Dandeli is a quaint little town in Uttara Kannada district
of Karnataka in North Karnataka, in the Western Ghats. It is best known for its
wildlife sanctuary especially as a birding haven.
The forest in Dandeli is a typical moist deciduous and
semi-evergreen type, with pockets of evergreens.
The main wildlife species include elephant, tiger, leopard,
gaur, flying squirrel, mouse deer, Slender loris etc., and the main bird
species include magpie robin, golden-backed woodpecker, crested serpent-eagle
and a large variety of other birds.
We took the night KSRTC bus from Mumbai that dropped us off
at Dharwad around six in the morning on Republic day. Mr.Kamath (local tour
operator, restaurateur) from Dandeli had organised a taxi for us that
would
pick us up from the drop off point , take us around during our stay and drop us
back to the embarkation point in Hubli KSRTC bus terminus. We had booked a three
night stay in the Karnataka Forest Department’s Kulgi Nature Camp’s tented
accomodation. This was around 60kms from Dharwad and 12kms from Dandeli. The
road upto Dandeli was nice and smooth but onwards to Kulgi was a rough ride.
Our check-in time at the Kulgi Nature camp was 12noon and
since we still had plenty of time we were advised by Mr.Kamath to visit the
Haliyal fort which is about 20kms from Dandeli.
So had a sumptuous
breakfast at Kamath’s and moved on to check out the
fort.
There were some wonderful lifelike sculptures of village
life at the entrance and the national flag fluttered on
the ramparts.
There is a big lake behind the fort where we managed to spot
quite a few birds as also in the fort premises
which has plenty of trees.
All this birding got us hungry and so decided to have a
simple but hearty home cooked meal at a khanaval in
Dandeli before moving on to
the Dandeli Forest office for our check in.
By the time we reached the Dandeli Forest office, the
Republic day function was over and it was deserted
except for a handyman who
helped us check in and gave us the key to our accomodation.
The tented accomodation in Kulgi Nature Park is very
comfortable and has an attached toilet.
Next on our agenda prepared by Mr.Kamath was the Bomanalli
back waters. It was a treat to watch flocks
of birds flying across the water from
one end to another at regular intervals. But soon a group of young boys came
along to frolic in the water and drove the birds away bringing to an end a
fabulous spectacle.
The next morning session at the Timber depot in Dandeli
which is a hotspot for hornbills was fogged out so
we came back to Kulgi and
took to the designated birding trail not to be dissappointed.
The afternoon too proved to be productive with the hornbills
posing for us at the timber depot.
We had booked the next morning for a jeep safari into the
Dandeli forest sanctuary where the Kavala caves
are located. These caves have
been formed due volcanic activity and there are natural formations of the Shiva
Linga inside due stalagmites formed by constant water dripping. The route
through the caves is very
narrow and in most places one has to crawl on all
fours. Carrying a torch is a must and so is a guide to ensure one does not get
lost in there! Permission and guide has to be obtained from the Forest office
at the sanctuary.
The only wildlife we saw in the forest was spotted deer and
a bison.
The evening was spent exploring the Syntheri rocks. It is a
300ft tall monolith of granite located deep inside
the thick Dandeli Wildlife
Sanctuary about 15kms from Kulgi. With the Kaneri River gushing by its side,
the
Syntheri Rock is a spectacular sight.
In the innumerable nooks and crannies thousands of pigeons
have made their homes. We also see bee hives
hanging dangerously on these
rocks.
As our KSRTC bus back to Mumbai was in the late evening,
after checking out in the morning, we went to
the Jugle Lodges Resort property at Ganeshgudi where they have developed an area very conducive to birding. They have
feeders
and water bowls kept at strategic places and also planted trees and plants to
attract a wide variety
of birds. All one has to do is position oneself in that
area and observe/capture with a camera the wide variety of bird life. We spent
a full day there and they also have a restaurant there where you can lunch
provided you give them a couple of hours notice.
Dandeli is well connected by road to nearby cities. It lies
55 km from Dharwad, 72 km from Hubli and around 115 km from Belgaum. Buses are
run by the KSRTC and other private operators to Dandeli daily from Bangalore.
The nearest airports are at Hubli, Belgaum, and Goa. The nearest passenger rail
stations are at Alnavar, Londa, Dharwad and Hubli.
Mr.Kamath in Dandeli can be contacted on 08284-230573 or
09886838950/09916871772 for all
travel/accomodation facilitation.
For a birder's perspective of Dandeli please visit Nandan Tavanandi's excellent blog at http://bit.ly/AkTTLk
