All about Semadoh Tourist Complex - MahaEcoTourism
Again to a new jungle. This time we planned a trip to the dense forest of Melghat in Amravati district of Maharashtra. I am going to list some important information which is never published or which I never came across. A lot of this information will be available in different places online. I am just trying to cover most of them in one place.
Here is the view from my cottage which shows a Machaan and the dried river. Too bad the river is drying even in these lush green forests, now imagine the condition of the rivers next to the cities :(
But all is not that bad, there is still some water left and here is a pic from the Machaan which shows some water still left in the river. The river as not seen in the pic is flowing quite fast and you can hear it sitting at the cottage. Nothing better than hearing the sound of flowing water.
As my other blogs, even this place is perfect to do nothing. Just sit back and relax, doing nothing.
Forest department of Maharashtra has worked on these places to promote Eco-tourism and at the same time provide jobs for the tribes living in these jungles. Most of the people working here are from those villages nearby. These people are trained in different fields like hospitality and security and then hired to run the resort. The main reception has one or two (maybe more) forest department executives, who are very helpful. They can guide you with all the local information.
Read other blogs on my website -
How to reach from Nagpur
Take Amravati road from Nagpur > From Amravati , take a right towards Paratwada> And from Paratwada there are two routes. One goes directly to Melghat or Semadoh which is a small village at the gate of Melghat. Other route goes through Chikaldara but you have to travel 25 -3 km more. So if you can take any route based on your destination (Melghat or Chikaldara)Semadoh
Semadoh is a small village where the tiger reserve starts. There are good food options if you tell them in advance. You can buy basic daily needs from the shops present in here. Water bottles, Tea, Cigarettes all are available. Water costs the same as in any city, but the cigarettes are expensive. So all smokers, pack your smokes well in advance.
Where we stayed
After researching a lot of places, I zeroed in on a secluded place in Semadoh called Semadoh Tourist Complex. The above pic shows the river which flows in front of the resort cottages.
Here is the view from my cottage which shows a Machaan and the dried river. Too bad the river is drying even in these lush green forests, now imagine the condition of the rivers next to the cities :(
As my other blogs, even this place is perfect to do nothing. Just sit back and relax, doing nothing.
How is the place?
See it for yourself -
A type of cottage
Night shot - f/3, 13 Sec exposure, 200 ISO
A place to enjoy the sound of flowing water
Blue color shot - Just playing with my camera.
People working there
Forest department of Maharashtra has worked on these places to promote Eco-tourism and at the same time provide jobs for the tribes living in these jungles. Most of the people working here are from those villages nearby. These people are trained in different fields like hospitality and security and then hired to run the resort. The main reception has one or two (maybe more) forest department executives, who are very helpful. They can guide you with all the local information.
Warnings
- Electricity - Semadoh / Melghat is not very well taken care by the government. Sad but true and that's the reason, there is no electricity most of the time. There is a generator which is helpful for few hours starting 7:30 PM till the diesel gets over. If you are visiting on weekdays, the generator might work till midnight. I was luck to get the power till 2-3 on a Friday night but on Saturday, when the resort was full, it worked only till 11:00 PM.
- Phones - After you cross Paratwada, the phone signal starts to deteriorate. And completely goes blank after you have entered the ghat section. I overheard that only Tata Indicom works over there. Who uses Tata Indicom phones now? They also claim that Idea signal is available at some specific spots, but they couldn't prove it.
- Bugs - As this place is wilderness, there are a lot of bugs who love to get inside the cottage at night when power the there. If you are planning to sit outside the cottage, better to turn of the lights.
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| The bridge on the river |
Tips for you
- Food - Eat local food. Don't ask the chef to make Chicken Tikka Masala over there because he is without a doubt going to screw it up. Vegetarian people can try sabji, daal, roti and rice. Non Vegetarians can ask for Egg curry, Chicken curry etc. Just ask them to make it how they make it at home. (Gharguti - Marathi word which means "just like home") Also give them enough notice of what you are going to eat because they buy the grocery and the meat as per the order every day.
- Language - Most people know Hindi. So don't worry about the language barrier. Unless you are from somewhere in the west, you might need an interpreter.
- Keep all your papers (bookings) with you all the time as any forest official can ask you to show the booking documents for security reasons.
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| The only wildlife I could click @ Melghat |
Things to pack
- Flashlights or torches - Will come very handy in the dark. The power is of most of the time and will help you find your stuff stuffed in the luggage.
- Candles - Take enough candles for the nights. I use Diwali oil lamps which didn't cost me anything and they run for whole night with one or two fill of oil.
- Mosquito repellents - Though I didn't see much of mosquitoes there but surely a good item to keep handy.
- Extra camera batteries - As stated before, there is no power most of the time, so it's better to carry extra batteries to keep the camera rolling.
- Simple non- bright clothes - For safari, its better to wear simple dull clothes. People say it might be a myth, but anything for the wildlife.
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| Loved this contraption all covered with moss |
Safari
- Safari is closed during Monsoon (1 July - 31 August)
- Though the safari is closed, there are two routes which are open from Semadoh where you can take your vehicle from 7:00 AM to 6:30 PM. These routes are Semadoh complex to Chikaldara and Semadoh to Raipur. Once you reach there, you can ask at the reception for the directions.
- You have to pay for these routes. I paid 465 for two people which included - INR 100 - Car entry, INR 250 for the camera with 500 mm lens, INR 80 for two persons and INR 35 for online processing.
- Booking of the safari can be done at - https://nationalpark.mahaonline.gov.in/User/Availability.aspx
- At this booking site you pay for all the things I have paid in the above point. When you reach the safari gate, you have to pay INR 1800 for Jeep and INR 300 for the guide. Unless you want only to travel on the two above mentioned routes.
Booking for the resort
- You can do all forest department bookings on the site - https://accommodation.mahaonline.gov.in/Home/Index.aspx
- Just create an account and you can book a lot of these jungle places in Maharashtra. Note - This is a MahaEcoTourism site, so you won't be able to book the places outside Maharashtra.
Next Blog - Chikaldara -
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