Why you must travel to the Indian Forests in winter?

You may well be travelling to India from a colder country, and wondering what the attraction could be?

You may be right, for one has to wake up before the sun rises, get out of a cosy warm bed, dress appropriately for the cold outside and travel in an open air jeep for a 5 hour safari with cold winds hitting your face, puffs of smoke erupting from each exhalation.

What could possibly gained from a holiday in Indian Forests in Winter?

The answer is: Absolutely everything, and the Tiger.

India has long been associated with a sense of mysticism : it’s unique rituals on the banks of the river Ganges, spiritual heritage of the Vedas, Upanishads and the Geeta, wise old sages of the Himalayan Mountains and lifestyle practices of Yoga and medicine of the Ayurveda slowly spreading throughout the world, which yet may take a lifetime to understand the true value of.

This sense of Indian culture though present in large pockets of India, is depleting, as are the ancient Indian forests. India’s forests in winter are the true heritage places of India – and the diverse habitat itself has shaped the lifestyles of the indigenous people spread across India.

While civilizations have come and gone – the forests which still stand have ever been evolving and adapting at their own true pace, remaining as silent witnesses to the rise and fall of clans. Ever present in stories from the Great Books of India, and encapsulated in beautiful accounts from the British era – before overpopulation and inevitable rapid industrialisation has reduced India’s natural forest to just about 3% of India’s total land mass as it stands today, India’s National Parks are yet an insight into the real story of India.

 

The Tiger often takes to the safari tracks and traverses across the grasslands in this cooler weather, displaying it’s exquisiteness as the symbol of Indian beauty, changing the lives of those who have seen it.

Not only the parks and the Tiger, on a wildlife tour in India, one also gets to see and understand about the local tribes of the area from the archaeological point of view as well as a lesson in human progression with the steps such rural civilizations have been made to take in the 21st Century.

We have put together a small collage of the most beautiful sights of old Indian Forests in Winter which we have photographed on our travels and have no shame in admitting to have stared at them for several moments wondering into ourselves: