When my friends and I planned for a trip to Nagarhole, we couldn't get much information on the places in and around of Nagarhole. I hope this post will serve as a guide to anyone who plans a trip to Nagarhole.
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Day1:Mysore
It was 4:30 on a cloudy Friday evening when we all gathered near Rajarajeshwari arch in Mysore road in 4 bikes. 140 Kms from Bangalore, Mysore was the place we had planned to spend the Night and leave for Nagarhole next morning.
We broke for tea at Mandya. It was already half past six and we had another 40 Kms to cover. We started again at 7 hoping to reach Mysore by 8. The road was totally dark except for times when there was a four wheeler behind me. It was enjoying my ride and suddenly there were big blocks of stones on the left lane of the road. I was on the right lane and Thank god, my friends driving on the left lane had a narrow escape.
In another 15 minutes we were in Mysore and by 8:30 we had checked in to Dasaprakash hotel. What Next - Mysore palace. The palace was huge, magnificent and with all the superlatives you can use in english. We drove aound the Palace clicking photos, had a friendly chat with the Palace Security (who thought I was a malaysian !) and came back to the hotel for dinner.
Day2: Mysore, Nagarhole, Iruppu Falls
Early next morning, we left to chamundeshwari temple, 10 Kms from Mysore. The temple opened at 7:30 AM. After the darshan, we drove to the Nandhi temple below. On our way back, My friend suggested Mylari hotel for breakfast which he said is famous for its soft dosas. It was a small shop and I didn't expect much. To my surprise, the dosa was fantastic and I kept ordering the dosas (literally mouth watering) while having Idli as the gap filler. When you visit Mysore next time, don't forget Mylari.
We vacated the hotel room and started to Nagarhole at 10:15. The road was good (4 laned). At Hunsur, 30 Kms from Mysore, we need to take a diversion to Nagarhole (46Kms from Hunsur).On the way, we were warned by a forest department worker that a Couple on a bike were runover by Elephants and so Bikes are not allowed through the forest road. So We had an option of going back 10Kms to Hunsur and rent a jeep or go further 10Kms till the checkpost and try our luck. The forest guard told us to go and look for Dharmu at Jungle Inn who will arrange a jeep for us. We went with the second option and located Dharmu at Jungle Inn. We negotiated with Dharmu and he arranged a jeep for Rs.1400. We left our bikes at Jungle Inn and boarded the Jeep at 12.
We headed straight to Iruppu falls (35Kms from Nagarhole) through a very bad forest road. We reached Iruppu at 2 and had our lunch there. We had packed the lunch from Mysore hotel. Don't expect a good hotel in Iruppu and in the one there, even the tea tasted bad. Iruppu is on the Kerala-Karnataka border. So, you can spot some malayalis there. After spending an hour at Iruppu, we headed back to Nagarhole.
We could reach Nagarhole for the 5'O clock safari. The safari at Nagarhole is from 7 to 9 in the Morning and 4 to 6 in the evening. We were charged Rs.95 each for the Safari. It was drizzling and so we couldn't spot much animals except for deer and elephants. The safari was over in an hour and we came back to the Jungle Inn at 6:30 in the evening.
We had booked a room to stay at KushalNagar which is 40Kms from Hunsur towards Madikeri. We had to travel another 20Kms from Jungle Inn to Hunsur. To the most part, the road was good. The four-laning of the road is still going on and so we encountered some rough patches in between. At about 10Kms before KushalNagar, the road was awfully bad. It was the most difficult stretch we had travelled in the whole trip. Reached KushalNagar by 8:30, checked in to the hotel, had dinner and went to bed.
Day3: Madikeri, Abbe Falls, Dubare, Namdroling Monastery
Next morning, we all got ready and started for Abbe Falls. Roads had huge pot holes and was around 20 Kms from KushalNagar. We reached there at 8:15. The fall had adequate water and we could play in it. We then left to Dubare sanctuary and reached there at 9:15. You have to cross the river in a ferry to go and see th elephants. Go to Dubare before 9:30 in the morning to see elephants being bathed and fed. By 10 AM, we were back at Kushal Nagar to have breakfast and to vacate the rooms.
Then we headed to Namroling Monastery from Kushal Nagar. We missed a right turn which will take us straight to the monastery and took the next right turn. That route took us through picturesque locations and we felt like we were in Tibet. It was noon by the time we reached the monastery. It was a different place altogether and we didn't feel like we were in India. We went around the monastery and I got my name written in Tibetian.
Finally when we planned to leave, it started to rain cats and dogs. Four of us wanted to leave in rain and three of us wanted to wait. Finally after half an hour we left in the rain. On our way back to bangalore, we encountered rain for few kms and a dry patch for another few kms. It was an awesome experience riding in the rain. Finally when I reached home at 10 in the night, I was in no mood to eat or speak. It didn't take me much time to Grrrr....
Trivia:
Nagarhole national park is also known as Rajiv Gandhi National Park
View larger map
Day1:Mysore
It was 4:30 on a cloudy Friday evening when we all gathered near Rajarajeshwari arch in Mysore road in 4 bikes. 140 Kms from Bangalore, Mysore was the place we had planned to spend the Night and leave for Nagarhole next morning.
We broke for tea at Mandya. It was already half past six and we had another 40 Kms to cover. We started again at 7 hoping to reach Mysore by 8. The road was totally dark except for times when there was a four wheeler behind me. It was enjoying my ride and suddenly there were big blocks of stones on the left lane of the road. I was on the right lane and Thank god, my friends driving on the left lane had a narrow escape.
In another 15 minutes we were in Mysore and by 8:30 we had checked in to Dasaprakash hotel. What Next - Mysore palace. The palace was huge, magnificent and with all the superlatives you can use in english. We drove aound the Palace clicking photos, had a friendly chat with the Palace Security (who thought I was a malaysian !) and came back to the hotel for dinner.
Day2: Mysore, Nagarhole, Iruppu Falls
Early next morning, we left to chamundeshwari temple, 10 Kms from Mysore. The temple opened at 7:30 AM. After the darshan, we drove to the Nandhi temple below. On our way back, My friend suggested Mylari hotel for breakfast which he said is famous for its soft dosas. It was a small shop and I didn't expect much. To my surprise, the dosa was fantastic and I kept ordering the dosas (literally mouth watering) while having Idli as the gap filler. When you visit Mysore next time, don't forget Mylari.
We vacated the hotel room and started to Nagarhole at 10:15. The road was good (4 laned). At Hunsur, 30 Kms from Mysore, we need to take a diversion to Nagarhole (46Kms from Hunsur).On the way, we were warned by a forest department worker that a Couple on a bike were runover by Elephants and so Bikes are not allowed through the forest road. So We had an option of going back 10Kms to Hunsur and rent a jeep or go further 10Kms till the checkpost and try our luck. The forest guard told us to go and look for Dharmu at Jungle Inn who will arrange a jeep for us. We went with the second option and located Dharmu at Jungle Inn. We negotiated with Dharmu and he arranged a jeep for Rs.1400. We left our bikes at Jungle Inn and boarded the Jeep at 12.
We headed straight to Iruppu falls (35Kms from Nagarhole) through a very bad forest road. We reached Iruppu at 2 and had our lunch there. We had packed the lunch from Mysore hotel. Don't expect a good hotel in Iruppu and in the one there, even the tea tasted bad. Iruppu is on the Kerala-Karnataka border. So, you can spot some malayalis there. After spending an hour at Iruppu, we headed back to Nagarhole.
We could reach Nagarhole for the 5'O clock safari. The safari at Nagarhole is from 7 to 9 in the Morning and 4 to 6 in the evening. We were charged Rs.95 each for the Safari. It was drizzling and so we couldn't spot much animals except for deer and elephants. The safari was over in an hour and we came back to the Jungle Inn at 6:30 in the evening.
We had booked a room to stay at KushalNagar which is 40Kms from Hunsur towards Madikeri. We had to travel another 20Kms from Jungle Inn to Hunsur. To the most part, the road was good. The four-laning of the road is still going on and so we encountered some rough patches in between. At about 10Kms before KushalNagar, the road was awfully bad. It was the most difficult stretch we had travelled in the whole trip. Reached KushalNagar by 8:30, checked in to the hotel, had dinner and went to bed.
Day3: Madikeri, Abbe Falls, Dubare, Namdroling Monastery
Next morning, we all got ready and started for Abbe Falls. Roads had huge pot holes and was around 20 Kms from KushalNagar. We reached there at 8:15. The fall had adequate water and we could play in it. We then left to Dubare sanctuary and reached there at 9:15. You have to cross the river in a ferry to go and see th elephants. Go to Dubare before 9:30 in the morning to see elephants being bathed and fed. By 10 AM, we were back at Kushal Nagar to have breakfast and to vacate the rooms.
Then we headed to Namroling Monastery from Kushal Nagar. We missed a right turn which will take us straight to the monastery and took the next right turn. That route took us through picturesque locations and we felt like we were in Tibet. It was noon by the time we reached the monastery. It was a different place altogether and we didn't feel like we were in India. We went around the monastery and I got my name written in Tibetian.
Finally when we planned to leave, it started to rain cats and dogs. Four of us wanted to leave in rain and three of us wanted to wait. Finally after half an hour we left in the rain. On our way back to bangalore, we encountered rain for few kms and a dry patch for another few kms. It was an awesome experience riding in the rain. Finally when I reached home at 10 in the night, I was in no mood to eat or speak. It didn't take me much time to Grrrr....
Trivia:
Nagarhole national park is also known as Rajiv Gandhi National Park
I really enjoyed your travelouge. Indeed it was like a journaling experience.Captures the elements of the place in the right emotional value. To be honest I learnt on much from you on how to do my further journals. Nicely written and useful too. Congrats!
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