Dubare

This year, we didn’t celebrate Aarush’s birthday as we had moved to our own apartment. Being new to the complex, we hardly knew anyone to invite. So, we decided to celebrate his birthday at school, which, of course, he didn’t like much because he didn’t receive any gifts, and on top of that, he had to give return gifts to his schoolmates… which he did with a heavy heart.

We decided to take him to the Dubare Elephant Camp and booked a stay at Jungle Lodges. Although a bit pricey, it was worth every penny. Everything was done on time, and there were naturalists for every activity as mentioned on their website.

There’s no doubt that Jungle Lodge excels in pampering with their services and hospitality. It was unexpectedly cold at night, for which we were not well-equipped, but everything else was excellent.

Aarush had a great time and made friendship with Mehul(another kid). We even spotted some deer and small wild animals, and the documentary on Indian Tigers in the evening was outstanding.

Second day early morning after a cup of coffee Santanu joined a nature walk lead by Jungle Lodge’s naturalist for Nature walk into the Forest. The walk was within the camp vicinity but the naturalist shared lots of knowledge about the plant & flora, birds and animals.

One thing I would like to add is that, as mentioned, visitors can give a bath to the elephants. It’s definitely something worth experiencing, but it’s important to note that elephants tend to defecate when they enter the water. This can lead to a somewhat unhygienic feeling, which dampened my enthusiasm for giving them a bath.

• Dubare Jungle Lodge