Apr 08, 2014 02:20 PM
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I decided to try out the Bannerghatta National Park in the first week of February. Being a Saturday, the roads were quite free of traffic and since I had started early, it was a pleasant ride till the park. Twenty two kilometers away from Bangalore, it is a nice way to spend half a day in the wilderness away from the dust and pollution of the city. But, one must be wise enough to reach there early so that the crowd can be avoided.
Having reached there early enough, getting a ticket for the safari was not at all problematic. The safari costs Rs 200 per head and also includes a visit to the zoo, so works out quite well. As the time was still 9 AM, I decided to spend some time in the well maintained zoo of the park. The zoo houses a wide variety of animals and birds and it is surely a nice place to visit. It was quite scary to see different kinds of snakes like python, cobra and the like. Walking a bit further, one can see a wide variety of birds which add colour to the whole area around. My pick of the day was watching cheetahs roaming around in the open! (covered by fences of course). The zoo is a good place where one can easily spend an hour or two as the variety of animals and birds there is commendable. It is maintained well with good cleanliness and if you do not want to see everything there, you can just sit on one of the benches under the shade of a tree and just take some deep breaths.
After covering every area of the zoo, I headed to the safari zone. Being quite early in the morning, I could easily get into a van without waiting for long periods of time. As the van entered the forest, we could see a few crocodiles lying around lazily on the shores of the lake.As the van entered deeper, we could see a few bears and a tamed elephant too. The forest is nothing worth mentioning and being the starting of the summer time, it looked dry as well.
After a few minutes, the van entered the lions zone where we could see lots of lions on the other side of the fence. The king of the jungle is not found in the southern part of India, and hence it is a treat to watch them. The very sight of them is majestic! On entering the Tiger zone, we could see a whole army of tigers. Some were watching us intently, while some just did not care and went on with their own business. The sight of white tigers was exceptional and was surely the highlight of the safari.If your luck is good, you can see tigers sitting on the path right in front of the vehicle.But we had no such luck, though we did see two huge tigers resting on a platform a stone's throw away from the road.
Though it is heartening to watch these wild animals, it does not quite give the pleasure of watching an animal in the real wilderness. It does have an artificiality attached to it and that is the sore point.If you have visited some wildlife sanctuaries, then chances are high that you would be quite disappointed with the park, as it is akin to seeing the animals in a zoo which resembles a forest.
After about an hour, the safari was over and the vehicle stopped precisely at the same point where it started. On getting down, I walked towards the newly built Butterfly park. The entry fee to the park is very nominal at 5 Rs. It has a man made enclosure where the conditions are simulated for the butterflies to thrive. On entering the enclosure, one is greeted with the pleasant smell of flowers and the whole area has a colourful ambience. The butterflies are the cynosure of all eyes here and make sure you come here with good camera to capture the beautiful creatures. There is also a museum which displays vital information about the butterflies and it is a very informative place. One can also make use of the audio visual library there. This is surely a must visit place in the park.
As far as the food is concerned, there are some eateries outside the park, though I am not quite sure of the quality. It is better to carry water from home as the mineral water available there is unreliable. The crowd gets big after 11PM and it is highly advisable to start early so that you can have a pleasant and an enjoyable trip.
So if you are looking for a short trip or a picnic on a weekend, this is a good enough place for your family to enjoy for half a day. The zoo has enough ammunition to keep the children happy. The safari is an enjoyable drive through the forest and the sight of tigers and lions bring cheer.For the nature enthusiasts and photo freaks, there is the butterfly park. Head to the national park when free and have a good time, which will be a nice change from hectic days.
