Jungle Safari - A week in Dandeli forest, Karnataka

It was chilling and already dark when we reached the Kulgi forest in Dandeli, Karnataka. We had planned a trip to this forest in the last week of December 2007. We were a group of 12 people from Pune.

It was a fresh and crisp weather - a very predictable one. The air - just a breath of it, blended with scents of from the woods, flowers and the moist earth was enough to refresh my spirits.
We went off to sleep immediately, as we had a Nature trek :) scheduled at dawn.

Mornings are a jump-start in such beautiful surroundings, as compared to the drowsy feel you have when you wake up at home. You get to wake up with the sounds of the jungle creatures. Since I enjoy light treks, this one was delightful. Walking amidst dense jungle, observing the trees, nests, flowers is something that we never get to experience in cities. Monkeys are a common sight in these forests. After a 3 km walk we came to a small hill with water flowing nearby, and there! people in my group saw a pair of spotted deer. They gave a typical squeal when they saw us and ran away to safety.

After returning from this supberb trek we were all charged up for our next destination - Syntheri Rocks! this is a huge rock formation at the bottom of which a spring originates. It is an excellent site to see, however it is extremely dangerous for anyone to venture into the waters.
In this jungle you get to visualize the rare scene where dew drops condense and fall down, giving an impression of a rainy morning! Simply fantastic!

Well, we slept for only a few hours to rise at 4.30 am sharp for our Jungle safari! A very first one by me!We were expecting to see some tigers on the way... were planning to click a few snaps, modeling near it :) While our guide asked us to keep our voices low, he was looking for animals at their most frequented places.
It had been almost 1.30 hrs now and we hadn't spotted anything apart from monkeys... I was begining to feel dejected. (I had heard that 2 other groups had had no luck with the safari's they had.) I took to watching different types of trees... birds, etc. And just then by sheer luck I spotted an Elephant at some distance behind some huge trees. It was a huge creature, calm and moving with natural grace.I pointed it out to our group. It was immensely exciting to see a wild animal in its habitat, eating away leaves from a huge tree. Unfortunately since we created some yelping noises... the poor guy got scared and ran for his life :( After this we got to see a pea-hen jumping into the tall grass, a fox who I mistook for a dog sitting on the road :) (my dad identified it from its tail). We also saw colourful birds - hornbills, bluebirds, etc.

The week in this forest was the most exciting experience that I've had in my life, away from the city's concrete jungle, pollution, crowds leaving no space to walk .... and the list goes on and on and on...