Bangalore-Mysore-Nagarhole

This was my third rajyotsava (state formation day) in Karnataka in the last four years. It was my niece Maansi’s birthday in the last week of October.  Bangalore was chill with continuous drizzle and fog all over because of the cyclonic weather.  We packed our bags and started for Mysore without any clear itinerary. On top of our mind was the Mysore Palace which we wanted to Shreya to see, since she is reading about the kings in her history classes. The palace was extremely crowded with the post-Dussera vacation and tourists. Hence we decided to skip it. Instead, we moved on to the Karanji lake and spent some time watching the birds.

The evening was spent at Chittaranjan Palace Hotel (The Green Hotel). The gardens were tastefully lit up and everywhere we could smell the sweet scented flowers. Our over night stay at this hotel was pleasant and enjoyable.  The morning was spent photographing the colourful flowers – the end-of-the-season Zinnias , bright red Exoras and lillies were a sight to behold! The rooms were nice and cozy and decorated with ethnic paintings.

Next morning we drove to Nagarhole National Park. The refreshing drive amidst the green forest led us to a resort amidst coffee plantations in Coorg region. But we did not plan to stay at the resort so did not bother about accommodation. The sad part of the trip was there was no good eatery anywhere close to the park! We managed to get some rice and rotis at a small joint. We returned to the park in the afternoon for a safari ride and what a ride it was! The rickety bus was not only noisy but also gave us the experience of a jungle roller coaster, rattling all the way. Just imagine, with so much noise which animal would dare to come close and give us its ‘darshan’. The park seemed more like a deer park with hundreds of them all around. We did not get to spot many animals. Perhaps, if we entered the park from the Kabini, the experience would have been a better one.