Wildlife trip to Nagarhole / Wayanad

tripsammy

Hi, I am planning a trip for one week in January,our main aim is wildlife spotting especially elephants. We have a proposed itinerary which I would welcome any comments on.
Initial plan:

Day 1 - Arrive and overnight in Cochin
Day 2 - Travel to Mattupalayam stay at Black Thunder resort
Day 3 - Early morning train to Ooty, stay at Kings Cliff
Day 4 - Possible day in Mysore??? Stay at Green Hotel
Or Go straight to Nagarhole??
Day 5 - Travel to Kabini Wildlife safaris in Nagarhole stay at Cicada or Jungle Lodges??
Day 6 - Wildlife spotting
Day 7 - Wayanad visit Muthanga stay at Hiliya farm house
Day 8 - Drive to Calicut station for train to Goa.( spending a week there before return home.

I would be really grateful for any comments an the itinereay, hotels and activities. We really want to concentrate on wildlife and if possible would like to treck / camp in the park with a guide not just go on the routine Jeep trips? Any guidance welcome.

Many thanks.

ribhu95

Sammy,

Your itinerary looks all cluttered up.

It is not clear which days you intend to travel and which days you intend to stay - do wildlife spotting...

Also, where are you coming in from into Cochin ?

If you want to go to Mettupalayam, why cochin ? Why not coimbatore ?

If your interest is elephant spotting, then you should look at Kabini, the ooty - mysore route along with bandipur / mudumalai..

Also, there is an elephant camp at a place called dubare which is enroute coorg from mysore..

Are you keen on the mettupalayam - ooty train ride ? Please do clarify and IMers will be able to give you better guidance.

ribhu

tripsammy

Thanks Ribhu
Ok I see what you men. We are flying into Cochin aw ae are meting up with friends there and we have a driver who is taking us on from there.
I have tried to reflect your comments so suggest the following? I hope it makes sense!
I am not too sure as to how long the drive time is between places so would welcome guidance.

Day 1 - Arrive and overnight in Cochin
Day 2 - Travel to Mattupalayam stay at Black Thunder resort
Day 3 - Early morning train to Ooty, local sightseeing stay at Kings Cliff
Day 4 - Travel to Nagarhole for wildlife spotting / safari stay at Cicada or Jungle Lodges??
{OrPossible day in Mysore??? if it is worth it}
Day 5& 6 - - Wildlife spotting
Day 7 - Travel to Wayanad, visit Muthanga for wildlife spotting, stay at Hiliya farm house
Day 8 - wildlife spotting then Drive to Calicut station for train to Goa.( spending a week there before return home.


As for the mettupalayam - ooty train ride I am not too sure but it was reccommended to us and we thought it might be a fun way to see some of the area.

All guidance welcome

ribhu95

Sammy,

Understood.

I think you are all ok. Just consider and remember the following points...

1. The hill train is a nice to do. Would make the journey comfortable. Hope you have reserved the tickets. (I am ashamed to tell you that I have never managed to do that even though I have travelled to ooty several times. Sometime I will).
2. If you go to mysore and then to wayanad - you will do some amount of back and forth. please check the maps and be sure that you want to do that.
3. Same applies for wayanad and muthanga park. Check the exact location of where the farm is. If it is in wayanad proper and you will do 40 to 50 kms back and forth. And the route is not something spectacular to keep driving back and forth multiple times.
4. I would rather suggest you give mysore a miss and make the most of your wildlife spotting activities - that much more relaxed.

all the best and wish you a nice time.

ribhu

tripsammy

Thanks very much for the advice, I think we will give Mysore a miss and spend an extra night at Nargahole or Muthanga.
Geting really excited!

danield

I did a similar trip though not as extensive as yours just last month. I focused on wildlife viweing. Went to both Nagerhole and Wyanad for 10 days. In trips before I spent just two -three days and fely inadequate in terms of viewing. As you well know it is the luck of the day you go. With this focus it turned out I was able to see a lot of elephants and other game, though not the elusive tiger or the shy leopard. Oh well?

I found Nagerhole better than Wyanad, but I wouldn't draw any conslusions from that. It all depends because they are both part of the same Niligri Biosphere. I also missed seeing the leopard cubs being raised in Nagerhole. They should be released by now.

I stayed at Jungle Inn in Nagerhole. I was very well pleased by their prices, food, atmosphere and service. Also another place near by called King's, but more expensive. Can't tell you how they both compare to each other and. I would contact both places. They should be on the web.

Happy planning for an increadible journey.

__________________
Stuck on India

tripsammy

Thanks Danield
Thanks for the information
Very interested to know what is available in the way on safaris into the park, is it all by Jeep? Can you hire guides privately or is it all big groups?

danield

There are couple of options I weighed out. The first are sort of min-buses that the govt runs into the park. They are cheaper but frankly I do not find this condusive to wild life viewing. Too noisy and bisterous people and they mostly don't care about the noise factor.

I choose the private jeep option but you need to watch out. Most operators charge by the jeep. So it depends who else might be at the resort when you are there. You share the cost of the jeep. Of course if money is not that big of a deal then the ideal is to go along, pay for the whole jeep, and take your time viewing without the disturbance of others. There was a family of three there that did not want me to ride along with them they paid for the whole jeep. They didn't care about the cost. Frankly from western standards it is not that big of a deal.

Weighing both, I choose the privately run jeep option over againsgt the govt min-bus option.

tripsammy

Thanks very mych, I will definately go for the Jeep option, can you specify the duration of the trip or is it all set times and routes?

danield

This is India. Things are set and then at the same time thney are not set. Normally they provide two trips a day. one at dawn and one at dusk. The trip can last two-three hours, depending on where you go. Frankly you drive around seeing very little and then when the light is gone then you see lots of animals. Who said animals aren't smart?

The times and routes are pretty much set. Please be aware that even if they promise you something things can change to the whims of the forest officials. this is highly controlled by the govt and they like to jerk people around. So make plans but always know that thnigs can and do chnage in the last minute. It may not be the fault of the operator. I had that one day: the govt closed the gates due to rains and we had to turn back.

Happy planning.

tripsammy

Thanks for that, sounds pretty much like everything in India! Maybe yes,maybe no!! But thats all part of the charm I suppose. We will ust go and see what we can do when we are there.
Thanks again