#WeekendGetawaysRock: A Wildlife Safari in Mudumalai Tiger Park and Reserve

Have you ever been on an exciting adventure in the jungle, with a mix of fun, daring and learning?

A wildlife safari is a perfect escape from the everyday monotony! My visit to Mudumalai National Park and Reserve was one of them. Here’s more about it.

The Mudumalai National Park and Wildlife Sanctuary—also a declared tiger reserve—lies on the northwestern side of the Nilgiri Hills, in Nilgiri District, about 150 kilometres north-west of Coimbatore city in Tamil Nadu.

Our First Jungle Safari!

We were a group of six people (3 males and 3 females) who were looking forward to our first jungle safari. The whole idea was to leave behind the noise and traffic of Bangalore city, and set out into the jungle to observe, photograph and enjoy wildlife and nature.

In a jungle safari, typically, a gypsy takes you deep into the national park—it is similar to a long drive, but with a twist. It is an amazing experience to just be surrounded by the greens and the browns—the bliss of a jungle!

Once the place was decided, it was time to finalize the arrangements. Luckily for us, one of our friends had already visited the place, and knew about the places to stay and visit in Mudumalai. We also had in our group two expert drivers, who knew how to navigate the serpentine roads of the hills.

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The Perfect Travel Plan for Mudumalai National Park

This is how we planned our trip to Mudumalai National Park:

1. Travel Mode: Self Driven Car
2. Place to Stay: Depending on the budget, one can choose a hotel or an independent villa. We stayed at a villa with a pool.  A villa gives you the luxury to roam around the place, have your own bonfire and speak and laugh as loudly as you want. Our package also included two means – breakfast and dinner.
3. Night Safari: Optional but totally worth it! We hired a local driver who knew the place and had an open jeep of his own. Driving at night under the street lights in the city is a breeze, but driving in the jungle with only the lights of the jeep is a different challenge altogether.
4. Food: We ate at the villa and the small hotels near the reserve.
5. Places to Visit: We visited the Tiger Reserve, took a night safari, and drove to the nearby lake where we saw some wild elephants and deer drinking water.
6. Drinks: We were carrying quite a few bottles of beer and vodka with us, and it proved to be a blessing as the wine shops were at quite a distance from our villa.

The Drive from Bangalore to Mudumalai

We took the Mysore Road from Bangalore, a pretty straight road to Mudumalai. En route, we met a lot of monkeys, chitkaras and wild buffaloes. The road was filled with dust, and there were stretches where we hardly saw any humans—the excitement was growing! We left early in the morning and reached by afternoon.

Upon reaching, we quickly took a bath and changed. By the time we were ready, the janitor of the villa had laid out a sumptuous lunch for us, consisting of traditional South Indian dishes like idly, sambhar, dosa, vada, rice and rasam. We also had paneer paratha and phulka.

The Call of the Wild!

The driver took us through the settlement and into the jungle—we had high hopes of seeing wild animals! However, one hour into the journey, and there were still no signs of any. All we could see was some monkeys and chimpanzees. Our hopes were going down, as was the sun, and we were quickly losing hope. Just when it was time for us to return, we started grumbling and complaining as to how the whole trip was wasted. Suddenly, the driver turned back.

When we looked up we saw a gigantic male elephant accompanied by two others crossing our path. Then we saw a variety of deer and chitals, along with exotic birds, peacocks and colourful scenery. We travelled for some more time in the hope of sighting a tiger. That would have been an icing on the cake but that was not to be. While returning, we visited a watering hole used by the wild animals.

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An Evening of Fun in the Forest

The sun was setting in, and by the time we reached the villa, it was pitch dark. We assembled at a place at a little distance away from the villa and lit up our own bonfire. And then began a never-ending session of stories, office gossip, and the mandatory ‘ghost story’ and encounters with the supernatural. One of our friends started playing songs on his guitar and we sang along (it is for days like these that guys learn the guitar, mainly to impress girls!). We ate and drank through the night, shared jokes and exchanged random gossip. The next day by afternoon, we were ready to leave with the hope of coming again for a longer duration. It was a weekend well spent.   

As they say, when in Rome, do as the Romans do. Make sure you too abide by the laws of the jungle—it can prove an interesting deviation from our human laws.

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