Gamboa, Panama
Bird of the Day: Smooth-billed Ani
Gamboa, Panama
Conservation Tourism
Lazing Across The Wilderness
Bamboo Rafting
In recent posts we’ve been sharing what guests spot during their excursion on the bamboo rafts. We were delighted that Ms. Helen Worsley was willing to share her experience through these beautiful photographs.
Bamboo rafting is either a half-day or full day program that starts in the early hours of morning. Forest guides in the reserve take guests on a 2-hour hike to where the rafts have been docked. The group consists of a maximum of 10 people excluding the guides who explain about the rich flora and fauna they spot on their hike. The hike itself is breathtaking for its wild beauty and by the time guests reach the raft they’re usually looking forward to what is to come. Continue reading
Bird of the Day: Marabou Stork
Masai Mara National Reserve, Kenya
Bird of the Day: Crimson-rumped Toucanet
Reserva Los Cedros, Ecuador
The Best Memories
Sighting Of The Day
Cardamom County receives guests of all ages who are enthusiastic about trekking, hiking and bamboo rafting as well as others who just like to relax in the beautiful ambiance of our property. Our privileged location across the street from the Periyar Tiger Reserve means a lot of overlap of fauna such as birds, butterflies and even monkeys between us, although obviously we don’t have any tigers on property! Continue reading
Bird of the Day: Dusky Grouse with Mating Display
Rocky Mountain National Park, CO
Bullock Cart Re-Discoveries
Bullock Cart Discoveries
In the villages of India bullock cart rides are still very common modes of transportation, not only fun but also eco-friendly. Today the Raxa Collective Cardamom County team took part in the Thekkady TDPC (Tourism Destination Promotion Council) sponsored bullock cart within the local community to provide guests with a zero carbon experience that will also provide a source of income for the locals who cannot afford vehicles to exploit this large tourism market in the state. Continue reading
Bird of the Day: Black-breasted Weaver
Jaipur, Rajasthan
Wild Periyar – Boating
Sambar Deer
Where better to spot wildlife than on the lake looking to quench their thirst, cool down or save themselves from wild dogs? Here we share the documentation of the Bowden family’s experience visiting the Periyar Tiger Reserve on a boat cruise. The Periyar reservoir expands over 26 square kilometers and is the main resource of water for not only the animals in the reserve but also the state of Tamil Nadu, where it provides daily water for livelihood in 3 of its districts. Continue reading
Bird of the Day: Zenaida Dove (El Cuyo, Mexico)
Periyar Trekking – Border Hike
semi evergreen forest
Recent guests from Austria staying at Cardamom County shared photos of their Border Hike experience with us. The Periyar Tiger Reserve extends over 925 sq kilometers and this particular trek covers a minimum of 18km of the peripheral zone. It’s difficult not to get lost and even more difficult to spot animals in the rich flora of the reserve, hence the importance of the professionally trained forest guides. Continue reading
Bird of the Day: Magnificent Hummingbird
Los Quetzales, Panama
Embracing Surfing
Photo Credit: Surfingindia.net
Oftentimes I find myself daydreaming of the saltwater breeze that accompanies the rolling bass of the heavy waves in the ocean — and I imagine those perfect waves… blue, crisp, clean and glassy, and the hollowest of tubes; peeling along the coastline in an epic demonstration of nature’s power. This is a common dream for those who understand the absolutely humbling experience of surfing; it is a burning desire and need to envelope one’s self in the soothing serenity of the water.
Bird of the Day: Asian Koel – Female (Bangalore, Karnataka)
Uroplatus Geckos
- Camouflage perfection in the Uroplatus. Photo Credit: en.wikipedia.org
The Uroplatus Geckos are a magnificent species of gecko endemic to the island of Madagascar, and also my personal favorite gecko — truly one-of-a-kind, these geckos are also known as flat-leaf geckos. Effective camouflage coupled with their flattened body structure and almost completely flattened tails allow these geckos to literally become one with the trees.
Mystic Reservoir
Yesterday, I had the pleasure of going on a half-day bamboo rafting trip at the Periyar Tiger Reserve. In all honestly, I am not a very nature-y, outdoorsy person at all; I am deathly afraid of bugs and spiders, and I usually don’t go trekking in the woods unless someone drags me. Yet, let me just say, bamboo rafting was one of the most magical experiences I have ever had!
When I arrived at the PTR office at 7:30 AM half awake, I was handed a pair of strange looking socks, which were worn over the foot and covered the area below the knees to prevent any leeches and splints getting into the skin. Then we began our one and a half hour hike to the reservoir. Along the way, we saw footprints of leopard cats, tiger’s territory marks on trees, giant spiders with intricate webs across several trees, monkeys, and plenty of elephant dung. Continue reading
Imagine Before You Click
In wildlife photography good images are made by combining “previsualization” with a clear understanding of your subject’s behaviour.
Consider this Spotted Deer image as a simple example. It is a well-known behaviour of the spotted deer to go up on two legs to feed on the fresh leaves of the trees; when you see them approach the short trees, you can expect them to “stand up”. You need to be ready with the right kind of setting and composition to make the image. Continue reading
Bird of the Day: Bald Eagle (Auke Bay, Alaska)
Little Rann of Kutch
Some places in the world are known for lush greenery, others for steep cliffs and snowy glaciers and others still for refreshing water lapping against hot beaches. But of all the landscapes in the world, harsh deserts are perhaps the one that fewest people have experienced. Believing it to be not as pleasant as other landscapes, many people miss out on the tremendous beauty found in deserts. Precisely because there are very few people, visiting deserts like the Little Rann of Kutch gives a traveler the chance to ponder a world before there were so many of us around.
The Wild Ass Sanctuary of the Little Rann of Kutch, spreading across nearly 5000 square kilometers of the Little Rann, is the only place on earth where the endangered Indian Wild Ass, Equus hemionus khur, known locally as the ghudkhar, still lives.
Because of the Sanctuary’s proximity to the Gulf of Kutch and its location on the migration routes of many bird species, it is a very important site for birds to feed and breed in. Continue reading
Bird of the Day: Ocellated Antbird
Pipeline Road, Gamboa, Panama
Organikos 