Shashi's wedding invitation read Belgaum as the venue. What's close to Belgaum? What can be adventurous there? These questions sparked almost instantaneously. Got the vacations approved at work, did a lot of research and finally zeroed on Dandeli. Wildlife Sanctuary and Kali River White Water Rafting are the best it can offer.
Following reservations were made:
Onward train ticket reservation on "Rani Chennamma Express" which departs from Bangalore at 21:15 hrs everyday. A sleeper costs about Rs. 260/-.
Return bus ticket reservation on "KSRTC RajaHamsa Executive" which departs from Dandeli at 17:30 hrs everyday. A seat costs about Rs.370/-.
Tents at Kulgi Nature Camp booking over the phone with Deputy Conservator of Forests, Wildlife Division, Dandeli, 08284-231585. It cost Rs.250/- for regular tents (common bathrooms) and Rs. 500/- for deluxe tents (attached bathrooms).
White Water Rafting booking with Southern River Adventurers (Aurangzeb) over the phone at 91 9448134375. Rafting costs Rs.1100/- for everyone except students; they are charged only Rs.750/-.
Dandeli is located about 485 km from Bangalore; 125 km from Goa; 75 km from Hubli. The closest railway station is Alnawar; Rani Chennamma reaches Alnawar at about 07:00 hrs. One needs to take bus from Alnawar to Haliyal. There are frequent buses from Haliyal to Dandeli. Taxis can be hired to reach Kulgi Nature camp which is about 12 kms from Dandeli.
After attending Shashi's wedding at Belgaum, I ventured onto my journey to Dandeli on 29th Feb. I boarded a bus towards Haliyal and it took about 2 1/2 hours. Without any delay at Haliyal, I was on a bus to Dandeli. Aurangzeb from Southern River Adventurers received me at Dandeli bus stand and dropped me to the Kulgi Nature Camp on his motorbike.
On reaching Kulgi Nature Camp, the man-in-charge, Chandrakant informed that I actually had to get the permission letter from Wildlife Conservator Office in Dandeli. He was a little reluctant; but wired the Dandeli office and agreed to let me stay for that night and get the letter the next day. He then escorted me to my tent named FlyCatcher. Each tent is named after a specific bird. The secluded camp is a lovely place for stay; a sure feel of staying on the forest boundaries. I spent the evening lazing around the camp. Later witnessed a delicious meal and slept to glory till Aurangzeb's subordinate, Mohammad woke me up in the morning.
There were about 7 folks arriving at Alnawar railway station. Aurangzeb had arranged a taxi for a decent fare of Rs.500/-. His subordinate, Mohammad and I were off the camp at 06.15 Hrs and it took us approximately an hour to reach Alnawar. We both received the gang, tucked all the luggage and we started off. On the way to Kulgi Nature Camp, we visited the Wildlife Conservator Office to collect the permission letters.
After having a heavy breakfast, we started off on a trek to Nagzhari Valley. Our guide, Nandeesh took us through the forest, spotting birds; not many though. The terrain was quite interesting and everyone enjoyed the ascent to Nagzhari Waterfalls. We spent good amount of time at the waterfalls. The rest of the trek was not difficult and we reached the camp by 14:30 Hrs. After lunch, we decided to take nap and laze around the camp. The evening went real smooth. Megha and I were lucky to spot Sambar Deer just outside the camp. As the evening rolled by, we finished our dinner and went to a well-deserved sleep.
On 2nd March, everyone was awake by 06:00 Hrs and were all ready to venture onto to a mini-safari and trek to Cavala Cave. Nandeesh accompanied us again; this time to spot a good number of birds, the most interesting being the Hornbill. The descent to cave was easy; but the ascent back was tiring. The cave has a formation resembling Shiv-Ling; which is supposedly stormed by janata during Shiv-Ratri. We were back at the camp by 10:30 hrs. Whoosh, we were running late for White Water Rafting which was scheduled to start at 11:00 Hrs. Also Ashu and Shruti, who had arrived the same morning, were waiting for us at the Jungle Lodges. We only managed to get to the Jungle Lodges by 11:30 Hrs. After signing our "Note of Death", we were on a jeep rushing to the rafting kick-off point.
Once the instructions were given out, we were on a raft guided by Sunil. Our first rapid named Beard was the best and we had a very good adrenaline rush through-out. At the last rapid, we also did a number of turn-arounds and pushed ourselves upstream towards the rapid to experience a great excitement.
Back at camp, we finished our lunch cleared all bills, took the final group picture and we were rushing back to board a bus from Dandeli to Bangalore. Holy cow, we also had to collect the sweater that Shruti had forgotten at the Jungle Lodges and also a DD from Wildlife Conservator Office, which they had denied to accept (only DDs payable at Dandeli are accepted) . None of these stopped us from boarding the bus on time.
Thanks to the adventure that Dandeli offered us; we were indeed one with Nature, relishing every bit of beauty. A special thanks to Aurangzeb for all his assistance. Thanks to the cooks at Kulgi Nature Camp, who indeed served us some yummy food. Oops! not to forget the "gang of 10", who were all fun - Arvind, Ashu, Megha, Merryl, Pradeep, Prashant, Praveer, Sandeep, Shruti and of course me! Wah wah kya experience tah!
More pictures on Picasa Album - Dandeli Wilderness Camping.
Following reservations were made:
Onward train ticket reservation on "Rani Chennamma Express" which departs from Bangalore at 21:15 hrs everyday. A sleeper costs about Rs. 260/-.
Return bus ticket reservation on "KSRTC RajaHamsa Executive" which departs from Dandeli at 17:30 hrs everyday. A seat costs about Rs.370/-.
Tents at Kulgi Nature Camp booking over the phone with Deputy Conservator of Forests, Wildlife Division, Dandeli, 08284-231585. It cost Rs.250/- for regular tents (common bathrooms) and Rs. 500/- for deluxe tents (attached bathrooms).
White Water Rafting booking with Southern River Adventurers (Aurangzeb) over the phone at 91 9448134375. Rafting costs Rs.1100/- for everyone except students; they are charged only Rs.750/-.
Dandeli is located about 485 km from Bangalore; 125 km from Goa; 75 km from Hubli. The closest railway station is Alnawar; Rani Chennamma reaches Alnawar at about 07:00 hrs. One needs to take bus from Alnawar to Haliyal. There are frequent buses from Haliyal to Dandeli. Taxis can be hired to reach Kulgi Nature camp which is about 12 kms from Dandeli.
After attending Shashi's wedding at Belgaum, I ventured onto my journey to Dandeli on 29th Feb. I boarded a bus towards Haliyal and it took about 2 1/2 hours. Without any delay at Haliyal, I was on a bus to Dandeli. Aurangzeb from Southern River Adventurers received me at Dandeli bus stand and dropped me to the Kulgi Nature Camp on his motorbike.
On reaching Kulgi Nature Camp, the man-in-charge, Chandrakant informed that I actually had to get the permission letter from Wildlife Conservator Office in Dandeli. He was a little reluctant; but wired the Dandeli office and agreed to let me stay for that night and get the letter the next day. He then escorted me to my tent named FlyCatcher. Each tent is named after a specific bird. The secluded camp is a lovely place for stay; a sure feel of staying on the forest boundaries. I spent the evening lazing around the camp. Later witnessed a delicious meal and slept to glory till Aurangzeb's subordinate, Mohammad woke me up in the morning.
There were about 7 folks arriving at Alnawar railway station. Aurangzeb had arranged a taxi for a decent fare of Rs.500/-. His subordinate, Mohammad and I were off the camp at 06.15 Hrs and it took us approximately an hour to reach Alnawar. We both received the gang, tucked all the luggage and we started off. On the way to Kulgi Nature Camp, we visited the Wildlife Conservator Office to collect the permission letters.
After having a heavy breakfast, we started off on a trek to Nagzhari Valley. Our guide, Nandeesh took us through the forest, spotting birds; not many though. The terrain was quite interesting and everyone enjoyed the ascent to Nagzhari Waterfalls. We spent good amount of time at the waterfalls. The rest of the trek was not difficult and we reached the camp by 14:30 Hrs. After lunch, we decided to take nap and laze around the camp. The evening went real smooth. Megha and I were lucky to spot Sambar Deer just outside the camp. As the evening rolled by, we finished our dinner and went to a well-deserved sleep.
On 2nd March, everyone was awake by 06:00 Hrs and were all ready to venture onto to a mini-safari and trek to Cavala Cave. Nandeesh accompanied us again; this time to spot a good number of birds, the most interesting being the Hornbill. The descent to cave was easy; but the ascent back was tiring. The cave has a formation resembling Shiv-Ling; which is supposedly stormed by janata during Shiv-Ratri. We were back at the camp by 10:30 hrs. Whoosh, we were running late for White Water Rafting which was scheduled to start at 11:00 Hrs. Also Ashu and Shruti, who had arrived the same morning, were waiting for us at the Jungle Lodges. We only managed to get to the Jungle Lodges by 11:30 Hrs. After signing our "Note of Death", we were on a jeep rushing to the rafting kick-off point.Once the instructions were given out, we were on a raft guided by Sunil. Our first rapid named Beard was the best and we had a very good adrenaline rush through-out. At the last rapid, we also did a number of turn-arounds and pushed ourselves upstream towards the rapid to experience a great excitement.
Back at camp, we finished our lunch cleared all bills, took the final group picture and we were rushing back to board a bus from Dandeli to Bangalore. Holy cow, we also had to collect the sweater that Shruti had forgotten at the Jungle Lodges and also a DD from Wildlife Conservator Office, which they had denied to accept (only DDs payable at Dandeli are accepted) . None of these stopped us from boarding the bus on time.
Thanks to the adventure that Dandeli offered us; we were indeed one with Nature, relishing every bit of beauty. A special thanks to Aurangzeb for all his assistance. Thanks to the cooks at Kulgi Nature Camp, who indeed served us some yummy food. Oops! not to forget the "gang of 10", who were all fun - Arvind, Ashu, Megha, Merryl, Pradeep, Prashant, Praveer, Sandeep, Shruti and of course me! Wah wah kya experience tah!More pictures on Picasa Album - Dandeli Wilderness Camping.
