Kabini Nagarhole Bandipur Wildlife Tour

Past the immigration desks at Kempegowda International Airport, watch for our representative holding a placard printed with your name. Plenty of overseas flights reach Bangalore well after midnight, which is why sleep comes before any plans; the hotel transfer usually takes about an hour, more at rush hour. We pass over a short welcome pack with safari timings, park rules and contact numbers, and we ask whether anyone in the group has a special interest such as birds, reptiles or photography, so the naturalists in Kabini can plan around it.

After a few hours of sleep and a late breakfast, the afternoon is yours. Anyone keen for fresh air can ask the driver to head for Lalbagh, the botanical park first planted on Hyder Ali's orders and later enlarged by Tipu Sultan. Its Victorian glass house still hosts flower shows twice a year, and the old trees around the lake hold a surprising number of birds for a city park, including purple sunbirds, coppersmith barbets and pond herons. It is a gentle first outing that gets your binoculars out of the bag.

At roughly 900 meters of altitude, the city stays cooler after dark than the coastal cities of the south. Later, repack for the jungle: forests ask for clothing in khaki, olive or brown, and bright white or red tops are best left in the suitcase. A light fleece is useful for open jeeps at dawn, even in the warmer months, and a scarf helps with dust. Dinner could be a South Indian thali at a local restaurant or a quiet meal in the hotel dining room, then lights out early ahead of tomorrow's drive. Overnight in Bangalore.

Setting off soon after an early breakfast keeps you ahead of the worst city traffic. The road heads south-west past Ramanagara, where granite boulders rise straight out of the farmland, and on toward Mysore, after which the land turns to sugarcane, coconut groves and small villages around H.D. Kote. Your driver stops for coffee on the way, and at a roadside stall you may be offered tender coconut, the best cure for a long drive. Expect to pull up at your Kabini jungle lodge by the reservoir close to one o'clock, with an hour or two to unpack before the first outing.

The Kabini river was dammed in the 1970s, and the reservoir behind it now forms the southern boundary of Nagarhole. As the water level drops after the monsoon, wide grassy shores appear along the edge, and these fresh meadows pull in elephants from the surrounding forests. Your lodge naturalist runs a short briefing after lunch covering safari etiquette: speak softly, stay seated, never throw food, and no plastic in the vehicles. You also learn how permits are allocated, because zones and time slots are set by the forest department, not chosen by visitors.

Around 3:30 pm the lodge motorboat pushes off for your first Kabini boat safari. The boatman keeps a respectful distance from the bank, and from water level you see the herds in a way no jeep allows: mothers guiding calves into the shallows, young males sparring with their trunks, and the whole group drinking in a long line. Marsh crocodiles bask on the mudflats, and river terns, ospreys and grey-headed fish eagles hunt over the water. Back at the lodge, a campfire chat with the naturalist goes over what you saw and what tomorrow might bring. Overnight in Kabini.

Tea and biscuits are ready before first light, and by around 6:30 am your jeep is rolling through the gate of Nagarhole National Park, officially named after Rajiv Gandhi. The forest here is mixed deciduous, with tall teak and rosewood, open glades and stands of bamboo, and early morning is when most animals are moving. Chital and sambar graze beside the tracks, gaur stand in the shade like dark statues, and langurs and deer often give alarm calls when a predator is close. Your naturalist reads these signals and asks the driver to stop and wait in silence.

The Kabini side of Nagarhole is well known for leopard sightings, and on a good morning one may be resting on a fallen log or crossing the track ahead of the jeep. Tigers also live here and are seen regularly in the right season, though never on demand. Even on a quiet drive, the birdlife fills the hours: crested serpent eagles on dead branches, Malabar pied hornbills in the fig trees, and red spurfowl scratching in the leaf litter. You return to the lodge mid-morning for a full breakfast, followed by a few free hours by the river.

After lunch there is a choice. You can join a second jeep safari in Nagarhole for another chance at big cats, or take the boat again to watch the elephants from the water, which many guests prefer after seeing how different the light and behavior are in the late afternoon. Our itinerary books the boat by default, and we switch to the jeep on request where slots allow. In the evening the lodge often screens a short wildlife film or the naturalist leads a slow walk around the grounds to look for nightjars and frogs. Overnight in Kabini.

The day opens with one more morning drive in Nagarhole, which gives you a last look at the forest at its most active hour. If an animal was seen near a particular waterhole the evening before, your guide may suggest waiting there, but the zone and route are set by the park, so patience matters more than speed. After breakfast at the lodge you check out and drive south through the farming town of Gundlupet, a two-hour route lined with marigold and sunflower fields that bloom in different months depending on the planting season.

Bandipur Tiger Reserve lies right against Nagarhole to the north and Mudumalai to the south, and together with Wayanad they form one of the largest connected forest areas in southern India. You settle into a forest-edge lodge a few minutes from the reserve gate, with lunch and a quiet hour in your room. A quick word on the main highway: the road through Bandipur closes to private traffic at night to protect wildlife, which is why all our transfers in this area take place in daylight. Keep an eye out for elephants and deer crossing the highway even at midday.

In the afternoon you join a Bandipur safari from the forest department's reception center. The terrain is drier and more open than Nagarhole, with scrub, bamboo and rocky outcrops, and that open ground often makes it easier to spot animals at a distance. Gaur herds, wild boar and four-horned antelope are common sights, and tigers and leopards are possible in good season. Peafowl dance in the clearings in the cooler months, and you may see a changeable hawk eagle perched over the track. Dinner is at the resort, where evenings are usually quiet. Overnight in Bandipur.

A second drive in Bandipur begins at sunrise, often the coolest and most rewarding time of the day. Mist hangs low over the grassland in winter, and the alarm calls of spotted deer carry far across the open ground. Your guide watches for fresh pugmarks in the dust and listens for the chatter of jungle babblers that often follow a moving predator. On the way back, ask about the Himavad Gopalaswamy Betta hill temple on the edge of the reserve, which offers wide views over the forest if the weather is clear and permits allow a visit.

Breakfast comes late today, and then you cross into Tamil Nadu at the Kekkanahalla check post, a short drive that passes through unbroken forest. Mudumalai Tiger Reserve lies where the plateau meets the lower slopes of the Nilgiris, and the change in landscape is easy to see: more bamboo, more evergreen patches along the streams and the blue shapes of the hills rising to the west. Your rooms for two nights are at a small resort on the reserve fringe, and after lunch there is time to lie down before heading out again. Mobile signal can be patchy here, so download maps and messages while the resort Wi-Fi works.

Afternoon safaris in Mudumalai run from the forest department reception at Theppakadu, usually in minibuses or jeeps depending on the season. The Moyar river cuts through the reserve here, and the riverside forest is a good place for sloth bears, Malabar giant squirrels and the occasional pack of dholes, the Indian wild dog. Elephants are common, and you should remember they have right of way on every road. Back at the resort, keep your room door closed in the evening, since bonnet macaques are bold and quick. Overnight in Mudumalai.

Breakfast waits until after the dawn drive, which leaves Theppakadu around sunrise and follows the forest roads toward the river. Mudumalai holds a wide variety of deer, including the tiny mouse deer, which is rarely seen in daylight. Birders should watch for the Indian peafowl, grey junglefowl, scarlet minivets and the Malabar lark, while the bamboo patches attract woodpeckers of several species. Leopards and tigers both live in the reserve, and early mornings in the dry season give the best odds, although a full morning without a big cat is also part of forest life.

Later in the morning you visit the Theppakadu elephant camp, one of the oldest in Asia, where the forest department keeps elephants once used for timber work and now partly for patrolling and rescue. The animals are bathed in the river and fed at fixed times, and visitors watch from the public viewing area. There are no rides on this tour, and touching or feeding the elephants is not allowed. Your naturalist explains the work of the mahouts and kavadis who care for these animals, and how some of the camp's elephants came here as orphaned calves.

The afternoon is free for rest, reading or a slow walk around the resort grounds, which often hold birds such as the white-browed wagtail, Indian robin and oriental magpie robin. Toward evening, your driver can take you along the public roads outside the core area near Masinagudi, where spotted deer gather on the open grassland and the Nilgiri hills turn gold in the last light. Please remember that the forest department does not allow any night safaris inside the reserve, and roads through the core close at dusk. Dinner is at the resort. Overnight in Mudumalai.

There is no rush this morning; once bags are loaded, the car heads back through Bandipur toward Mysore. The highway runs through the reserve for a good stretch, and slow driving often rewards you with a final sighting of elephants or gaur from the roadside. Stopping inside the reserve is not permitted, so your driver will keep moving and keep both hands on the wheel. Once out of the forest, the road passes through Gundlupet and Nanjangud, where the Srikanteshwara Temple stands beside the Kabini, the same river you watched elephants beside a few days ago.

You reach Mysore around lunchtime and check in to your hotel. After lunch a city guide joins you for the Mysore Palace, the former residence of the Wadiyar kings, whose present stone building replaced a wooden one lost to fire in 1897. Look up in the octagonal marriage pavilion to see its colored glass ceiling, then walk out to the long public Durbar Hall with its painted columns. Footwear goes into a deposit room at the entrance, and the guards ask that phones and cameras go unused in the interiors. On Sunday evenings and public holidays, wait for the short evening illumination, when the whole facade glows with light bulbs.

Later you drive up Chamundi Hill, a short climb of about 13 km to the Chamundeshwari Temple at the top. Halfway back down sits Shiva's bull Nandi, hewn out of one black boulder in the 1600s, a favorite spot for photos. The view over the city from the hill is best near sunset. If time allows, your guide can walk you through the Devaraja Market, where piles of jasmine, turmeric powder and betel leaves fill the stalls. Dinner tonight is at your choice of a local restaurant serving Mysore masala dosa or the hotel. Overnight in Mysore.

After breakfast you leave Mysore for Kempegowda International Airport, a drive of about four hours on the expressway. Guests flying out at night can break the drive at Srirangapatna, Tipu Sultan's island fortress on the Kaveri, to see the Daria Daulat summer palace with its painted walls, or at the Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary, where painted storks and spot-billed pelicans nest on small river islands in season. Your driver plans the timings around your check-in, leaving a three-hour margin for an overseas flight.

In eight days you have watched elephant herds from a boat on the Kabini, followed leopard tracks in Nagarhole, crossed the open woodland of Bandipur and seen the elephant camp at Theppakadu, all inside one connected forest region. Guests often come back for a second forest trip to Periyar, Valparai or the Western Ghats rainforests, and we are happy to plan the next chapter with you. Safe travels home.