The plan to go to Dandeli National Park in the weekend was quite sudden. After searching the internet for a while I found the only reasonably priced place to stay was Kulgi Nature Camp. But unfortunately none of the websites provided an immediate booking facility or the availability of rooms. However the phone number of the DFO of Anshi-Dandeli National Park was provided. I made a quick call and after confirming the dates a phone booking was made.
The rest of it was easy.
How to Book
1. Call this DFO Office
DFO Office Phone No : STD - 08284 Ph- 231585
2. Confirm the booking by sending a Demand Draft to the DFO Office
The Anshi-Dandeli National Park can be approached from different directions. the most straight forward way is to reach Dharwad. Dharwad is a big town and there are buses that run from Dharwad to Dandeli. The other places that are nearby are Londa Station and Alnawar station.
We chose to try it out from Londa station. After getting down from the train at Londa we were staring at a small station without a clue how to reach Dandeli. We had a quick breakfast of Vada Pao and tea at the station and after some enquiries we walked about a couple of 100 metres to a jeep/trekker stand nearby. There are shops on both sides of the road outside the station and one can have snacks here also.
We got to know that the way to reach Dandeli is
- Londa to Ramnagar Bus Stand (By trekker or jeep) - Approx Rs 20 per head
- Ramnagar to Dandeli Bus Stand ( By bus or trekker ) - Bus is approx Rs 40 per head and Trekker is almost double of that. Hiring the whole trekker would cost about Rs 600.
The Ramnagar bus stand is a good place and we found a bus to Dandeli. The bus was slow but the weather was fantastic and we enjoyed the journey.
How to Reach Dandeli
1. Reach Dharwad
- Direct bus available from Dharwad
2. Reach Alnawar
- Not explored
3. Reach Londa Junction - Londa junction to Ramnagar Bus Stand. Ramnagar to Dandeli by bus.
Dandeli is a small town with a lot of variety of shops , garages and vehicles. If the bus is going beyond Dandeli bus stand one can get down near the next stop ( near to Bharat Petroleum station and KC Circle). The DFO office is walking distance from there. The Broad banner outside the DFO office area says "Govt Timber Depot and Sawmills Dandeli"). We missed this place initially ,but walked back and then found the DFO Office. The officials were friendly. They asked us if we had sent a DD to confirm the booking. We did not. But the booking was still valid and we paid Rs 1000 for a night's stay at the Kulgi Nature Camp and got a couple of copy of the receipts. One recipt was for us ,and the other one was for the Range Forest Officer at Kulgi.
After completing the formalities we also bought a couple of handy books on birds of Anshi and Dandeli , Rs 30 a piece. There was a hard bound book with lots of photos available at a discounted price of Rs 1200. Being on a tight budget we decided to skip that.
Our next destination was the Kulgi Nature camp. We came to know there are buses and trekkers and autos from KC Circle towards Kulgi Nature Camp.KC circle is Kittur Channamma Circle, a small place where we soon found out that there are hardly any buses. The best thing to do would be to hitch a ride or pay an auto or jeep to take you directly to the nature camp.
How to reach Kulgi Nature Camp ?
- Dandeli - Kulgi - 12 km though forest area ( Rs 300 approx cost of an auto or jeep)
- Very few buses on this route
- Lots of travel agents around who can arrange the drop to Kulgi Nature Camp
We found a Tours and Travels agent nearby who was a very nice chap and talked to a trekker to give us a lift till Kulgi. He mentioned that he can get a sightseeing day trip done and provided us several options like picking up from Kulgi and dropping us in Dandeli after sightseeing.
Tour Operators
S Lad. Phone number - 9741263402 ( The helpful guy in Dandeli)
With a lift from the trekker we reached the Kulgi Village crossing. The Kulgi Nature Camp is just about 500 metres walk from the crossing.
Since there are no mobile towers near Kulgi , hence landline numbers are the only way to communicate here.
Important Phone Numbers
Kulgi DCF Office - 08284-332981
Kulgi Range Office - 08284-258553
Kulgi Nature Camp - 08284-291831
Rates at Kulgi Nature Camp
There are two different camps side by side, the booking format is same.
1> Kulgi Timber Trails Camp ( Log Houses - slightly costlier than the tents)
2> Kulgi Nature Camp ( Deluxe Tents( with attached bathrooms- Rs 1000) , normal tents ( common bathrooms - Rs 500) and a dormitory ( 12 people- Rs 150 ) )
Check in/Out at Kulgi
After reaching the nature camp we came to know about the timings.
Check in - 3 PM
Check out - 1 PM
Although these timings seemed a bit out of normal , we decided to order the lunch. It was a simple vegetarian lunch of chappatis, rotis, sambar, poriyal and a curry. However it was delicious. I was amazed how well it was cooked. We can to know that we can order any food as long as we order it before they go to the market. So we ordered a chicken curry for dinner.
We walked around the camp lazily till the checkouts were complete and tents were cleaned. The dormitory was also very clean. All the tents are named after birds and nicely made. The tents have a protection of tin or corrugated sheet at the top and straw to keep it cool. The bathroom portion is made of concrete , but the tent is real. It is made of some good polyester kind of stuff with mosquito nets and even door locks.
The tent platform is on concrete with carpets. Each tent has two wrought iron cots ,complete with bedsheets,pillows, blankets and two chairs to sit outside or inside. Deluxe tents were also provided towels. All other toiletries (like soap ,shampoo , toothpaste etc ) were available at an extra cost.
We came to know that bicycles were available on rent (Rs 50 per bicycle) and we can ride in the forest towards Kali River backwaters. My fried wanted to have a swim , so we hired a couple of nice bicycles and rode into the forest. After a few kilometres it was just the forest and us. We found the Kali River backwaters and it looked tempting. But after trying out from different sides we could not find the approach road to the backwaters. The undergrowth in the forest was pretty thorny and it was difficult to walk. At a few places we found some roads which were blocked and posing several threats like anyone who crosses that point can be charged under section xx etc . We figured out that no one has crossed those markings for a long time else the undergrowth would have been manageable.
We decided to turn around and bicycle as far as we can. But we got tired after an hour or so and decided to return. By that time the late afternoon sun was directly on our face and it was quite a hike.
After several stops and avoiding the wrath of several groups of monkeys we reached Kulgi.
We decided to have a cool drink at the nearby shop. It was a indeed a tremendous ride.
After returning to our rooms and having a quick bath we decided to do a short trek in the birder's trail. This was a pleasant 2 km walk.We found Ramu who agreed to be our guide. He walked us through the forest and showed us some birds from the watchtower near a natural pond. He informed us that bears were seen there a few days back. We saw some elephant droppings also.
Although Ramu did not appear much of a guide in terms of knowledge about birds and trees, he knew the way through the birder's trail. There was another watchtower on the main road after the end of the trail. This is a wonderful place and gives a panoramic view of the whole Anshi - Dandeli reserve.
We walked back to the camp and it was already dark. But it was a pleasant walk and seemed to be pretty safe. Back at the camp we had tea at a local shop nearby and decided to bicycle in the dark in another direction. But it was a bad idea. The dogs at the Kulgi Village started barking and soon we had a hoard of dogs to silence. We figured it would be safest to return to the camp. back at the camp we spent time in the open courtyard watching the full moon night. It was pleasant. We talked to the guys in the camp. Mr. Chandrakanth who was the officer in the camp said that he can arrange a vehicle next day to Kavala caves. We paid Ramu Rs 200 for his guide services and headed for dinner.
The dinner was again excellent. Although the chicken pieces were all terribly cut with all shapes and sizes ,the cooking was excellent and the overall meal was very satisfying.
After confirming our next day plan we retired to our tents