[Krish_Diesel]

The plan and the zeal:

Even though I had just returned from Bandipur on December 28th 2022, on January 12th 2023 I felt a sudden desire to go back there once more. Not JLR or Country Club this time. I considered booking a room at the Bandipur government cottages, which are located in the center of Bandipur and give you the feeling that you are actually staying in a forest guesthouse. I asked a few of my pals, but they weren't interested. I was considering traveling alone and in the way I desired.

However, unexpectedly I ran into the brother of one of my friends who had just arrived from Kolkata. He expressed a desire to visit Bandipur during our conversations, and he also stated a desire to stay in a Bandipur cottage. I asked if we could go on January 19 without giving it a second thought, and he immediately agreed. The plan is now in action. I quickly verified the availability, and the cottages are in fact available for these dates. I've made the decision to stay in these cottages.

Why Bandipur cottage?

In the Bandipur forest, behind the old Bandipur safari office, are the Bandipur Cottages, which, as I mentioned, are old-styled forest guesthouses. They are relatively simple bungalows with a verandah covered in ordinary iron mesh that an elephant might easily tear through and a bed room with 2 single cots and a bathroom. If you sit on the verandah and look outside you can see cheetal grazing around. In addition, I frequently heard that leopards live close by these cottages and that, with any luck, you might spot them at night. so made the choice to stay in this cottage.

Day 1 - Start of the trip:

On January 19, 2023, at around 6:30 AM I cranked the engine of my brown beast The Ford Ecosport diesel, we left KR Puram and made the decision to go through Sarjapur Road, Electronics City, Nice road and the Mysore Road. In light of recent events, driving on Mysore Road, which just expanded to six lanes, is a breeze. I was recalling how, in order to get to Srirangapatna last year, I consciously tried to avoid using the Mysore Road and instead took the Hassan Road. Driving on the Mysore Road is now a breeze, and we can reach Mysore in less than 2.5 hours. But at precisely 7:45AM, we had crossed Bidadi and were on Mysore Road. By 9:10 AM, my beast, which consistently maintained high speeds, had reached Mandya. Even though the Ecosport is 6.5 years old, it still runs smoothly on highways and won't even buzz if we try to exceed 150 kmph.

Before Mandya, we made a halt for a sumptuous breakfast. We left the restaurant with full stomachs and Bandipur calling, and arrived at the Bandipur Safari campus by 11:20 AM. asked about safari tickets for the 4:30 PM safari since the probability of sightings is higher at that time. They said that tickets would be issued at 2 PM for the 4:30 PM safari. So we decided to go check in at the cottage and return by 2 PM after lunch. When we arrived at the Bandipur cottage reception at 11:45 AM, the staff member very calmly informed us that check-in will be only at 1 PM and the cottages would only be available by then. Even after requesting for an early check-in, the standard government employee response was NO.

We took our beast and considered traveling to Masinagudi in the lack of any chance of obtaining at the cottage early and in the hopes of finding any animals. The engine was started, and the car slowly crawled through the forest in search of luck. I'm not sure why, but Bandipur and Mudumalai Forest Drive always feel fresh to me and attract me to them like a magnet. I therefore never eventually get bored of traveling on these roads.

We moved slowly across the Bandipur and arrived at the border checkpoint of Tamil Nadu. They instructed us to pull over to the side of the road because there were just two guys in the car, and they thoroughly searched my car for any alcohol bottles. We were given the all clear after a check.

We began our journey in Mudumalai, but because of the intense sun and intense heat, we were unable to locate any animals at the side of the road. No animal, including cheetals, are interested in standing near to the road because it is so hot outside and the road may generate heat. Having no luck, we arrived at Masinagudi and considered taking a private jeep safari. However, we abandoned that plan because of the extreme heat because a safari would be useless at that time. We stopped at a local store and purchased a significant quantity of soft drinks, chips, and my friend was attracted to the store's selection of Ooty chocolates.

At 12:30 PM, we began our return trip to Bandipur Cottage. We drove slowly through the forest road once more and arrived at the cottage at 1:15 PM. They showed us the cottages when our rooms were ready. The cottages are a little away from the reception, so we were instructed to drive to the cottage, unload our bags, and then drive back to the reception area to park our car. Due to the possibility of wild animals getting hurt and the possibility that an elephant may attack a car, parking is not permitted close to the cottage. Normally, a golf cart buggy would take us to the cottage, but it appears to be in need of repair. We had no choice but to drive to the cottage. We chose the last cottage in the region, Harini, and from there it's all forest and trees. There are also many of cheetal groups all around the cottage. We also learned from Harini that because it is near a forest, there is a greater chance of seeing wildlife.

Pics near the cottage



It was an old, extremely basic room. The construction date seems to be 1959. The walls have stains, and some of the corners have lost their paint. A cardboard door with no paint has been used in place of the bathroom's previous door. The beds are made up neatly, however there are stains all over the linens. Our own blankets, sheets, and towels should be brought along. This cottage is not what you're expecting. But you must go because of the scenic beauty right outside the cottage, and if you're very fortunate, you might even see an elephant or a leopard.

The plan was to go to lunch first, then to the Safari campus after a short freshup. There were two options for lunch as we left the cottage. One is the JLR Bandipur buffet lunch, and the other is Khans Gufa restaurant, which serves standard restaurant items, which is located next to JLR. Khans was the restaurant of choice for our lunch, so we went there right away. Upon finishing lunch, we travelled to the Bandipur Safari office, which is only a short distance from Khan's.

Khans restaurant: Courtesy: google


Since it was a weekday, there wasn't much of a rush at the counter. Few people are awaiting bus tickets. I was asking for a Gypsy since we wanted to go on a Jeep safari. Gypsies, however, were already booked online, so they declined the request. However, based on my prior encounters, I am convinced that someone might not turn up and we will get a gypsy. The counter employee is extremely courteous and cordial. He recognized me from my prior safari. We planned to leave for the safari at 4:30 PM even though it was already close to 3 PM.

The counter employee advised me to wait until 4 PM to see whether anyone had cancelled the reservation. There is a tiny hut with seating inside near the office. And that cottage is extremely interesting because of the hay-covered natural ceiling. For an hour, we were able to relax there.

Hut near the safari counter


They called me at 4 PM and assigned a gypsy for the two of us. The cost of the bus is 650/- per person. The cost of a gypsy is 1,100 per head. Gypsy has a 5-seater capacity, and booking a complete gypsy with more than 3 passengers costs 5,500/-. If there are only 3 individuals, the price is 4,600/-. We only have 2 persons, so we payed 4,600/- and began our safari.

These days, the Bandipur safari is extremely dull, and there are hardly any sightings from my 10 safaris in the past 2 months. Being a huge lover of Bandipur Safari, I can understand its luck only. However, earlier, we had more opportunities to witness elephants, several species of deer, peacocks, etc. Even finding an elephant is getting harder and harder these days. Maybe it's because of the safari, but it seems like animals are leaving the safari zones to live quietly elsewhere. The fact is that, other than a few elephants on the Bandipur main road before entering the safari zone, we didn't see any animals during the safari. A barking deer and two peacocks had been seen in addition to elephants. Our safari had come to an end, and we were dropped off at the safari office by 6:00 PM. No pics were taken as we couldn't find any animals.

We chose to drive into the forest for a little longer and then head back to the cottage because we had a plan for a 6 AM safari the following day. On the way, we stopped for a nice cup of coffee before resuming our drive into the forest. Again, no luck this time, so we travelled to the Tamil Nadu border and came back from there. We were able to glimpse some wild boars on the main road as we drove. When we arrived at the cottage, we parked the car in the entrance. To use at night, we brought a large torch that we had purchased. Using the torch, make your way to the cottage.


Waiting for the adventure:

We observed numerous deer herds grazing around the cottage as we walked. It's now 7:20 PM, and the outside area is completely black. Only under the light of a torch could we see these deer. We were really anxious since we had heard that the leopard had been moving around, so we immediately started using the torch, which effectively projects light a long way away. We locked the front door and used the verandah to look around.

Myself scanning the area using the torch.



Within five minutes of using the torch to scan the area, I was able to make out two eyes blazing about 200 metres from the cottage. Deer are always in groups when we observe them, thus we can see a bunch of eyes. When there were only two eyes, our interest grew and we turned our attention there. The eyes were brightly lit up by a large tree. Suddenly, we noticed some movements, and in the light's glare, we noticed a body moving. Although we are still unsure of what it was, our hearts are pounding with anticipation. Our excitement rose when we were able to identify the animal in an instant. We were in awe of our good fortune.

Yes. Yes, that is the famous leopard female from this area. Huge and majestic, it. It made a steady approach to our cottage. The cottage has deers grazing on one side. It moved cautiously in that direction. However, it seemed as though the leopard had little desire to go hunting. It moved from the right side of the cottage to the left side of the cottage while marking its territorial boundaries. There, it wandered for another two minutes. The deers on the opposite side of the cottage made a few alarm sounds, but they didn't sound confident. The Leopard vanished into the bushes within a minute, and we lost sight of it. Again we tried to take some pics and due to darkness and since its far away we couldn't take clear pics. Sorry about it.

We stood there for another hour waiting with a hope that she will come back. Again the deers became very normal and quiet. So we lost hope and was about to retire for the night as the cold wind has really catching up and its freezing.

On the right side of the cottage, we soon heard further alarm calls. The Leopard was originally spotted right here. The alarm calls continued. We realised that the Leopard had moved in that way and that there was activity there. We flashed the torch in that direction, but all we could hear was some commotion. We assumed that a kill might have occurred based on the sounds. It's unclear whether this Leopard is the same one or a different one.

I have tried using my poor sketch skills and tried this drawing.


However its becoming very cold and due to the driving and safari we were very sleepy so we retired to bed by 11PM.

Day 2: Safari and return

We started our trip to the Safari office the following morning at 5:30AM after waking up. The same driver was present when we hired a Gypsy once more. The safari began at 6:10 AM. We were travelling to the Bandipur forest when the driver made a turn next to our cottage after passing it. Our cottage will be about 500 metres from this road once we have moved inside it. When the Gypsy came to a stop, the driver pointed out a large tree that was nearly dry and lacking in leaves. The background clearly shows our cottage.



When we looked up at the tree, a deer carcass of adult length was hanging head-down. Yes, a leopard killed the deer and left it there, likely returning to the kill later that evening. Now that we know what the noise was from last night. Yes. A deer was killed by a leopard. The kill was carried all the way up the large tree by it. How a Leopard was able to lift such a large deer all the way up has us in amazement. The trunk of the straight tree was quite tall. Up until a certain height, there are no branches. However, Leopard can still lift it all the way to the top.

Can you find the carcass?


I am sure most of you cannot


I hope you can see now. You can see the zoomed pics below.



We continued our safari after waiting for a few more minutes and seeing no traces of the leopard. Today is a really chilly day, so we entered the zone with excitement. In other places, it was quite foggy, making visibility very poor.







Nevertheless, we were let down once more because we didn't spot any animals during the safari. By 8:45 AM, we had been returned to the safari office, and with sorrowful hearts, we began the journey back to the cottage to prepare and pack. While returning to the cottage once more, I drove to the road where the deer carcass was hanging, but the leopard was nowhere to be seen. We waited for at least ten minutes before going back to the cottage. Freshened up and at around 11 AM started our journey back to Bangalore.

Once more, the route to Mysore is fantastic, and we can travel there in peace. We turned right onto a new bye pass when we reached the Mysore outskirts and arrived at the exit by 12:30 PM. I went directly to Pujari Fishland, which has always been one of my favourite restaurants. I never pass up the chance to eat the food there. For my friend, it was the first time, and he was fascinated by the decorations and the antique automobiles and bicycles parked there. He also enjoyed the atmosphere and the food. We left for Bangalore at around 1:30 PM after finishing our meals, and we arrived at KR Puram by 4:30 PM.

Although we didn't see any big cats on the safari, the experience overall was good. The most essential thing for me personally is being in the forest, and I had a tranquil and exciting time in the Bandipur cottage, which was always on my bucket list. One of my favourite experiences was when I had a fantastic opportunity to see a leopard in the open for a significant amount of time and followed it with a torch light. Bandipur is calling me again, as usual, and I'm hoping to make the trip there again soon.

I appreciate your time reading this and hope you find the writing enjoyable.

[Sedate_Drive]

Thanks for sharing your experience.
Its a great experience to hear to the calls and waiting patiently to get a glimpse of big cats.
Had this experience at Kabini and finally spotted a Leopard.

[vj_torqueaddict]

That's indeed Misekari you encountered. She had that territory. Unfortunately now she has moved to a different area because of Elephants in the vicinity. Domestic elephants from department, most likely rescued ones.

Below is a shot of her from same area, sometime last year when she was very active.

[deepak_misra]

Superb experience. I have been going to Bandipur and Masinagudi for many years now. It was around 2017 when I was shining a torch around and saw a leopard around the beat you showed.
It was really an experience far better than a safari. The leopard was crawling but did not seem to be in a hunting mood.
After some time the monkeys went crazy on the trees with their alarm calls which means the leopard had come towards the cottage front road. HOwever we could not spot it.
The carcass on the tree would be a one time experience.
Did the forest dept folks have any inputs on when the leopard was likely to return to the kill?

[Krish_Diesel]

Originally Posted by vj_torqueaddict

That's indeed Misekari you encountered. She had that territory. Unfortunately now she has moved to a different area because of Elephants in the vicinity. Domestic elephants from department, most likely rescued ones.

Below is a shot of her from same area, sometime last year when she was very active.

Wow... Thanks for sharing the experience and the pic. Yes guards there were telling that She owns this territory and that's why it usually patrol this area. The pic you have shown might be on the cottage roof. Guards mentioned that sometimes it surprises people by suddenly showing up on the roof.

[Krish_Diesel]

Originally Posted by Sedate_Drive

Thanks for sharing your experience.
Its a great experience to hear to the calls and waiting patiently to get a glimpse of big cats.
Had this experience at Kabini and finally spotted a Leopard.

Yes Sedate_Drive. We waited for an hour to find one more glimpse of this beautiful creature. Unfortunately we couldn't. Maybe because Leopard has already made the kill on the other side and busy in eating it.

[Krish_Diesel]

Originally Posted by deepak_misra

Superb experience. I have been going to Bandipur and Masinagudi for many years now. It was around 2017 when I was shining a torch around and saw a leopard around the beat you showed.
It was really an experience far better than a safari. The leopard was crawling but did not seem to be in a hunting mood.
After some time the monkeys went crazy on the trees with their alarm calls which means the leopard had come towards the cottage front road. HOwever we could not spot it.
The carcass on the tree would be a one time experience.
Did the forest dept folks have any inputs on when the leopard was likely to return to the kill?

Yes deepak_misra. Its indeed a fascinating experience to feel a leopard near the cottage and its far better than a safari. And its a new experience to hear different alarm calls as well.

Forest department was saying that since there are no leaf's in the tree, Leopard might have left it there and is hiding somewhere else. It would usually return back in the dark and will finish its meal.

[dearchichi]

Hello Krish_Diesel,

Thanks for sharing your experience. It read like a thriller!

My parents took my sister and me to Bandipur often during our summer holidays back in the late 80s and early 90s. I have been there a few times since through JLR and some photography groups. But, I find both these options too expensive. I had also assumed that the jeep safaris were reserved for JLR bookings.

Your post opens up a new alternative. Could you let me know how one could book such cottages, and hopefully a Jeep Safari too, online? How many can one such cottage accomodate?

Thank you.

[Krish_Diesel]

Originally Posted by dearchichi

Hello Krish_Diesel,

Thanks for sharing your experience. It read like a thriller!

My parents took my sister and me to Bandipur often during our summer holidays back in the late 80s and early 90s. I have been there a few times since through JLR and some photography groups. But, I find both these options too expensive. I had also assumed that the jeep safaris were reserved for JLR bookings.

Your post opens up a new alternative. Could you let me know how one could book such cottages, and hopefully a Jeep Safari too, online? How many can one such cottage accomodate?

Thank you.

Hello Dearchichi. Thanks for the quote. I have booked the cottage using the below site. Here you have option to book Jeep Safari and cottages as well. I would suggest to book Harini cottage as it is having more chances of sighting wildlife. Jeep Safari's I couldn't get from this site most of the times as always it shows as full. You can try your luck directly there.

https://bandipurtigerreserve.org/

Also I would love to give you small calculations below which might help.

If you are staying in Bandipur cottage:
Cottage charges 2500/- per day.
Jeep Safari would be 4,600/- per safari and if its more than 4 people its going to be 5,500/- per day.
If its 2 or 3 people the charges will be as below.
2,500 + 4,600 = 8,100/- (If is only one safari)
2,500 + 4,600 + 4,600 = 11,700 (If you are doing 2 safaris)

Where as in JLR if its non peak days:
For 2 people its going to be 13,000/- which includes 2 times Jeep Safari + 3 meals.

So you can decide which will be a best option based on our needs. If I had to chose I will chose Bandipur cottage if I am not having my kid as food is not that great in these cottages. I hope this helps.

[Satish Pari]

Krish Diesel well written travelogue on Bandipur. Personally Bandipur is very close to my heart as out of my 15 tiger sightings in the wild, 12 have been from Bandipur. And I've had the chance to see the once queen on Bandipur "Gowri".

Haven't been to Bandipur lately. But have been to Kabini twice in the last 2 years. Did a total of 4 safari's at Kabini through the Karnataka Forest Department buses and saw tigers on 2 safari's. And yes I have spotted the leopard that roams around the reception area in Bandipur - it was actually taking a nap on one of the trees and I do have a record short of it.

[dearchichi]

Thank you for the booking details, Krish_Diesel. That's very helpful.

So, there's no real difference between JLR and cottages WRT the prices. I was hoping there would be a cheaper option. Perhaps the jeep safaris are priced this way so only the committed ones show interest, keeping the forest from being abused.

[Krish_Diesel]

Originally Posted by Satish Pari

Krish Diesel well written travelogue on Bandipur. Personally Bandipur is very close to my heart as out of my 15 tiger sightings in the wild, 12 have been from Bandipur. And I've had the chance to see the once queen on Bandipur "Gowri".

Haven't been to Bandipur lately. But have been to Kabini twice in the last 2 years. Did a total of 4 safari's at Kabini through the Karnataka Forest Department buses and saw tigers on 2 safari's. And yes I have spotted the leopard that roams around the reception area in Bandipur - it was actually taking a nap on one of the trees and I do have a record short of it.

Thanks Satish Pari. I am interested in Kabini. Can you please advise which JLR is best? Kabini River Lodges or JLR KINGS SANCTUARY? I mean if I had to go to safari which one is the best?

[itwasntme]

Looks like an excellent old-style stay and experience.

One question, is it not dangerous to be out after dark? Are leopards patrolling in their own territory known to attack humans, and especially children?

[Krish_Diesel]

Originally Posted by itwasntme

Looks like an excellent old-style stay and experience.

One question, is it not dangerous to be out after dark? Are leopards patrolling in their own territory known to attack humans, and especially children?

It is in fact a fantastic experience. Since there is enough food available like deer, there is no animal-human conflict in these areas. However, it is rather risky because we could occasionally have unexpected face-to-face encounters with wild animals and not know how to react, thereby provoking the animal. As a precaution, there will be guards in the area, and we will require their assistance as we move 150 metres from the cottage to the dining area. The possibility of elephant and bear attacks is also there. Other than this, big cat conflicts are rare in this area.

[deepak_misra]

Originally Posted by itwasntme

Looks like an excellent old-style stay and experience.

One question, is it not dangerous to be out after dark? Are leopards patrolling in their own territory known to attack humans, and especially children?

Leopards will avoid humans (normally). How ever cant say the same when children there. IN general there is no issue in going upto the canteen. There is too much noise which is a deterrent for wild life. It is not a good idea at all to wander after 9 PM. In fact a long time back the forest guard told me not to park the car near the bungalow - not because of wild elephants but because of the forest department elephant which wanders in the night and might brush against the car.