BR Hills- Call of the wild

The car screeched to a halt immediately after a sharp curve. The bewildered monitor lizard stared for a while, undecided whether to retract or cross over. After a couple of seconds, it crossed over, only to go back in a flash to where it came from. It gave one final glare before scurrying into the bushes. Interesting curtain raiser to what lay ahead for the next two days, I said to myself as the car crossed the forest entry gate into BR Hills (Biligiri Rangaswamy hills). The harsh summers had taken the sheen off the forest and almost all of it stood withered under the blaring sun. Another screeching halt and this time it was an elephant head that popped out from the bushes by the side. Luckily, this was a few meters away. However, it was reluctant to cross over completely, the reason for the same appeared shortly. A baby elephant with its mother followed soon and they swiftly walked into the bushes on the other side. Had the monitor lizard not crossed over, I would have happily driven quite close to these pachyderms. Even a few seconds make a difference. It is adventure time, I said again. The drive from there meandered through leafless tress, intermittent green patches, past loitering langurs and a couple of deer.

Monitor lizard hurrying across

The pachyderms

The blooming rhododendrons at Jungle Lodges resort at Kyathadevara Gudi (a.k.a K.Gudi) was a beautiful welcoming frame. BR Hills is known for its biodiversity, wildlife and a variety of avian fauna. K. Gudi is a small forest clearing in BR Hills, where the western ghats meets its eastern counterpart. A forest camp so typical of the Niligris, lined up with a few houses, a school, a dispensary, a lake and a resort. Serene life! Nice cottages adorn the premises of K.Gudi Wilderness camp with numerous trees, hammocks beside them and expansive vistas of the distant hills. An ideal place to sip some coffee and gaze at nature or read a book and doze off on the hammock.

K.Gudi wilderness camp

Tents

However, my naturalist had other plans. A heavy meal, a power nap and a hot cup of coffee later, we were on a jeep that grunted beyond the resort premises and the tiny houses into Biligiri Rangaswamy Tiger wildlife sanctuary. This wildlife sanctuary is home to more than 200 species of avian fauna apart from a host of mammals such as tigers, leopards, bears, wild dogs, deer, boars and monkeys. We went past a few more houses which I was told belonged to Soligas, the local tribe. A blend of the summer brown and the faded green was splashed all across like a canvas. I clung on to the handrail as the jeep lunged forward through the mud trail deep into wilderness. Out came cameras, binoculars and avian guide books as we spotted numerous birds one after the other, a few perched atop a branch and many happily chirping around. As we went deeper, mud trails turned into foliage, intermittent ponds showed up, alert deer gave a long gaze, langurs gave a chatter and wild boars ran around gleefully.

A buzzard

Wild Mynahs

A tree pie

A waterhole

Langur

Spotted deer

We did stop by a few half dried up water bodies, and waited patiently for more exciting wildlife. All that we spotted by the ponds were the camouflaged tortoises. I however love such moments, patiently waiting amidst the silence of the forest with peering eyes and sharp ears in search of a glimpse or a sound. Even though we were disappointed that nothing popped up, that blissful ambiance more than made up for it. As the jeep retracted, we spotted a barking deer peacefully grazing, but slid away into the bushes quickly. Never spotted a barking deer so close before. More birds flocked over us as the sun went down the horizon. The light slowly faded and we drove back through the mud trail to the main road. We enthusiastically still looked out in the hope of spotting wild dogs or a lonely gaur. None appeared and we were almost near the resort when at a curve the jeep stopped. We spotted a white colour on a flat rock 20 meters away from us. In a second, my naturalist whispered, "It's a leopard". It was lying on its back, and hence the white colour of its belly struck us. It twirled, twitched, rolled and we gleefully gazed at each other for long. In quite a playful mood, it happily posed for the lenses. Usually a shy creature, this one was least bothered about human presence within its short vicinity. Another jeep joined us and we spent more than 10 minutes staring at the leopard which absolutely had no qualms about its audience. It got pretty dark soon and we left while the feline rolled over and bade us good bye. It seemed quite ironical that while we drove all over and waited patiently inside the park, this fellow was happily enjoying himself very near to the resort. The safari couldn't have ended in any better way. 

Twirling and rolling

The gaze

Darkness had engulfed the whole premises of the resort by the time we had evening tea. I was told and did even read that wildlife was frequently spotted near the cottages at night. That sounded exciting, and the fact that there is no electricity in the premises after 10 P.M. made me more anxious. Would the leopard stroll by? My thoughts ran amok as I finished dinner and walked back to my cottage, 100 meters away, swaying a torch. 10: 15 PM and the lights went off. Though I did stay awake for a while in the hope of seeing some gleaming eyes in the dark, nothing turned up and I slept peacefully in the lap of BR Hills.

I was up before the wake up call for the morning safari and continued my gaze into the woods. A few colourful birds chirped and flew around happily. Soon we were on the jeep again for the morning safari. We went past the rock where the leopard was spotted last evening. Nothing there, the leopard was true to its nocturnal character. We were yet to enter the park when a couple of wild dogs or Dholes as they are also known as, crossed our jeep. Seeing us they ran into the near by bushes. We waited for them to come out and they in turn waited for us to leave, as they vigilantly stared through the bushes. We gave in shortly and drove ahead to spot a larger pack playing by the road. The sun had by then spread its colours, the fog slowly cleared up and the dholes trudged off together in a perfect line. Undoubtedly a beautiful frame. In between the two packs of dholes, we missed out on a lonely gaur that was peacefully grazing by the road. We traced back to have a closer glimpse of it before driving into the sanctuary again.

Dhole

More dholes

The lone gaur

More deer, monkeys and numerous birds were sighted as we drove around the park. The dry ponds had packs of wild boars roaming around. Spotted deer were found locking horns and a few young ones were rubbing the velvet off their horns. A lone barking deer seemed puzzled as it posed for the cameras. We stopped by a water body in the hope of that elusive wild sighting. As the wait continued we spotted malabar squirrels jump from one branch to another, a lonely tortoise strained its neck to give a beautiful frame and more deer and fawns sprinted across. Beautiful sightings, I said to myself. These too are a part of the forest and am a firm believer that there is more to the jungle than just that elusive wild cat or elephant sighting. We drove around through the mud trails for long taking in the fresh air, the wonderful sightings and the blissful ambiance of the forest before driving back to the resort. We did find some bear droppings on the way back, sighting the bear was  probably meant for the next visit.

The mud trail deep into the forest

Locking horns

Barking deer

Wild boars

A lone tortoise

BRT wildlife sanctuary is one of the least explored sanctuaries near Bangalore and undoubtedly has loads to offer for the wildlife enthusiast. A short drive away lies the popular Biligiri Rangaswamy temple atop a hill.

Getting there: K.Gudi is 200 km from Bangalore.  BR Hills is about 15 km before K.Gudi. From Bangalore take the Kanakapura road which leads further to Malavalli. Take a left at Malavalli and drive past Kollegal to Yellandur. From Yellandur signage boards lead to K.Gudi.

Accommodation and Food: K.Gudi Wilderness camp is the best option for stay and food. There are a couple of eateries near Biligiri Rangaswamy temple.

Dholes!

...and they trod along together in a pack through the hills of Biligiri Rangana sanctuary during the early hours of an April morning.

BR Hills- Wet and Wild...!!

What looks more attractive than a wet and wild woman...?? Any wild guesses?

My ride to BR Hills made me realise that it is the Jungle. Wet, Wild, Green, Dark and Deep. The closest that I got to wilderness was during my bike ride to Biligiri Rangana hills (BR Hills) with my cousin. We had been planning this ride for the past six months and this long cherished desire got executed recently.

The roads were good all the way and that made the ride all the more enjoyable. The early morning ride took us past the small towns of Kanakapura, Malavalli and Kollegal on NH-209 into Chamrajnagar district. A deviation from Kollegal took us off the highway onto the narrow village roads with picturesque landscape. The green paddy fields, the muddy brown waters, the fresh air and the curious villagers made the ride blissful.

As the vistas changed, the the green fields gave way to thick shrubs and further into dark deep jungles. The narrow village roads paved way for the winding roads. Though it was devoid of hairpin bends and ghat sections, the the roads with dark forests on both sides made it adventurous. With hardly any civilization in the vicinity except for the odd vehicle that passed by, the 32 km ride through the jungle became all the more wild with just the trees, shrubs, the long road ahead and a few monkeys for companionship. The only sound that we could hear was the roar of the engine. My cousin being a fond lover of elephants, so badly wanted to see a wild one. I however was quite apprehensive about the same and didn't want to face any big wild creature. I was quite happy with the monkeys, wild boars, turtles and peacocks that we spotted en route to the top and he had to be content with a few elephant dungs on the road. Though I have been through many jungle roads and sanctuaries before, this wild route seemed quite different from the rest as it was less inhabited and free of tourists/ travellers.

The winding road led us to Biligiri Ranganaswamy temple (The hill gets its name from the same). The mindblowing vistas from the temple blew me away. The panoramic view of the stunning valley, the thick jungle, the meandering roads and the dark clouds made for a mesmerising topography. A closer look made me realise that it was heavy rains over the jungles (the same route that i had to take back) at a distance. That was indeed a beautiful sight that will remain in my mind for a very long time. Nature at its best.

Other than the wildlife and the temple, BR Hills is also known for Soliga tribes, who have been living in the region for ages. We however were not lucky enough to spot any tribal. These forests were also home to the dreaded forest brigand, Veerappan during his prime.

After a quick visit to the temple we decided to explore a bit more and headed further ahead to K.Gudi which is a small settlement where Jungle Lodges and Resorts have their resort. A package with them includes a jungle safari which might be interesting for wildlife enthusiasts as that would give a better chance of spotting a wild one. K.Gudi is 20Kms further from the temple and it drizzled all the way. A wet and wild ride through the jungle was definitely memorable. After reaching K.Gudi, the drizzle became stronger and we had the option of either returning back to BR Hills or heading deeper into the woods of Chamrajnagar and Sathyamangalam. With the rain gods showing no mercy we had a wet ride back to BR Hills.

With not much options available for the grumbling stomach, we stopped at the only hotel near the temple for a late lunch. By then the the heavy rains had taken over the small hamlet and the surrounding forests. Standing under a cover, seeing the forest getting drenched and smelling the scent of wet earth was an enthralling experience.

As the heavy rains became drizzles, we started our return journey through the wet and wild BR Hills. After a couple of stops for photo shoots, we headed back from the green jungles to the concrete jungles of Bengaluru. As I meandered through the lovely wet forests, the famous phrase by Robert Frost came to my mind:

Woods are lovely, dark and deep

But I have promises to keep 

And miles to go before I sleep.

BR Hills is one of the beautiful wildlife destinations in Karnataka which remains unexplored. It is also supposedly the point where the Western Ghats and the Eastern ghats meet. With tourism yet to catch up on a large scale, this tiny temple hamlet is definitely a great option to spend a weekend.

Signing Note: BR Hills is definitely Lovely, Dark and Deep...!!

Route- Bengaluru- Kanakapura- Malavalli- Kollegal- BR Hills

Distance- 200Kms