Kabini: A Magical Forest

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Day 1

After Bandipur, my next destination was Kabini (Nagarhole National Park). All the online trip reports that I read gave the impression of Kabini being a magical forest, with lots to offer to tourists, in terms of wildlife sightings. The most popular online photographs from Kabini were of leopards resting on treetops.

Needless to say, the expectations were sky-high and the excitement was palpable!

After the morning safari in Bandipur, we returned to JLR (Jungle Lodges & resorts). I had my breakfast, finished packing, completed the check-out formalities and set off for Kabini by 11 a.m. Kabini was approximately 100 kms away from Bandipur and the expected travel time was around 2 hours by road.

 Bandipur to Kabini by road (Source: Google Maps) 

Bandipur - Land of Elephants

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Day 0

It was October 2013 and the monsoons had come to an end. That meant that most of the wildlife parks would have opened. I had not undertaken any wildlife trips for the past few months and therefore was craving for an enjoyable and extended wildlife experience. The added motivation was that I had purchased a longer telezoom lens the past month, Sigma 50-500mm OS. I was most eager to try to out the lens in the field.

Since tiger safaris were on top of my priority list, I had shortlisted Bandhavgarh (Madhya Pradesh) and Bandipur (Karnataka) Tiger reserves. Along with Ranthambore these reserves were some of the more professionally managed Tiger reserves in India. Also, these reserves offered some of the better tiger sighting opportunities in India.

After much deliberation I decided on Bandipur. Bandipur shared the same forests with Wayanad in Kerala and Mudumalai / Masinagudi in Tamil Nadu. The close proximity of these wildlife parks gave me an opportunity to visit more than one wildlife park during my trip. I had 8 full days at my disposal and wanted to make the most of it.

Finalizing the itinerary was not an easy task at all. I was inclined towards covering as many reserves as possible in the 8 day trip. Initially I thought of visiting Wayanad followed by Mudumalai / Masinagudi and finally Bandipur. But I finally settled on Bandipur, then Kabini (Nagarhole) and finally K Gudi (BR Hills). 

 The Wildlife Triangle - Bandipur, Kabini and K Gudi