I know my first post of the new year has been 24 days into the month, but I am just back from one of my first trips (of hopefully many) in 2019. A dear friend had got us booked in a forest guest house at Nagarhole National Park or Rajiv Gandhi Tiger Reserve and we friends just grabbed the opportunity without a moment's thought.
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| The road leading from Hunsur through the forest |
I love going to such off beat places as the experiences are different and the crowd is less. My
Kotagiri blog post is one of the most read posts here, and Nagarhole is as wild and beautiful perhaps even more than Kotagiri. We are talking about a real forest here. It is the real deal. And like all good things, it is kind of hard to experience.
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| The dark, misty forest |
Nagarhole National Park is home to one of the most vulnerable species of animals in the world right now - the magnificent Tiger. Statistics show that there are very few tigers in the world. You may be sure that a good number of those are found in Nagarhole and it houses the most number of tigers in the country. One would suspect the odds to be on our side when we visit a tiger reserve with a high count of tigers especially while we were staying right there in the jungle. But we didn't see any and our tryst with Nagarhole ended with sightings of other fantastic animals and birds, most of which I couldn't capture on my DSLR.
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| An eagle perched right up the tree |
Being nature lovers stuck in concrete jungle, we weren't complaining the miss. S and PeeBo both have seen plenty of panthers, bisons, foxes and such while growing up in Nilgiris, so they were very cool. The rest of us were just happy to take in the wild, raw nature and the abundant fauna in the forest.
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| A family of boars |
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| Peacock sightings |
About Nagarhole National park - This is situated in the Kodagu district in Mysore district in Karnataka, India. This is one of the best Tiger reserves in the country and boasts of having the highest numbers of tigers in the country. The beautiful Kabini river divides the park and is the primary water source for the animals and birds. The park has plenty of water holes, valleys, thick jungle and grasslands. We stayed at the south of the park, where there was sweeping grasslands, with a few lakes and tall deciduous trees. There are well maintained tar roads and muddy tracks leading into the forest with either sides kept clear of foliage and vegetation to protect the animals and humans from insensible acts like forest fires and to take off the element of surprise for both animals.
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| Our simian friends |
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| Spotted deer |
We went in January, well after the rains, but bang in winter. It was very cold at nights with temperature dropping to 19 degrees. There was mist rolling in at nights and in the mornings we could see the mist lifting up from the tranquil ponds and lakes. Pale sunshine broke through the tall trees as silver blades. They made for really awesome photography. I am an amateur photographer, and I rued not having the expertise to capture nature's beauty the way it was intended. Still, it is all in my mind's eye. :).
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| Blink and miss elephant |
Nagarhole apparently abounds in animals like elephants (which we saw plenty of. I am not kidding), spotted deer (again a lot. So much so that they started looking like pets to us), sambar (one silent one came out of the woods and immediately ducked in), wild boars (we saw plenty of those too), gaurs (a family was grazing as we drove past), tiger, leopards, panthers, langurs (black faced ones with a different cry), plenty of monkeys, giant flying squirrels (we saw one and it was a big, furry ball), hares (they skipped about in front of our cars), bee eater birds (we just glimpsed at one), pea cocks (plenty), eagles and such. I am sure if we had taken the Kabini River Safari, we would have seen many other birds. There was a distinct absence of our avian friends where we stayed in the forest.
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| Play of light |
Accommodation - This is the tricky part. Within the forest reserve there are a few forest guest houses maintained by the Karnataka forest department, which have to be booked well in advance and even then one may not be sure of securing an accommodation. One could either call the department or write to them and inquire. The response is prompt and sure, but it is allotted as per the discretion of the forest officials. There are guesthouses and resorts outside the check post of the reserve. Again, these are in heavy demand. We were very pleased to get one of the guest houses (Cauveri) for a group of six adults and two children. Two other guest houses were under renovation The expanse of the forest was right at our doorstep with spotted deers and wild boars paying us a visit through the day.
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| Evening safari scene |
What to do - Safari, safari and more safari. As other travellers would tell you, the more safaris you do, the better the chance of seeing elusive animals. We did two morning and one evening safari and though the kind of animals we saw were the same, each safari brought with it the thrill of a trip to the jungle. There is no words to express the trip to the jungle. Just take my word for it, it has its moments. There are jeep and bus safaris for Rs. 300 per person, but I liked the jeeps better. The forest officials and the orderlies were all very polite and helpful. The vehicles for safari were pretty good except for a couple of ancient buses which rattled its way into the forest warning even the most dull-witted of big cats that a load of gawking human beings were coming their way. The drivers and officers however had a good ear and eye in spotting animals and birds, often pausing to check paw marks and hear the sounds of a monkey or bird to know where an animal was. The safaris were all quite thrilling for us city dwellers - we did not know when an animal would step out of the thick brush or trees or if we would indeed get to see some big animals. I was thrilled to bits when we spotted the elephants who were so well hidden in the dry vegetation, that I almost missed them. Other than the spotting of animals, the forest is a canvas depicting the rawness of nature. A photo enthusiast will have a field's day with the play of light in the mornings and evenings.
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| Beautiful, wonderful nature |
We also saw some people in an open jeep safari and I wondered if they were led the same route as the other vehicles and if so, what was the safety factor here. It must be quite out of the world, I am sure. The Kabini River safari is one other thing we wanted to try but couldn't due to paucity of time. I would surely have booked for one if I had one other day there. Here is a video link of one such safari on the
Kabini.
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Iruppu Waterfalls
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We, however went to Iruppu falls in Coorg district. It was a clean waterfalls with decent super cold water splashing down from a height of 170ft but it did get slightly crowded and we had to soon leave to avoid getting jostled about on the slippery rocks. The water was ice cold and absolutely refreshing when we visited in January, but the strength and flow of the water was less as it was well after the monsoons. After parking our cars we had to walk a bit to reach a small bridge that connected us to the falls. The steps are pretty steep and its a bit of a climb to reach the falls. P and I took turns carrying Ana Kutti piggyback when she had to navigate the steep steps. Once there she squealed with delight and with careful monitoring she enjoyed the falls herself.
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| Vantage point |
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| Funny board |
Travel from Chennai - After a lot of planning, we decided to travel by two cars. So, one day before our booking at the guest house, we started from Chennai at 7 am (pretty late. I would have liked to have started by 5:30 or 6:00 am to beat the traffic). After breakfast at the very good
Jains Highway Motel, and lunch at a very, very crowded
Adyar Ananda Bhavan on Hosur Road we reached Bangalore in the evening. Here we stopped for the night. The next day we started off State Highway 450 to Nagarhole. Again we had started late, trying to finish breakfast and getting the little ones in the car before we hit the highway. In between, about 30kms from Nagarhole, closer to Hunsur, we hit a speed breaker which was not seen properly and jammed the front tire of our car. The ensuing delay led us to reach the guest house only by 4 PM. We were supposed to have been there for lunch. It is imperative to get inside the reserve by 6 PM or else a fine is levied. We had called up ahead and kept the authorities informed of our predicament. In the end, all was well. And we got into the reserve to have a late lunch of chappathi, sabzi, sambar, rasam and curds. The weather was nice and cool, and we lazed about simply watching the deer that were grazing around the charming guest house.
Things to remember:
From Chennai by car it is better to stop in Mysore over night and then make the one hour drive to Nagarhole next morning via Hunsur.
Plan to reach the Forest Guest House definitely before 6 PM. Cauvery Lodge was where we stayed. Ph: 08222 - 252041. Email: dcfwlhun@gmail.com. Rooms are at Rs. 1000 to Rs. 1600/- per person. We had asked for extra bedding for the night.
The safari timings are from 6:00 AM to 8:00 AM and from 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM. The bus safari at least is on first come first serve basis. The good seats are taken by early comers. The jeep safari has to be booked a day earlier. Bus safari fee is Rs. 300/- per person.
It is very cold in January. It is better to pack warm clothes for the night. Have minimum expectations for food as it is a jungle and groceries are hard to come by. Best time to visit would probably be during summer ie. May.
Here are links to some good blogs:
We left with heavy hearts as the time spent there was hardly enough due to the one day spent on getting our car repaired. But the jungle and its raw beauty is something that we will carry with us forever.
Comments
“The vehicles for safari were pretty good except for a couple of ancient buses which rattled its way into the forest warning even the most dull-witted of big cats that a load of gawking human beings were coming their way.” 😂
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