The Bhadra Wildlife Sanctuary hosts extensive plant life and fauna, but this biodiversity hotspot stays off the crushed song for most vacationers. Having visited Nagarhole and Bandipur on a previous excursion, we decided to go to this lesser-regarded Tiger Reserve of Karnataka this year. From Mangalore Airport, the drive to Agumbe passes Karkala, known for its rich Jain history, particularly the single stone forty-one. Five-foot-high statue of Gommateshwara or Lord Bahubali.
We took a halt to clear out espresso at Srisathyanarayana in Sitanadi. This keep-cum-eatery is a good area to buy neighborhood merchandise like jack fruit chips and pickles. Sitanadi, additionally spelled Seethanadhi, gets its call from the Seetha River, which usually flows in the Udupi district, passing via the Agumbe forests and flows close to Hebri, Barkur, and joins the Suvarna River, earlier than flowing into the Arabian Sea. Boat journeys are possible, and at some stage, during monsoon season, while the river rises better, white water rafting is popular.
Soon after Seethanadi, the road started to ascend the Agumbe Ghat, passing the rich tropical wet evergreen forests of Someshwara Wildlife Sanctuary. We noticed troops of bonnet macaques; however, the highlight changed into spotting a pair of lion-tailed macaques, who spend the majority of their lives inside the upper cover of tropical, wet, evergreen forests but appear to have come right down to feed on the roadside. We were given a view of the waterfalls plunging down the hillside earlier than coming to the village of Agumbe, approximately 643 m above sea stage. We took a prevent for an early lunch at Dodda Mane.
A heritage house is now run as a homestay using Kasturi Akka and her family. We were seated in front of wood plank tables on a gallery supported by timber pillars, and we went through a courtyard with a banana leaf in front of us. The circle of relatives individuals came around to fill the leaf with rice, saaru, koshimbar, vegetables cooked in neighborhood fashion, curd, and accompaniments. After we had completed, we were informed to voluntarily depart as an awful lot as we felt the meal turned into worth on a thali. After lunch, we drove via Agumbe, a well-known rainforest study center.
Many botanists come right here to look at vegetation and medicinal vegetation while herpetologists arrive searching for the king cobra and different reptiles. Though there are numerous viewpoints in Agumbe overlooking valleys and waterfalls, we are determined to give them leave and persist downhill closer to Tirthahalli, crossing the Tunga River. From Tirthahalli, we drove through the agricultural countryside to Lakavalli, where we could enjoy the view of the Bhadra Dam.
Positioned on the Bhadra River (a tributary of Tungabhadra River). The Bhadra Reservoir, created using the dam, is alongside the northern boundary of the Bhadra Wildlife Sanctuary. The reservoir has some islands, and within the spring and summer seasons, these islands emerge as a haven for nesting birds, especially river terns. We checked in at the River Tern Lodge and selected a cottage on an island reached by using a suspension bridge. The bedroom turned into spacious with a wonderful view of the water frame from its window.
We have been just in time for a late-afternoon jeep safari. A short while from the resort, we entered the gate of Bhadra Tiger Reserve and drove via deciduous forests and grasses. Herds of spotted deer had been grazing within the meadows, with langurs on treetops and peacocks or peahen nearby – a symbiotic relationship wherein every warns the other approximately the presence of predators. Our female manual and driving force nicely confirmed their recognizing abilities by pointing a screen lizard at the tree’s department and a ruddy mongoose within the undergrowth. The guide noticed a sloth bear a little while later – as we observed her directions, we noticed that it became a mother undergo with two cubs. As we drove onwards, we saw gaurs, better referred to as the Indian bison and a majestic sambar stag.
We also saw a jungle chook, crested serpent eagle, hornbill, drongos, and different birds. Then, as evening approached, we started out heading lower back – all at once, the manual requested the motive force to stop; she had noticed a leopard. As we scanned the trees via binoculars, we saw them perched on special branches. We said our interesting pressure at the reception and settled for dinner with a spread of delectable birds, fish, and veggies cooked in nearby style.
The subsequent morning, we rose early for the boat safari. The motorized boat covers plenty of the reservoir, whose backwaters lap the foot of the forested hills. We could watch herds of noticed deer grazing the luxuriant boom of grasses alongside the waterfront from the boat. We saw the Indian darter, which has a protracted and slender neck (because of which it’s also called snake fowl) with a pointed bill, cormorants, grebe and storks, and even an osprey – a fish-consuming hen of prey with a sleek brown frame, white breast, and greyish head.
The boatman, too, had good spotting abilities—he showed us an elephant through the various wet deciduous forests protecting the slope of a hill. The dreaded Indian wild canine, referred to as dhole, comes to drink alongside the backwaters, and on the day before today, a tiger was sighted at some point in the boat safari.
We were again given to the inn, where a steaming breakfast awaited us.
