Travel makes us feel one with nature and with each other. It gives us time to see and absorb the wonders of nature. The calming effect on our body and mind when one with nature is indescribable. When traveling with a group we tend to be in rhythm with one another irrespective of the fact that every human is different, belonging to a different caste and culture. We feel connected and in harmony and open our minds to being one amongst diversity.

We didn’t waste any time and got ready to explore Dandeli. As it was evening we thought of visiting resorts first. We explored 4 resorts for our stay and later visited Crocodile park on the bed of Kali river. Next we wanted to visit Supa Dam but time didn’t permit so had to go back to our resort and enjoyed authentic karnataka food. As we were exhausted, we went to bed early for we knew that the next day will be tiring and hectic.

Next day we got up early and were out of our resort as early as 06:30 in the morning for bird watching. One of the highlights of Dandeli is that it is a home to 4 of hornbills out of the worlds 9 species and we were lucky enough to see Malabar pied hornbill, common grey hornbill, woodpeckers, kingfishers and peacocks. Later we headed for River kali for thrilling water activities. Dandeli is a hotspot for rafting enthusiasts and magnetizes people to come and try their hand at taming the rapids of this river.

Kayaking, Floating and swimming in river water and Natural Jacuzzi is another water activity that can be done easily and yet is thrilling fun. We enjoyed all the activities including Zip line and Ball Zorbing. Being so amazing and thrilling one would not wish to be out of the river but time moves on and so we too had to move.`

Now it was time to explore land and be with nature yet again. This time we headed to Kali tiger reserve which is known for being home to the big five; Elephant, Bison, Panther, Tiger and Leopard. We got our permit ready for 03:30pm safari and luckily we were the first to enter, in an open jeep, penetrating through dense and lush green forests for about 14 kilometers. I have been to many tiger safaris before in Ranthambore, Corbett, Satpura, Kanha etc. but never encountered a tiger and here too I was not expecting any spotting. But suddenly our driver stopped the jeep and we saw a tiger right in front of us.

Oh God!! A BIG CAT royally moving on the track and later we could hear some noise from the bushes and could see two more tiger cubs may be a year old playing around the bushes. I swear it was a mix feeling of excitement and fear as cubs were coming towards us. One of the Cub was so close to our jeep smelling the jeep and looking at us. They were so close that we could feel their breath. Trust me my heart was in my mouth for a few seconds and it took us some time to get back to normal. We were feeling royal with the sight of these 3 royal Big cats. Taking these mixed feelings from the safari we went to see Supa Dam and returned back to our resort.

The encounter was so mind boggling that we wanted to go again for a safari and planned for a night safari. So freshened up, finished with our dinner, relaxed for sometime and were out for night safari at 11:00pm. This time we could see some spot deer, Blue bull and fox. Nevertheless, night is again in itself a thrill when u are in the jungle, with different sounds and fear with limited vision.

Excited and tired we returned back to our resort at almost 01:00am. As we had our train at 08:00am the other morning we left Dandeli at 06:00am with box full of thrilling memories ranging from water to land, from river to nature and with a new destination in our existing list of destinations.

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