We left the bustle of Bangalore before the chaotic rush hour traffic, heading west on a 5 hour drive past Mysore to the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve.
Thanks to our work colleague Hemanth, we had a busy weekend planned staying in the middle of the reserve at the Safari Land Villas and meeting his good friend Askhar who is a wildlife conservation specialist.
Mudumalai loosely translates as “ancient mountain” and is a large sprawling national park in south India, spanning the Nilgiri Mountains in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala.
" Mudumalai is home to up to 1000 asian elephants and is teeming with sambar deer, wild boar, macaque monkeys and many other animals and birds. The highlight of course is the chance to spot the elusive tiger or leopard of which several hundred count the reserve as their territory."
The journey from Bangalore was an exciting mix of partly finished motorway interspersed with busy
towns and junctions and the customary blend of lorries, buses, auto rickshaws, mopeds and carts weaving
about to a hard to understand set of road rules. We stopped half way at a small roadside chai stall, where I had my first taste of Masala Cola - an interesting twist on curried coca cola !
As evening drew in we skirted Mysore in a rush to get to the park before closing time. After a quick checkpoint check, we drove into the park into darkness, leaving the bustling roads and roadside stalls behind. Opening the roof and with the windows to the sounds and smells of the tropical forest and an incredibly clear night sky, we drove on through the winding road en route to our accommodation, looking for any faint shapes of animals.
Suddenly on a steep hill ascent by a river, we had to brake hard as a couple of cars and a jeep in front of us stopped. An elephant and her calf were crossing the road and and a male elephant mock charged the first car which quickly retreated back down the road.
That excitement over, we finally arrived at our accommodation - Safari Land Villa Resort. A 3 star accommodation with restaurant and discrete villas surrounded by an electrified fence to keep the inquisitive elephants and wildlife out.
Before dinner, we relaxed by an open air wood fire looking up at the stars while Hemanth (who is also something of a world renowned whiskey expert) poured out glasses of one of his vintage Paul John Indian malt whiskeys and handed them around. Meanwhile Owen took advantage of the amazingly clear night sky to demonstrate his astronomy knowledge, pointing out the main stars and constellations.
In the open restaurant, we tucked in to a delicious range of Karnataka curries dhals and dosas and retired to the fire for a night cap before turning in.
The next day we ventured out into the jungle, spotting elephants, bonnet macaques, common langurs and lots of sambar deer grazing confidently by the roadside. A great first experience of the wildlife diversity of this reserve.
After a breakfast of traditional Tamil Nadu dosai, sambar and delicious coconut chutneys, we met up with Askhar who told us a bit more about his life in wildlife conservation. It was fascinating talking to him about his life, as the son of a well known wildlife hunter who was called on by the Indian state organisations to capture man eating tigers, leopards and other wildlife and in some cases to kill them if this was not possible.
Askhar had been directly involved in wildlife and had had his own experience in 2018 where he had tried to capture a notorious man eating tiger (Avni or T1) which had killed 13 people. In difficult circumstances, he had had to shoot the tiger who attached him and the forest rangers he was with. However it caused some controversy in India from wildlife conservationists. He also told us about his latest project which was to tranquillise and move around 200 deer from an airport site where they had been trapped to a nearby wildlife park.
That afternoon we went on a jeep tour of the park again seeing lots of wildlife - herds of deer, a wild boar foraging through the undergrowth, a group of elephants with their calves. Lots of monkeys but sadly no tiger or leopard sightings.
We drove back through the twilight, scanning for movement and it was amazing how the animals blended into the foliage in the growing darkness.
A highlight was the jeep ride through the park and catching a working elephant at sunset.
Before heading back for dinner, Hemanth took us to a local Chai Shop for a welcome steaming cup of tea. Then back for a dinner of delicious traditional dishes from Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala. I like cooking so it was great to be able to go into the kitchen with the Chef and watch him at work with his spice box. I learnt a thing or two about how to cook the perfect dhal !
"The mist on the Nilgiri mountains made them look like a painting behind the emerald fringe of the tropical forest. "
The next morning we were up early for a dawn safari ride in Askhar’s jeep. He shared his knowledge and expertise on wildlife habits and conservation in the area, teaching us about the tigers, leopards and elephants and their interaction both in their natural habitat in the park and as they are pushed out towards human habitation as their populations grow.
Our conversation was interrupted as a young male tusker rushed out of a side path and mock charged us before crashing off into the undergrowth. A scary moment which our host took in his stride !
After this treat, we drove right into the tiger reserve for a guided early morning walk into the park with the misty Nilgiri mountains as an epic backdrop. We were slightly nervous that tigers could be in the vicinity but safe in the knowledge that our hosts were experts in their behaviour and habitat !
On the way back I was allowed to drive the jeep off road as well which was something I had always wanted to do, even managing to navigate it up an extreme off road track to get to a local viewing spot !
The locals were impressed !
Finally it was time to say goodbye to Askhar and his team before our long drive back to Bangalore. Thanks Hemanth for organising such a unique trip !
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