Nagarahole National Park

It was a long trip from home to Nagarahole National Park in Karnataka, India. I left Cincinnati on a short flight to Chicago. From Chicago I took a ten hour overnight flight to Heathrow Airport in London. There, I met Des Ong and his two friends, Alf from Norway and Dave from England, at our departure gate.

We then boarded another nine and half hour flight from London to Bangalore. We got into Bangalore around 5:00 AM their time and took a taxi to the Shivas Galaxy Hotel. We waited in the lobby for the restaurant to open, had breakfast and finally got into our rooms around 11:00 AM. Later that day, Amanda arrived from England and we all had dinner at the hotel. 

Three Amigos, Denis, Des and Vic, outside the Shivas Galaxy Hotel

Kabini River Lodge

The next day we got into two vans for a four hour drive to Nagarahole National Park. We traveled along a three lane highway that the driver made four lanes at times for passing. Motor bikes with multiple passengers on board and slow moving farm vehicles traveled along side standard size vehicles and large trucks. Using the horn was required at all times.

We arrived late morning at the Kabini River Lodge on the Kabini River Backwater and checked into our rooms. After unpacking and lunch we headed out on our private Safari vehicle for our first session in the park.

A Leopard and First Tiger

Coming into the park the first time we stopped along the highway and our guide pointed out a Leopard laying on a branch in a tree a distance away. With our long lenses we we able to get some shots before heading further into the park in search of tigers.

It was not long before we spotted our first of many sightings of the female tigress named Kismet. Kismet means destiny in the local language.

On our first outing, we photographed leopard, tiger, macaque, Sambar (a large deer species) and Asian elephants. We had a great first session in Nagarahole National Park.

The Next Day

The next day, we got up before dawn and arrived in the park before 7:00 AM. We sighted our first White-throated kingfisher, peacock, two different species of mongoose and a pack of Indian wild dogs also called Dholes.

Search for Tigers

Late morning we returned to the lodge for a buffet breakfast and some downtime. After lunch we were off again into the park. At the Kibini River backwater we spotted a tiger laying at the edge of the water. The tiger was too far away for a good photo, but it was interesting to see her behavior. We also witnessed three Smooth-coated Otters harassing a crocodile on another section of the Kibini backwater.

On the morning of our third day we had a long sighting of Kismet walking along a sun dappled road marking her territory. 

Kismet and Her Cubs

In the afternoon of the third day, we were treated to a sighting of Kismet with two of her cubs cooling off and drinking in the backwater. One of the cubs was pretty bold and explored on his own while the other one was more reserved and stayed close to mom. 

When they left the backwater they had to cross the road which now had almost a half dozen vehicles. The bold one crossed the road right away while the shy one refused to cross. Mom had to cross the road almost five times calling back to her cub to finally get her to cross. They then disappeared into the forest. The guide said that Kismet also had two other cubs that we did not see.

Front Row: Denis, Dave, Our Guide, Vic & Amanda

Back Row: Alf, Our Driver & Des

Great Time in Nagarahole

Our safari in India was a great success. Out of the fourteen sessions in the park, there were only two where we did not see a tiger. We only had one leopard sighting on our first afternoon, but we considered that a bonus because leopard sightings are rare.

Thanks to my friend Des Ong of Captivating Nature and our wonderful guide and driver for a great adventure in Nagarahole National Park. Des is currently offering tours to India in January and May. You can find Des Ong’s photographs and tours at Captivating Nature.

And thanks to my traveling companions, Amanda, Denis, Dave and Alf for making this a wonderful experience.

You can see more India images in my India Gallery.