The Pinderbera rest house at Dalma Wildlife Sanctuary

Jamshedpur, July 12: A rare rendezvous with the wild at Dalma Wildlife Sanctuary, around 20km from city outskirts, will soon be possible even for the faint-hearted, thanks to the forest department that will rope in villagers as guides.

Dalma, which was almost out of bounds in recent years, thanks to the Maoist threat, has been slowly finding its feet as far as tourism is concerned. In 2009-10, footfall was around 200, which increased in 2010-2011 to 300, and authorities are expecting numbers to swell.

Since the number of tourists is showing a northward trend, the state forest department authorities feel skilled guides are required now. Youths from villages surrounding the sanctuary will be handpicked after which they will undergo training to guide visitors into Dalma. The focus is to help visitors get a closer look at the flora and fauna, but safely.

There are 85 villages around the sanctuary. Youths from eight of the nearest villages will be chosen for training. On completion, they will get identity cards specifying they are bona fide guides.

Speaking to The Telegraph, Ranchi divisional forest officer (DFO) A.T. Mishra said: “Most tourists come and stay in Dalma without actually enjoying forest life, because they are not confident enough to venture out on their own. The guides can assist them by showing them tourist spots and making their vacation in the hills a memorable one.”

According to Mishra, a guide will charge Rs 100 per tourist. “We will identify the youths soon. Their training will begin later this month,” he added.

Mishra, himself a wildlife expert, enumerated Dalma’s delights. “Besides elephants, there is a great diversity of flora and fauna. There are seven tourists spots, as well as two rest houses at Makulakocha and Pinderbera. There is a Shiva temple at the top of the hills, natural forest trails, watchtowers, four watering holes — Majhlabandh, Nichlabandh, Chhotkabandh and Badkabandh — a museum at Makulakocha and a spotted deer enclosure. Recently, people have started visiting the cave temple on the hilltop. Apart from these, guides will show tourists other interesting sites and give nuggets of information,” said the DFO.

The rest house at Pinderbera, located at an altitude of 750m, is popular among tourists who want to spend a quiet weekend in the hills.