[mystiikmonk]

I have been an avid fan of Team-BHP travelogues for many years and as my member request got approved recently, this would be my first attempt to contribute to this already epic forum.

Cars and photography are something I am deeply passionate about. Cars, ever since I was a kid, and photography, a few years back.

With the new car (BMW 330Li M-Sport) delivered a month back and tight office schedules over last month, I was feeling restless for a long ride. Along with that, the school vacation season made it even worse to get hold of any good bookings on short notice, especially the JLR’s (Jungle Lodge and Resorts by Karnataka Govt). JLR's have good hospitality and monopoly over most of the good safaris that can be done in the jungles of Karnataka and hence it was always on my wish list.

As I was checking through all the resorts available, luckily for me one room was available for booking immediately at K-Gudi Wilderness Camp i.e. one of the JLR’s located at BR Hills. I had been to that area before in my Polo GT for 1-Day rides. I knew the road had some scenic routes once we entered the BR Hills area. Hence without further ado booked rooms immediately for the next day, charged up my camera, and went to sleep to be ready for the next day.

Route – What I had thought vs where I ended up....

I was sure not to take the Kanakpura road as, first it was single lane and last time around, I got stuck behind so many trucks and govt buses that, it spoilt the experience. Hence, I decided to take the route via Mysuru Expressway. I was happy as this would be my first ride on the expressway and the car, being my first luxury car purchase and that too being low slung one, I need not worry about scraping the underbody. Little did I know that Google Maps would have rerouted in the mid without me noticing and I ended up reaching BR Hills via Bengaluru - Mysuru Expy and Chamarajanagara-BR Hills instead of Bengaluru - Mysuru Expy -> Kollegala road. The latter road was particularly good, even though they were state highways and I returned via that road. I could easily maintain good speed throughout. The onward roads were not bad either, but it had a lot more country roads than expected and mostly through a lot of small villages/towns where roads were in not that pristine condition. Surprisingly, even with such roads, the BMW fared well. I was told about the raised ground clearance and not even once I scraped across the entire Journey.

The Route:


The country roads during onward journey:



Entry to the Jungle

Then we entered the jungle via check post. From the check post to the actual camp is around 10km and it's deep within the jungle. In this stretch, almost 15-20% are broken tarmac and sedans need to be careful. Along the way spotted some wildlife and had to click from inside the car as it was not advisable to get down around that area.

Post entering the checkpost:



Once we reached the JLR site, the place is like a small scenic site with a small water body within the jungle which is open to the public. You can see the Deers and Boars roaming around and people usually come for a day ride till here. Before we entered JLR, I had my breakfast there, which we had packed with us as we knew there were no food options available, except for JLR and that is also restricted to guests. I could not resist clicking a few car pics around that place.




The JLR Experience / Food/Safari

As this was my first JLR experience, I was curious to explore and understand why there is always hype around these stays. The booking amount includes the stay, food, and safari cost. The staff were very polite, friendly and that is something I immediately liked. They allowed us for an early check-in and meanwhile, we started exploring the property as well till lunchtime. We had opted for a Tent Room. Our room was decent and clean. There is also an option for cottage/log huts.

The stay area – Each accommodation is part of and faces the jungle. We could constantly hear the chirping sound of birds.

Accommodation area:



The food was good. I think the veg option during lunch could have been better. The dinner was nice and did hit the taste buds. Tea/Coffee and snacks were served before and after the safari.

Dinner:


As we stayed for 1 night, there were 2 scheduled safaris. One around 4 pm to 6.30 pm and the other one at 6 am. I had very less expectation from these safaris as wildlife spotting here is rare. Though there are chances of spotting tigers and leopards, again that is exceedingly rare. The safari naturalist tried his best for spotting and took us across the jungle on all routes.

I did manage to capture a few birds, a wild elephant, and a pack of wild dogs in pursuit of hunting.









Post our morning safari, we had a nice breakfast and finally checked out by 10 am and returned to Bangalore, finishing our quick weekend getaway

[ashish2135]

Lovely pictures. Even I am fond of cars and photography. I too picked up the same colour 330Li in March. Sadly I have not been able to take it for an outing till now.

Sharing some pictures of my car.

[OffRoadFun]

When you read an article on Team-BHP about a new BMW 330Li uncannily similar to one you saw in your parking lot and turns out your neighbor wrote the Team-BHP article!

Ha Ha! The world is indeed small now-a-days and privacy is history!

Nice trip and pictures BTW!

[megazoid]

nice trip. Congratulations on picking the car in a lovely shade. How is the BR hills road sections now? Good tarmac?

[mystiikmonk]

Originally Posted by ashish2135

Lovely pictures. Even I am fond of cars and photography. I too picked up the same colour 330Li in March. Sadly I have not been able to take it for an outing till now.

Sharing some pictures of my car.

Attachment 2449897

Attachment 2449898

Congrats and lovely to see my car twin!

Originally Posted by OffRoadFun

When you read an article on Team-BHP about a new BMW 330Li uncannily similar to one you saw in your parking lot and turns out your neighbor wrote the Team-BHP article!

Ha Ha! The world is indeed small now-a-days and privacy is history!

Nice trip and pictures BTW!

Genuinely surprised. I never expected this and am incredibly happy to have a fellow BHPian as a neighbor.

Originally Posted by megazoid

nice trip. Congratulations on picking the car in a lovely shade. How is the BR hills road sections now? Good tarmac?

Thank you and about the roads, once we enter the check post(via the onward road mentioned in the post), not that good I would say. But it's something that can be managed and once that intermittent bad stretch is over, it's smooth.
The return path was via the opposite check post. That whole stretch is completely good.

[mystiikmonk]

Glimpse of ride inside the jungle/BR Hills

https://youtu.be/GARl0pK4UD4

[iamceekay]

Great, I have seen your YouTube video, and in addition to that, I've read a 25-page forum discussion about the 330Li along with a few Reddit posts. You have also played a significant role in influencing my decision to purchase the 330Li. I am eagerly awaiting its delivery! So, thanks to both the forum and you!

Originally Posted by mystiikmonk

Glimpse of ride inside the jungle/BR Hills

https://Youtu.be/GARl0pK4UD4