Best of 4X4 Vehicles on Indian Hills

My predilection for 4x4 vehicles has driven me un-numerable times to the subsequent sites of the TATA motors, Chevrolets, SUV and what not! I know it would cost a bomb and, thus, have sated myself, so far, by visiting the showrooms and viewing my screen savers of the ritzy cars. Misconception regretted! This post is not about car segments, rather on best performing 4x4 vehicles compatible on rugged terrains of Indian Hills. Read the post and down pat features of the most eyed macho 4x4 (For the uninformed lot, a 4x4 vehicle has all four of its wheels powered by the engine where as conventional car models will have only 2 wheels backed by the engines).

Land Rover

Rating: *****

Sauve. This vehicle comes with a muckle of features that reflect class and sophistication in its look. One of the stunning vehicles from TATA’s range of SUVs, Land Rover is designed with stylish cabin, huge space and contemporary technology. A vehicle for all purposes and terrains, TATA’s Land Rover is equipped with features like gearbox, throttle and air suspension along with traction control that supports the drive on all land types. Land Rover guarantees par excellence locomotive capacity powered by twin turbo V8 diesel or supercharged V8 engine. Adding to this are six-speed automatic transmission, command shift are the standard features that makes this a perfect design for hills. A striking/cozy interior of contemporary fittings, leather content, trim finishes, and dynamic cockpit interiors of the finest leather content and wood options compliments the rough interiors.

TATA Safari (DICOR)

Rating: ****

The King of all SUVs in India, the TATA Safari stands emblematic of all the excellence and high deliverable performance. An age old preferable SUVs are excellent for hills; rugged terrains as compared to Sumo, Sierra et al. TATAs prove their mettle at automobile designing with well-designed interiors which comprise comfortable seats and quite a luxurious cabin. One of top-drawing interior feature of TATA Safari is rear legroom which can be folded/ unfolded to liberate luggage rooms while driving. Adjustable height seat belts are the complimenting feature that allows extra strip of comfort in long drive. Adjustable tilt steering is of a better quality than the dashboard. The car is infixed with ultramodern Delphi Multitec 1600 bar fully electronic Common Rail Direct Injection System which delivers the job of supplying fuel. This is the smartest feature that helps long wearing drives on the mountains. Multitec 1600 bar is fully electronic and well aids in acceleration, noise reduction and overall control patented adaptive learning technology. The engine is amazing and oil consumption is efficiently monitored.

Mahindra Bolero

Rating: ***

The Bolero SLX is a pretty rough and tough car, consummately equipped for a drive on all kinds of road condition. It is best suited for hilly areas and delivers a mileage of 13.8 km/lt on smooth roads and an average of 11.6km/lt (without AC). At its highest best Bolero gives a speed performance of 124 km. Besides, Bolero SLX is upgraded with ground clearance. One of the main features of this car is very low maintenance cost. The engine delivery is good and it is well suited for long distances without any problems. The New Mahindra Bolero is back-powered by 2523cc Turbo Charged DI (Direct Injection) diesel engine that generates a power of 63.2 PS @ 3200 rpm and 18.4 kgm of torque @ 1440-1500 rpm. Mahindra Bolero is the most suited car for the bumpy and hill roads as it is featured with good, low-end torque.

Namdapha: Been there and back! Part II

This post is the continuation of previous post on Namdapha National Park.

Halting at Rani Jheel

This is 4 km ahead of Bulbulia, a small pond located 800 m high on plateau and skirted by canopy of forests all over. Crossing the forest is like making your way into the thickets of tall trees perched upon by white-winged wood ducks. And between the walks, if only luck is fat, you can spot the yellow-throated marten ambling along the forest floors. The walk from Bulbulia to Rani Jheel is truly enchanting, which also lets you spot some pug marks and extinct creatures.

My treading Namdapha is not all about those not-found-in-city-creatures but also about the local tribes men who have had thorough the jungles and have also set a record of slaying men and animals. Namdapha’s mainly is inhabited by Shingpos, Khamtis and Tangsas tribesmen. Besides, the tribal population in Namdapha constitutes Chakma refugees and Lius tribes too.

Some other important sites …

Walking around the park and the rendezvous with wilds are just 3/4^th of Namdapha Tiger Reserve and the rest lays in its tribes and areas near Miao.

>> Forest Department Museum

The Forest Department Museum is located at Miao, near the park area. Inside, there is preserved skulls of newly discovered leaf deer.

>>Chophelling Tibetian Refugee Camp

This Tibetian refugee camp has a beautiful collection of woven carpets and rug. The camp is located 4 km from Miao.

Permits

To enter Namdapha one will have to seek permissions with the authority.

Inner Line Per: ILP is required by every Indian entering Namdapha National Park. This can be obtained from within the district and often the tour operators take care by the tour operators. The ILP is also obtained from The Secretary (Tourism), Government of Arunachal Pradesh, Itanagar.

Restricted Area Permit: This permit is only required by the foreign nationals. RAP can be obtained at the Indian embassy/ consulates abroad, the Home Ministry or the Home Commissioner, Government of Arunachal Pradesh.

Entry and Lodging

M`pen Checkpost is the most common entry, almost 11 km away into the Namdapha Tiger Reserve. For tourist’s accommodation and lodgings, Deban, 28 km from Miao, is the right place to head to. There are ample of stay facilities at Forest Rest Houses and Camps at Haldibari, Hornbill, Bulbulia and rani Jheel. Although there aren’t too many options for stay at Namdapha, one will have to check out for bookings in advance, as we did in our case. In Miao, there is only one place to stay is the Inspection Bungalow or Circuit House.

Namdapha: Been there and back! Part I

Wilderness resides deep in Namdapha -- the unpredictable scape pristineness, varieties and capriciousness. Chances are that you spot the family of tigers amidst these up for the grabs National Park. Namdapha is a lifetime experience for the charm and forest escapade for this teeming entity stays forever. Namdapha National Park is eastern most tiger reserve located in Arunachal Pradesh, near the Eastern Himalaya, contiguous to Myanmar border in the North East sector of India. Home of the rampant beauty, Namdapha is popular with trekkers and adventure freaks, and my post is an account of traversing unparalleled frontiers of Namdapaha National Park, new explorations and wild encounter at the park.

On the way to Namdapha National Park

Dense and dark with mountains skirting all along the jaunt to Namdapha is what I feasted onto. My trip commenced at Tinsukia from where Namdapha National Park is 45 km to the east of it. Early morning Namdapha wears a brumous blanket with a shrilling silence broken only sings, coos and mawns of the wild residents. From Tinsukia to Namdapha the jeep ride is through the highs and lows of a jungle and dense vegetation. After travelling for few hours and crossing destinations like Stilwell Road, Memorial Graveyard, Tibetian Institute of Handicrafts, Miao Bio-diversity Museum, one reaches to Namdapha National Park. Miao is the name of the town at the entrance of the Namdapha Tiger Reserve and another 28 km by road takes you to the Forest Department-run tourist complex at Deban.

The nearest airport to Namdapha is Dibrugarh which has daily flight connection with Guwahati and other metropolitans as well. Namdapha is well-served by rails from other cities of India. Tinsukia Rail Station, 45 km from Namdapha is the nearest rail station connecting New Delhi, New Jalpaiguri, Guwahati and other states. Buses run only to Miao and are not that reliable option because of the poor connectivity. We hired a sumo for Rs 1500 till Namdapha National Park for a group of four.

Note: It is advisable to chart out your journey details with local tour operator in Arunachal Pradesh as you must have local permits, transportations, accommodations and trekking permissions.

Deban

Although Deban offers a muckle of new experiences, what is far more engrossing and delectable is the interiors of Deban. By the time we grab in some glimpses of Namdapha it was late evening and I was already experiencing the cold mountain bites. Next morning, we begun tour at the Deban. We osquare oned at the northern bank of the river which is at Haldibari-Hornbill-Bulbulia-Rani-Jheel-Firmbase areas. The place is devoid of any habitation and the feeling of solitude overpowered me.and others. Sunlight filtering from the dense woodlet fills light into the darkness and flowers and on insects which glow with the rays of light scattered through their tiny pores. The pathways to Bulbulia is littered with all fruits of rudraksh trees!

My Stay at Hornbill

A good expanse of sky dominates Hornbill – the eponym for the the destination where birds roost in the evening. Hornbill is the home of birds and bees. Species like silver-eared mesiah, bar-tailed cuckoos, blue-throated barbets, red-eared bay woodpeckers and many more are found in abundance enlivening the whole of jungle milieu. We spotted a muckle of butter flies on many wet patches, tree-trunks and local wild blooms. Me and my groupsters (groupies) had to keep our eyes peeled as they these little delightful creatures provide with fleeting glances which has to be caught in fractions of seconds before they vanish in the forest tenebrosity. A little ahead just when we started looking for some new wild creature, our eyes caught the congregation of dragontails at the pond.

Halting at Bulbulia

Known as poong (hot stream in local language), Bulbulia is actually a hot bubbling spring covered by grey gooey slush that can be smelt from a km. On the instruction of our guide we lit a small match and threw on the waters in extreme inqusitiveness and lo! saw the little fire dancing the water here. Moreover, to our delight we bathed in the mud there and believe it or not, the grey ooze cures you off all allergy, insect bites and all!!! Nights creep in to no amazement to us and we trusted our fates for some rumblings of elephants. One point to be noted is that a whiff of humans can drive away the animals.

Please note that the journey continues in the next post !!!!!!!!!