A biodiversity hotspot

The Bhadra Wildlife Sanctuary in Chikmagalur, is famous for its wildlife, and scenic beauty, writes Dr Geetha Suresh

To reconnect with nature and immerse ourselves in the heart of wildlife and biodiversity, we decided to embark on a memorable trip to the Bhadra Wildlife Sanctuary located in the scenic district of Chikmagalur.

We left early in the morning on a weekday to avoid the city traffic. The drive through NICE Road, from the Kanakapura side to Tumakuru, connecting NH 48 at the Nelamangala Highway toll and continuing to Hiriyur (174 km), was smooth.

From there, we took the state highway (Tarikere-Hosadurga road, known as TH road) for another 100 km until we reached Tarikere.

It took us an additional 30 minutes to reach Lakkavalli town, where the Bhadra Reservoir Dam and the wildlife sanctuary are located.

The entire drive was a pleasant experience, taking us around 5 hours with a few breaks along the way.

As we drove past Hosadurga towards Tarikere, we couldn’t help but admire the beautiful lake and the windmills perched atop the hillocks.

On our first day, we took a boat ride but but unfortunately, we weren’t able to spot much wildlife as it started raining heavily.

As we moved further up, we saw a few cormorants and an osprey catching its fish. By 5.55 pm, just as we were about to return, herds of elephants arrived at the river to quench their thirst.

On day two, we left for our jeep safari in the Bhadra Wildlife Forest Sanctuary at 6.30 am. Once again, it started to rain, and we anticipated that the big cats would be less active in the rainy season. We spotted some deer, a few gaurs, and a lot of peacocks and peahens.

The drive through the lush, thick green forest during the monsoon was an experience in itself, and the evening jeep safari offered a similar experience, with a few sightings of orange-breasted thrushes, barking deer, and common Ioras.

To fully enjoy the peaceful and serene environment, we skipped the safari rides on day three and instead took a walk around the resort. We made our way to the Bhadra Dam, located just a kilometre away from our stay.