” You simply missed a jungle owlet, ” says the naturalist Vishal Sharma, as I enter the portals of the Pench Tree Lodge by Pugdundee Safaris, one of many award-winning resorts in Pench Tiger Reserve. It’s late night and the evening sky has already enveloped the panorama. It’s darkish and nippy and I can hear it hooting amidst the serpentine shadows of the branches as I go searching to see a dense cover surrounding us. I ponder how he knew that owls have at all times been my favorite birds ever since I began birdwatching a decade in the past. Mockingly it was the birds that had beckoned me to the forests initially however right here at Pench Tiger Reserve, the house of the legendary late Colarwali, the tigers and the tigresses have been the showstoppers together with the leopards, sloth bears, gaurs, wild boars, wild canines, and quite a lot of their prey together with noticed and barking deer, sambar, monkeys, and a number of other different mammals and reptiles and different species.
It’s my first time at Pench Nationwide Park, the forest that impressed Rudyard Kipling to pen his Jungle E-book and his immortal characters. and at Pugdundee Safaris which has wildlife lodges everywhere in the Central Heartland of Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra. And that is the place I join and let free my internal Mowgli who has been mendacity dormant inside me for years.
After an extended drive of round three hours from Nagpur airport, we attain the luxurious, boutique wooded Pench Tree lodge which is barely 20 minutes from the lesser crowded Karamjhari Gate of the Pench Nationwide Park. The touristy Turia Gate is the place most jungle resorts and wildlife lodges are positioned and it’s positioned on the Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh border. Harish Arya the Common Supervisor of the property offers us a heat welcome and a brief orientation to the lodge and the tiger reserve with maps and audio visuals whereas I sip the stress-free tea with herbs.
Positioned within the tribal village of Sarahiri, Pench Tree Lodge, one of many sustainable Pench Tiger Reserve Lodges blends seamlessly with the wilderness amidst 40 acres of dense woodlands. I’m hosted by Pugdundee Safaris for a few days and it’s a very brief journey in paradise however each second within the wild feels timeless and valuable.
Lodging
Pench Tree Lodge is a boutique lodge that blends with the wild environs with six tree homes and 6 luxurious cottages. It is without doubt one of the most luxurious and sustainable resorts in Pench Tiger Reserve. Surrounded by bushes and grasslands, the dwellings are dwarfed by the outside and open into the wilderness. The Luxurious Household Cottages are so spacious and plush but rustic and sustainable.
Constructed with native Sal wooden and stone, the cottage comes with an opulent lavatory and a personal wood sit-out deck the place you possibly can watch birds and butterflies flitting round and even spot wildlife like noticed deer or wild boars. What I like concerning the structure is the seamless circulation between the within and the skin worlds, the place you will get a glimpse of the forests by the massive French home windows and but be cocooned within the consolation of the stone partitions. There are various Pench Tiger Reserve lodges however only a few of them are dedicated to sustainability and conservation.
Whereas the cottages are comfy and splendid, the tree homes are completely breathtaking. Perched atop the native Mahua bushes and supported by stilts, you get a sense of dwelling like Mowgli however in a cushty luxurious fashion. Standing tall at 18 ft excessive, you are feeling on prime of the world, surveying the world from amidst tree trunks and branches. This arboreal dwelling is unquestionably the signature fashion of the lodge which is called after the tree lodge.
Constructed with native Sal wooden, the interiors are aesthetic with an old-world appeal with a big poster mattress. Giant French home windows, an open verandah that’s supported delicately by the branches of the tree, the bay window seat the place you possibly can lounge or use an additional mattress, and a big lavatory take you into a special world. The birds come calling proper inside as you sip a cup of tea. The civets roam round at the hours of darkness as you possibly can hear them from the consolation of your room.
Generally you are feeling like you might be on a safari from excessive up within the skies as you stare on the massive tract of deciduous forests and open grasslands and imbibe the spirit of the forests. My favorite area is the wood open deck which just about seems like being in a “birding multiplex”. I can lounge on the mattress and watch the drama unfold in entrance of me at any given time limit.
Whereas we spend one evening within the cottage and one other within the tree home, I can’t assist however be overwhelmed and excited on the similar as I’m reliving the Jungle E-book.
The delicacies at Pench Tree Lodge
At Pench Tree Lodge, the delicacies is not only scrumptious however it’s also native, sustainable, and an idea. Chef Pankaj Fulera makes meals into sheer artwork. If the delicacies is genuine and contemporary, the atmosphere is atmospheric. It’s the place advantageous eating meets the wild outdoor. Only a few resorts in Pench Tiger Reserve give a lot element to native sustainable and scrumptious delicacies. Our very first dinner within the bush is a culinary expertise. as we sit beneath the glittering stars, surrounded by the wilderness, feeling the heat of the hearth and tasting the delectable dishes.
Breakfast is normally packed and served as a “picnic” throughout the safari on the Pench Nationwide Park and it’s a scrumptious mixture of native snacks and savouries. You will need to be aware that each packing materials is sustainable and no litter is left behind. There’s a designated spot for all jeeps to have breakfast and no animals or birds are fed.
Lunch is served within the vibrant, cheerful restaurant that opens into the swimming pool, dinners might be organized outdoor within the bush or within the natural backyard and farm. The Farm Dinner Meal is on the market on request and might be customised however what fascinates me is the standard rustic ambiance with mud partitions and charming frescos depicting wildlife and village themes. The tandoor cooking set-up contains earthenware black clay pots and native meals is cooked in an open fireplace with fireplace bricks.
There’s a aware effort to create and curate delicacies which is sustainable and Chef Pankaj explains the idea behind out lunch. “Impressed by the idea of Beneath 100-mile Menu. It’s referred to as ” Panch Gaon” or “5 Villages.” The dishes are impressed by the standard native meals eaten in villages which might be positioned near the property. A number of the dishes embody corn, bajra, regionally grown rice, beans, purple spinach, and free-range hen, ” he provides.
My favourites embody Paanka which is shallow fry tikki made with contemporary corn, Laal bhaji saag which is purple spinach, and two types of dal or lentils – Dal Bafouri with moong dal and Dal Tewda with channa bhaji. They’re served with Bhaat or native rice and Johar and Bajra Roti. The dessert is Lapsi made with jaggery.
Experiences and Actions
Like different resorts in Pench Tiger Reserve, Pench Tree Lodge arranges and books all of your safaris and a naturalist from the property comes with you. There are three safaris – morning, night, and evening and based mostly on availability, you will get both core or the buffer zones. However my favorite is to do nothing. Actually, lounge on my mattress and watch the birds on my pure open multiplex display screen. Nevertheless, you may also go on a nature stroll and do extra than simply fowl watching on the premises of the property with the naturalists.
One other fascinating hideout is the Kipling Cover, an opulent professionally designed underground cover primarily for wildlife photographers. You get to see and {photograph} birds and wildlife up and shut, within the wee hours of the day and even late within the with out disturbing them out of your little area down beneath.
Pench Tree Lodge additionally arranges actions exterior the property ranging from village walks and trails, biking adventures and day journeys and safaris within the buffer zones. However I’ve acquired to come back again one other day to expertise all of this and extra.
Sustainability at Pench Tree Lodge
Pugdundee Safaris prides itself on constructing and managing sustainable wildlife lodges and so they do stroll the speak. They had been recognised for his or her inexperienced initiatives by profitable the ICRT Award and Outlook Indian Accountable Tourism Awards in 2022. And this is without doubt one of the greatest Pench Tiger Reserve Lodges that focuses on sustainability, conservation, native communities and making certain girls empowerment.
The give attention to conservation and building and on low carbon footprint might be seen in all of the lodges, particularly in Pench Tree Lodge. With simply six tree homes and 6 luxurious cottages constructed with native Sal wooden and stone in 40 acres of wilderness, it offers you a sense of dwelling in a forest. The lodge has been constructed with out disturbing the pure ecosystem and biodiversity.
They use inexperienced furnishings, native supplies loads of pure mild and sources. Even the toiletries are natural, and recyclable with zero plastic used. There are not any plastic bottles both – recycled metal bottles are saved within the rooms for the company. There are glass bottles within the bogs with lotions or bathe gels that may be refilled and reused as effectively. Be it bamboo earbuds or plant-based small packaging containers, or newspaper carry baggage, the precedence is to go inexperienced.
In terms of meals, there develop their very own produce and have a natural and vegetable backyard and the emphasis can also be on native meals, selling regional, conventional seasonal produce and saying no to packaged meals and unique meals. The lodge additionally provides tribal delicacies and forest merchandise as effectively, in addition to the scrumptious Paanch Gaon delicacies that we had savoured.
Pugdundee safaris additionally focusses on collaborating with native communities, empowering and coaching and creating equal alternatives for ladies. There are Naturalist Coaching Programmes and so they additionally make use of naturalists, together with girls. Precedence is given to locals for employment alternatives and tasks as effectively. Schooling is imparted in native faculties and villages relating to consciousness of nature and wildlife. At Pugdundee each one is accountable for sustainable practices and their “objective is to transform each visitor into an envoy of wildlife and conservation. ”
