The phone rings at a base station in Agumbe, the heart of king cobra country.
Caller: We have a huge black snake with white lines under a boulder.
Receiver: Black snake? Don't go close. We are on our way.
Three vehicles, with 16 people, seven snake hooks, four snake bags, nine cameras and a lot of adrenaline, rush out. Two hours and several hairpin bends later, we are at the location in a Karnataka village. Some of us have sent prayers in advance to our respective family deities. We are led to a small rock. Under it is a tiny and harmless wolf snake. Black and white, as described, but not a king cobra. We head back, laughing all the way.
I am a snake man. My life centres on demystifying these jewels of the animal world. If and when we meet, chances are that I will speak more about snakes with you than the local fish for lunch, as a Goan should!
The Beginning
Son: Baba, I was part of a team that has discovered a new Caecilian species…
Father: Umm, what's that? It looks like a worm. Son: It eats worms, baba. It's an amphibian.
Father: Really? Couldn't you find something bigger and better looking? How can I tell my friends that my son discovered a new worm that's not even a worm?
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Esta historia es de la edición June - July 2023 de Outlook Traveller.
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Where History Meets Luxury
Murmurs Of The Past Echo Through The Corridors Of These Legendary Stays
LIFE AT THE TOP
WHILE THE GOVERNMENT READIES AMBITIOUS PLANS TO BOOST TOURISM IN THE REGION, SPITI LOCALS ARE GRAPPLING WITH CHALLENGES POSED BY CLIMATE CHANGE AND SCARCE RESOURCES
NO SCREENS NO PROBLEM
DOES TAKING A BREAK FROM YOUR PHONE OR COMPUTER GIVE YOU ANXIETY OR A RUSH OF JOY? AS MORE AND MORE INDIANS CHOOSE RELAXATION AS THEIR PRIMARY MOTIVATOR TO TRAVEL, HERE'S WHAT A DIGITAL DETOX HOLIDAY IN INDIA LOOKS LIKE
GREEN LIVING
SRINAGAR ATTRACTS HORDES OF tourists for its iconic Dal Lake, tree-lined boulevards and Mughal-era gardens resplendent with chinar trees. Now, both the \"Lake of Flowers\" and chinars are in a fight for survival as pollution from untreated sewage and unsupervised logging threatens their future.
DISCOVERING THE CAUCASIAN PEARL
BATUMI IS A GETAWAY FOR ALL SEASONS, IMPRESSING VISITORS WITH ITS QUAINT VIBE, CLASSIC ARCHITECTURE AND TRADITIONAL CUISINES
WHERE SKY MEETS SEA
ESPERANCE, ALONG THE REMOTE SOUTHERN COAST OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA, IS A DESTINATION THAT REWARDS THOSE WILLING TO WANDER OFF THE BEATEN PATH
NEW FINDS IN AN ANCIENT CITY
WHILE THE GREEK ISLANDS STEAL THE LIMELIGHT, THERE'S MUCH TO.UNCOVER IN ATHENS, INCLUDING TOP-NOTCH STAYS AND LESSER-KNOWN STORIES FROM THE PAST
UNTAMED SATPURA
AN ENCHANTING BLEND OF LUXURY AND NATURE, JEHAN NUMA WILDERNESS IN CENTRAL INDIA IS WHERE ROYAL LEGACIES PROVIDE A GATEWAY TO CONSERVATION
THE JEWEL OF THE EAST
LONG BEFORE WES ANDERSON ROMANTICISED THE FICTIONAL GRAND BUDAPEST, THE GREAT EASTERN HOTEL IN KOLKATA INSPIRED NOVELS, FILMS AND OODLES OF NOSTALGIA
IN SEARCH OF THE BEST STAYS
MARK WONG OF SMALL LUXURY HOTELS OF THE WORLD TALKS QUIRKY STAYS, STRANGERS BECOMING FRIENDS, AND CHASING THE MOST UNIQUE EXPERIENCES ON HIS TRAVELS
