I work for Arghyam, a non-profit in Bangalore that does work on water and sanitation, and the whole office recently went on a retreat to the Kabini River Lodge. The seven-hour bus ride was the first time I’d really met everyone at Arghyam, including our chairperson and our CEO, and let me tell you – there is nothing that brings people together like a round of bus bingo. Here is the trip in photos:
The government-run jungle resort is located on the shores of the Kabini Dam reservoir. Some of the cottages, including mine, were right at the water’s edge.
I don’t think anyone from our group stayed in the Maharajah Cottage – but ours were better!
A fifteen-second walk from the cottages led to the water, where there were stone benches (covered in bird droppings, but still picturesque).
There were also hammocks! I took a short nap in one, and now I wish I could sleep in it all the time.
We were originally supposed to go on a safari to see tigers and elephants, which this area is famous for, but the Supreme Court of India recently banned tourism activity in tiger reserve areas because tiger populations have been steadily declining. The reaction to the ban has been mixed, with tourism suffering and some wildlife experts saying that the visitors’ presence helped defend the tigers against poachers. In any case, we took a “nature walk,” so we saw caterpillars and spiders instead of tigers and elephants.
The last activity of the day was a short coracle ride on the reservoir around sunset. Until next time!
Beautiful pictures, roomie. I can’t wait to take a trip like this!
Good post and this place is next in my list. You can check out the below link for resorts in Dandeli, Karnataka:http://dandelitrip.com/resorts-in-dandeli/
I visited Kabini many years back and stayed exactly where you stayed. 3 days and 6 safaris later, no tiger, some elephants, couple of snakes. Whatever you end up seeing or not, it is a beautiful beautiful place. Great photos!
Farmers threaten to ‘take over’ Kabini reservoir (http://www.thehindu.com/news/states/karnataka/article3921732.ece)
Thank you so much for sharing such informative post.
Thank you for sharing beautiful pictures.