Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2010/04/27
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Thanks to everyone for looking and commenting. Two replies - Philippe, the caves are within Bandhavgarh National Park, which itself came into being as a private hunting preserve of the local king, and as such these caves were really advance lookout points for his army - they are basic and functional. Both Bandhavgarh and Ranthambhore have huge hilltop forts that dominate the skyline - this is from Ranthambhore, which was the Maharaja of Jaipur's hunting preserve, though the fort dates from long before that, also from the 10th Century. In fact the whole of Ranthambhore is dotted with ruins, and the whole of Bandhavgarh with abandoned caves and temples: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jayanand/4492903144/in/set-72157623648855343/ Akhil, even as of now, no one is allowed into the 'core' area of the wildlife parks in India - the 'tourist' area, on average, constitutes around 20% of the demarcated area. BTW, less poaching takes place in the tourist area (too many eyes) - but the tigers also get used to the human presence, which is not good when confronted with poachers. Most parks have limits on the number of vehicles allowed daily, and a 'route' system to distribute them throughout the park, but they do not work very well, especially in small parks like Bandhavgarh. Poisoning of tigers that raid domestic livestock just outside the parks is probably as much of a threat to their existence. The last such incident, as reported by a close friend and hotelier in Ranthambhore - while you are there take a look at his photo gallery, he is a very good wildlife photographer: http://www.dickysingh.com/ Cheers Jayanand