We are covering here top 10 one day wildlife getaways from Bangalore – that are at a driving distance from Bangalore where you can drive to and get back the same day. I will cover all of top 10 wildlife spots in 3 parts, with this covering the top 3 spots and the next 2 ensuing blogs covering the next 3 and the next 4 respectively!!

1. Bannerghatta National Park

Bannerghatta National Park, near Bangalore, Karnataka, was founded in 1971 and declared as a national park in 1974. In 2002 a portion of the park, became a biological reserve, the Bannerghatta Biological Park. It is a popular tourist destination with a zoo, a pet corner, an animal rescue centre, a butterfly enclosure, an aquarium, a snake house and a safari park.

Safari in the natural forest is expedition to observe the free range wild animals in their natural habitat. The visitors in the secured safari vehicle are allowed inside the safari, will have the thrill of wilderness by seeing them in the midst of the forest through a keen and closed observation. The route to the safari passes through the picturesque hillock Mattubunde giving an opportunity to the visitors to have the inspiring and breath holding panoramic view of the landscape of the broken chain of hillocks and valleys with lush green forests. There is both Lion and Tiger Safari where you get see some of 32 lions and 36 tigers which are housed there.

Distance from Bangalore: about 26 Kms or approx 1 hour travel

How to get there: Bangalore to Bannerghatta Road to Bannerghatta National Park.

(Google Map Coordinates for BNP – 12.771976, 77.582887)

What to do there? get to visit the Zoo, Wildlife Safari in the forest, a butterfly enclosure, an aquarium and a snake house

Timings:  9:00 AM to 5:00 PM and for Safari from 9:00 AM to 4:30 PM. PLEASE NOTE that the Park is closed on Tuesdays.

Best Time to Visit: Round the Year

Where to Stay?: It’s a easy day visit from Bangalore but if you really need to stay over there, there is jungle lodges property where one could stay.

Fee: Zoo – Adults Rs.80, children (6 & 12 yrs), Rs.40, senior citizens (>60 yrs) Rs.50, foreigners: adults Rs.400 Rs, children Rs.300; Butterfly park – Adults Rs30, children Rs20, senior citizens Rs.20; foreigners: adults Rs.400 Rs, children Rs.300; Grand Safari (Tiger, Lion, Bear & herbivore Safari + Zoo) (BUS) – Adults Rs260, children Rs130, Senior Citizens Rs150; Grand Safari (AC Bus) Adults Rs500, children Rs300, Senior Citizens Rs500; Grand Safari (Jeep) – Rs.2500 (4-seater non-AC), Rs.3000 (6-Seater non-AC), Rs.3500 (6-Seater AC), Rs.4000 (8-Seater non-AC) to Rs.4000; Grand Safari (Car) – Rs.4000 (Xylo)/5000(Innova); Boat: 60/- per head/trip or 300/- for full boat hire/trip (max 4 people)  Duration: 30:00 Minutes a trip; Camera Charges: Rs.25 for Still Camera and Rs.200 for Video Camera
(To know more details of the destination, & for a complete listing of all resorts along with all attributes, contact info, to book and also to know nearby spots and lot more, register for the app “WildTrails of India” at [email protected])

2. Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary

Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary also known as Pakshi Kashi of Karnataka is a bird sanctuary in the Mandya District of the state of Karnataka in India. It is the largest bird sanctuary in the state, only 0.67 sq. kms in area, which is about 40 acres and comprises six islets on the banks of the Kaveri river. Ranganathittu is located three kilometers away from the historic town of Srirangapatna and 16 kilometres (9.9 mi) north of Mysore. The sanctuary attracted about 2.90 lakh visitors during 2011-12, which shows its notability as important bird sanctuary of India.

Distance from Bangalore: 136 Kms – approx 2 hr 30 minutes

How to get there: Take the Bangalore Mysore Highway, cross Bidadi, Ramanagaram, Channapatna, Maddur, Mandya, Srirangapatna and right after Srirangapatna (within next 3 to 5 kms) you should see a sign board for Ranganathittu – take that exit to right and you should reach the destination in the next 3 to 4 kms.

(Google Map Coordinates:  12.425325, 76.653555)

What to do there?  Ranger-guided boat tours of the isles are available throughout the day, and are a good way to watch birds, crocodiles, otters and bats

Wildlife: Birds: Roughly 170 bird species have been recorded here. Of these, the painted stork, Asian openbill stork, common spoonbill, woolly-necked stork, black-headed ibis, lesser whistling duck, Indian shag, stork-billed kingfisher, egret, cormorant, Oriental darter, and heron breed here regularly. The great stone plover, and river tern also nest here. The park is home to a large flock of streak-throated swallows. During the months of January and February, more than 30 species of birds are found and the season of the sanctuary is from November to June. About 50 pelicans have made Ranganathittu as their permanent home. During winter months starting from mid-December, at certain seasons, as many as 40,000 birds congregate in this bird sanctuary and some birds come from Siberia, Latin America and parts of north India. Ranganathittu is a popular nesting site for the birds and about 8,000 nestlings were sighted during June 2011.

Mammals/Reptiles: The islands are host to numerous small mammals, including bonnet macaque, colonies of flying fox and common small mammals like common palm civet and Indian gray mongoose and the monitor lizard. The mugger crocodile or marsh crocodile is a common inhabitant of the riverine reed beds and Ranganathittu has largest freshwater crocodile population in Karnataka state.

Timings:  8.30 am to 6.00 pm.

Fee: Entrance: Rs.50 for Indians, Rs. 300 for Foreigners (Keeps varying; please check once at the entrance)

Best Time to Visit: November to June

Where to Stay?: You can wrap this up easily in a day from Bangalore but if you wish to stay overnight, unfortunately there are no lodging at this tiny sanctuary, and you have to stay over at Mysore or Srirangapatna.

(To know more details of the destination, & for a complete listing of all resorts along with all attributes, contact info, to book and also to know nearby spots and lot more, register for the app “WildTrails of India” at [email protected])

3. Kokkare Bellur – Bird Sanctuary

Kokkare Bellur, usually shortened by the colloquial usage to Kokrebellur, is a village in Maddur taluk of Mandya district of Karnataka, India. The village is named after the painted stork (Ibis leucocephalus) called “kokkare” in Kannada language. It is situated near Maddur between the cities of Mysore and Bangalore. Apart from painted storks the spot billed pelicans, are also found here. Both are classified as “near threatened category” in IUCN Red List of 2009. The village is one of the 21 breeding sites existing in India.

The uniqueness in Kokkare Bellur is the long established bonding between the spot-billed pelicans and the villagers who have adopted this bird as their heritage, since they consider the birds as harbingers of good luck and prosperity to the village. The benefits derived by the villagers from these birds are basically in the form of phosphorus and potassium rich manure obtained from the bird droppings (also known as guano). Further, over the years, the popularity of this uniqueness has also attracted tourists to the village to watch the birds.

Distance from Bangalore: 83 kms or approx 2 hrs drive on the Bangalore-Mysore highway.

How to get there: Take the Bangalore Mysore Highway, cross Bidadi, Ramanagaram, Channapatna, and before you hit Maddur town you will see a sign to the village on the left. The branch road to the village is 12 Kms from the highway at the ‘Coffee day’ landmark, close to Maddur.

(Google Map Coordinates:  12.514998, 77.088907)

What to do there?  You will get to see the birds ofcourse dotting almost all of the trees in the village. Don’t forget to take your camera.

Wildlife: Birds: painted storks, spot billed pelicans, little cormorant (Phalacrocorax niger), black ibis (Pseudibis papillosa), grey heron (Ardea cinerea), black-crowned night heron (Nycticorax nycticorax) and Indian pond heron (Ardeola grayii). In addition to above birds, there are nearly 250 birds recorded around this area over years.

Timings:  No special timings as it’s a village and you can go any time but try to be early in the morning and leave early. Even early evenings are good.

Fee: No fee as it’s a village.

Best Time to Visit: September to May (They arrive after monsoon rains ends in September when the birds create their nests, lay eggs from October to November, thereafter fledge around for three months after laying of eggs, till March and tirelessly feed their hatchlings through the summer season. As summer peaks in May, they re-migrate; Birds are seen nesting in clusters of 15 to 20 pairs per tree and are thought to use the same tree each year)

Where to Stay?: You can wrap this up easily in a day from Bangalore but if you wish to stay overnight, unfortunately there are no lodging at this tiny village, and you have to stay over either at Channapatna or Maddur.

To get the detailed info of the place, best season & time to visit, how to get there, safari details / boating/ trekking details, list of animals/birds you can expect to see there , entry/camera fees, and of course all of the accommodations nearby, please download the app or send us an inquiry:

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