Masinagudi - Soak in the Flora & Fauna
The sleepy town of Masinagudi was included as part of our Mysuru itinerary, given that it was only 95 odd Kms away and we had a couple of days to spare. An ideal location for a weekend drive where one can indulge in the Wildlife Safaris of Mudumalai and Bandipur and if lucky, get to spot a few wild cats. Even if you are not lucky, you will be regaled by the umpteen stories the locals have to share about elephants running amok, leopards crossing the hotel properties in the wee hours of the night, sighting a pack of deer right in front of your hotel room as we were lucky to see and so many more. Â
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How does one reach Masinagudi
Masinagudi can be reached through the cities of Mysuru or Coimbatore which is located around 110 kms away. Should one have some extra time while holidaying in the Hill Stations of Oooty, Coonoor or Koatgiri, a plan could be woven for a couple of days to drive down here. A couple of days has been suggested keeping in mind the early morning safari for which one has to be ready by 6.00 AM and that typically is the time to get to see a few animals here and there in the forest. The roads are pretty good and well maintained at least on the Mysuru stretch.
The Right Time to be in Masinagudi
The best months to be in this city is between October to May when the weather remains pleasant and temperatures hover between 15 to 27 degree Celsius. The weather does get a little bit nippy between December to January and one would be advised to carry light woolens.
- January 28th 2024
How did we reach Masinagudi
Kiran our driver was at the Sepoy Grande Hotel at Mysuru to pick us up by sharp noon. A 2 hour drive through the reserved forest areas of Bandipur and Mudumalai brought us by around 2.15 PM to the Singaras Coffee Country Resort.Â
The folks at the resort called us around 1.30 to check what we would like to have for lunch after sharing the details of the menu over Whatsapp and thankfully as we got settling into our rooms, the lunch also reached us.Â
Choices of stay at Masinagudi
While we had booked our stay at Singaras, depending on budgets one could alternatively look at The Nest Inn, Avadale, Jungle Hut, Tiger’s Paw Resort, Labhdi Resorts, Wild Valley Club, Captain’s Cabin etc.Â
Please do check the reviews on the net and then decide on any of the above.Â
Some bit of work being planned and to be done at Singaras with respect to the landscaping and building of the reception area, the dining place etc but an excellent property otherwise and managed by very friendly people. The rooms were excellent and the food was pretty well made all through the 2 days that we were there.
It was nice on the part of the owner of the property Pushp Vaid to call on us an hour later after our lunch was done to check on how comfortable we were.Â
He suggested taking a walk to the nearby stream around 700 metres away from the resort towards the evening along with one of the estate folks. He said we could be lucky in spotting some deer, langurs, peacocks who come to the stream to quench their thirst. Why an estate folk as an accompaniment is because these people have an extraordinary sense of smell having grown up in these areas. Apparently the guy who was to accompany us could smell an elephant from a distance of 500 metres. He also gave us suggestions on what we could plan for the next day.Â
A little bit of sightseeing around this small town
The Walk towards the stream
We set out at around 5 PM joined by the localite Madhan who was to guide us in our walk to the stream. We weaved our way through thorny bushes and trees and reached the spot. Lucky to see a herd of deer drinking water but upon seeing us, they fled from the spot. Spent around 15 to 20 minutes there. Madhan showed us footprints of the elephant which had come the previous evening and save for a few monkeys eating away the red fruit of some tree and a peacock walking around, there was nothing else to see.
We made our way back to the hotel reception and did the reservations for the next day safari to Mudumalai forest. We were asked to get ready by 6 AM so that we could be in time for the first safari which starts around 7.00 AM depending on crowd inflow. Dinner was at the hotel itself. We treated ourselves to some very good food as would be evident from the pictures to follow later.
- January 29th 2024
The Mudumalai Safari
It was an early morning start by 6.05 AM. The weather was pretty nippy @ 13 degrees Celsius and a hot tea could have eased the discomfort. Sensing that, our jeep driver pulled into a nearby tea shop where we had piping hot cups of tea, flavored with the famed tea leaves of the Nilgiri mountains.Â
The tea shop owner was chatting away with our driver and telling him about a elephant which had made its way into the town at 1.30 AM and before it could come near his shop and do any damage, he had to shoo it away with stones and sticks. This apparently is an almost daily occurrence. The Safari boarding point was located at Theppakadu which was around 7-8 kms away and took us around 25 minutes to reach.
The Early Morning Drive to Mudumalai
We opted for the Swaraz Mazda van ride which costed us Rs.340/- per head and covers the costs for a visit to the nearby Theppakadu Elephant camp post the drive through the reserved forest.
The issuance of tickets was linked to their reaching a minimum count of 20 people and with a trickle of people coming in every now and then, the start got delayed by around 15 minutes.Â
The timings of the safari are between 7.00 AM to 10.00 AM in the mornings and 3.00 PM to 6.00 PM in the evenings.Â
We finally left for the reserve forests by 7.15 AM.
The Mudumalai (meaning old mountain range) reserve straddles the Mysuru-Ooty National Interstate highway and was the first to be setup as early as 1940. The sanctuary was enlarged in 1977 and incorporated as part of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve in 1986. It was later on declared as a Tiger reserve in 2007 and notified as a critical Tiger habitat the same year.Â
The Drive through the forest
A tiger was spotted by a group travelling yesterday while luck deserted us. We saw a wild boar, lot of deer and monkeys and an elephant. The habitat inside the forest is said to also include panthers, leopards, hyenas, varieties of deer like the Barking, Mouse and Spotted ones, the Sambar, Wild Dogs, Mongoose, Hyena, the Malabar Giant Squirrel, Indian Gaur and others. 260 species of birds are also supposed to have been sighted in this park. The bus weaved its way through kms of dense forests for about an hour and we were dropped back at the gate by around 8.15 AM.
We walked across the road to the Theppakadu Elephant Camp. We were lucky to see some Malabar Giant Squirrels playing atop a tree. A couple of elephants could be seen bathing in the river waters.
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The Elephant camp gates are open for the public by 8.30 AM and are kept open for half an hour when it’s the feeding time for elephants. Again in the evening the camp is open from 5.30 PM till 6.00 PM.
The Theppakadu Elephant Camp
This is Asia’s oldest camp for elephants and is believed to be over 100 years old. There are around 28 elephants and 2 calves and the animals here are mainly used as Kumkis to help mitigate human-wildlife conflicts as well as to drive away wild elephants to their original habitats as well as capturing them. The Oscar winning short documentary film The Elephant Whisperers was shot inside the camp and in parts of the Mudumalai Forest Reserve. The movie depicts the bond between a couple Boman and Bellie who belong to the Kattunayakan Tribe and an orphaned baby elephant Raghu. The elephant Raghu and a few used in the movie can be seen in the camp. The elephants here are fed with large balls of horse gram, ragi, rice, salt, jiggery, mineral mixture, coconut and sugarcane. Its fun watching these elephants, some of them very obedient and dutifully eating while some playing truant.
We were back at the hotel by around 9.30 AM and after having their complimentary breakfast, settled back in the room. We had planned a local sightseeing of 3 to 4 places around Masinagudi in the second half by around 3 PM and had told the same jeep guy who took us to the Mudumalai Sanctuary and Theppakadu Elephant camp to pick us up. Lunch was by around 1 in the afternoon and we got ready for the next set of activities here.
A ride through Singara Coffee Estate
We started off with a ride to the Singara Hydro Power Station which was our U turn point. Tourists are generally not allowed inside the 59 MW Power station. The 10 km return drive was through a picturesque countryside with the jeep stopping every now and then when the driver could spot a bird or an animal. The roads leading to the Power station were in pristine condition and we were back to the main roads of  Masinagudi to head to Sholur.
The Vibhuti Malai Murugan Temple
We were enjoying the 5 km drive in the open aired jeep in pleasant weather when we reached the Sholur range. Here is where the off roading experience began when we started our climb to the Murugan temple located in this place called Bokkapuram. A 20-25 climb through some very rocky terrain literally shook our bones out until we reached the top. A beautiful view of the Nilgiri mountains can be seen from atop the hill. After offering our prayers and spending some time chatting with the priest which is when we understood that this temple was built by Bollywood actor Mithun Chakraborty for the locals to worship, we began our descent downhill. An equally enthralling experience until we touched upon the main road leading to Masinagudi and then moved towards the Moyar Dam.
Driving onto Moyar Dam
A 7 km drive from the Masinagudi junction brought us to the Moyar Dam.We passed the mini hydel power project of Maravankady on the way.Â
The route was very picturesque with lot of deer and peacocks that we could spot enroute. The driver kept pulling up the jeep for us to take photographs until we reached the Dam.Â
A tea shop at the U turn point is where we stretched our legs for a little while before starting off on our return journey. Must admire the jeep’s driver’s instincts.Â
He knew exactly where to look around for the animals and while we were around 4 kms away from the resort, he stopped by the wayside and asked us to look towards the right side of the road.Â
At some distance, we could sight a herd of wild elephants but could not take a clear snap of them. Their large ears and tusks were visible. We spotted lot of deer, peacocks and langurs on the way.Â
We reached the resort by around 6.30 in the evening. Some tea and onion fritters followed until we did the ordering for dinner by around 8 in the night.
- January 30th 2024
Food at the resort over 2 days
By morning 8.30, we were done with the check out formalities and had settled the bills of the resort. For the Jeep, we had to pay Rs.1,500/- for a return trip to Mudumalai including the waiting time and for the local places visited, Rs.2,500/-. The next day was to be our departure back to Mysuru and we were ready post breakfast at the resort by around 9 AM when Kiran, our cab guy drove in to pick us back to Mysuru for another round of unfinished sightseeing after which we were to leave for Chennai.