Mumbai: mid-day tests SGNP's nature tour app

We had been waiting for this moment since the day we heard about the launch of a Cellphone Nature Tour of the Sanjay Gandhi National Park SGNP So when we spotted the eForestrails app on the Google Play Store last Sunday the next obvious step was to test it for ourselvesA signboard announcing the starting point of the Upper Kanheri Trail We missed it entirely as it was placed on the inside A signboard near the main road would have been more helpful PicsNimesh DaveSo a day later this reporter and midday photographer Nimesh Dave reached the doors of SGNP armed with mobile phones cameras and a power bankThe last waypoint as part of the 13 kmlong Avenue Trees Trail is a tamarind tree number 20 The trail concludes at Chinch Pada inside the parkWhatrsquos the app abouteForestrails is an Android app which allows the user to take a GPSbased Cellphone Nature Tour of three trails in SGNP Created by Ladybird Environmental Consulting the app is available for free download and offers an audiovisual guide through three trails mdash Avenue Trees Trail 13km Bamboo Hut Trail 14 km and Upper Kanheri Trail 12kmWe try to get back into the trail as we lost our way in the woodsEach trail with 20 waypoints points of interest is GPStagged on a map in the app and numbered on the actual site that you track using GPS During the trail you can either listen to audio commentary about a waypoint or read a text description of the same along with imagesEach waypoint is numbered which is used to identify it on the app This is the third waypoint as part of the Upper Kanheri Caves which is identified as the Malabar Kino bibla tree The bibla is a leguminous plant and helps increase the nitrogen level in the soil It also turns water blue as soon as it comes in contact with itWhat we likedThe three trails offer a mix of choices for nature lovers Those looking for an easy walk can try the Avenue Trees Trail a 14 km walk with easy difficulty that starts near the gate at SGNP and ends at Chinch Pada offering a glimpse at some 20odd trees right from the medicinal Red Silk Cotton Tree to Sandpaper Tree and Fish Tail Palm ending at a Tamarind tree near the shelters at Chinch PadaEach of these trees are marked with a number which can be used as a reference point to find more details about them on the app You can either read a description and see images or listen to an audio commentary We enjoyed all of them The same features are present in the other two trails mdash Bamboo Hut Trail and Upper Kanheri Trail which come with a medium rating in terms of difficultyThe trail is GPSmapped so once you are on it you can simply follow it to find the various waypoints along the trailWhat we didnrsquot likeDespite the ease in identifying the Avenue Trees Trail we had no such luck with the Upper Kanheri Trail and the Bamboo Hut TrailThe GPS works fine but there are no physical signboards on the main road in the park to help you locate the starting or end points of the trails And if you are new to the park you may not be able to place the same We could not find the Bamboo Hut Trail till the end and missed the starting point of the Upper Kanheri Trail only to take a round about route which included an hour of tiring climb and returned without any success When we did find the Upper Kanheri Trail and later the Avenues Tree Trail we couldnrsquot figure some of the waypoints along the routeAt one point it felt like playing a treasure hunt which we wouldnrsquot mind were there more clues on the app Some of the numbers were hidden behind the foliage and were not visible even in broad daylight we expect things to get harder once the monsoon sets ineForestrails could do a lot better with some improved navigability within the app Instead of going back and forth to each waypoint we would rather have it take us automatically to the next way point and back based on our GPS location or at least offer an option for itAlso the app allows you to do only one thing at a time You can either watch the pictures or listen to the commentary which breaks the momentum Ideally we would have preferred that all the elements work in sync on a single page or at least a scenario where accessing pictures or text does not affect the audio commentaryOur verdictThe app is a great attempt no doubt in using technology to create awareness about natureAnd it has succeeded in achieving its core goal mdash which is to offer an audiovisual cellphoneguided experience of a few interesting trails inside SGNPWe would love to return perhaps with a larger groupHowever itrsquos equally important to mark the spots with physical signboards visible to passer bys as is to geotag them Until that happens we would advise our readers to skip the inner trails Upper Kanheri Trail and Bamboo Hut Trail if they are going solo unless a person who is familiar with the territory accompanies themAs it happened with us we were almost lost in the jungle as we went off the trailLastly donrsquot forget to bring a power bank along since the app relies on GPS which consumes a lot of battery