Dandeli , is one of the best Tourist Attractions of Karnataka . Located in the Uttara Kannada District of Karnataka state, the place boasts of a rich fauna & flora . Tourists flock here from all over the world to enjoy its beauty & charm . Life at Dandeli is all peace and calm for there are huge forest areas with very few habitants . Located at a peaceful and quite place , Dandeli is definitely a tribute to all the Nature lovers .
The GROUP-19 Trip :
Our trip to Dandeli , was a really well executed one ! We were a big group of 19 people all together , people from different places but most of us currently based in Bangalore . The Group , GROUP-19 , would be a convenient way to address all of us ! Though , after school , I never got an opportunity to have a trip with such a big group , but , I must still admit , having a big group too has its own advantages and is much more fun .
Dandeli , is quite far, around 500km , from Bangalore . Though there is a bus facility direct from Bangalore to Dandeli , we preferred alterenate mode of travel . So,striking down all the options including cars, taxi, bus we fixed on Train . The plan was to travel in a train from Bangalore to Hubli and from there hire a taxi to Dandeli,as Hubli to Dandeli is just 75kms. As per plan , we left Bangalore on a Friday night and boarded the Rani Chennama Express from Bangalore at 21:15 and reached Hubli next day morning at 05:30 . We took the taxi and left for Dandeli .
The places for staying in Dandeli are generally costly and spare .Its very hard to get the right place to stay in Dandeli which are both reasonable and good . But luckily, for us, we had got our stay arranged in Kulgi Nature Camp . The stay was very cheap and very good , surrounded by beautiful and calm nature on all sides . The best thing about Kulgi Nature camp is that you will be free from all the electronic gadgets here and would really enjoy the nature around you .
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| Cottages at Kulgi Nature Camp |
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| Malbar Squirrel (Indian giant squirrel) found near the Nature Camp |
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| A Butterfly ! |
Dandeli is very famous for the Kali River Rafting . There are 2 session of river rafting ,one in the morning around 09:00 and the other in the noon , around 14:00 . The only main problem is river rafting is performed from the water released from the Supa Dam . If there is no water released , there wont be any river rafting that day . And , the worst part is that ,the rafting officials will get to know only in the morning whether there would be river rafting that day or not.
S01E01 : The Dandeli Introductory day :
It was already noon and we hadnot seen any place in Dandeli . We thought of going to River rafting in the noon but unfortunately , they couldnot accommodate all of us in a single batch . So, left with no options of river rafting , we decided to go for Jungle trekking .
Sathkand Falls trekking:
We chose Sathkand Falls trekking . The whole trekking was a great adventure .We had to trek around 5-6 km to reach the base of the falls. The trek was a great experience . The trekking route consisted of passing thru green forest , slippery rock climbing , river crossing , and more importantly dodging leeches . Leeches were there everywhere and none were spared by it . After a long tiring trek , we finally reached the falls . The falls was a great experience . The best thing with these falls is that you can enjoy standing beneath it and feel the force of falling water ! After spending an hour or so , we left back to our camp . Again , we had to trek back 4-5 kms , and this time the route was quite easy compared to the previous one !
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| The trekking trails enroute to Sathkand Falls |
Sykes Point :
Done with trekking , once we reached our base camp , all were exhausted and tired . After some rest , we decided to go to Sykes point . Sykes point , offers a splendid panoramic view of the Kali River (Karnataka) flowing through the valley below . Permissions for Sykes point can be obtained from KPCL security office at Ambikanagar . I personally feel that its one of the best places in Dandeli to have a panoramic view , and is best visited at Sunset . Also, one can spot many giant Hornbills flying here . The view from here is so mesmerizing that people tend to forget all their worries and get lost in the mesmerizing beauty of the view !
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| View From Sykes point |
Done with the Sykes point , we ended our day by going back to our Camp . For the day was setting and the night was still young , and when you are in a big group of 19 people or so , there can be so many games/activities which can entertain you all night !
S01E02 : The Big Next Day :
This was our second day in Dandeli and we dint want to waste even a single second of the whole day .
But unfortunately, even today we could not go with River rafting . We were told that Dam officials arent leaving water today . Sad & disheartened , with our only hope of River rafting lost , we had to make some alternate arrangements to spend our entire day .
Syntheri Rocks :
After talking with local forest officer here , we decided that we would visit Syntheri Rocks in the morning . Syntheri rocks is another good place to visit in Dandeli . Syntheri rock is a 300-ft tall monolith granite located on the banks of Kaneri river .
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| Syntheri Rocks |
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| Waterfall at Syntheri Rocks |
After Syntheri Rock , we spent some time enjoying in the water of Kaneri River .
Kavala Caves :
In the noon , since there was no rafting possible , we decided to visit Kavala Caves . Kavala Caves, also called as Limestone caves is located 25 km away from the base camp at Dandeli . Kavala cave got its name from the Kavaleshwara temple, located inside the cave. These are small caves formed by volcanic activity . Located quite below the main ground surface , one has to walk down around 450 steps to reach to the caves . There is a huge Shivalinga located in the middle of the cave . Its said the the Shivalinga grows in size every year . The place will be all crowded by devotees during the time of Shivratri .
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| Shivalinga of Kavala caves |
Kavala caves marked an end of our Dandeli trip . Unwillingly, we had to departure from Dandeli , for we had to resume our usual routine life. Half-heartedly ,we left Dandeli to board a train from Hubli to Bangalore that night !
Overall, our trip was a huge success and I am sure all of us would cherrish these memories their entire life .
Dandeli undoubtedly is one of the best tourist attractions in Karnataka and is one of the best place for a good trip with your friends and family . Dandeli is a place every traveller must visit more than once in his life !
Note : Below image gives various activities and its approx rates in Dandeli and also contact number of Dandeli forest Office : (for booking cottages)
