All are welcome at Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary

Location: Ranganthittu Bird Sanctuary near Srirangapatna
Date: Feb 6th 2011
To get there: [Click here for Google Map].
From Bangalore take the Mysore Road. After you cross Srirangapatna fort (main junction with Fort Entrance on right), watch out for the Sanctuary board on the right after about a km. It comes right after you cross 2 bridges. Take the right and drive along a country road for another km or so and you are there. From Mysore side, it is even closer. Just reverse the directions above.
Distance: About 125 kms from Bangalore and 15 kms from Mysore.
Trail type: There are no trekking trails that I am aware of here. I have noticed a dirt track going to the left of the boating point. We have only gone about 200 mtrs (due to lack of time) on it so not sure how much further one can walk. However, it has ample space, including a maze with hedge walls, for kids to enjoy.

Facilities: Fairly decent KSTDC run eating place and toilet facilities. Srirangapatna and Mysore are close by.

Misc Links:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ranganthittu_Bird_Sanctuary

In case you wondered, the "All are welcome" in the title was meant for the birds since we 2 legged, non-flying, large brained but prefer to travel in machines species, have to pay dearly to enter this place! Well, I think it is not

too high considering the natural wealth this place possesses, but then I may be in the minority with this view. We paid Rs. 50/person to enter. Boating is again Rs. 50/person in the general boat or (a very steep) Rs. 1000 for your own boat which can seat 8 persons.

We ended up there Sunday morning in keeping with a promise along with another family to go "someplace nice" post New year. 1 month too late, but we made it. Left Bangalore around 6.30am, lunch near Maddur about 9am and we were at the Sanctuary before 11am. A bit late but early enough to enjoy the place.

The place itself is a bunch of islets in the river Cauvery providing

natural protection to nesting migratory birds. There are only rowboats

to keep the disturbance to the birds minimal. Guides are quite knowledgeable about the birds which inhabit the sanctuary including their migration patterns and characteristics. Do not hesitate to ask them questions.

There is really no season as such because you will find some activity all-round the year even if it is just resident birds. During the migratory season which varies according to each species and is from Oct to about June, you will find each species in different stages like arrival, nest building, chick rearing and finally lessons on flying before heading

back to their home. During our visit, we got to see Painted Storks, Asian Open-billed storks (nesting), Eurasian Spoonbill (nest building), Spot-billed Pelicans prominently in the trees. Others were Great Thick-knee (or Great stone plover), Marsh Harrier (migrant), River Tern, Night Heron, etc. You will also surely spot few crocodiles which is a thrill for all the youngsters.

The facility has some space around it to picnic or just hang around. There is also a maze made of hedges which our youngsters enjoyed. After a quick stop-over to see Daria Daulat Bagh, Tipu's summer palace, we headed out to make it for a late lunch at McDonalds(kids choice), which is few kms after Maddur on the way back. Reached Bangalore by 7pm.

Overall, a must visit if you are a nature enthusiast and live around Mysore or Bangalore. Perfect for a day trip or even a 1/2 day trip. I would recommend reaching there before 10am, ideally 9am to be able to experience and photograph better in the morning light.

Click here for more images from the trip.

Elagiri Hills: A break from the plains!

Location: Elagiri or Yelagiri Hills Date: Dec 24th to 27th 2010 To get there: [Click here for Google Map]. You can take the train to Jolarpet and hire a taxi from there or Drive on the Hosur Road until Krishnagiri. Take NH 46 from there towards Chennai. Then take SH 18 turnoff towards Elagiri. Distance: About 150+ kms from Bangalore Trail type: We did mostly birding from car, stopping at good locations. So, not much trekking as such. I do believe there are a couple of good trails. Facilities: Several resorts/hotels in all ranges. Food places were plenty but just average, I thought. Lake with boating, nature park with musical fountain show, various temples are the spots to visit.

Misc Links:

http://www.yelagirihills.com/ (has more detailed directions)

It was our annual vacation with relatives during Christmas. We had always noticed these enticing hills from the train and decided to check it out this time. The drive from Bangalore was quite easy. The climb up the hills is similar to Nandi hills maybe a little steeper with 14 hairpin bends. The views were tempting in many places but any idea of stopping was thwarted by the line of monkeys sitting on the parapet looking expectantly at each vehicle passing by!

The place was quite chilly during the nights and morning. Rest of the day was pleasant. The main road through Athanavoor has many resorts and eating places. Most of them were average or just road side dhaba types. The 2 main attractions of the hills, Lake with boating and Nature Park are on this road.

We mostly did bird watching in the morning, starting at 6am until nearly afternoon, taking advantage of free grand-parent baby sitting. :). There were Brahminy starlings, Rufous Treepies and Grey-bellied Drongo's all over the place in addition to the more common Pied Bushchats, Sunbirds, Indian Robin, Tailorbird and Mynas. We had the best outing when we drove on the road towards Neelavur and took breaks near the Murugan Temple where we saw the Verditer Flycatcher, Leafbird and Common Iora. Migrants Grenish Leaf Warbler and Blyths Reed Warbler could be beard all over the place.

Boating was OK, nothing great. The Lake is man-made, so more like a soup bowl. Still Red-rumped Swallows gave us a show drinking water by flying low over the surface. The nature park looked good but we did not check it out properly nor watch the musical fountain show. Lets just say, most of our free time was spent eating, lazing around or playing cards and other games.

Photo albums:

Birds

People and sights.

Check list:

1. Yellow-billed Babbler(E)
2. Barbet(E) (call only. Not sure if it is Brown-headed or White-cheeked)
3. Coppersmith Barbet(E)
4. Small Green Bee-eater(E)
5. Blue-tailed Bee-eater(T)
6. Red-vented Bulbul(E)
7. Red-whiskered Bulbul(E)
8. Pied Bushchat(E)
9. Greater Coucal(E)
10. House Crow
11. Asian Koel
12. Spotted Dove
13. Little Brown Dove
14. Black Drongo
15. White-bellied Drongo(E,plenty)
16. Short-toed Eagle(E)
17. Common Kestrel(J)
18. Black Kite
19. Tickell's Flowerpecker(E,J)
20. Verditer Flycatcher(most likely)(E)
21. Common Iora(E)
22. White-throated Kingfisher
23. Tree Pipit(E)
24. Golden-fronted Leafbird(E)
25. Small Minivet(E)
26. Black-headed Munia(J)
27. Scaly-breasted Munia(E,J)
28. White-throated(Silverbill) Munia(E)
29. Common Myna
30. Jungle Myna
31. Eurasian Golden Oriole(J)
32. Spotted Owlet(E)
33. Rose-ringed Parakeet
34. Paddy-field Pipit(E)
35. Ashy Prinia
36. Plain Prinia
37. Indian Robin
38. Oriental Magpie Robin
39. Indian Roller(T)
40. Long-tailed Shrike(E)
41. Brown Shrike(E)
42. House Sparrow
43. Brahminy Starling(E, plenty)
44. Red-rumped Swallow(E)
45. Common Tailorbird
46. Rufous Treepie(E)
47. Grey Wagtail(E)
48. White-browed Wagtail(E)
49. Blyths Reed Warbler(E)
50. Greenish Warbler(E,J)
51. White-breasted Waterhen(E)
52. Oriental White-eye(E)
53. Purple Sunbird
54. Purple-rumped Sunbird
55. Shikra(E)
56. Common Woodshrike(E)

Savandurga : Adventurous Rock Climbing

Location: Savandurga
Date: Nov 1st 2010
To get there: [Click here for Google Map].
There are 2 routes to reach the place from Bangalore.
1) Take the Mysore Road. Turn right after Kengeri, right after Rajarajeshwari Dental College. There is break in the divider here and the road leads to Big Banyan Tree and Country Club. Go along this road passing Big Banyan on the way until you reach an intersection in the middle of a village. Turn left here towards Manchinbele (ask somebody just to make sure). Go past Manchinbele Reservoir (on the right) until you come to an Village where there is a sign to turn right for Savandurga. Now the road goes through some wonderful greenery. After about 10km, you will see a right turn with a big signboard for Savandurga, facing the other way though. Some shops with lot of Autos will be there. Ask to confirm you are the right track. About 4km after this you will reach Savandurga.
2)(We returned by this route) Go on Magadi Road past Tavarekere and Thippagondanahalli. You need to take a left towards Savandurga before you reach Magadi. Best to ask when you are about 6-8 kms from Magadi. Then its a left from this road where the big signboard is.
Distance: About 70kms from Bangalore
Trail type: Solid rock! Savandurga's 2 hills Billigudda and Karigudda are Monoliths. So, you are walking on rock surface at a fairly decent incline. Route is marked with white arrows. A local person latched on to us as a guide and he was able to show us a route which even my 5 yr old managed without being carried. However we only went 1/2 way so not sure after that. Beware that climbing in wet conditions is probably very dangerous.
Facilities: Several shops sell snacks and water near the temple at the base. Some basic dhabha type hotels were also present. We did not try them as we had carried our food. Magadi, I am sure will have decent hotels. Toilets... hmm...you are on your own. Our guide let us use the marriage hall.















It had been some time since we had done a family trek close to Bangalore. Nov 1st being Kannada Rajyotsava which made Monday a holiday, it seemed like a crime to let it go waste. So, us and Bipin, my college friends family, started searching for a nice place to go. It had to be kid friendly as between us we had a 12(kruthi), 9 (Nithila), 7(Samitha), 5 (Swarup) yr olds. Finally, it was the Kruthi who suggested Savandurga. We settled on it after a quick Internet research and it turned out to be a great choice!

We started out around 7.30 choosing route 1) as it was closer to us. By 9am we were at the Big Banyan tree. After stopping to take in the sight of this large tree, we continued until we crested a hill and came upon the magnificent view of Manchinbele reservoir. Using our experience during our last visit here, we decided to take the road along the reservoir for a short distance and have our picnic breakfast by the side of the reservoir. Kids were of course happy with that decision!




All along, this trail we birded where ever we could. Highlight was about 25 Baya weaver nests in a roadside Palmyra tree, half of which seemed active with birds building, fixing and just living in them. Doves, bulbuls, sunbirds, cormorants could be seen all along the way. Manchinbele hosted lots of Red-rumped Swallows, some Grey Herons and a pair of Spot-billed Ducks among others.

We proceeded along some beautiful roads and quite thick forest to Savandurga. The hills looked magnificent as we approached it. Soon we were parked opposite to the temple and asking for directions to the start of the trail. Everybody knew it! An old local man, Mr Rajanna, approached us asking if we needed a guide. We were not sure. He hired himself as our guide and tagged along. After seeing the menacing the rock surface, we decided to let him take charge. That was a good decision as he chose good routes and helped the kids over tough parts. This I think is the easier Billigudda, though we never did ask anybody there. The other Karigudda is supposedly much more difficult to climb.

The climb itself is awesome for anybody who does not do much rock climbing. The slope is not too daunting once you get used to it and feels quite adventurous to trek over. Since we had only couple of hours and with small kids we asked our guide to lead us only half way up where one can find remnants of Kempe Gowda's fort. The kids had a whale of a time scrambling over the hills to reach this spot which is about one km from the starting point and with 100 mtrs or so elevation gain.

The views from here were fantastic. We savoured it over cookies, drinks, chips and what not for more than 30 mins. Reluctantly as thunder clouds started moving in, we descended fairly quickly to the trail head near the temple. After a well deserved tender coconut, sandwiches and snacks, we headed back to Bangalore around 2pm.

This time we took the Magadi route, then hopped on to NICE road after Tavarekere to exit at Banashankari via the Link Road or PES College Exit. At 62Rs it was close to a rip-off but both the Magadi and NICE Roads made the drive easier and maybe it was worth it.

So, what do I think of this place? I recommend it as a great spot for an adventurous family outing. The drive along Machinbele and the forest before Savandurga adds to the experience. The trek or climb itself is quite exhilarating and kids are sure to enjoy it provided due precautions are taken. Wear good shoes and don't do anything stupid like running up or down, especially when the shoes get wet in the various small streams of water. Rajanna or Thathappa as we called him warned us about many mishaps ending in broken bones.

As always, if you do choose to trek here, take all the photos you wish and leave only footprints, that is, if you can on the rock! Yes, I mean do not litter and keep the area clean which it surprisingly was compared to other such spots in Bangalore.

More photos can be found at:

Photos of the trek