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Inside Bandipur National Park - 26, 27 June 2004 The interiors of Bandipur, that I only was dreaming about till now, were opened to public for trekking and wildlife viewing by the Chief Wildlife Warden a few months back. It became an issue, since wildlife conservationists and naturalists were of the opinion that human intrusion into these protected areas will adversely affect wildlife and the habitat. I will not go into the details of this subject, but will just describe my experiences in a trek that I did during the last weekend of June. I previously called up the Bandipur reception office, who informed me to come directly to Bandipur on Saturday morning around 6AM. I realised that there isn't any rush, and no advance booking is required. So, on Saturday 2AM I left Bangalore, and riding through Mysore & Gundlupet, was at Bandipur at 6.30AM. The Bangalore-Mysore highway is being converted to a 4 lane wide highway, and hence construction was at progress at some places, and the existing road was in a bad condition. The cement roads between Nanjangud and Gundlupet have been overlaid with tarmac roads, and hence it was a smooth ride from Mysore to Gundlupet. The trek fee was Rs. 50/day, Guide fee Rs.150/day, and night halt fee Rs.50. I paid for a two day hike, was told to camp at Volakallare camp, and given a watcher as guide. Together we went through Mangala Dam, Moolapura Road to Volakallare camp, reaching there by afternoon. Lunch, and a very pleasant siesta, and in the evening we visited the Moyar Gorge.
We got back to camp, and was delighted when another watcher showed us a small herd of elephants feeding a little distance behind the camp. We spent the evening watching these magnificient animals. The day had been quite silent, except for the chirping of birds, but as the evening became dark, the forest came alive with a variety of animal sounds. Chital, Sambar, Elephants were all to be heard. We went to sleep listening to all these sounds around the camp. Next day morning we visited the Mysore ditch, which is a continuation of the Moyar Gorge, and nearer to the Kakkanalla border. A lonely female elephant was near the camp in the morning, and we had some great view of it as she crossed the path a little in front of us. Thereafter, we left for Bandipur, reaching the reception by noon. A fast ride, and I was back in Bangalore by 6pm. Animals Seen and Remembered:
Details about the trekking programmes are at http://www.karnatakawildernesstourism.org |
The Moyar Gorge is an awesome place to be. Wild, tough and beautiful. The farther
side of Moyar is Tamilnadu's Mudumalai Wildlife Sanctuary. While we were looking
at the gorge, a thunder storm came on, and a deluge of rain poured, and for fifteen
minutes we squatted there, getting more and more drenched. It gave a feel of how
wild the place could be, and was amazing to think about the wild animals that
inhabited it as their home.