[infinitewheel]

Originally Posted by sdp1975

Are there any safari options for visitors not staying in Jungle Lodges ? If any, what are the timings and location ?

I'll visit and return on the same day.

I had been there an year back. Yes there is option for Govt. safari. You have to be there by 6 to 6.30 am to get in the morning safari and it will be for about 1.5 to 2 hours depending on the spottings. jungle lodges do offer safari but the price is very expensive and they take you through the same route. But the checkpost in the foothill opens only by 6 am. I went during the month of June. It was very cold. Just spotted few elephants, barking deer, spotted deer and wild dogs. Most part of the safari the forest was covered by mist in the morning. If you are planning for a one full day trip i would advice you to go in for both morning and evening safari to see atleast something if you are really interested in wildlife. But the forest is very thick where the safari is through a narrow road in the slope of the hills and is really a thrill. Occasionally they do cancel the safaris when the jeep is being blocked by tuskers.

[anupkma]

Visited K gudi end of August. Route was Belandur-Silk board-hosur road- nice road-kanakpura road-kollegal-yelandur-br hills- k gudi. Didn't spot many animals in the safari. It was kind of wet and rainy both the days we stayed there. The route is no issue (except getting out of Bangalore if you start late)

[ozzyrules]

I'm planning to visit KGudi/BR hills on the way back from Coimbatore. Google maps shows a turnoff from NH 209 (red circle in the image below). Has anyone tried this route and is it advisable? Or is it better to maybe drive till Chamarajanagar and then head to Kgudi?

[ampere]

Originally Posted by ozzyrules

I'm planning to visit KGudi/BR hills on the way back from Coimbatore. Google maps shows a turnoff from NH 209 (red circle in the image below). Has anyone tried this route and is it advisable? Or is it better to maybe drive till Chamarajanagar and then head to Kgudi?

Attachment 1143684

I think traffic may be totally barred from these interior roads. The standard road is the best. Check with the officials out there and see what they have to say.

[hvkumar]

Originally Posted by ozzyrules

I'm planning to visit KGudi/BR hills on the way back from Coimbatore. Google maps shows a turnoff from NH 209 (red circle in the image below). Has anyone tried this route and is it advisable? Or is it better to maybe drive till Chamarajanagar and then head to Kgudi?

Attachment 1143684

This is an excellent road that goes through the forests - there is a check post too - but not sure if it is open 24x7 (may be closed at night). Expect wildlife crossings.

[ozzyrules]

Originally Posted by hvkumar

This is an excellent road that goes through the forests

Thank you! Will be at this place by around noon, so should be okay.

[Fauji]

Originally Posted by ozzyrules

Thank you! Will be at this place by around noon, so should be okay.

You need to take Chamarajngar - BR Hills road. You can check it at Chamarajnagar for direction. The road is is fairly good condition. But curvy. Add extra hour to your overall estimate of travel time.We did it sometime in June. It is narrow at some places. Hardly any traffic. Fantastic valley views. You may not be allowed to stop and take pictures as the forest patrols will be active. You can try your luck. High chances of wildlife spotting especially elephants. If lucky even leopard or tiger! Enjoy the drive.

[lancer_rit]

Originally Posted by anupkma

Visited K gudi end of August. Route was Belandur-Silk board-hosur road- nice road-kanakpura road-kollegal-yelandur-br hills- k gudi. Didn't spot many animals in the safari. It was kind of wet and rainy both the days we stayed there. The route is no issue (except getting out of Bangalore if you start late)

When we visited in September, the forest was really dense and green due to the rains. It rained during our evening safari for half the time.
Animal spotting is based on chance, but we did see a good bit - many spotted deer and barking deer, gaur, mongoose, sloth bear, elephant, langur, wild hog, owl, crested eagle, kingfisher, peacock, jungle fowl, red woodpecker and few other birds. Also, saw tiger pugmarks.

[rohitrag]

Originally Posted by rohitrag

Thank you all for the clarifications. So i think the most ideal route to the K Gudi Wilderness camp is kanakapura-malavalli-kollegal-yelandur-BR Hills - K Gudi. This is the route I am going to take and will post about my experience driving this route once I am back after my trip in October.

I took the route from Yelandur via BR Hills to K Gudi. As expected, there was barely any traffic except for one bus in the opposite direction and one tractor which we had to trail for some distance as there was no space left for us to overtake the tractor. On the return journey, we tried to be adventurous and also wanted to see the part of the forest from Kgudi towards Chamrajnagar side, so we took the road towards Chamrajnagar and on enquiring with some of the drivers at K Gudi, we were told that the road from Nagavalli to Yelandur is quite good, decided to give it a go. The road from K Gudi till the forest checkpost was excellent and the day we drove, it was fairly misty and the drive was amazing. After the forest checkpost, the road deteriorates but is driveable till Nagavalli. At nagavalli, we took a right towards Yelandur. This road was bad from the word go. You will pass a village every 5 mins and 16 kms took us around 40 minutes. The road is full of potholes and villagers who couldnt care to walk off the road. It was a mistake taking this road to Yelandur and we should have stuck to the BR Hills route which directly goes to Yelandur. Anyway, it was a lesson learnt the hard way, but watching the slow pace of village life along the way, observing people waiting for that one off bus to show up taught us a lesson or two about patience. Given how fast we expect things to happen working in the corporate world and living in a relatively fast city like Bangalore, village life is really refreshing to see, even if from the comfort of the airconditioning in the Car. Hope this note is useful for future visitors to K Gudi and BR Hills. Oh, and we saw a leopard (no photo), wild elephant, mongoose and loads of spotted and barking deer and enjoyed a couple of thrilling safaris in the BRT Sanctuary. Will post pictures soon.. Cheers..

[ozzyrules]

Originally Posted by rohitrag

enjoyed a couple of thrilling safaris in the BRT Sanctuary.

What are the safari timings and do they have different vehicles like Gypsy, Swaraj Mazda...etc?

[rohitrag]

Originally Posted by ozzyrules

What are the safari timings and do they have different vehicles like Gypsy, Swaraj Mazda...etc?

The safaris were organised by Jungle Lodges and is part of the itinerary of the stay. They take you on one safari of 3 hrs at 3:30 pm and one in the morning for 2 hours at 6:30 am. The safari is on a Mahindra Bolero open top jeep. I think the forest department office at K Gudi also organises its own safaris for people not staying at the JLR Resort. I am not aware of the timings of those safaris though.
Cheers

[Gokrish]

Originally Posted by ozzyrules

What are the safari timings and do they have different vehicles like Gypsy, Swaraj Mazda...etc?

BRT forest department has a guest house at K Gudi in addition to JLR accommodation. The contact no is +918226222059 and the office is at Chamrajnagara. Mr.Lingaraja, IFS is the Chief conservator and his no is +919482597660 and one Mr. Ali Khan is the Range Forest Officer. Both CF and RFO were very friendly and very resourceful. The major issue is getting accommodation at state forest guest house! I had to do a lot of convincing the CF to book the accommodation. It is actually dead cheap compared to JLR and was in the region of around Rs.1500 including food and acco for two adults and one child. However, since safari vehicle was not available, we were accommodated at JLR jeeps and had to pay around 1,200 for three of us. Try your luck at the above phone nos.

[Swifdeep]

Did Bengaluru - BR Hills - Nanjanagud - Bangalore on 01.11.2013. Started at 7:30AM and was back home (Maruthi Sevanagar) by 11PM.
Took the Bangalore - Mysore Road for the onward journey, and it took 3 hours to reach Channapatna (72 kms).

Vehicle pile up at the hump just before Ramanagar signal.


There was heavy traffic until we turned on to SH33 (towards Malavalli) at Maddur. SH 33 is pot hole ridden until Malavalli. NH209 from Malavalli-Kollegal-Yelandur is in pristine condition, though its 2 laned (Chose the Blr-Mysr road only for the eatery options) .

Yelandur to BR Hills is typical village (narrow) road alternating from Good to Ok'ish and can be easily managed by an Hatchback (I travelled in my Swift). Toll of Rs. 15 at BR Hills, finished Darshan in about 30 mins (Temple is closed between 2 & 3 in the afternoon) and had lunch at Giridhama (I think). Full meals of 1 Chapathi & Pappad, unlimited Rice, Sambar, Rasam and Buttermilk at Rs. 50.00 per meal, was acceptable considering there were no other options at BR Hills.

Took the BR Hills - K.Gudi - Chamarajnagar road towards Nanjanagud and thereafter via Mysore to Bangalore with one stop at Channapatna for Dinner. Traffic during return journey was moderate without any holdups.

Some photos from the BRH - K. Gudi stretch:









This road (as written by others) is in good condition and very pictersque. Though we did not spot any wildlife, it was jittery, especially with the heaps of (elephant) dung all over the road. Updated the register at K. Gudi and exited there after.

[ozzyrules]

Had been to K.Gudi and BR hills last week, on the way back from Coimbatore. NH 209 is in very good condition and fun to drive.
The turn-off to K.Gudi from NH 209 as per Google maps is not motorable. Had to take the Chamarajanagar-K.Gudi road.
The forest dept has a safari starting at 3.30 pm and they charge Rs.400 per person. Guess they have a morning safari at around 7 am. This is in a covered Bolero, not sure if they have other vehicle options.
The check-posts at BR hills (there are 2 of them) close at 6 pm and traffic is barred both directions. If you are not staying in BR hills/K.Gudi, make sure you get past the check-posts before 6 pm. From K.Gudi, account for at least 45 min to reach the last check-post.

[NPV]

Originally Posted by ozzyrules

The turn-off to K.Gudi from NH 209 as per Google maps is not motorable. Had to take the Chamarajanagar-K.Gudi road.

Do you mean the road from Yellandur ? Last I remember, only the first 2-3Km from Yellandur was being relaid but rest of the road was motorable.
Did you stay in K Gudi ? If so where ?