A taste of the wild!

Our combined trip to Bandipur (the fourth!) and K.Gudi (first!) was immensely rewarding. The Bandipur trip entailed the usual stay at Bandipur Safari Lodge, with the highlight being the safaris with Basavanna…my regular readers know all about it. For the latest, see http://colorsofindia-nita.blogspot.com/2010/08/its-bandipur-safari-once-more.html
Then on to K.Gudi wilderness camp, in the BRT (Biligiri Rangana Temple) sanctuary limits, 3500 ft above sea level. (It was very kind of Basavanna to offer to accompany us—a holiday experience is always heightened by good company! I suspect he must be quite tired of my shooting questions at him all the time for info for my articles!! But he is indeed like my son, and always humors me with his usual patience and good cheer!) BRT sanctuary is a unique site of breathtaking beauty—a blend of a hill station and wildlife sanctuary—with hills and valleys and forests, and the place where the Western and Eastern Ghats meet. The highlight of the journey was spotting a leopard gracefully sauntering down the road within sight of the resort! Unfortunately, Basavanna's camera was tucked away in his backpack in the luggage compartment, and the leopard suddenly caught sight of our car and disappeared down the edge of the road, melting into the vegetation.

The K.Gudi camp (like the Bandipur Lodge, run by Jungle lodges) is quite unique--accommodation includes rooms at the Maharaja’s hunting Lodge, log huts (on stilts) and tented cottages—we opted for the latter, and loved it. There are set in the most scenic landscape, with pretty little paths. The tented cottage is spacious, beautiful and well maintained, with a modern bathroom, pretty curtains and a superb view of the forests beyond. Electricity is provided by generators from 6 pm to 10.30, but really, one is tempted to switch off the lights much earlier, such is the beauty of the night in a forest, as is the line of hurricane lamps that burn through the night (to keep away wild animals). Indeed, chital and sambar and wild boar roam near the cottages, and predators are not far behind. Macaque monkeys swing from the branches in gay abandon!

There are hammocks close to the cottages, and the customary Jungle lodges trademark--the “gol ghar” (dining area as in Bandipur) with the usual lavish buffets! (There is a mini-kitchen adjoining it to prepare instant items like chapattis and omelets). We enjoyed the view and company of Basavanna and Lokesh (his friend and naturalist there) even more than the sumptuous menu! The stunning view of the jungles (and chital grazing at the edge) tempts one to linger there long after meal times! Sitting on the ledge is as close as one get to nature while enjoying a meal! However, what drew me away to the other side was the sight of elephants bathing, being scrubbed by their mahouts and then being fed! For there is a small pond adjacent to the camp, and the forest department elephant camp too--for me, this is the most attractive USP of the place!

The program at K.Gudi is similar to Bandipur—safaris into the jungle in the early morning and evening and a wildlife movie in the evening. A spacious hall in the main lodge is the venue for the movies, and we saw an excellent one called “Truth about tigers”. There is also a counter for selling products (like honey) made by tribals. While it rained heavily the first evening, table tennis matches were on, with the naturalists and visitors joining in! We were also happy to meet Ashwin, a friend of Basavanna’s, and learn that he’s there on a project documenting the mammals seen in the sanctuary. It’s so refreshing to see people following their passion in life!

We went on safaris with the seasoned Thapa,(who had interesting anecdotes to tell!) and Lokesh, the expert in-house naturalist, and of course, Basavanna, who is not just a great naturalist, but like family, and always takes good care of us. It was very nice meeting Lokesh too, a very nice person and good host at the camp and for the safari. For the BRT safari, see http://colorsofindia-nita.blogspot.com/2010/08/following-trails-of-veerappan_25.html The forest department office, where one has to register before the safari, has some interesting exhibits.

The next morning, after breakfast, we drove up to the Ranganathaswamy temple (dedicated to Lord Vishnu), thanks to Basavanna, who seems to be popular even with the priests there! It is an ancient temple, a pilgrimage center for over 500 years. Situated atop a hill it affords a panoramic view, but I was too intimidated by the troops of monkeys to even take out the camera!! They are adept at snatching packets and then speedily clambering up poles! On the way back, we stopped at the Vivekananda Kendra (a complex with a school, hospital etc) for tribal welfare, to buy some locally made honey.

There is another small temple adjacent to and belonging to the resort, dedicated to the local tribal god--this Kyathadevarayana temple lends its name to K.Gudi! Across the road are the houses of the forest department staff.

The evening before we were to leave was a constant background sound of alarm calls by sambar, very close to the golghar. The two naturalists went off to investigate, much to my consternation! But they were soon back, without being able to spot anything in the pitch darkness. It is unsafe to remain outdoors after the lights are out, so we retired to the cottage. The calls carried on intermittently all night, and I kept looking out through the netted windows in the hope of seeing some animal! Suddenly, in the pre-dawn darkness, there was a loud thudding of hooves, followed by the sound of heavier feet---maybe a predator pursuing its prey?

All too soon, it was time to leave, and after a last look at an elephant enjoying a bath and another lazily munching grass, while a third broke logs according to the mahout’s instructions, we set off for the return journey. On the way, we saw a changeable hawk eagle sitting by the roadside, identified as a juvenile by Basavanna, though it looked big enough when it took flight! We dropped Basavanna off at Chamarajnagar to take a bus back to Gundlepet en route to Bandipur, before carrying on to Bangalore and back to reality! For the break was truly the stuff dreams are made of! We’re already planning the next trip!

For slide shows and detailed articles on K.Gudi and BRT sanctuary, please see
http://www.associatedcontent.com/user/443716/nita_mukherjee.html