Masinagudi - Foothills of the Nilgiris

(First published here in April, 2010.)

A quarter has gone by and I haven’t been able to add any new blog posts. Time that I traveled, eh? Absolutely, I so needed to get off and so I did. Three of us (two friends and I) headed to Masinagudi, located in the land where I hail from – Tamil Nadu. Situated at the foothills of the Nigliris, on the edge of the Mudumalai Wildlife Sanctuary, Masinagudi is truly nature’s paradise.

We hired a cab and set out at 7.30a.m on a Saturday morning, stopped for breakfast at Hotel Kamath and covered a distance of 250 kilometers before reaching the Bear Mountain Jungle Resort, at Masinagudi. As informed by Mr.David Philip (Owner/Manager) over the telephone the previous evening, lunch was ready and so were we, all set to hog. I must admit and share that all the three meals at Bear Mountain had variety, taste, quality and were sumptuous. After a tiring journey in the heat and a heavy lunch, we relaxed in our cottage(a room with an attached bath that was big, clean with all the taps, shower and tub that were functional and a sit out with a few chairs and a hammock to laze). As the sun went down and after tea, it was time for a jeep safari, which turned out to be futile, as expected. We managed to spot only a few deers, elephants and monkeys. Around 8pm, there were a bunch of people at the bonfire but we chose to sit by the log hut instead and enjoyed the Latino music – Fresh Lime Soda/Beer combination. Dinner followed and later in the evening we sat close to a trench listening to the sounds of the jungle, breathing fresh, uncontaminated air, feeling nature and its cool breeze that naturally paved the path to a state of ’thoughtless awareness’ (meditation). ‘Bliss’ – the only word to explain this moment!

We finally hit the sack that Saturday night after a relaxing shower and the next morning set out on a trail around the resort and to bird watch in the jungle. After spending close to two hours crossing streams, checking out birds like: the Red Horn Bulbul, Myna, Woodpecker, Large Jungle Mouse, Warbler, Jungle Babbler, Parakeets and many more it was time to head back to Bangalore.

Payment done and pleasantries exchanged with the helpful and friendly staff at the resort for their warm hospitality, the plan was to stop en route, at Bandipur for the Jungle Safari (hoping luck would stand by us), but in vain. Lemurs, Peacocks and Sambar deers were the only addition to the earlier list of animals that we got to spot.

As we approached Bangalore the smoke, soot, rising levels of pollution that cause eye irritation were more than apparent, not to forget the chaotic and suffocating traffic. Masinagudi, makes me want to keep coming back given that nature can’t get better and the value for money at this resort.

Nothing better than Robert Frost‘s poem to help describe how I feel, at this moment:

“The woods are lovely, dark and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.”