You can soon walk in the pristine forests of Bhimgad National Park

Rare flora, fauna abound in untouched parts of jungle

By the end of October or first week of November, one can trek in the pristine forests of Bhimgad National Park. And the lucky ones can also chance upon a tiger or a black panther.

The forest department will throw open untouched forests of Bhimgad National Park in Khanapur taluk of Belagavi district to nature lovers, who can trek for almost 10.5 kilometres in dense forest with trained guides.

Setting up tents and other facilities for visitors has been taken up on a war footing at Hemmadaga camp (Bhimgad Nature's Camp), the base camp of the national park. The forest department will set up four deluxe tents and one dormitory. A maximum of 50 people can be accommodated at the camp.

“We are trying to meet the October deadline. Since the monsoon may recede in these parts by then, trekkers can walk into the forest,” said Belagavi Chief Conservator of Forests Vijay Mohan Raj.

“Unlike in any other national parks, where the safari is in jeeps, here at Hemmadaga, visitors will be taken into the forest by foot. This will reduce the carbon foot print on the forest and also help people watch the forest up and close,” he said and added that eco-guides trained by the Karnataka Ecotourism Development Board (KEDB) under the Nature Guides Programme have been hired for the purpose.

At present, the forest department has identified four trekking routes in the forest. The registration for trekking is online (www.ecotrails.in) and is said to cost anywhere between Rs 1,200 and Rs 1,600 per person including accommodation, food and guide fee. “Soon, a phone based app —ecotrip — is also being launched by the forest department giving details of eco-tourism in the state,” he said.

Bhimgad is a rich bio-diversity spot and is a catchment area of several rivers including the Mahadayi. Visitors have the privilege of watching rare giant trees, rare orchids, medicinal plants and can also chance upon endangered frogs, king cobras, barking deer and big cats like black panthers, tigers or leopards.

However, trekkers will not be allowed to visit the caves where endangered Wroughton's free-tailed bats survive. “We want no human foot prints at these caves,” said Mohan Raj.