As
the incredible Rajasthan always welcomes with the warm “Padharo maahro desh”, we
keep coming to the princely state for more History, culture, art and adventure.
So here we went on exploring more of Udaipur on the second day of our trip.
We
reached Sajjangarh Biological Park (sanctuary) as suggested by friends. .
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| Gate on left leads to the Zoo. Gate on right is for palace entry |
The
entry tickets has a separate counter fifteen meters away from the main gate.
Ticket costs Rs 30 for Indians and Rs
300 for foreigners. Still camera
charges are Rs 80 and Video Camera
charges are Rs 200.
Timings- 9 to 5:30 pm daily, closed on Tuesday
Spread
over a total area of 36 heactares, this park was established with the objective
of conserving endangered flora and fauna and developing among visitors an
empathy for wild animals. The zoo is flagged with boards on wildlife
conservation and protection.
You
can tour the park on foot. I do not recommend it, since its too tiring and hot
under the sun right on your head. The walking paths are without shades.
Or
else you can buy tickets for Golf Cart at Rs 50 each for a 90 minutes ride. The
carts that accommodates 6 people in one go, are noiseless and battery operated,
hence cause no pollution or disturbance for the environment. The only limitation- The cart moves only when
full. The management might convince you to pay Rs 60 in case you want to make
it move early.
The
third most exciting mode of travelling is bicycle. These non fancy-no
gear-manual cycles can put you through a real endurance test. They charge Rs 20
per hour. One can cycle through the whole sanctuary in less than two hours. Needless to say, we
chose to cycle.
The
only mistake we did - We did not cover our heads.
Advisable- Carry a hat/stoll/cap to
protect your head from direct sun, lest you should be dehydrated/get headache.
 |
| Cycle ki sawari |
The pathways are
beautiful and very well maintained. Sajjangarh Zoo is a polythene free area
dotted with bins and banners that discourage people from littering.
Witnessing tortoises fight with each other was amusing. Who could imagine these slow timid creatures fighting? But they did!
The most interesting enclosure was of the croc’s.
The tank had glass walls for the visitors to look into the croc’s eye. However,
the reptile chose to relax on the sand and not enter into the water. Huh, tough
luck!
We also saw the four legged animals which had committed suicide in front
of Salman Khan’s car. The black buck. hehe.
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| Black Buck |
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| A resting tigress |
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Wolf enclosure
|
Some treks were
steep where we had to drag the cycles along. The whole cycling experience is
just wonderful.
- Wear shoes else cycling or walking would be
difficult.
- Carry water with you. Though the zoo has water coolers at short
distances, your golf cart may not stop everywhere.
- Please maintain silence lest you should scare the
animals.
The Monsson Palace, on the adjacent road is also visible from the zoo. The heat slowed us down and we kept taking short breaks under trees' shade. By the exit time, we literally fled with our cycles without looking at the animals since it was too hot! I don’t remember how many times we had refilled our water bottles. Sweating and tired we returned the cycles post two hours of adventure.
As we exited the Zoo with bagful of memories and camera full of pictures, we contemplated whether or not to visit the Monsoon Palace. To know what happened next, read here.
P.S- This trip of mine to Udaipur was in Oct 2016.
