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Finding Kabini
Shall we talk a bit about Kabini? Because I don’t think we have done that enough. Even though it’s quite popular amongst a relatively small group (inclusive of many novice as well as some professional wildlife photographers), it’s almost unknown to the rest. So what is Kabini or rather where is it? At the origin of it all, there is a river – a river called Kabini. It’s a short and sweet river that starts somewhere in Kerala and runs across the state of Karnataka touching upon many villages and towns on its way. But it’s not the start that concerns us, nor does the end. It’s actually a patch in between, somewhere in its path, where it passes between two beautiful forests. Or rather it divides a forest into two parts – Bandipore National Park and Nagarhole National Park. Around this place the river also gets wider as a result of a manmade dam ahead on its route. And this is the area that is famously known to tourists as Kabini and this is the area I am referring to in this blog.
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| Birds perched on a dead tree |
But why would you even consider going there? Well there are multiple reasons. Or if you are crazy about traveling, then probably none needed. For others, if you could picture, imagine a village by the bank of a river, adjacent to national parks. Imagine the rich flora and fauna of the place, imagine the beauty of the meandering river. Imagine watching sunset behind the distant forest right across the river, the reflection of the evening twilight on the rippling water. Imagine taking a walk during dark night only having the sound of flowing water as your company or waking up in morning to birds chirping. If this feels like a pleasant dream to you, then there’s your reason to visit Kabini.
However, most tourists go there to explore Nagarhole National Park, which is accessible from Kabini through one of its many gates. There are morning and evening safaris available by Canter as well Boat (No need for advance booking). Boat takes you on the river keeping forests on both side. You can enjoy various types of birds from the boat across the water and across land. But the chances of tiger or leopard sighting is higher with Canter, since it explores the forest from inside. And if you are very very lucky, you may even end up meeting the famous black panther of Kabini (I wasn’t that lucky).
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| Jeep Safari at Kabini |
So how do you reach there? There are multiple airports within 300 KM of Kabini – Bangalore, Mangalore, Coimbatore and Kozhikode. But Bangalore is definitely the most convenient option. It’s about 270 KM from Kabini. Roads are in decent shape and it takes around 5 hours to reach by car. There are many KSRTC buses also plying in this route. But most of them would stop at Karapura, which is a good 10 KM from the hotels. If you are travelling by train, nearest station would be Mysore which is around 70 KM from Kabini.
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| At Waterwoods Lodge |
How about accommodation? Plenty of accommodation options available in there and most of them are quite good. To be honest, they are a bit expensive and it could be a hurdle in your trip. But I would suggest check it out, you won’t be disappointed. Most of the hotels are located at the bank of the river, which is as good as it sounds. And I would recommend the same to visitors. But there are hotels further inland as well, which is more in line with forest resorts.
During our planning, we had considered Red Earth, The Serai, Waterwoods and The Bison. We had shortlisted the last two based on review, images and description, and finally went with Waterwoods based on room availability and tariff. The place was brilliant especially the room and the staff. My complete review is available in TripAdvisor
Rest of the blog is the detailed entry of all birds & animals that we came across during our trip. If you are interested, then scroll down and enjoy. Or else, catch you later!
| Great Cormorant - quite common near rivers/lakes |
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| Another common bird - Great Egret |
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| Oriental Darter AKA Snakebird | |
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| Indian Pond Heron (left) & Purple Heron (right) | |
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Painted Stork |
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Wooly Necked Stork |
| Grey-headed fish eagle - a pair of them | |
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Found a Brahminy Kite right inside our hotel |
| Osprey - a fishing bird |
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| Flock of Cormorants resting on a branch |
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| Grey junglefowl on top of a tree | Plum headed Parakeet |
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Sighted Hoppoe after a long time |
| Green imperian pigeon (L) & Yellow-footed green pigeon (R) | |
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A Common Kingfisher (its hardly common though) |
| Tiny bird called Barn Swallow | Coppersmith Barbet |
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| Citrine Wagtail | Forest Wagtail |
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Giant Malabar Squirrel |
| And the mighty Tiger |
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