I got to see sheep and mountain goats being herded along the trail by local shepherds! We also got to see tons of monkeys. The terrain is very diverse. I’ll attach some photos for you to check out.
Outside of hiking, which is one of my favorite activities, there are many other ways to access nature in India— even when living in a big urban area like New Delhi! There are lots of parks near my neighborhood that I enjoy visiting. One park is called Deer Park. For a while, I thought this was because deer used to live where the park is, but it turns out that the park is a wildlife reserve for wild deer, right in the heart of New Delhi! I love Deer Park because there are always people walking, running, meditating and enjoying the space. It is nice to have access to green spaces despite living in a very congested city.
I always try to find some pockets of nature when I am traveling. One of my favorite experiences so far was going on a wildlife safari in Nagpur, Maharashtra. Nagpur is a medium-sized city in Maharashtra, which is the biggest state in India. Nagpur is known for having big tiger reserves, and when I went to visit my friend Hannah, she took us on a safari! We were very lucky to see a tiger right at the end of the day— tigers are mostly nocturnal, so there was a chance we wouldn’t see one during our daytime safari. India is home to six big cats; you can find Bengal tigers, snow leopards, Asciatic Lions, Indian Leopards, clouded Leopards and cheetahs here! It’s my goal to see all six this year— from a safe distance, of course!
