At a glance Dandeli Wildlife Sanctuary the domain of the black panther is spread around the raging rapids of the sprightly Kali River in the forests of the Western Ghats of Karnataka's Uttara Kannada District.
About the city Dandeli Wildlife Sanctuary is home to that most mysterious of the big cats in the tropics the Black Panther. Official records say that eight of them exist here and many have indeed seen them. Arboreal creatures from the Flying Squirrel, the Flying Snake and the Flying Lizard also call Dandeli home, and so do a variety of hornbills. Not to forget van manav (jungle man), or the slender loris, that makes a sure shot appearance soon after sunset amidst the branches of the moist deciduous trees in the nearly 450 sq km area of Dandeli, reputedly the oldest declared game reserve in the country. Visit Dandeli to experience the great wilderness, but not in the hope of seeing big game elephants, gaur, sambhar or chital. They all live here for sure, but definitely not in such large numbers for them to be spotted unfailingly like in most other forests of South India.
How to reach Road: Car - A long drive from Bangalore, taking almost 10 hrs, so leave early En route halt - Hotel Aishwariya (Tel: 08194-431823-25) in Chitradurga Bus - A better option on a short weekend, as plenty of overnight buses are available. Catch the direct VRL bus connection or the KSRTC buses. Rail: Nearest railhead: Dharwad (56 km/ 1 1/2 hrs) Best option TO Rani Chennamma Express (dep: Bangalore City 9 pm; arr: Dharwad 5.55 am). Taxi charges Rs 500 to Dandeli Journey Time Road: 11 hrs Rail: 9 hrs + 1 1/2 hrs by road
Distances 481 km North West from Bangalore From Bangalore NH4 to Dharwad via Tumkur, Chitradurga, Davangere, Haveri and Hubli SH28 to Dandeli via Haliyal
Best Seasons October to June
Places in and around The hornbills The rather strange thing about Dandeli is the huge presence of colourful hornbills, those birds that seem to have come straight out of a mythical locale, with beaks that look like medieval swords. You can see literally hundreds of them, comprising both the Great Indian Hornbill and the Malabar Pied Hornbill, towards early morning and evening, raucously roosting in the branches of the Indian birch. They also favour the bamboo clusters along the banks of the Kali in the vicinity of the small town of Dandeli. The hornbill is an extremely rare bird, found only in certain stretches of the Western Ghats. you will always come across several of them in the deeper recesses of the forests on the ghats, but to be able to spot one you did have to trek many a mile. But in Dandeli you see them in hordes, and right amidst human civilisation. So much so that a lady herpetologist that I met there labelled them the crows of Dandeli! Bizarre, but true. Crocodile watching Imagine going down river in a coracle and then, even before you have realised it, being surrounded by over a hundred and fifty crocodiles! That's exactly what will happen to you if you went down the Kali to a place just outside the precincts of Dandeli town! The story of the crocodiles can be traced to the setting up of the West Coast Paper Mill in the 1950s, which unfortunately releases pulp waste into the waters of the Kali. The crocodiles, over the years, have begun to enjoy eating the waste! They congregate in unusually large numbers and are almost completely unaffected by human activity. White-water rafting If there is adventure inside you and the will to give it a shot, then hop onto a rubber dinghy and attempt to tame the rapids on the Kali. Cascade down the swirling waters and feel your heart thump. Or get into a coracle and gently sail over the waters as you notice a cormorant drying itself on a rock with its black wings spread wide. If you hear a splash, safely conclude that a crocodile has slipped into the waters, a little ahead of you.