It took me really long time to include one more post in my blog. This post is about my safari in one of the National Parks of India, which is situated near to Bengaluru. Yes, I am talking about Bannerughatta National Park. I got an opportunity to visit this place along with my friends (Nithin Kamath, Muralidhar Kudva and Pranesh Kumar).
How to Reach?
Bannerughatta is well connected with road. There are plenty of Bus services available from Bengalure. The BMTC has very good bus service from Majestic, KR Market and Banashakari. Also you can catch private bus from Banashakari. BMTC provides Volvo Bus service to the National Park. The route number 365 and 366 buses will directly reach the National park.
The Journey
We started at 9:15 A.M. from Banshakari along with bus route number 201 which goes to Domluru. We got down at Jaideva Heart Foundation, and caught a bus from Bannerughatta road. Unfortunately, the bus we caught didn’t go to the National Park. We got down at Bannerughatta village and started walking towards the National Park. The park is situated at a walkable distance from the village. The weather was perfect for a walk; it was drizzling and fantastic. We reached the park at around 10:30 am.
In the Park
As an entrance fee you are charged Rs. 35/-, but if you are interested, you can have the thrill of Safari, Grand Safari, Nature Walk (Short), Nature Walk (Far), Elephant Ride etc. with additional charges. We decided to go for a Grand Safari. The fee for the Grand Safari is Rs. 125 (it includes lion safari, tiger safari, and bear safari).
We started the safari at about 11:00 am. For about an hour we saw the wild animals in their natural habitat. We could see bison, deer, elephant, bear, lion, and tiger. The park authorities have maintained the park very well. It is a plastic free zone. No plastics are allowed inside the jungle. You will find sign broads stating – “Plastic Free Zone” here and there.
After the grand safari, we went to the park. The park has got a zoo, where all rare species of birds, animals and reptiles preserved. One can see various kinds of birds, mammals, reptiles and lot more.. There is museum inside the park, where lot of information about the wild life is collected and preserved. There is a small theater, used to show the documentaries and short films about the wild life and jungles.
The world of Butterflies
The butterfly park is very attractive and beautiful. You can have a short and nice walk to reach the butterfly park. The distance between national park and the butterfly park is about 1 km. You have to pay an additional fee of Rs. 20/- as an entry fee. The park has got everything about butterflies and moths. It is maintained very well. The closed huge green house like environment with lots of flowers and fauns and artificial streams is well suited for the butterflies. If you are lucky you will find some rare variety of butterflies and moths. You have to struggle a lot to find the butterflies in the jungle like environment. The butterfly park has got a museum, which shows lot of information about unexplored world of butterflies. It has collection of various kinds of moths and butterflies. There is an exhibition, which throws light on the life cycle of the butterflies. Really, I came to know about lot of things about this small and beautiful creatures of the world.
What if You are Hungry?
No need to worry about your stomach. There are lot of canteens which are ready to serve you. We went to one canteen inside the park. It is KSTDC’s canteen. They charge a reasonable price for the food. Meanwhile you have other choices outside the park. So don’t worry about your stomach.
Some important tips.
Bannerughatta National Park is a plastic free zone. No one is allowed to carry any kind of plastic inside the park. The park security have done good job in this regard. If you carry any kind of snacks inside the park, the security will take the plastic cover and give the contents within it in paper bags. In spite of that, I have seen lot of plastics. It is our responsibility to avoid the use of plastics in the park.
There are clear instructions given everywhere in the park that one should not feed food to the animals. I have seen lot of people violating this rule. There are no proper security measures to take care of these things. So if you find anyone doing favor to the animal by giving eatables please stop them.