It is my third post and the common link in all of them has been wildlife. By chance or by plan, can't say, but it is enjoyable definitely. Every time we go on these holidays I keep thinking to myself, what if someday, all these animals develop the kind of mental abilities that we possess and gang up and put us behind the bars in those cages. It is only our mental abilities that make us powerful, just imagine a lion with its prowess and add a pinch of mental ability, visualize the kind of mayhem they could unleash!! Scary right? I am also not a great admirer of seeing caged animals, but in spite of all this, I just read somewhere that wildlife and zoo trips are actually good.
Anyways let me leave all these thoughts behind and relive that day at Bannerghatta National Park (BNP), Bangalore. Its been quite a while since, we had promised Saksham a visit to BNP, and he has been excited about it and looking forward to see some "white animals" (I mentioned to him, that there were white tigers). Finally we get instigated by someone's trip and decide to make good use of the holiday on Good Friday.
We managed to get going by 1130 from Kundalahalli and reach BNP by 1245. Go straight after you hit the Bannerghatta road until you reach Bannerghatta Police Station junction, there is a misleading sign board there or rather we mistook it. BNP is ahead on the road with a slight left, but we took the road to Anekal and Jigani. That stretch is quite barren and we wondered if BNP was set amidst a barren land. Got directions from some localities and turned back and lost 1/2 hr. Anyways we reach there and devour the lunch we carried from home and getting going.
There are combined tickets for the Safari and the zoo, or rather it was like we get a free entry into the zoo with safari ticket. It costs you Rs 210/- (weekend\holiday price) per adult. The safari timings are from 11am to 4pm, while the zoo remains open till 5:30 in the evening. The place has good facilities for parking and is also well connected by BMTC buses. Volvos(365) and Big 10(G4) buses ply regularly on this route.
There were lot of people waiting for the safari, BNP has provided good facilities for waiting and the whole process is done in a orderly manner, no people rushing and no standing for a long time. There are some 5-6 huts constructed with seating facilities. Appreciate that! The wait for Safari lasted no longer than 1/2 hr and we were soon seated in the safari bus. We managed to get seats just behind the guide, so manged to get a good view. The bus took us through the herbivore enclosure where there were some deers, sambhars and bisons (this is what we get to see in any wildlife safari) and move further ahead to the Bear enclosure and then move to the enclosures with tigers and lions. We could see a White tiger cooling off in his\her private pool, but the lions were busy dozing off in the summer heat. We could not manage to get a frontal view, and had to be satisfied with mere glimpses of sleeping lions, which was quite sad. These animals are so used to seeing buses whirr past them day in and day out, that they show no reaction and remain sleeping.
Well that was about the safari, which took about one hr or so and then we moved to the zoo. There is quite a variety of animals and birds like the white peacock,zebra, leopard, elephant, giant indian squirrel, hornbill, hippopotamus, cobras,king cobra and many more (my memory hasn't remain as strong). We got an opportunity to see a cobra gorging on a chick, it literally gulped it down. We probably would not get to see such events elsewhere other than on Animal Planet\Discovery, so I guess zoos are a form of education. The zoo has enough of outlets for snacks, coffee, tea, ice creams and soft drinks and a children play area too. After all this animal viewing, we left the zoo, though Saksham was quite reluctant to come out.
We thought it would be a good idea to visit the butterfly park too, having come this far. By the time we reached that place, it was closed for the day. The butterfly park closes by 5pm and there is a separate entrance ticket for that. So if you are short on time or reach the park late, it is a good idea to finish the safari, then the butterfly park and keep the zoo for the end as it remains open till 5:30pm.
With that, we ended our one day wildlife odyssey. So till next time... I plan and plan and wait for another day, another place and some lovely memories.
Anyways let me leave all these thoughts behind and relive that day at Bannerghatta National Park (BNP), Bangalore. Its been quite a while since, we had promised Saksham a visit to BNP, and he has been excited about it and looking forward to see some "white animals" (I mentioned to him, that there were white tigers). Finally we get instigated by someone's trip and decide to make good use of the holiday on Good Friday.
We managed to get going by 1130 from Kundalahalli and reach BNP by 1245. Go straight after you hit the Bannerghatta road until you reach Bannerghatta Police Station junction, there is a misleading sign board there or rather we mistook it. BNP is ahead on the road with a slight left, but we took the road to Anekal and Jigani. That stretch is quite barren and we wondered if BNP was set amidst a barren land. Got directions from some localities and turned back and lost 1/2 hr. Anyways we reach there and devour the lunch we carried from home and getting going.
There are combined tickets for the Safari and the zoo, or rather it was like we get a free entry into the zoo with safari ticket. It costs you Rs 210/- (weekend\holiday price) per adult. The safari timings are from 11am to 4pm, while the zoo remains open till 5:30 in the evening. The place has good facilities for parking and is also well connected by BMTC buses. Volvos(365) and Big 10(G4) buses ply regularly on this route.
There were lot of people waiting for the safari, BNP has provided good facilities for waiting and the whole process is done in a orderly manner, no people rushing and no standing for a long time. There are some 5-6 huts constructed with seating facilities. Appreciate that! The wait for Safari lasted no longer than 1/2 hr and we were soon seated in the safari bus. We managed to get seats just behind the guide, so manged to get a good view. The bus took us through the herbivore enclosure where there were some deers, sambhars and bisons (this is what we get to see in any wildlife safari) and move further ahead to the Bear enclosure and then move to the enclosures with tigers and lions. We could see a White tiger cooling off in his\her private pool, but the lions were busy dozing off in the summer heat. We could not manage to get a frontal view, and had to be satisfied with mere glimpses of sleeping lions, which was quite sad. These animals are so used to seeing buses whirr past them day in and day out, that they show no reaction and remain sleeping.
Well that was about the safari, which took about one hr or so and then we moved to the zoo. There is quite a variety of animals and birds like the white peacock,zebra, leopard, elephant, giant indian squirrel, hornbill, hippopotamus, cobras,king cobra and many more (my memory hasn't remain as strong). We got an opportunity to see a cobra gorging on a chick, it literally gulped it down. We probably would not get to see such events elsewhere other than on Animal Planet\Discovery, so I guess zoos are a form of education. The zoo has enough of outlets for snacks, coffee, tea, ice creams and soft drinks and a children play area too. After all this animal viewing, we left the zoo, though Saksham was quite reluctant to come out.
We thought it would be a good idea to visit the butterfly park too, having come this far. By the time we reached that place, it was closed for the day. The butterfly park closes by 5pm and there is a separate entrance ticket for that. So if you are short on time or reach the park late, it is a good idea to finish the safari, then the butterfly park and keep the zoo for the end as it remains open till 5:30pm.
With that, we ended our one day wildlife odyssey. So till next time... I plan and plan and wait for another day, another place and some lovely memories.
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