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great report, loved the picture of the flower :)

one question - is this place open during monsoons? Most importantly - is the jungle open and can we take safaris during monsoons?

Sach Sri: Not sure about the resorts however Jungle is open during rainy seasons too. However, chances of spotting wild animals will be lesser due to thicker vegetation and availaiblity of more water holes. During summer time all animals will flock to few available water holes making spotting easier.

They have a small pond where they have the waterlilly flowers. Took it from there.
Yes, this place is open during the monsoon. They have a sit out which over looks the grasslands, and it is covered on the top and open on the side. Ideal to watch the animals and watch the rain.

We were lucky because it was told that Tholpetty would remain closed on the days we were there. But since it did not rain the first few days, the Sanctuary was open to visitors. so yes, there is no hard and fast rule that it would remain closed from this date to this date.

Never considered myself as someone good with a camera, but thanks to all for the kind words.


There were elephants where ever we looked. This was perhaps the most handsome fellow we saw during our trip, stands 9+ feet in height.



The sightings weren't just confined to our drives, the grassland with the wateringhole attracted all sorts of animals. The routine was that from 6 am till 12 pm the grassland had spotted deer, maybe around 30 of them on an average. Then till 3 pm it was relatively empty apart from a very large bird that used to swoop down at regular intervals No idea which that bird is, I should have a picture, would be great to know what it is. By 3 ish we had wild dogs in the grassland. They would come in a pack of say 10, laze around, chase each other and by 5 they would disappear and then you'd start hearing the elephants break trees and all from close by and by 6 elephants would come into view. The best part is, by 8 ish you will start hearing the leopard call from not too far - not sure why it does that, but happened on most evenings. Sounds exactly like someone is sawing wood. If you shine the torch at say around 9pm, you will see eyes reflecting back, eyes of deer and elephants. This was the routine we had when we were there and you can watch it all from that sit out area.

We took the night safari as well, and saw the usual - Elephants, Gaurs, Leopard cat, Porcupine and a Sloth bear - perhaps the biggest one I have seen. My camera is not equipped to take shots in the night, so didn't actually try apart from the elephant shots.

Superb captures. Nice narration.

@CountDracoola - You guys were extremely lucky on spotting while in Jungle Resort or rather we were unlucky. I assume it was because of the heavy human activity when we stayed..Doesn't matter, it is a brilliant place, must to visit for any nature lovers I will say..

BTW. brilliant snaps and excellent narration..

@CountDracoola: Thanks for the wonderful travelogue. I am planning for a stay in the resort during the upcoming vacation. No issues even if I don't see any animals, I am going there for few days of peaceful stay. I believe that is available anytime at this place.

The sparkling 2 eyes in the night shot was mind blowing.

@jaguar: I had been to this place few weeks back, perfect for relaxing if not for the construction going on. Don't let let the other posts mislead you as animal sighting is not so easy as portrayed. This place is just next to the main road hence there is significant vehicular movement. Will update my blog soon.

The surroundings have changed a little bit compared to the pics in the earlier posts. The machaan was just not accessible.....the food was below average, half cooked chapathi's, bland vegetable curry......all this considering 200/- for lunch and 200/- for dinner per head....not acceptable :Frustrati.

There is also a cottage that is under construction and the entire trip was wasted due to heavy noise because of the carpenter work and construction.....when complained to the caretaker Pramod all we got in response was a smile which meant "sorry can't do anything about it' Pls check all this before you plan your stay. You can also try this place Pepper Green Resorts Pepper Green Village, Wayanad Resort, Kuruva Island Resort, Wayanad Holidays Have been here, nice place.

that is a very useful information. do you have any photographs of the present condition ? how was the animal sightings ?

while I agree that it is sad to see deer scavenging plastic.

Your suggestions of closing roads through forest roads are highly unwelcome in this part of the country. :Shockked:The karnataka govt decision to close only highways from that connect T.N. and Kerala (1800 to 0600hrs) on the grounds that it interferes wildlife movement, is not only unpopular it is discriminatory.:Frustrati

While I agree that the decision is highly unpopular, I am not sure why it is discriminatory? Can you please elaborate?

The decision to close (from 6pm to 6am) highways mentioned below has been taken,
1, Mysore to S. Bathery -Kerala border
2, Mysore to Mananthavady-Kerala border
3, Mysore to Gudalur/Ooty-Tamilnadu border
The Karnataka govt would not dare forest roads in Coorg/Hassan. Would it?
It would strengthen calls for statehood in Coorg if it did!!

We people who live in border areas have families or business across the border, it puts us through enormous difficulties. Those who live far away can talk of preserving wildlife/ tree hugging!! Have any of these people ever faced any threats from wildlife to their life or property? Some of these roads have been functional since the time of Tippu sulthan and the British. Now some IAS babus (Chamrajpet dist collector) consider themselves spokesperson of wildlife; yet take little or no measures for welfare of people who are affected by their ill informed decisions.

We people of Tamilnadu and Kerala are also Indiansplease:

This is going way off topic, so this will be my last reply

Please tell me one road in Coorg/Hassan where a highway (with such a huge amount of traffic) passes through a tiger reserve. Even the Hunsur-Kutta road (through Nagarhole) is closed from 6 pm to 6 am. Why leave this out?

FYI, I come from a region where there is constant human-elephant conflict.

Yes, I agree that these roads were functional since the time of Tipu Sultan and the British. What has that got to do with the situation now? Times have changed my dear sir. What was the population at that time? What was the total forest cover at that time? Was there bus/truck/car traffic at that time? You just cannot compare those times to now. You just have to adapt to changes and move on.



Not sure why this statement is needed.

Count! That is a lot of action, really. Must have been great looking at the antics of the dhole s from a sit out.:thumbs up

@ addyhemmige: Completely agree with you mate on this. While I empathize with the folks who have to travel to the neighbouring states, it is also important to keep in mind that animals too need our support. It's we who have encroached their land, not they.