Trip members: Karthik and vacation friends
Trip date: 28 Mar 2024 - 31 Mar 2024
Trip Plan : Chennai - Mysuru - Masinagudi - Mudumalai - Bandipur - Nanjangud - Mysuru - Chennai
The main agenda for the trip was wildlife sighting. We planned this trip around 3 months earlier so as to get safari tickets of gypsy or canter for Masinagudi and Bandipur. We booked tickets through online.
We planned 2 safaris across 2 days. For sure, it is not possible to do a safari on the day we reach Mysuru in the morning. Accordingly, planned for Mudumalai Gypsy safari for evening as it was scorching summer. Bandipur safari was planned for second half of next day. Normally, the probability of morning sightings is comparatively less in summers, so, we planned only for evening safaris.
Day-1
We reached Mysuru around 7 AM by Kaveri express. The cab was pre-booked for 3 days through Savaari.com as usual. Enroute to Masinagudi, we stopped at outskirts of Mysuru for breakfast at Ruchi Mane. The breakfast was definitely very good - kara bath, mysuru masala dosa and vadais. It would roughly take 3 hours at leisure to reach Masinagudi from Mysuru.
Bandipur - Masinagudi road
We let our driver know our safari plans and the only objective was to see wildlife. So, as we entered Bandipur forest area, the driver drove slowly and attentively to sight animals. As we entered the Bandipur reserve to reach Masinagudi, we started seeing lots of deers - this was a promising signal as wildlife is well accessible on roads; possibly good safaris can be expected!
The forests were super dry and brown - effect of super hot summer.
Leopard Sighting
One of us sighted a leopard by the road side! A very good spotting for sure from a moving car amidst the camouflaged nature. Wow ! Paisa vasool right away! The young adult leopard was super shy, and gave us a sighting of hardly 30-45 seconds, before vanishing into the camouflaged brown bushes! PERFECT ! Nothing more to ask for the trip!
We continued to sight more spotted deer, peahen, peacocks, langurs. On entering Mudumalai, took diversion towards Masinagudi from the Gudalur road and check-in in to our resort at Masinagudi.
Check-in at Masinagudi
We reached the resort, and were pretty early for check-in. We spent some time resting in the reception and a waiting area before we got our cozy, super comfortable rooms at Avadale resort. This resort is around a km off the road and one of the resorts at the end point of the so called roads, facing the forest. Potentially, good chances of animal sighting early in the morning if lucky!
We ordered lunch as well in the resort as it was hot outside and no decent restaurants in the village of Masinagudi. We were served lunch in the common area - salad, roti, dal, bhajjis, paneer gravy, rice, payasam, butter milk, papad and payasam. The food was good and sufficient.
After some rest in the noon (as the train sleep was disturbed by few touring school chaps and their unforgettable guides being active all through night), we got some powernap in the room. We had booked for a safari for 5 PM and got ready to reach there by 4 PM. We spent time at the eco shop, snack counter for some time before starting the safari by Gypsy.
If you have booked your safari tickets online, it is quite easy. Just walk to the counter 15-20 mins before the safari, share the printed voucher for your safari. The forest warden would validate the same, check names in ID cards and issue your gypsy number. Walk and board it! So simple!
The booking website and charges can vary time to time. We paid Rs.1200 per person for the gypsy. The gypsy is only for a group and upto 6 people can go.
View of Ooty hills from Mudumalai!
Sightings at Mudumalai Safari
After around 3-4 kms of ride on the main road, we entered the forest safari zone. We first sighted Malabar giant squirrel, then lagurs. Then, the popular Mudumalai elephants! We started seeing herds of elephants - that was again a second WOW for the day, after sighting leopard in the morning.
The gypsy driver was very cooperative to stop at the right spots to show us various wildlife and take photos.
As the sun set, the colours of forest became even more pleasing and relaxing. We stopped at various water sources in a wish to see some wild cats, but no luck for some time. Little later, we jumped in to a herd of Indian gaur and a sambhar deer.
As we were almost winding up, we sighted another herd of elephants! Take a bow for the day! Elephants of different ages cuddling together! More langurs, peacocks, big wild boar followed as the safari winded up on a scenic evening!
We ended the day after an exhilarating day at Mudumalai with a buffet dinner at the resort. We also walked around the resort and relaxed; before calling it a day!
Day-2
Day-2 started with the sunrise view. Search for animals on a summer morning was a disappointment, but for sighting a sprinting wild boar at some distance.
The plan was to visit the Theppakadu elephant camp by 8 AM. Tourists have to buy the entry ticket from the safari ticket counter; if the safari is same day, the same ticket can also be used for entry here.
Theppakadu elephant camp
Theppakadu elephant camp is a major tourist attraction in Mudumalai after the safari. This is where Elephants are taken care and tourists are allowed to visit the elephant feeding activity. The feeding of the camp Elephants is open twice a day - Morning and Evening. The timings for the feeding are morning 8:30 to 9:00 and evening 5:30 to 6:00. This is walkable from the safari ticket counter - 200m; or reachable by car through a de-tour of 1 km.
We can see around 20+ Elephants of different ages being fed.
After visiting the elephant camp, we went back the resort, had breakfast, yummy vadais and uthappams. Checked out and started towards Bandipur. We had booked our resort at Bandipur - Bandipur Heritage Village resort around 15 kms from the Bandipur safari point.
We checked in our hotel by mid-day around 1 PM and had lunch at Hotel Kamat at the same place. We preferred to eat light as it was super hot and we had to go to a safari. We had dosais, curd vadai and butter milk for lunch.
Bandipur Safari
Our safari booking was on a canter through a private operator for 3 hours of safari started from 3:30 to 6:30 PM. We reached a pre-informed place for the canter safari; they transported us to the safari starting point; and were transferred to canters.
If you book a gypsy, it is a 60 min drive and you get to board from the safari starting point. We preferred to have a lengthier safari and book from a private operator to club with JLR canters. This is a 3 hour safari!
Sightings
As usual, sighting started with few deers and peacocks, before knowing that a tiger is on the prowl around. Our canter driver took us to the tiger spot immediately, crowded by many gypsies and canters. The tiger had seen the crowd and was too shy to show off. We moved around and around and around for almost 45 minutes to see the tiger, ended by seeing it in a flash - the back and the tail - but nothing more!
Our canter driver patiently for some more time, but the tiger was in a different mood. We did spot the pug marks!
Sighted few birds and then more elephants, spotted deer, sambhar deer and langurs!
We reached back the resort, had light dinner as was available and ended our very tiring day in the hot sun.
Day-3
Relaxed start for the day, enjoyed the elaborate breakfast spread at the hotel and checked out around 9:30 AM.
Nanjangud
We visited the Nanjangud Shiva temple - Srikanteshwara Temple or Sri Nanjundeswara Temple. The tall gopuram gives you the first wow effect of the temple. Being a Sunday, the temple was crowded and we preferred the Rs.100 queue. We had dharshan in 15 mins time on the paid queue; where as free dharshan was more than a hour of waiting time.
The temple is ancient, with beautiful sculptures, a big Nandhi, lots of inscriptions all around and all possible God, Goddess sanctums.
We spent around 45 mins in the temple before starting back to Mysuru.
Reaching Mysuru, stopped at usual points like Mahalakshmi sweets and boarded the train back to Chennai - Vandebharat express. We reached Chennai in less than 6 hours!
Distances
- Mysore – Masinagudi – 99 kms – 2:30 hrs
- Mysore – Bandipur – 79 kms – 1:45 mins
- Bandipur – Masinagudi – 20 kms – 45 mins
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