A Family Trip to Bandipur

ant_vas · 23rd October 2013, 17:08

It was a long time that i had driven any where out of Bangalore. Mind was feeling jaded and was carving for a ride out to some place even for a day away from the Bangalore madness!

My sister wanted to take all the family members on a one day trip to gopala swami betta and bandipur. It was also 5th birthday of my nephew,so we decided to celebrate it in the middle of the jungle. The date was set to 30th sept and we drove there on 30th morning in my palio and my brother in law's (BIL) duster.

left home at around 8 AM from Banashankari, went to sister's place near BGS hospital on uttarahalli main road and started towards bandipur at around 8.30.

After a 30 mins breakfast at Tiffani's in maddur, we started again and the duster sped ahead of us. As the "congress president" was to visit mandya on the same day we have a lot of govt and private buses from all over the near by places carry people to that rally so the roads were busy. reached mysore and at the first signal instead of taking left took right on the ORR and boy what a mistake it was!

I was completely lost, my phone's GPS wasn't working for what ever reason. This stretch of ORR had good roads, bad roads and no roads at few places. At times it seemed like we were driving thru craters of another planet. After asking the passerby we were finally able to get back to the nanjangud road. My BIL

But since it was almost time for the politician to land in mysore airport on a charted flight the traffic of the buses going towards mandya from nanjangud, gundlpet was very high with the all those bus drivers driving crazily! finally managed to cross all of them and were cruising towards bandipur. The duster had stopped at CCD just before we take right to gopalaswamy betta. after a quick refresher of coffee break, we reached the hill top in few minutes. When we stepped out of the car, it felt like we had entered in to an AC room with the temperature set to some 15 degree. With the sun playing hide and seek with the clouds and the awesome breeze, it was just amazing. The view from the hill top was also breath taking. The guards at the temple informed that going on the hills besides the temple has been banned as people littered and disturbed the wild life. he even showed a elephant heard grazing in the distance.

Let some pictures do the taking now:

Breath tacking views

The temple

The Elephant Heard

At the foot of the gopalaswamy betta, there is a forest check post and they check you car for any eatable items. If you have any they will ask you to leave them behind with them and collect them on your way back. I feel this is a good move as this will help keep the hill top free from litter and helps in avoiding the monkey menace. Also there is a nominal fee collected for the car.

We got the pooja done at the temple and were served with a yummy prasad of a sweet prepared with wheat and jaggery, puliyogare (tamarind rice) and curd rice. Even though we didn't intend to have lunch at the temple, but worthlessness it was a pleasant surprise to taste such a yummy food.

we got down from the hill and reached our resort (country club) in some 20 mins. we were check-in quickly and were allotted our rooms. Since we were to check in at 12 PM, the resort guys had kept the lunch ready for us, so we went and had some lunch (just for the sake). after resting for couple of hours we went out to a near by village school where my sister who works for a NGO- Bachpan Bachao Andolan had set up a library. We had decided to cut the birthday cake of my nephew at the school and as we had informed the teachers were already informed of this, the school kids were ready for the event, we cut the cake with the kids and from there we went on a drive in the jungle towards madhumalai range just to try our luck and see if any animals (read tiger/leopard

) are visible. As you know the king of the jungle decided's when he wants to show up. so except for spotted deer's no other animal was visible. While returning we saw a huge animal crossing the road. When we stopped to look, it was a sambhar deer and it looked startled. We did not wanted to disturb the animal by taking pictures using flash so

one thing i observed was the way in which the taxi's and the truck's were being driven on this stretch. the road is in very good condition, and there are no/hardly any speed breakers. i feel the honorable supreme court had done a good thing by banning the vehicle movement in the night, in fact it would have been good if heavy truck traffic is banned 24x7!

after returning back to the resort we attended a magic show where my two nephews enjoyed a lot. then after having a quite dinner we sat and enjoyed the silence of the jungle before retiring for the night.

The next morning i along with my wife and mom got up early at around 6 and went on another drive while others were still enjoying their sleep. saw couple of elephants, few spotted deers, peacocks and Indian mongoose. some pictures:

We checked out at 12 PM and drove towards mysore. All of sudden there was heavy rain till nanjangud. we went in to the mysore city had lunch at nandini restaurant near bus stop as most of my family members love Andhra cuisine. Even though the food was good, the service was not nothing to rave about.

we started towards bangalore after lunch and again there was rain till we reached home. it took close to 2.30 hrs in the rain and traffic. eventually the outing came to an end.

Cheers

PS: the best thing about country club is not its food/rooms but no mobile signals :-)

ark_rover · 23rd October 2013, 17:31

Nice travelogue and looks like you had a good short trip. Sad that you couldnt spot the TIGER. Nice closeup picture of the spotted deers. Where is this Country club located in Bandipur?

samish_g · 23rd October 2013, 23:35

Quote:

Originally Posted by ant_vas

It was a long time that i had driven any where out of Bangalore. Mind was feeling jaded and was carving for a ride out to some place even for a day away from the Bangalore madness!

I was completely lost, my phone's GPS wasn't working for what ever reason. This stretch of ORR had good roads, bad roads and no roads at few places. At times it seemed like we were driving thru craters of another planet. After asking the passerby we were finally able to get back to the nanjangud road.

We got the pooja done at the temple and were served with a yummy prasad of a sweet prepared with wheat and jaggery, puliyogare (tamarind rice) and curd rice. Even though we didn't intend to have lunch at the temple, but worthlessness it was a pleasant surprise to taste such a yummy food.

I guess you had a short, refreshing and adventurous trip.

I had been to country club resort in Bandipur, this May. The road connecting NH67 to the resort was not tarred then. Have they tarred this portion?

ant_vas · 24th October 2013, 18:56

Quote:

Where is this Country club located in Bandipur?

Country club is behind the point from where safari starts. you have to take left after the safari starting point and go in for few KM's on a mud road.

Quote:

The road connecting NH67 to the resort was not tarred then. Have they tarred this portion?

Nop, its still the same!

iVento · 24th October 2013, 23:15

Good travelogue Ant_Vas. Enjoyed reading it. Nice pictures too.
How much did you pay for a room at Country Club?
Is the club open to all or only to the members?

mpksuhas · 25th October 2013, 12:34

Is the CCD you mentioned the one before Gundulpet on right side next to an HP bunk, or is any new CCD opened on Gundulpet- Bandipur road?

How are the safaris conducted by Country club? Do they take you in Jeeps through the mud roads inside the forest or is it through the SH's (paved roads only). Asking since I was of understanding that only forest department vehicles ( Forest department safari vehicles and Jungle lodge jeeps ) are allowed inside the forest.

Guess you should have taken Chamarajnagar - Kollegal route to avoid the SH 17 mess. Would have been a peaceful drive.

ant_vas · 25th October 2013, 13:28

Quote:

Good travelogue Ant_Vas. Enjoyed reading it. Nice pictures too.
How much did you pay for a room at Country Club?
Is the club open to all or only to the members?

Hi iVento, thanks. My sister and BIL do have a membership of the country club. I believe its open only for members. No sure of the tariff they are charging.

Quote:

Is the CCD you mentioned the one before Gundulpet on right side next to an HP bunk, or is any new CCD opened on Gundulpet- Bandipur road?

How are the safaris conducted by Country club? Do they take you in Jeeps through the mud roads inside the forest or is it through the SH's (paved roads only). Asking since I was of understanding that only forest department vehicles ( Forest department safari vehicles and Jungle lodge jeeps ) are allowed inside the forest.

Guess you should have taken Chamarajnagar - Kollegal route to avoid the SH 17 mess. Would have been a peaceful drive.

Hi mpksuhas, yes you got it right, its was the CCD before gundlupet at the HP petrol station.

We did not opt for the govt safari, we just drove in our cars on NH 67 till masinagudi. Safari on both karnataka and TN side is conducted by govt using their own gypsies or canters and they enter the forest on pre-determined entry points. Even country club had their own gypsies, but i believe they will have to go to get the required permits to enter the forest.

23rd October 2013, 17:08	#1
ant_vas BHPian Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: bangalore Posts: 413 Thanked: 687 Times	A Family Trip to Bandipur It was a long time that i had driven any where out of Bangalore. Mind was feeling jaded and was carving for a ride out to some place even for a day away from the Bangalore madness! My sister wanted to take all the family members on a one day trip to gopala swami betta and bandipur. It was also 5th birthday of my nephew,so we decided to celebrate it in the middle of the jungle. The date was set to 30th sept and we drove there on 30th morning in my palio and my brother in law's (BIL) duster. left home at around 8 AM from Banashankari, went to sister's place near BGS hospital on uttarahalli main road and started towards bandipur at around 8.30. After a 30 mins breakfast at Tiffani's in maddur, we started again and the duster sped ahead of us. As the "congress president" was to visit mandya on the same day we have a lot of govt and private buses from all over the near by places carry people to that rally so the roads were busy. reached mysore and at the first signal instead of taking left took right on the ORR and boy what a mistake it was! I was completely lost, my phone's GPS wasn't working for what ever reason. This stretch of ORR had good roads, bad roads and no roads at few places. At times it seemed like we were driving thru craters of another planet. After asking the passerby we were finally able to get back to the nanjangud road. My BIL But since it was almost time for the politician to land in mysore airport on a charted flight the traffic of the buses going towards mandya from nanjangud, gundlpet was very high with the all those bus drivers driving crazily! finally managed to cross all of them and were cruising towards bandipur. The duster had stopped at CCD just before we take right to gopalaswamy betta. after a quick refresher of coffee break, we reached the hill top in few minutes. When we stepped out of the car, it felt like we had entered in to an AC room with the temperature set to some 15 degree. With the sun playing hide and seek with the clouds and the awesome breeze, it was just amazing. The view from the hill top was also breath taking. The guards at the temple informed that going on the hills besides the temple has been banned as people littered and disturbed the wild life. he even showed a elephant heard grazing in the distance. Let some pictures do the taking now: Breath tacking views The temple The Elephant Heard At the foot of the gopalaswamy betta, there is a forest check post and they check you car for any eatable items. If you have any they will ask you to leave them behind with them and collect them on your way back. I feel this is a good move as this will help keep the hill top free from litter and helps in avoiding the monkey menace. Also there is a nominal fee collected for the car. We got the pooja done at the temple and were served with a yummy prasad of a sweet prepared with wheat and jaggery, puliyogare (tamarind rice) and curd rice. Even though we didn't intend to have lunch at the temple, but worthlessness it was a pleasant surprise to taste such a yummy food. we got down from the hill and reached our resort (country club) in some 20 mins. we were check-in quickly and were allotted our rooms. Since we were to check in at 12 PM, the resort guys had kept the lunch ready for us, so we went and had some lunch (just for the sake). after resting for couple of hours we went out to a near by village school where my sister who works for a NGO- Bachpan Bachao Andolan had set up a library. We had decided to cut the birthday cake of my nephew at the school and as we had informed the teachers were already informed of this, the school kids were ready for the event, we cut the cake with the kids and from there we went on a drive in the jungle towards madhumalai range just to try our luck and see if any animals (read tiger/leopard ) are visible. As you know the king of the jungle decided's when he wants to show up. so except for spotted deer's no other animal was visible. While returning we saw a huge animal crossing the road. When we stopped to look, it was a sambhar deer and it looked startled. We did not wanted to disturb the animal by taking pictures using flash so one thing i observed was the way in which the taxi's and the truck's were being driven on this stretch. the road is in very good condition, and there are no/hardly any speed breakers. i feel the honorable supreme court had done a good thing by banning the vehicle movement in the night, in fact it would have been good if heavy truck traffic is banned 24x7! after returning back to the resort we attended a magic show where my two nephews enjoyed a lot. then after having a quite dinner we sat and enjoyed the silence of the jungle before retiring for the night. The next morning i along with my wife and mom got up early at around 6 and went on another drive while others were still enjoying their sleep. saw couple of elephants, few spotted deers, peacocks and Indian mongoose. some pictures: We checked out at 12 PM and drove towards mysore. All of sudden there was heavy rain till nanjangud. we went in to the mysore city had lunch at nandini restaurant near bus stop as most of my family members love Andhra cuisine. Even though the food was good, the service was not nothing to rave about. we started towards bangalore after lunch and again there was rain till we reached home. it took close to 2.30 hrs in the rain and traffic. eventually the outing came to an end. Cheers PS: the best thing about country club is not its food/rooms but no mobile signals :-)
	(4) Thanks

23rd October 2013, 17:31	#2
ark_rover BHPian Join Date: Sep 2013 Location: Bangalore Posts: 29 Thanked: 9 Times	Re: A Family Trip to Bandipur Nice travelogue and looks like you had a good short trip. Sad that you couldnt spot the TIGER. Nice closeup picture of the spotted deers. Where is this Country club located in Bandipur?
	() Thanks

24th October 2013, 23:15	#5
iVento BHPian Join Date: Aug 2013 Location: Bangalore Posts: 190 Thanked: 253 Times	Re: A Family Trip to Bandipur Good travelogue Ant_Vas. Enjoyed reading it. Nice pictures too. How much did you pay for a room at Country Club? Is the club open to all or only to the members?
	() Thanks

25th October 2013, 12:34	#6
mpksuhas Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: KA03/KL11 Posts: 3,934 Thanked: 7,338 Times View My Garage	Re: A Family Trip to Bandipur Is the CCD you mentioned the one before Gundulpet on right side next to an HP bunk, or is any new CCD opened on Gundulpet- Bandipur road? How are the safaris conducted by Country club? Do they take you in Jeeps through the mud roads inside the forest or is it through the SH's (paved roads only). Asking since I was of understanding that only forest department vehicles ( Forest department safari vehicles and Jungle lodge jeeps ) are allowed inside the forest. Guess you should have taken Chamarajnagar - Kollegal route to avoid the SH 17 mess. Would have been a peaceful drive.
	() Thanks