I'm sure it rings a bell that makes you think of dense forests full of wild animals and birds. And it's not an imaginary thing. There is a great deal of history attached to the town of Betla. There are the Quilas or Palamau Forts at Betla, which we had already visited. The next attraction of Betla was its famous Betla National Park, which was a part of the Palamau Tiger Reserve.
The Betla National Park is one of the oldest reserve forests in India. Spread across the hilly terrains of the Palamau district, Bihar, and a part of the Palamau Tiger Reserve, this forest is home to numerous birds and animals. So, to get a view of the forest life, we included a Betla forest tour. It was supposed to be a safari to watch some beautiful birds and wild animals in their natural habitats.
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| Betla Forest Map |
How to reach Betla
We traveled to Betla during our tour that started from the Ranchi Railway Station and included Netarhat and Maromar. So, we reached the jungle town of Betla from Maromar. However, it's also possible for you to plan a tour to Betla directly. You can either take a train or a flight, come to the nearest station or airport, and travel from there to the Betla National Park in a car.Flight
Ranchi is the nearest airport to Betla National Park, located at a distance of 179 Kilometers. It takes a little more than four hours by car to reach Betla from Ranchi.Train
You can go by train to Daltongunj and take a cab from there to cover the distance of 23 Kilometers to reach Betla National Park. The nearest railway station to Belta, one of the most coveted destinations in Jharkhand, is Barwadih, from where the distance is only about 13 Kilometers. You can book a cab from these railway stations and visit Betla National Park by road. Going through the route of the Kairahi Watch Tower can give you a chance of riding through the forests.Flora and Fauna at Betla
Betla National Park is one of the oldest reserve forests in India. The terrains of the forests range from high hills to the plains. Moreover, the Koel River flows through the forest. Therefore, the forest inside the Betla National Park is rich with trees of all kinds - tropical, deciduous, as well as Alpine. Some of the most common varieties of trees found in throughout the Palamau Tiger Reserve, including Betla National Park, are:- Mahua
- Red kamala or kumkum
- Sal
- Acacia
- Coromandel ebony
This enables birds and animals of a wide variety to live and thrive in these forests. Some of the birds that can be seen in Betla National Park include:
- Quail
- Crested Serpent Eagle
- Yellow-footed Green Pigeon
- Pied Hornbill
- Comb Duck
- Red Jungle Fowl
- Black Ibis
- Black Patridge
- Common Teal
- Papeeha
- White-necked Stork
Several animals can be seen in this forest. And if you're lucky, you can even catch a glimpse of a few rare beasts as well.
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- Deer
- Langurs
- Monkeys
- Elephants
- Foxes
- Jackals
- Wild Cats
- Tigers
Safari at Betla National Park
The first and the last safaris at the Betla National Park start at 9 AM and 5 PM, respectively. So, we had the freedom of choosing any of the times we wanted. We started from Hotel Van Vihar, Betla, at 4 PM and went across the road to the gate of the Betla National Park. Just inside the gate is a one-story wooden building for booking the safari. On one side of the first floor is the ticket counter.You can have either an elephant safari or a jeep safari inside the Betla National Park. Opposite to the ticket counter is the space from which tourists can board an elephant for the elephant safari Betla. The mahout brings the elephant in front of the building to make it easy for the tourists to climb on to the howdah or the seat on the back of the elephant. We decided against the elephant safari. So, we booked a jeep and started our safari inside the Betla National Park.
The adventure trip inside
The jeep started moving inside the undulating terrain of the Betla National Park. As regular safaris are conducted inside the jungle, the grass-covered ground has two lines created by the jeep tires. We followed the trail until the driver came to a sudden stop. There were herds of deer here and there, moving around and grazing. They were hardly twenty yards away from us and yet, none of them displayed any sign of panic. That's because the regular safaris have made them indifferent toward human intervention. Not completely though - because as the jeep tried to approach a bit more toward them, they quickly turned their faces toward us, gave us an alert look, and jumped away into the deeper forest.As we started going deeper into the forest, we came across different types of langurs and monkeys. There were different types of birds flying around and chirping from the trees. Our jeep again stopped after some time. And right across the road, we could see a herd of Indian Gaur, commonly known as the Indian Bison.
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| Indian Bison or Gaur at Betla |
No great luck at all
Palamau Tiger Reserve - the name itself makes you excited. We were excited too that we will be lucky and see a few big cats in their natural habitat. Alas, we weren't so lucky. Although Betla National Park is a part of the Palamau Tiger Reserve, it's difficult to catch hold of even a single royal beast.A driver returning from deeper inside the forest informed that he had seen a couple of elephants. Our driver rushed toward the spot, but we couldn't find a single one. All we could see during our safari were a few birds, deer, monkeys, and a small wild cat.
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