时间：2022-10-16 05:00:24
Why on earth do you want to go to Ngengpui， many of my friends asked， when we were planning to make the trip. And you will probably be asked the same thing when you do. After all， this wildlife sanctuary is over 350 km from Aizawl， and it takes at least two days to get there—which means four days gone in the travel to and fro.
But the forests of south Mizoram are among the least disturbed in the state and there are still large swathes of virgin green to explore. The Ngengpui Wildlife Sanctuary happens to be the third largest in the state and it was because of the this very distance that there would perhaps be fewer tourists to disturb the peace of the place. If you like travelling in the lush hills of the North-Eastern states then autumn is a good time not only to experience the semi-tropical climate but also the beauty of the forests and valleys on the way.
And then there are the hoolocks.
I am not being rude！ I am， in fact， referring to the rare and endangered hoolock gibbon， the only ape found on the Indian subcontinent and one that is today restricted to the forests of the North-East. When I was young， the Kolkata zoo used to have a number of hoolocks. I can still remember the distinctive hooting calls of the apes as they swung through the trees； I hoped then I would hear it again.
Set off early from the Chaltlang Tourist Lodge on your way to Saiha， the town where you can establish your base camp. Take the long drive of 235 km to Lunglei at a leisurely pace， stopping often for a cup of tea at a wayside stall or when a bend in the hill road offers a panoramic view of the valley below and the mountains beyond. The monsoons would have recently retreated， leaving behind a number of streams that trickle down the hillsides， at times running alongside the road， at others， crossing your path. Across the valleys you will see scars on the hills where the rains would have softened the soil and caused landslides. Watch out for sections of the road that have been recently repaired and proceed cautiously. Make your night halt at Lunglei， then drive up to Saiha， the district’s headquarters. From the garden of the tourist lodge， you can watch the green hills turn blue as the sun sets to a serenade of birdsong… These are the moments that will keep coming back to you long after you return.
Spread over 110 sq km， the Ngengpui Wildlife Sanctuary is close to the borders with Myanmar and Bangladesh and is managed by a Range Officer and five Beat Officers under the supervision of the DFO Chhimtuipui Forest Division. It ranges in altitude from 200m to 1200m and because of this， you find a diversity of flora with sub-tropical as well as semi- evergreen forests here. Bamboo and wild banana grow in abundance. This is where you can find the tiger， clouded leopard， gaur， barking deer， sambar and several species of monkey. It’s also the only sanctuary in Mizoram that has elephants. And then there are the hoolocks. Ngengpui also teems with numerous species of birds—including some rare ones， such as the hornbill， tragopan， pen-pheasant and sun bird.
You can expect to see the larger animals if you venture deep into the sanctuary and invest a little time and a lot of patience. You can however hope to hear them across the expanse of the forest or find signs of their presence. Ngengpui stuns you even before you get there. There’s a high point in the approach road that offers a breathtakingly panoramic view of the sanctuary. The valleys fall away in graded drops of green to the river below and， just beyond， the undulating mountains rise to go on forever it seems.
Enter Ngengpui Sanctuary at Buntlang beat， make your way to the river and into a small boat that will take you a short distance upriver. Immediately you will be surrounded by an almost virginal beauty and you’ll be forgiven to think that you are the first to discover this territory. The vegetation trails down to the waterline， clouds of butterflies dot the banks with their many hues， kingfishers， herons and bee-eaters go undisturbed about their business and a faint plop in the water suggests that some small animal is about.
Come back another day and move further into the forest on the trail of the large animals—elephants， deer， sambar or hoolock gibbons. Even if you don’t get a glimpse of these animals， you could come across pugmarks or scat， signs of their having been there recently. And your guide will have numerous stories about those that were in the vicinity “just a few days ago”. Give yourself up then to bird- spotting： drongos， thrushes， bulbuls， the elusive jungle fowl and many colourful others that need an expert to identify. But who knows？ Perhaps， across the mountains at sunset you will hear the distant call of the hoolock.