Tal Chhapar Sanctuary

Tal Chhapar Sanctuary is a sanctuary located in the Churu district of Northwestern Rajasthan in the Shekhawati region of India. It is 210 km from Jaipur and situated on road from Ratangarh to Sujangarh. The Tal Chappar sanctuary lies in the Sujangarh Tehsil of Churu District. It lies on Nokha- Sujangarh state Highway and is situated at a distance of 85 km from Churu & about 132 km from Bikaner. The nearest Railway station is Chappar which lies on Degana – Churu – Rewari metre gauge line of North Western Railways. The nearest Airport is Sanganer (Jaipur) which is at a distance of 215 km from Chappar. It is known for black bucks but it is also home to a variety of birds.

The Tal Chhapar sanctuary is located on the fringe of the Great Indian Desert. Tal Chhapar nestles a unique refuge of the most elegant Antelope encountered in India, "the Black buck". Tal Chhaper sanctuary, with almost flat tract and interspersed shallow low lying areas, has open grassland with scattered Acacia and prosopis trees which give it an appearance of a typical Savanna. The word "Tal" means plane land. The rain water flows through shallow low lying areas and collect in the small seasonal water ponds.

The Geology of the zone is obscured by the wind blown over-burden. Some small hillocks and exposed rocks of slate and quartzite are found in the western side of the sanctuary. Area between hillocks and the sanctuary constitutes the watershed area of the sanctuary. The whole sanctuary used to be flooded by water during the heavy rains but with salt mining going on in the watershed. Hardly any rain water falling on the hillocks reach the Sanctuary

Geography

The sanctuary is named after Chhapar village which is located at 27°-50' North and 74°-25' East. It is a flat saline depression locally known as "Tal" that has a unique ecosystem in the heart of the Thar Desert, Perched at a height of 302 meters (990 feet) above sea level.

Flora and fauna

The forest of this region falls under major group “TROPICAL FOREST” as per classifications of Indian forests by Champion & Seth. The forest of sanctuary area again falls under Group “Topical Thorn Forest” & Sub group 6B/C “Desert Thorn Forests”.

The sanctuary area is mostly covered by grasses with a very few trees. It lies on the way of the passage of many migratory birds such as harriers. These birds pass through this area during September. Birds commonly seen in the sanctuary are harriers, Eastern Imperial Eagle, Tawny Eagle, Short-toed Eagle, sparrow, and Little Green Bee-eaters, Black Ibis and Demoiselle Cranes, which stay there till March. on the other hand, skylark, crested lark, Ring Dove, brown dove and blue jay are seen throughout the year.

Desert fox and desert cat can also be spotted along with typical avifauna such as partridge and sand grouse.

In the Tal Chhapar Sanctuary, a special type of grass is found. This grass is called "Mothiya" locally. The word "Mothiya" comes come from the word "Moti" or from the English word for Pearl. The shape of the seed of this grass is like very fine round shaped pearls. Mothiya has a very sweet taste. People enjoy eating it, but it is found in very small quantities. Production is only a few kilograms every season. Mothiya is also food for Black bucks and other birds which dig it from earth with their starks.

Climate

This region is characterized by distinct winter (Oct. to Feb.) Summer (March to June)Monsoon (July to Sept.)The zone has a dry climate with large variation in temperature wind blows South – West during summer. In May and June winds become very hot and that is called “Loo” Maximum temperature reaches up to 48°C in June & minimum temperature falls up to 10°C in month of December – January. The Tal Chhapar Zone comes under the principal arid zone of the country. Rainfall in this region is highly erratic. There is large variation in mean annual rainfall in this region. Normal rainfall in this region is about 300 mm.

Facilities

There are two rest houses situated in sanctuary area and being maintained by forest department having four suites accommodation. These rest houses come under the control of Deputy conservator of forest, Churu. Any one can contact for accommodation to DCF, Churu. Chhapar – Sujangarh state highway divides the sanctuary area in two parts. In the sanctuary there are Kacha tracks which are used for inspection, patrolling & viewing the fauna of the sanctuary.

Heritage on Wheels: Tal Chhapar/ Shekhawati

The next destination of the Heritage on Wheels sojourn is Shekhawati region. Shekhawati is one of the richest regions, in terms of art and crafts, of Rajasthan. Creating beautiful images with vibrant colors is a way of life of the artists of the Shekhawati region. The best exponents of Shekhawati art and paintings are the Havelis of the Shekhawati. Mandawa and Nawalgarh display some of the best Shekhawati paintings on the walls of their Havelis.

The same artistic tradition of frescoes is visible in other less known towns of the Shekhawati region. It is just amazing to see the plethora of murals in a land otherwise known as impoverished desert. Besides the tour of various places of Shekhawati, you will be taken to the Tal Chappar Wildlife Sanctuary as well. It is all because of The Tal Chhapar Sanctuary, and is famous for its black bucks. It is a flat saline depression, with a unique ecosystem. During September, the Tal Chappar wild life sanctuary comes alive with the chirping of various migratory birds including montagur's, marsh harrier, pale harrier, imperial eagle, tawny eagle, short toed eagle, sparrow hawk, skylark, crested lark, ring drove, brown dove, blue jay, green bee eaters, black ibis and demoiselle cranes.

Tour Schedule:

04:00 Hrs: Arrival at Padhiyar Railway Station
07:15 Hrs: Departure.
07:30 Hrs: Arrival at Tal Chhapar and sightseeing.
09:00 Hrs: Departure.
11:00 Hrs: Arrival at Ramgarh.
11:15 Hrs: Departure for sight seeing Ramgarh.
11:30 Hrs: Sight seeing of Ramgarh Havelis (Mahanser).
12:30 Hrs: Sight of Mandawa Havelis and Cenotaphs
13:30 Hrs: Lunch at Mandawa Resort.
15:00 Hrs: Departure for Nawalgarh.
16:15 Hrs: Arrival at Nawalgarh and sight seeing.
17:30 Hrs: High Tea at Nawalgarh.
19:30 Hrs: Arrival on Board.
20:00 Hrs: Dinner on Board.

General information

Seasons :
Summer – (March to June),
Monsoon – (July to Sept.),
Winter – (Oct. to Feb.).

Approach :
215 km from Jaipur (Jaipur – Sujangarh – Nokha state high way),
Nearest railway station – Chhapar,
Nearest Airport – Jaipur.

Best time of visit :
Winters : (Oct. to March).

Time of visit in the sanctuary:
After sun rise till sun set.

Tariff :

"Entry fee of vehicle":-

Rs. 65/- per vehicle(Gypsy/Jeep/Car/MiniBus/Canter)
Rs. 100/- for Bus.

"Entry fee for Individuals":-
Rs. 10/- for Indian
Rs. 80/- for foreigners
Rs. 2/- for Indian students.

"Camera fee":-
Still camera – free
Rs. 200/- Movie camera used by amateurs
Rs. 3000/- Movie camera use by professionals
Rs. 5000/- Movie camera use for filming non feature film
RS. 20000/- for filming a feature film.

Place to stay
Forest rest house – Tal Chhaper.

Contact

"Deputy Conservator of Forest",
Churu (Rajasthan)
Phone : [phone]

"Range Forest Officer"
Chhaper (Sujangarh) – Dist. Churu
Phone : [phone]

News

19 Feb'2006 :-
Tal Chhaper included in the itinerary of "Heritage on Wheel" train. Now tourist have opportunity to visit the world famous black buck sanctuary twice in a week by this luxurious train journey. The first troop of tourists was warmly welcomed by local villagers and representatives of the District Administration.

8th March'2006 :-
Rs. 2 Crore and 82 Lacs budget announced by Hon'ble C.M. in her budgetspeech 2006-07 for the development of Tal Chhapar Sanctuary, famous for the black bucks,for 2006-07 to 2010-11 (a five year plan), under which 1 crore and 10 lacs will be spent next year.

Tal Chhaper Sanctuary, the Blackbuck Park, has been included in the tourism map of Rajasthan Tourism. Hon’ble CM has announced a project in the budget speech 2006-07 for development of the sanctuary as Eco-Tourism and ‘Wild Life’ Tourism spot. The project includes five year action plan amounting Rs.2.82 crores for integrated development of the sanctuary. Budget provision for Rs.1.10 crores in the current financial year has been sanctioned. A high level committee headed by Principal Secretary, Forest Mrs. Rukmani Haldia and comprising the famous architect Ms. Revathi Kamath, fashion designer international fame Ms. Bibi Russel, commissioner Tourism and Chief wild life warden has already visited the sanctuary to make a comprehensive and integrated development action plan.Rajendra Dadhich president Rajasthan Vikas parisad, Mumbai also visited.

Famous people

A philosopher and saint named Acharya Kaluram or Acharya Kalu Gani, the eighth head of famous Jain Swetambar Terapanth religion belongs was born in Chhapar. He was a great scholar of the Sanskrit, Rajasthani and Hindi languages and led over a thousand followers and monks. Today, he has millions of followers throughout world. The famous Acharya Shree Tulsi succeeded him and Achrya Shree Mahaprajna is the 10th Successor and head of the Terapanth Sect of the Jain religion.