Bandipur Safari

It was 5:30am on 19th December when we left for our first wildlife safari to Bandipur Wildlife Sanctuary. Situated just 220Kms from Bangalore, Bandipur is a home for many wild animals & rare species of wild life. The occasion for the trip was our first wedding anniversary which we wanted to celebrate in a unique way away from the hustle & bustle of the town.

The road to Bandipur is fairly easy & in a good condition except the last couple of miles. We took the Bangalore - Mysore - Gundlepet road & we took about 5 hrs to reach. On our way we stopped to have breakfast at Maddur Tiffanys famous for its Maddur Vadas. We also halted at the Cafe Coffee Day just few miles before Bandipur.

We had booked our accommodation with Jungle Lodges & Resorts. The place is nice & clean with good food. Our cottage was called the "Racket Tail Drongo".

We checked in at around 11:30 am & then headed straight for lunch. The food was tasty. Chicken curry for the non veg lovers & a host of other veg dishes for the veggies with paysam to top it off.

At 4:30 pm we headed for our first wildlife safari in an open jeep. Not knowing what to expect we were really looking forward to this ride. The first animal we spotted was a spotted deer. As we went deeper into the jungle we saw herds of spotted deer at every nook & corner of the jungle. We got to see the peacock, sambhar deer & bison. The peacock truly looks very beautiful & we couldn't take our eyes of it's beauty. Just then we got a news that 2 tigers were cited near a lake. Our driver swiftly took us to the lake. Everyone had their cameras ready & were poised to take as many pictures as possible of this magnificent animal. We waited for almost half an hour with out any luck :-(......... On our way back we also spotted a couple wild elephants. Just as we were clicking their pictures, since they were not in a mood to get clicked they simply charged at us. Thanks to our driver's expertise that we were saved.

After the wonderful safari ride the evening was followed by beer, chicken & bonfire. The first night ended with a sumptuous dinner.

The next day started with a trek to a nearby hill at wee hours in the morning... It was a nice 2 hours walk into the nature. We enjoyed a beautiful sunrise and after a round of photo sessions we headed back to the hotel.... First time in our life we realized that mornings are better if they start early :-)

With growling tummies we landed straight at the restaurant. After our tummies satiated we left to visit the Gopalaswamy temple. Its a 700 year old temple of lord Krishna situated at Gopalaswamy betta.

Around 4.30pm we again left for our 2nd Safari with a hope of seeing the Tiger... However this time too we were plain unlucky. But we did spot a lot of other animals including the bison, sambhar deer and wild dogs.

We continued to enjoy the late evening besides the bonfire drinking beers and enjoying a movie on wildlife

The third and the final day began with our last safari into the jungles..... Only the elephants and the langoors welcomed us in the morning. The tiger continued to play hide and seek with us as the jeep which had left before us had spotted a tiger whereas we hadn't seen anything remotely closest to a tiger...... :-(

After a round of heavy breakfast we finally bid adieu to this lovely place with a promise to comeback as I am sure the tiger was beckoning us for yet another visit.