A BLISSFUL WEEKEND GETAWAY TO KABINI

Waking up in the morning to birds chirping by the bank of a river, watching horses grazing in the field right next to your tent, boat ride during sunset with coffee in hand, the reflection of the forest on the rippling water, early morning coracle ride and bonfire with drinks under a starry sky, does this feel like a pleasant dream to you? Well, I am so glad to say that I lived that dream through my recent getaway to Kabini, Karnataka. 🙂

So a quick recap of how I began with my trip to Kabini. I had been looking forward to holiday in the first week of January to explore a destination away from home yet very close. To a destination filled with rich flora and fauna, where I can find my peace. Preferably, somewhere in the jungle. And few of the forests I had heard of, made its way through my thoughts and I began with my research by endlessly browsing places to finally decide on one.

All the social media content that I had seen and blogs that I had read, gave me the impression of Kabini being a magical forest with lots to offer, in terms of peace and wildlife sightings which led me to decided Kabini is the place I must explore. Kabini is also rated as one of the best wildlife destinations and is the most tranquil and picturesque tourist destinations in the entirety of Karnataka. It is full of lush green, wildlife and a river that originates in the Wayanad district of Kerala and flows eastwards to join the Kaveri river in Karnataka.

GET IN:

We travelled from Bangalore to Kabini by car. In my opinion, travelling by car or bike is definitely the most convenient option as Kabini is only 220 KM from Bangalore. Roads are pretty decent and it took around 5 hours to reach. If you are travelling from Mysore, you can take a bus or a cab to Kabini. It is approximately one-and-a-half-hour ride.

ACCOMMODATION IN KABINI:

Our stay in Kabini was booked at the beautiful “The Bison Resort”, which offers the perfect blend of relaxation and adventure to the travellers. The property is very peaceful. When we first entered the resort, we were greeted with a mind-blowing view of the river Kabini.

Plenty of accommodation options available in Kabini. Hotels in Kabini are a bit expensive. Most of the hotels are located at the bank of the river Kabini with multiple activities included in the package. And there are also hotels and homestays further inland if you are looking for a budget stay.

BEST TIME TO VISIT KABINI:

For wildlife sightings, the best time to travel to Kabini is especially during the dry season. During the summer season, the river dries up forming little islands and chances of spotting wildlife are pretty high as they come out often to quench their thirst. Boat safaris are highly suggested over Jeep safari in the dry season.

DAY 1

Our road journey started early in the morning. The morning skies, silence on the road and open spaces as far as one could see, were a treat for my eyes. The countryside was lush green. We drove past numerous villages and towns and finally reached Kabini at around 11.30 AM. We checked in to our resort “The Bison” at around 12 PM. It took a moment to sink in that I was finally in the lap of river Kabini.

The eye-pleasing scenery of the river from our waterfront tent was just what a city dweller needed to see. In order to retain the sanctity of this place, no televisions and air-conditioners are provided at the resort, ensuring visitors get tuned with beautiful mother nature and enjoy the serenity and tranquillity of this wonderful locale. There were not even bright lights in the room which made our night time a little difficult every time we had to look for something.

After lunch and walking in the property for a while, we went on a jeep safari in the Nagarhole National Park at 3.30 PM. It took us some time to reach the main entrance to the forest. Two safari drives per day are allowed of approximately three-hour duration, one early in the morning and one in the evening. Many hotels and resorts in Kabini will arrange the safari on request and you can book with them accordingly.

AFTERNOON SAFARI:

As we entered the forest, the surreal atmosphere momentarily transported me into a mystical world. The forest looked a little dry. A quarter of an hour later, few birds and monkeys made their appearance and then a group of spotted deer that were busy grazing. The second hour of the safari was spent roaming around the forest without a single wildlife sighting. Then the most exciting moments of the safari unfolded. The startling sound of a spotted deer’s and monkey’s alarm call broke the calm and silence of the forest. As per our Naturalist, there was Black Panther on the move, in the vicinity which everyone was extremely excited about. All the jeeps started heading towards the calling junction. The deer herd were on high-alert and focused their gaze towards the direction of the alarm calls. 

My excitement was at a peak and the suspense was killing. Everyone strained their eyes in all directions in the hope of spotting some wildlife. The alarm calls kept ringing out at regular intervals. We waited at a spot at least for more than an hour with heartbeats racing with each alarm call we received. We could not spot any wild cats, tigers or elephants even after the long wait. All we saw was two Sambhar deer pass by.  This was my first ever sighting of Sambhar deer and I was thrilled. We headed back in disappointment as wild animals sighting was not on the cards for us that evening.

We went back to the resort, changed and relaxed for a while. The night was spent mulling over not getting to see anything exciting during the safari.

DAY 2

VILLAGE WALK:

I woke up really early to feel the morning vibe of the place. The lure of catching a day-break in every place I visit is my favourite thing to do. We went on a boat to a village on the other side of the river in wee hours of the morning and our day officially began by going for a village walk on fringes of the forest. It was a good one hour guided village walk. The early morning date with the birds, the river, smell of the lush green fields was everything I needed in life to detox that very moment.

We relished on yummy breakfast after coming back from the village walk and spent the day gazing at the river and observing rescued horses at the property. We also had two puppies at our tent for the company. I visited the backwater sanctuary to meet all the beautiful horses of the property and in the evening, I spent some time at the infinity pool enjoying the view and clicking pictures.

SUNSET BOATRIDE AND COFFEE:

We went on yet another boat rides during sunset. Boatman stopped the boat in the mid of the river. We watched the sun gently caress the water with his bright beautiful colours. coffee was served on the boat with a forest view. A cup of hot coffee in hand, the gentle sound of the river flow, chirping birds and frequent alarm calls from the forest, the reflection of the colourful sky on the water and a glimpse of tiny fishes jump out of water every now and then made the moment so therapeutic.

We got back to the resort late in the evening for delicious snacks. Everyone gathered at the bonfire by 7 PM. We sat there enjoying the warmth and the starry sky until it was time for us to have dinner. We took the day really slow dwelling in the vibe of the place as much as we can and went back to sleep feeling grateful to be there.

DAY 3

As usual, I woke up really early to catch one last glimpse of the Kabini morning by the river bed. The Kabini river looked so serene covered in the morning mist. It felt like a perfect place to meditate, retrospect or just do nothing. There sat two cute puppies next to me outside the tent staring at the dense fog and huge squirrels run across the field. It was my last day here.

EARLY MORNING CORACLE RIDE:

We went on a coracle ride through calm waters of river Kabini. As we sailed through the river cutting the fog, the rived offered a splendid view of Nagarhole and Bandipur forest on either side of the river. The view of the misty morning reflection of the forest on the water, just like any other extensive views, was by all means picturesque.

This fun-ride lasted for about 30 to 35 minutes. The boatman also spun the coracle for a few seconds which was super fun. He did it thrice both in a clockwise and anti-clockwise direction on request and I was all over the place until we reached the shore. I thanked myself for not having breakfast before the ride. 😛 We then got back to the resort and had our breakfast, packed our bags and spent some time with every life that made us smile (Puppies and the horses <3). And with all the purity and blissfulness added into our soul, we left to Bangalore.

The Kabini was indeed a magical place. I definitely would be visiting it again in the future to explore more. Also, I hope to see some wildlife in the wilderness at least on my future trip to Kabini. Wish me luck! 🙂 😛

I hope you enjoyed this blog post. If you have made it till here, please provide your feedback and it would mean the world to me. I would be extremely happy if the content of this blog post is of any help for you to plan your trip to Kabini. Please let me know in the comments below.

Love,

Bhagyashri

Hey, check out my Ladakh series here if you haven’t yet.