A weekend getaway where we landed right at the lap of mother nature!!

Chennai was sweltering!! the famous Chennai summers with heat waves at its peak touching 42 degree celcius almost everyday, We just wanted a few days of respite on a pocket friendly budget which means no flights. Every option we looked at Ooty, Coonor, Kotagiri or Kodaikanal meant no train tickets to the base location of Coimbatore or Madurai!!

Thanks to a host of train options, some trains are always available for Mysore from Chennai and I just realised that Mysore turns out to be such a great base location for quite a few hill stations in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala. So we booked our train tickets to and from Mysore and zeroed in on Masinagudi, a hidden gem right at the lap of nature, just a 2 hour drive from Mysore provided we travel between 6 am in the morning and 9 pm in the night, which we obviously would! The journey starts from the heritage city of Mysore and heads towards the country side and then Hit Bandipur. The Bandipur National park and the Mudumalai National park border the Karnataka and Tamil Nadu state respectively where we travel through one of the most scenic animal corridors that I have been through.

Masinagudi is the town you could stay in if you want to visit both Mudumalai and Bandipur national park and Mudumalai is also home to the Netflix documentary and Oscar fame Elephant wispers (Theppakadu Elephant Scantuary) Where we met Bomman and Bellie their most famous caretakers.

We really could not see or do anything we wanted due to very big lack of clarity and information out there (I also admit lack of proper planning from my side) but our mission of getting out of the Chennai heat was accomplished, although just for a few days!! I compensated for all the lack of planning once I got back and here I am filling this blog up with all the possible information you need to travel here.

THE DRIVE ITSELF:

There are two ways you can travel to Masinagudi, from Coimbatore via Ooty and Gudalur and from Mysore via Bandipur. Out of the two the Mysore route is shorter, easier to travel and probably the most scenic (6 am to 9 pm only). The journey between Bandipur and Masinagudi specially is simply out of this world. Meandring between forest lands on both sides this Animal corridor is a treat to your senses. I would always suggest you have an experienced driver if you take this route. There are High chances you many encounter elephants or bisons on the way and you may be pretty clue less on how to deal with the situation or may end up doing something stupid!!

THE THEPPAKADU ELEPHANT SCANTUARY:

One of the oldest Elephant Scantuaries of India is home to 28 adorable elephants and is operational since the 1920s. This place and its main caretakers Bomman and Bellie have recently become famous after the netflix documentary Elephant Wispers which also went on to win the oscars for the best non fiction film in foreign category. This place is open twice a day during the feeding time 8.30 am to 9 am and 5.30 pm to 6 pm when you can also feed the elephants with the assistance of the local caretakers. This is a quaint little place with absolutely natural environment, giving the best of forest world to these gentle gaints. If you are here this is a must visit place for all ages to get up, close and personal with these gaint friends of ours!

MUDUMALAI TIGER SAFARI:

Right next to the elephant scantuary is the Mudumalai Tiger safari which also operates bus and jeep safaris twice a day in the moring and afternoon. While the buses are mostly available when you walk in to get a ticket before time, the jeeps get booked online the previous day. check out the below link upto 24 hours before your visit to book the Jeep safari

https://www.mudumalaitigerreserve.com/LearnAboutTheReserve

BANDIPUR TIGER SAFARI:

Just on the other side of the state border lies the Bandipur national park, the rules are similar here too, You can walk in a little before the safari times for buses but for Jeep/ Gypsy we need to book 24 hours or more in advance.

https://bandipurtigerreserve.org/

we never got to take any of the safaris because of lack of prior information or clarity in that front but hope this is of help to you.

MOYAR CHECK DAM:

This beautiful and quaint little town gets its drinking water from the Moyar river, during and post monsoon the Moyar check dam and the Moyar water falls view point is a sight not to miss. We again could not visit this as the roads to this dam was closed during our visit. There is ofcourse not much you can do except hang around for a bit and click some pictures. The river so beautifully flows along side the town and there are a few spots where you can go for a swim on normal days with low water levels. We managed to have some maggi by the river side.

HIMAVAD GOPALSWAMY BETTA:

The town of Bandipur is home to the Himavad Gopalswamy betta temple, a Krishna temple which is pretty ancient. Perched on top of a hill do not miss this temple which is so beautifully perched on top of a hill and offers some of the best views of the area. Yet again we could not visit this place as we ended up going there on a saturday to a huge que. your cars or bikes are not allowed to go up to the hill top and there 3 or 4 govt buses which shuttle up and down the hill. Traveling with a toddler who would not sit or stand patiently in a place for more than 10 mins this was unfortunately out of question for us.

SUNFLOWER PLANTATIONS:

If you are here for the gram and during the right season, then dont forget the sunflower plantations, As you drive down from Bandipur to the Himavad temple you find plenty of sunflower plantations which also make for amazing photo opportunities, They let you get in and click pictures for a small fee ( Rs 10 to 20 per person). Please be mindful of not plucking or damaging the flowers or littering the farmlands!!

WHERE TO STAY:

Masinagudi has a lot of stay options which are mostly like farmstays, homestays and basic resorts, they offer some amazing hospitality with great food and unbelivable vistas of mountains. We stayed at the Labdhi resorts, and we did not regret it, I should say this was one of the best stay experiences we had in a long long time and we have absolutely no complaints.

https://www.labdhiresorts.com/

You can also stay in places like ooty, coonor, and take day trip to Mudumalai from there, This would be pretty tiresome though and Masinagudi deserves to be a vacation destinaion on its own!!

THINGS TO NOTE:

Another important point to note is that the infrastructure and availability of resources here are pretty limited so I would suggest you stock up on your snacks, Medicines, toiletries and other essentials from your home or atleast from Mysore or ooty. On a particular day when we left our water bottle back on the room, the Authorities in the Mudumalai tiger Safari outright refused to give us a glass of water stating they need the same to prepare tea and coffee. Water bottles are not really sold there to crub throwing around and use of plastic.

Every resort you choose to stay in here are ofcourse filled with ample resources, we would suggest get your water bottles filled there without fail, You can also carry your own Lunch boxes from home (sustainable) and pack some of the foods available at your resort everyday.

As a travel agent myself and a mother to a toddler I got to learn a lot from this trip and am ready to curate the best experiences to all my guests. Even without taking a safari or visiting the temple, I would call this vacation a success as I spent 3 whole days right at the lap of nature breathing in such pure air, getting drenched in cleanest of rains and soaking in the cleanest of sunrays.