow and red birds and some jungle peafowl. There are some migratory birds also which are found near the Dhikala reservoir which is supposed to be the richest in terms of number and variety of animals spotted.

Deer inside the park

Regarding the larger animals, we saw some bear and tiger pug marks along the tracks but that was it. Apparently this zone had some 4-5 tigers and a few tiger cubs too. But their movements were limited because of the cold, making spotting less probable. We saw lot of recent tiger pug marks and heard a couple of deer alarm calls. We tracked the pug marks and alarm calls a few times but never ever spotted a tiger. There was a lioness with 3 cubs apparently in the river bed but she never came out to give us a look 😟. The other guides would say - ‘mota sal ke paas kal tiger dikha tha (thats how the guides identify locations in the jungle) and we would go there but with no luck. And that's how all the three safaris went

Also apparently, one of the mornings we were there, a group of school children who had come in late, spotted a tiger near the Bijrani forest office, right near the entrance and left soon enough within 30 mins of being on the safari! Thats how lucky or unlucky you can be with spottings. Our guide also mentioned that all the real wildlife lovers wouldn’t mind if they didn’t have a spotting. They would sit in the same place for hours to wait for a tiger and not complain if they didn’t see it. This was quite the contrast with the typical tourists (me included) who still expect a tiger to turn up in every safari 😂.

Constrained elephants

When you enter the gate and drive through the buffer zone, you first stop at the Bijrani forest office which has a few guesthouses from British times. Apparently you can even stay there inside the park. They have a few tame elephants kept there. Earlier they used to take tourists on elephant safaris. However, the tigers had attacked them a couple of times and so they stopped running those. The tame elephants still stay near the guesthouses. On one of the safaris we came across them while they were eating their breakfast in the forest near the offices. But I found it quite disturbing that two of their feet were bound by chains making it tough for them to walk so they cant get too far. I can understand why its done but I still think its inhuman to do it. These majestic animals need to roam free, at least in a national park...

Male wild elephant...

And we did have such a spotting on the safari. We ran into a lone wild male elephant who was sitting in the tiger grass. Elephants especially lone male ones are known to be very aggressive. So our guide drove there in reverse gear so that he was ready and could accelerate and drive away the gypsy comfortably at any time. Even though I felt at the time that it was being too cautios, it turned out that precautions like these are required.

...charging at us

While we were casually observing him from a distance, he walked lazily towards us and then suddently charged! You could clearly see he would have attacked us if we hadn’t driven away immediately. But he soon lost interest in us, turned around and walked away in the river bed for some time. It was at this point the guide said - as innocent as they look, elephants are the most dangerous animals in these jungles. Tigers to sajjan hote hai, not aggressive at all and very shaant in nature.

I really liked this spotting as its the first time I had seen a wild elephant in India. I also realised that African animals on an average are much bigger than their Indian counterparts.


Flora and fauna - Jhirna zone

Our last safari was in Jhirna zone which was about 25 kms away from Girjya and supposedly had less tigers than Bijrani. It was a bit of a drive to get there, but actually turned out to be our best safari of the trip. The weather was better, we saw more animals and almost spotted a tiger too! So much for the better zones.

We got down from the hills towards Ramnagar and then drove in the plains to get to the Jhirna gate. It was at a much lower height, at just 300m above sea level so the weather also considerably improved (and that means became warmer). It was apparently around 20 degrees or so then, but it definitely felt colder than that. So to be safe, we were still all packed up but definitely more comfortable than the other safaris.

It felt a lot more urban area on the drive there and we saw a lot more high end resorts near this gate. We also drove through some of the villages on the way which had litchi and mango orchards on both sides. I now remember when I used to stay in Dehradun, we used to get a lot of mangoes and litchis from this area. The road to Dehradun also apparently passed through this area, though now its being disused.

Grasslands of Jhirna

Jhirna was more plain and less dense than the other zones with a lot more grasslands and open spaces. Jhirna is the name of a village which was located in this zone. The village was slowly moved out and its location has now become a grassland, which is still plain and easily visible from far. This is also where a lot of spottings happen, given the easy view. We saw a wild boar, a sambhar and a few peacocks walking around lazily in this grassland.

Wild peacock

And then we saw a hornbill fly away. As we drove around this vast plain area, we also saw two spotted deer eating ber from the tree. The male deer was jumping and shaking the tree with his antlers for the ber to fall down for him and his mate to eat. It was a very charming sight and I remember our guide’s comment on the scene - bhagwan har kisi ko zinda rehne layak buddhi zaroor deta hai.

Vulture family

Inside the zone, we saw loads of langurs and monkeys, all sitting atop trees and eating away to glory. On one of the huge mountain cliffs, we spotted a family of vultures who were soaring away is the skies. It was a huge family of 20-30 vultures, some of them sitting around the nest and sunning themselves in the sun, some were sitting on top of the trees and some flying around looking for their next prey.

Just born deer

And of course we saw the usual spotted deer everywhere, eating away while the temperature was comfortable. We even saw a baby of only 1-2 days who stared at us for 5 mins, trying to figure out what we were, before running off to its mother. That was a very cute and endearing sight.

Where we saw a tiger
for a brief second!

We did have our one minor tiger spotting in this zone. A gypsy was going in front of us and right when it turned around a bend, I saw a yellow spot swiftly cross the road. Vaguely hoping it was a tiger, I shouted and our driver accelerated the gypsy towards the bend. And my guide, driver and friend then caught a glimpse of the baby tiger on the other side of the road who glanced at us and then ran away jumping through the grass! And its so surprising that even though I spotted it and directed our gypsy towards it, I couldn’t spot it when it was on the other side of the road. And the gypsy right in front of us also did not see the tiger crossing right behind it. I guess thats what tiger spottings are about, totally random and luck dependent events.

Coming back from Jhirna

So we spent the next 2 hours hoping to run into the tiger again but alas that was not our luck. We did spot the usual animals though. And while coming back from this gate, we gave a lift to a local woman who was walking back to the village. While talking to her, she casually mentioned how she has spotted so many tigers and leopards walking past her multiple times while she was here cutting grass. I don’t think I can ever imagine what king of feeling it would be to see tigers and leopards on your daily walks, isn’t it?


Outside the park

We did not spend much time outside the resort given the daily safaris and the cold. All along the road, on one side there is teak plantation and the other side are resorts. Of those, Taj Gateway seemed quite a nice place to stay. It had a nice ambience and lot of activities to keep you busy.

Other than the resorts, there were loads of small typical tourist shops - some selling souvenirs, some dhabas offering local food, some tourist activities and of course the typical tea stalls - all along the road. There were two elephants standing next to the road and offering rides to children. And unlike inside the park, there was too much litter everywhere. We had dinner at Kebab Grill everyday, right next to our resort and it was one of the tastiest meals that I have had in a long time. All these local dhabas offer such tasty food, I am always surprised by it.

One of the days I also went to Ramnagar for a small errand which was the nearest town and I was just amazed at the pace and life of the small town India we have all left behind. I went to the local market and it felt so natural and alien at the same time that its weird. For now I still feel local and at home at such places, but I sometime wonder when I will start looking at all this like an outsider?


Coming back

Anyways so it was time soon to come back and another long drive to Delhi. There was no fog in the hills where we were but the moment we were back in the plains in Ramnagar, it got foggy all the way to Delhi. While coming back, I was chuckling on the fact that even after 6 safaris at 2 different parks, I never spotted a tiger (or barely one) as it was winter. And in 2 out of 4 safaris in Kanha, we had managed a few great sightings! The weather (and of course luck) makes such a huge difference…

From this visit, I’ve also figured out the best way to visit Kanha from Delhi. It makes sense to take the overnight train to Ramnagar as its more convenient and saves time. And then it makes sense to stay inside the park. Of the different locations possible inside, the Dhikala reservoir zone is supposedly the best. It is on the banks of the huge Ramganga reservoir inside the park and when you stay there, you can go for daily safaris.. You are closer to the interiors and have higher chance of better sightings. And apparently you can even see wild elephant packs there unlike other zones. But all this needs to be booked as a package deal beforehand. So thats the plan for the next time 😀.

Trinity National Park in California

This year, I had a 2 week stay-cation in California, in San Jose. I had travelled a lot earlier in summer, so was done with any more hectic travels plans. And so we went on an easy 5 day trip to Trinity National Park. We wanted to have a relaxed time as we had already visited all the tourist places nearby. And it turned out to be exactly as we wanted. Living close to nature, walking, boating, swimming in the lakes and just taking in the fresh air which we miss so much in the city. Slowly and slowly, I am warming up to relaxed vacations too...

Lake Lewiston near Trinity
national park

We decided on Trinity national park when we were looking for the closest large green areas close to San Jose. And Shashta and Trinity national parks fit the bill. They were huge, green and close enough. It was still a long drive to get there, took us half a day which got longer with the breaks we took in between. The drive there to be honest was quite average - most of the time we were on highways, with only non-descript towns on the sides. It was very hot everywhere and the grass was all yellow on all sides. So nothing much to admire. We stopped to have lunch at Priya's in the town of Redding, which again felt like a lacklustre town.

Once we got off the highway and into Trinity park area, the vegetation all around got a lot greener and the views interesting. Both sides we saw green and dense forests with some small lakes coming into view once in a while. We stopped at one of the larger lakes - Whiskeytown- which extended till forever. It was a nice stop and we saw some people enjoying water sports in the lake.

Our resort was next to Lewiston lake and the last town we crossed was the town of Lewiston. It was barely a town, with some 5-6 houses and a few shops, a petrol station and grocery store. We should have stopped there to shop as it closed soon after we reached our cabins. And we were left with no way to buy regular groceries 😆.

We were staying in small cabins at Lakeview Terrace Resort, located on the banks of Lake Lewiston. The resort had a lot of these individual cabins of different sizes, all spaced out along a side of the hill amid trees. Some of the cabins get views of the lake also from in between the trees. There was also a swimming pool but overall the whole place was quite rustic and had minimum facilities. To be honest, our first impression of the resort felt a bit underwhelming, but as we settled into our cabin, we realised it was perfect. There was a kitchen, a living area and multiple bedrooms. The rooms were simple but well stocked.

Each of the cabins also had a huge outside seating area with barbeque options and a few benches, to cook outside but also sit and relax away from everything. It was so natural that deer and small birds would just come by the cabin as if on their daily stroll. The sleep we got there everyday was one of the best in a long time, it was so calm and quiet, it felt amazing.

The owners of the cabins were new, and even though they did not know much about the area around, they helped with whatever they could. They were also very comfortable and casual, running around their children in the resort. Felt so charming and non business-like 😊.

So when we reached, we realised we couldn't really cook anything as we hadn't bought the food stuff that was required. So we had a simple meal and called it a day soon enough, after taking a walk along the lake and back.

The weather was hot during the days and only the evenings were cooler and more tolerable. So we planned our days like that for the next few days. We went out to Lewiston lake or nearby to Trinity park, but tried to be out in the mornings, take a break and sleep in the hot afternoons and then go out for walks or some activity again in the evenings.

Cooper Budge trail

We spent one whole day and one evening around the Lewiston lake itself. One of the evenings, we just drove 5 mins from our resort to a small little trail called Cooper Budge which went through the forests all along the lake . It was a long and well marked trail, surrounded by green trees on both sides. The path was quite wide and easy enough to walk through. Sometimes it went near the lake and sometimes a bit far. We walked there for a couple of hours. The water in the lake was too cold though to go into, even though it was warmer outside. Apparently there are two layers of water, at different temperatures. The water on top is warmer, but under it is cold as its the water released from the Trinity lake through the dam at the other end. Anyways it didn't seem like the lake could have been a popular swimming area.

One of the days, we spent on Lewiston lake. We had seen people in boats fishing there everyday. There is a marina along the road from our resort which is full of small trailer houses which felt like holiday cabins. They also had rental boats there and we took one of the patio boats which was a huge one and can seat up to 6 people. So we spent the next 4 hours floating on the lake, first boating till one end towards the dam, then all the way with the engine shut, downstream to the other dam. And then back to the marina. It was quite a long lake and you could easily be on it for hours, admiring the peace and beauty around.

Lewiston lake

The water was sometimes blue, sometimes brown and sometimes green. It was very clear everywhere and at some places near the middle, was so shallow that it was dangerous to take the patio boat there. It was so clear that you could even see the rocks at the bottom and the fish swimming around. And all around, it was all very green and silent. There were trees of all shades all along the hills and their reflections in the water looked amazingly stunning in the sun.

Lewiston lake

There were loads of people fishing on the lake. And some were boating. For us, it was as lazy a day as it could get. My dad swam in the water even though it was a mix of hot and cold water. And the cold was very cold. Anyways, we kept drifting along in the boat, played cards, slept and essentially just lived on the boat for 4 hours 😊.

Lake in Trinity Park

One of the other days, we went to Trinity park which was right next to where we were. We were going for a trail to Sonnars lake based on directions given by our owner but it was a bit of a fail. But the day was still fun. We drove a long way and stopped at our first lake on the way, which was a smaller one but with warmer water. My dad swam there and we sat on its bank snacking in the sun. It had got too hot in the afternoon, so we were trying to spend our time under the shade as much as possible.

Another lake on the way

There were a few more lakes on the way which were full of people. Some of them had water sports going on, and in some, people were fishing, surfboarding, boating etc.. We also drove a long way along the Trinity lake. It was a bigger lake and goes on forever. There were even waves in the lake, signifying how huge it was.

Non-veg plants on Sonnars trail

We passed by some towns - Trinity centre, Coffee creek - on the way which are full of people who stay here and are not just tourists, which I found surprising. But overall the park felt mostly empty with very few people. Our plan was to go on the Sonnars lake trailhead, all the way up to the lake in the mountains but we never reached it. I think we got on the right path but the road up to the trailhead wasn't great. So even though we drove for 30 mins, we never reached there and were worried about driving there. So we just walked a bit on the road and came back without ever finishing the trail.

Overall, this side of the forest was more green, denser and felt fresher than the Lewiston side. It had a different vegetation, of pine trees and cones were strewn everywhere. The height of the park also slowly increased, from 2500 ft to 3500 ft, which made the weather also cooler as we kept driving higher. Compared to the other days, it was more cloudy and hence a lot easier to be outside. Also interestingly, the mud in the park varied a lot - it was red sometimes, yellow due to sand and sometimes black.

River at Trinity Alps resort

While coming back, we stopped at one of the resorts - Trinity Alps resort - on the way which was next to a river and looked like a fun place to stay. It was greener, was at a height, had higher mountains around it and was cooler. Definitely a place to go to next time.

And then, it was time to get back to city life. We drove back most of the day to San Jose and the drive was boring as usual. We did stop at an outlet mall on the way - the Vaccaville outlet mall. And it was good to shop there, it was better than the Gilroys we went to near San Jose.

Overall, places Like Trinity National Park which are not on major tourist maps are great to visit without the stress of tick marking any places. There are very few people around, mostly locals and time slows down here - a watch has no place in these parts of the world. Its a place where people come in for fishing, and just while away the day. The weather was not ideal when we went there, it was hot during the day, cooler in morning and night. But overall, another very peaceful and relaxed time off, just being close to nature and being...

Living life, Alpine style - Vienna and Semmering, Austria

Austrian Alps

I think this has been an Austrian-special year for me. I had two unplanned weekend travel trips and both of them were in Austria. One was to Ebbs and Kufstein and the second was a weekend spent in Vienna and two days in a small alpine ski village called Semmering. It was again a trip with no bookings made in advance and no previous planning on what to do. And it turned out to be absolutely amazing. I went on a few local trails which were quite scenic. And the whole relaxed vibe to the trip made it one of the most memorable vacations I've had in a long time.


Day 1 - Eating around in Vienna

The trip started with a scare though. I was about to miss my flight to Vienna as there was a lot of traffic to Heathrow. Somehow I made it though, checking-in 1 min before the security gates closed. It was an early morning flight and so I slept all the way in the flight, to be ready for the action packed day ahead.

Once in Vienna, I took the airport city express to go to the city centre which takes just 15 mins to get you there. The weather was already warm and sunny by then, making the city look very bright. While waiting for my friends, I walked to the nearby mall and noticed a lot of vintage cars standing outside for some show of some sort. And the area was full of tourists, all out in the sun. It was quite hot and I wanted to stay outside rather than be in the mall. So I walked to the nearest green area in Google Maps which turned out to be a park all along the almost drying river Wien. And it was so hot, just sitting in the green shade felt heavenly.

Our plan for the day was to visit a few eating places but not to hurry anywhere. So our first stop was lunch at Reinthaler's Beisl restaurant, located in the city centre. The area was quite active and lively during noon time, filled with tourists walking around just admiring the city, eating and shopping. The food there though was not to my liking. I am not a fan of Austrian food given how heavy it is on meat. And so I had to pick something just about passable to eat.

Our next stop was a local food market near the Opera House, called the Naschmarkt. It was a long street lined with small stalls on both sides, selling all kinds of food stuff and some handicrafts. It was quite a cultural mix with people selling all kinds of food from Turkish to Indian to Chinese to Austrian to ice cream which felt just perfect for the hot weather. We walked around for a bit, stopped for ice creams and cold drinks and were so tired by the end of it, that we came back to our b&b for a quick power nap.

Our b&b was a small studio near the Opera house. It was well done up, convenient and even had an AC which felt very welcome at this time. It was located very close to all the key locations and hence easier to come back to for breaks in between.

Lanes of Vienna

After the break, we left for our evening set of 3 food stops. We walked to all these places and got to see a lot of the city up close. Most of Vienna felt like grand old stone buildings in light brown shades, with lot of small paintings and sculptures everywhere, lending it an old world charm. There were loads of museums everywhere to interest tourists. Most of the streets were wide and felt well spaced out. And this time of the year, there were enough locals and tourists around to make it feel lively and alive everywhere. At the same time, it also felt very slow paced and relaxed, and easy to walk anywhere, even in the middle of the city.

View from rooftop bar

Our first stop of the day was a rooftop bar on top of a hotel called Dachboden. It was famous for the stunning 360 degrees views it offers of the city. The sun was also setting by this time and shone yellow light on a lot of the buildings which made it all very enchanting, just like a painting. We spent an hour or so till sunset and then were off to our next stop, our dinner restaurant - Ulrich. We wanted to sit outside but there was no space, so sat inside which was well done up too. And it had much better food than what I had eaten till then.

Cake Sachertorte

The last food stop of the day was Cafe Sacher - to eat the famous Cake Sachertorte of Austria. It is a chocolate cake which was created accidentally by Sacher for the King of Austria and has now become world famous but its recipe still remains a secret. It is only baked in 2-3 specific locations in Austria, the ones which have the original recipe. So we went to the original location owned by the original creator, Cafe Sacher and were met with a long queue of people waiting outside even at 10 at night! We also waited for half an hour to get in, but once inside realised that the queue was artificially created as there was still space inside. Also, the cake felt like any ordinary good chocolate cake, so I felt it was a bit of a letdown. But still always good to have a good desert.

During the walk back to our airb&b, we again walked a lot and saw a few late night concerts happening outside some of the museums and other buildings. We also walked past the Maria Theresien Platz Square which has a statue of one of the best known Austrian monarchs, Maria Theresa. The statue is in a garden with grand buildings all around, and has a magnificent view all around. Vienna felt quite safe and lively even when we were walking back at night. Anyways after the long day out in the sun, all the walking had made us tired and we called it an early night.


Day 2 - Schonbrunn Palace in Vienna and first view of Semmering

The next day we had only one stop on our itinerary in Vienna - the Schonbrunn palace. So we started the day with a lazy breakfast at Cafe Museum right outside our b&b which was a healthy start to the day. And then we took a cab to the Schonbrunn palace, which was 15 mins away, spending a couple of hours there. You can either go in the palace or just walk around in its grand gardens which are free to enter.

Gardens of Schonbrunn

I spent most of my time in the gardens which are located all around the palace. There are green hedges all around, and lot of flower beds. And the gardens behind the palace extend to the Neptune fountain and all the way up a hill. And in the sun, they looked spectacular. The flowers were all in full bloom, the grass was bright green and the palace provided an imposing background. I walked around through the gardens and the fountain all the way up the hill to the Gloriette.

Schonbrunn Palace

From up in the Gloriette, you can get panoramic views of the palace and beyond. And this is where you realise that the palace is right in the middle of the city, which is what you forget otherwise as it feels so removed.

Gardens at the palace

After getting a lot of Vitamin D in the garden, we were off to our last food stop in Vienna - lunch in the city centre at Phil. It did not have a good vegetarian range but I am used to that in Austria by now. The temperature was also so hot by now, the open restaurant didn't help much as being anywhere without an AC felt like a pain. We had lunch there and then were ready to go to our next stop (btw we had a lot of focus on food on this trip because my friends are foodies. Else I would never have written about food and food places so much 😜 )

My friends then left back for London and I proceeded to my next destination. Again my weekend destination selection had an interesting background. I was earlier looking to take a train to Salzburg to spend the weekend in the mountains but then decided to get off at any beautiful town or village on the train route which looked picturesque in Google images. So I zoned in on Semmering which was a small skiing village on the route and booked an inexpensive Sportshotel for my stay, which looked like a no-frills ski hotel.

The train I took from Vienna started in the plains and then got into the mountains passing through many breath taking views, chugging along the mountain sides through bridges and narrow ledges before reaching Semmering. The views of the mountains, the valleys and the rivers were all very magnificent, shining in green in the bright sun. The Semmering railway construction was not easy, especially given the tough landscape. The station was also located in a narrow gap in the mountains, and felt very simple.

Town of Semmering

Once there, I caught sight of the Semmering village with its colourfully painted houses all along the hill and picturesque views of the valley below. The Sportshotel I was staying in was on one of the hills and a 20 mins walk away. But the whole walk was uphill and there were no taxi options available given the village was in the middle of nothing. So I walked up with my suitcase in tow through the village to the hotel.

And I was pleasantly surprised by what I found. Given how inexpensive the hotel was, I wasn't expecting a lot. But it clearly surpassed my expectations. It felt like a place right in heaven. The rooms were cosy and comfortable with impressive views of the valley below. It also had a sauna and an indoor swimming pool. And the hotel had a huge open terrace with outside sitting right next to the its restaurant.

Terrace at Sportshotel

The terrace had many sofas and a swing to sit and enjoy the view down below till miles around - of mountains all around, surrounding valleys in between, with roads and bridges spanning them and many small villages visible everywhere. I sat outside for some time, had dinner in the restaurant and just enjoyed the view, doing nothing but staring outside and taking in the fresh air. I also saw the sunset behind one of the mountains, during which the sky turned all hues of orange and yellow, shining in beautiful colours and throwing bright coloured lights and shadows on the mountains around. It was all so magnificent, I can never forget that scene and time.


Day 3 - Sonnwendstein trek in Semmering

Breakfast with a view

The next two days in Semmering were mostly spent lounging in the hotel and exploring the local trails nearby. Each day started with a tasty breakfast in the hotel terrace, enjoying the scenery around. And that delayed me every day as I would end up staying longer to just sit and admire the view outside. Somehow, I still managed to do one moderate treks each of the days.

Trail directions

The first day I did an 11 kms, round trail up the Sonnwendstein mountain. The trail started going up the mountain from the hotel itself, went up and down a few mountains and then through Polleres-hutte to a church on the peak. It was supposed to take 4 hours to cover the whole trail but I of course took longer, getting lost a bit but also stopping very regularly and walking leisurely most of the way. The trail wasn't too well marked and at times I had to just guess which way I wanted to go up the mountain, even using google maps to orient myself. Sometimes the path went up, sometimes down. Sometimes it was like a broad road kind of way, and sometimes a narrow rocky trail. And it was an adventure trying to figure out the right way as some patches of the trail did not seem much used.

Views on the trail

But all in all, it was an adventurous trek with lot of different views along the way. It initially started with great views of the Semmering town, and then there were jungle paths through dense vegetation, opening up to vast meadows with cows grazing away lazily, and their bells adding music to the silence all around. There were also some bluebells on some of them mountain sides, adding colour to the green around.

I reached the Polleres-hutte in about 3 hours and made a stop there. The Polleres-hutte has a cafe from where you could see all the way to the plains, on the other side of the mountain. I also had my lunch there which was terrible, but at least the view was good 😁. I had asked a few of the hikers going down if they had been to the church but they just mentioned that they had only stopped at the Polleres-hutte. My trek description had a mention of a church and it is good that I went looking for it rather than turn around.

It was a 15 mins walk up the peak to reach the church on top of the Sonnwendstein mountain and it is something that should not have been missed in any situation. The church was simple and very old. But the best part of the trek was there - a 270 degrees view of the Alps around. It was one of the best views I have ever seen. You could see the plains, the bridges, the valleys, the rivers, the villages and so on. I loved it so much, I stayed up there for an hour, even though it was getting a bit dark.

View from the church

While I was up there, another trekker reached the peak and he mentioned that he was on a trail of Austria from one end to the other, from the Hungarian border to the other. Everyday he was walking among the mountains on various trails, getting closer to the other side of the border. He had no plan other than a detailed map and was staying at whichever village he made it to. It sounded such a cool thing to do, maybe one day...

Restaurant on a lake

The way back down to the village was through a straight path which felt more like a road than a trail. It had some views similar to the ones while going up but mostly the path was through forests on both sides, covered by green trees in patches. While I was about to reach the bottom, it started raining and I stopped at a nice restaurant located next to a small lake. Its surprising, how any turn in these parts of the world can turn out to be picturesque and worth a photo.

Once back in the hotel around 7 pm, I went to the the sauna and the swimming pool. It felt very relaxing after all the walking around. The hotel had a lot of such options, including a solarium - I guess all of it is to keep guests busy during skiing season after the skiing is done. The rest of the evening, I spent time sitting outside again, reading a book in the swing and just enjoying the calmness and serenity all around. I loved the day and being close to nature made me feel very happy and elated. I so miss the mountains always! And the weekend was turning out to be pure bliss, as I had never expected it to be this spectacular!


Day 4 - Maria Schultz trek in Semmering and back to London

Narrow trail

The next day, again after an amazing breakfast siting outside with this view, I went on a shorter trail to the village of Maria Schultz. It was supposed to be an 8 kms, 2.5 hours trek but took me more than 4 hours I think! Maria Schultz is a nearby village, even visible from Semmering and the path I took was the local interconnecting path. The way there was fun, through small green jungles and narrow paths covered with trees everywhere. It was hot and I welcomed the shade all the way down. Though the trail again was not so well marked but you could get there by guessing how to reach the village down the mountain.

Maria Schultz village

Once there, the village looked like any other typical Austrian village, with a few coloured wooden houses and a nice alpine church. Surprisingly, there were loads of people visiting the village which surprised me. Walking back from there to Semmering turned out to be an interesting walk though. I either got the directions wrong or they were the wrong directions, I landed up walking on the main road, with cars passing by in both directions. It was a bit of a not so fun walk given it was uphill and so hot.

Bollywood song locations

On the way, I was greeted with more Yash Chopra locations - green meadows and forests dotted with beautiful houses. Towards the end, I did hitch a ride from a passing biker for part of the walk which was interesting, right out of DDLJ again (I will never be able to separate out Europe and Alps from DDLJ, definitely not in this lifetime!).

Semmering station

I made it safely back to the hotel, enjoyed the terrace view for a bit longer and then soon, it was time to go back to London. Its always so tough leaving a place after you have a nice time there. I walked back to the station, which was a bit easier as it was downhill and I found myself thinking how this small station in a narrow gap in the mountains reminded me of Koyasan from my Japan trip. A small place nestled in the hills, with a narrow station to reach it. And as if stuck in its own time...

The trains came on time and I was easily able to reach the Vienna airport much before time. And so another such unplanned Austrian weekend came to an end. Austria a great place to go always. The locals speak English. It has the Alps. And is not expensive as Switzerland. Plus there is an air of laid back nature there which makes it the perfect weekend getaway place from London. And so again, I came back to London totally energised and ready to take on the city challenges. And can see myself being back there quite regularly in the future.