Our Last Moment Trip
Chapter 2 — The Incredulous Escapade
Reminder: We only had 20 odd minutes to cover the remaining 25 kms.
Somehow we managed to reach the destination EXACTLY AT 2:58 PM (we had to arrive before 3 to be admitted to the park) thanks to the heroic driving of Driver Bhaiya.
THE JIM CORBETT NATIONAL PARK
We had booked a Safari for Garjiya Zone, the most recently added zone, known for its hilly terrain, flora and fauna and its vast expanse of grasslands ideal for tiger hunting.
Our safari began by passing through a hilly and bumpy terrain. We were all clinging on tightly to the metal grab handle. It really felt like riding a roller coaster in virtual reality, without any seat lock in place!
On our way we spotted some deers, a sambar deer, birds, waterfalls, beautiful grasslands and some other Jeeps. Despite being unable to spot the tiger (sigh!), the jeep safari was quite mesmerising. The lush green forest, dirt tracks, descents, river and peacefulness of solitude was so soothing after a long and arduous day..
Before moving ahead, let me mention some quick facts about Jim Corbett National Park for you:-
- Corbett is the only major tiger reserve to offer accommodation in forest rest houses inside the park
- Jim Corbett National Park has the honour of being the first ever national park in Asia
- The most famous of Corbett’s wild residents are the Bengal Tiger, Asiatic Elephant, Leopards, Wild Boar, Sloth Bear, Jackal, Mongoose, and Crocodile
Now back to the memoir. Honestly, none of us wanted to go to the National Park as we thought it was not a “worthwhile” venture (which, in hindsight, was a terrible take) except for Saksham (thanks Bro!), who badly wanted to experience a Safari. Due to his sheer insistence, we all showed up and had such a phenomenal experience.
If anyone is of the opinion that Safaris in India are boring, we insist you to visit the Jim Corbett National Park to see for yourself how amazing the safari experience can be! Even in the case you are unable to spot a tiger, the experience in itself is still quite worthwhile.
After having a delicious dinner (well, I guess everything tastes good when you haven’t eaten anything throughout the day ), we left for Rishikesh.
The trip was about to get more enthralling!
On our way to the camp in Rishikesh, we unfortunately got informed by our camp organizer that few wild elephants were spotted near the camp and local police had blocked the route.
So we had to spend that night in a hotel in Rishikesh city instead of our camp. We all huddled up together in one bed, and it didn’t take long before we went snoring away into deep sleep.
The next morning, we were supposed to wake up early(7:00 AM) for a Waterfall trek.
Well, it turned out that it didn’t happen. Of course, we preferred having an extended nap, and instead woke up at 10 AM (No regrets!).
We had planned to do river rafting, some trekking, attend the Ganga Aarti and explore Rishikesh city for the day.
Everyone of us wanted to do some adventure sports (Bungee Jumping/Giant Swing/Flying Fox), except for UTKARSH (who was shit scared).
We checked about the slot availability on the two previous days before the actual visit, but the jumping heights office (the office which manages all the adventure activities) turned us down due to no slot availability for the next 4 days.
We asked our camp organizer if he could do anything to get us a few bungee/Giant Swing slots and it turns out that he had some contact in the jumping heights office. He called someone and magically arranged some slots for us (Trust me, it wasn’t as simple as it sounds).
We instantaneously ditched everything we had planned for the day and headed directly to the jumping heights office.
By now, I guess you know we certainly aren’t great at following plans!
After reaching there, we had to wait for an hour for our turn (NO PROBLEM!).
I bought a combo of bungee Jumping and Flying Fox.
Utkarsh and Saksham bought a combo of Giant Swing and Flying Fox.
Anukarsh was only allowed on Flying Fox.
Everything you need to know to book is here.
We were asked to do a Flying Fox first.
A trek of 10 minutes and we reach the flying fox platform (around 80 meters from ground level).
It is Asia’s longest Flying Fox ride of around eight minutes. We were harnessed to the wire and released by gravity; Roll down the wire to up to seven meters above the river level and then fly back up, finally returning & settling down at the lowest point.
Flying at a speed of 140 kmph was amazing.
Now it was a time for Bungee Jump
Saksham and Utkarsh went before me as they both opted for GIANT SWING.
It was my turn now
No Need to tell that I was scared to the core (who won’t be?)
My fear was growing exponentially with every step towards the platform. They harnessed me and checked it multiple times. The Screams of the ones going before me were telling me to back off. As I reached the edge, gazing down at the surface, I asked a crew member to push me, but he refused.
I had no option as it was my plan to do a bungee/giant swing and they both had already jumped. Now I had to jump all by myself.
I JUMPED, THAT FEELING OF FREE FALLING was out of this world. At that very moment I understood the power of almighty GRAVITY
After a few bounces, I landed on a platform where Saksham and Utkarsh were waiting for me. We had to do a trek of about 20 mins to reach the office (We absolutely hated that trek!).
The adventure was a magical one which gave us memories to cherish for life.
BUNGEE JUMP DONE, First tick mark on my BUCKET LIST!
Thereafter, we headed straight to our camp and rested for a while . We quickly devoured some snacks (those were yummy!), chatted a bit and roamed around the bank of Ganges (Ganga). That peaceful surrounding and the sound of flowing water was mystical.
In those freezing conditions, participating in the bonfire and doing some crazy random dance moves seemed to be the optimal way to wind-up the day.
Additionally we chose to play a round of 8-ball pool and Anukarsh trained us all. (He is so damn good at pool!).
Results — me and Saksham won, yes we thrashed Anukarsh’s team
(Just Kidding.They won a series by 3–1).
Our camp organizers were awesome and I’ll recommend staying there if anyone is going to Rishikesh. Facebook Link — Roadie Adventure Camp
Thank you for taking the time to read this far. Please read the next phase of our journey — Solving the destination conundrum.
