For our explore Wild Karnataka series, we have always been in the lookout for unique places to experience and explore the Wild Karnataka. This time we chose to give a visit to the beautiful Anjehari Butterfly Camp near Udupi by JLR. It sits in the lush green forest of Mookambika Wildlife Sanctuary situated in the Udupi district of Karnataka. Just about 8 hours drive from Bangalore, the route offers some stunningly beautiful landscapes to drive through. Trekking, Water falls and Bird Watching are some activities that will keep your senses engaged to an extent that would make you crave to stay longer and longer in vacation mode.
“Travel experience to Anejhari Camp near Udupi”

OUR TRAVEL STORY

The Plan

They say “Any travel begins at the planning phase”. And I follow no different analogy when it comes to Travel. Destination, Distance, Mode of Travel, Time of Travel and the experience you seek from your Travel are few questions that need to be answered before you embark on your journey. And things that I had been looking for from this trip was “A long scenic drive”, “greenery all around”, “Time away from hustle and bustle of city life” and “lots and lots of Birding opportunities”. Anejhari Butterfly camp just fitted right in all those aspects, so it had to be this.

That feeling when you are starting your road trip early morning and slowly driving out the darkness from the sky is something very special. Setting up your route in the Navigation and queuing up some soul refreshing playlists is like warming up before you actually give some gas to the pedal.

The Journey

We set out for this amazing property by Jungle Lodges and Resorts from Bangalore. We started in the early hours of the morning with an intent to reach our destination before the dusk could take over the sky. An 8 to 9 hours drive from home, approximately about 500 KMs, through picturesque landscapes is something that will keep your travel spirits high. Initially we planned to spend 4 Nights, but ended up by extending it to 5 Nights and 6 days.

The Arrival

Anejhari Butterfly Camp sits silently in the lush green forest of Mookambika Wildlife Sanctuary. It’s location serves as a preferable choice for Bird Watchers and Wildlife enthusiasts. During our stay, we spent most of our time Bird Watching in and around the camp. We did one of the longest and toughest treks that we had ever done so far. Tough probably because of our heavy gears that we carried while trekking in those uneven terrains.

By the time we reached, the sun was almost setting down. We quickly freshened up and rushed to the Bird hide to click some pictures of the exotic birds which visits the camp. At the bird hide we were greeted by beautiful Crimson-Backed Sunbird which is endemic to Western Ghats. At the hide there were arrangements for the evening Tea and some delicious hot Pakodas. We spent about 30 mins there before the darkness took over.

Soon, it was time for dinner. Dinner is served at Golghar. After such a tiring but exciting and action packed day, munching on the the delicious food served in a typical JLR style is something to look for.

Trek to Arisinagundi Waterfall

Next day, we chose to give a visit to the Arisinagundi Waterfall. One can hire a Jeep to reach to the Waterfall point from where it is just about a KM walk downhill to reach the Waterfall area. But we chose to walk till the waterfall point, which happens to be 10 km long from one side. We were hoping to catch some birding and wildlife activities en route. The last mile through tough terrains was quite a challenge, but the sight after reaching the Waterfall made us forget all the pain. The remaining days we spent filming and clicking pictures of amazing birds and wildlife in and around the camp.

You can watch our Travel experience to Anejhari Butterly camp near Udupi in Uttar Karnata in the Travel documentary done by my travel partner and wife Nutan Singh in the Video at her YouTube Channel “TheGenteelMind”.

Some other pictures from our trek to the Arisinagundi Waterfall:

#pankajsinghphotographie

ABOUT THE CAMP

Anejhari Butterfly camp sits right amidst lush green forest of Mookambika Wildlife Sanctuary in Uttar (North) Karnataka, India.  This is a property by Jungle Lodges and Resorts which happens to have about 25 properties spread across Western Ghats of India in Karnataka.  Anejhari butterfly camp is one such property.

The camp offers Nature Walk, Bird Watching, Butterfly Watching, a Trek to Kodachadri peak and Arisinagundi Waterfalls. There is a Children’s play area available within the camp for kids. It is definitely one of the best places to visit near Udupi.

THINGS TO DO

1. Nature Walk and Bird Watching: The camp proudly boasts the Souparnika river which flows right through the camp area. A bird hide for bird lovers, which allows you to get close to the exotic birds without disturbing them. Camp has ample amount of space to walk around and experience the nature.
   Birds, including Malabar Pied Hornbill, Malabar Grey Hornbill, Small Blue Kingfisher, Stork-billed Kingfisher and Asian Paradise Flycatcher, could be spotted at the camp. There is a children’s play area also within the camp.
2. Wildlife Sightings: There is a possibility that one may spot a Malabar Giant Squirrel, sambar, wild boar, Indian gaur, peacocks, barking deer, and other wild animals in and around the camp. You can always hear the call of Sambar throughout the day at the camp.
3. Butterfly Watching: In addition to the Bird Watching, one can also enjoy butterfly watching within the camp. But this is possible only during the butterfly season. On the Butterfly Trail, one might get an opportunity to watch butterflies of various hues and colours including Tamil Lacewing, Plain Puffin, Malabar Tree Nymph, Paris Peacock, Grey Count, Red Helen, and Blue Oak Leaf.
4. Trek to Arisinagundi Waterfalls: They even arrange for a hike / Jeep ride to a beautiful waterfall “Arisinagundi falls” just few kms away from the camp. The trek to the falls is a medium level trek.
5. Trek to Kodachadri peak: Kodachadri peak is the 10th highest peak in Karnataka. a declared natural heritage site by the Government of Karnataka. Kodachadri forms the background to the famous temple of Mookambika in Kollur, a visit to which is also a part of the many activities at the camp.
6. Experience beautiful beaches : Maravanthe and Byndoor are two beautiful beaches which can be visited once here. Though, this is not covered in the activities offered by the camp. The beach is about 35 kms from the camp.
7. Children’s play area: There is a Children’s play area as well for kids.

BIRDS SEEN

To add spices to our Travel experience to Anejhari Camp near Udupi birds in and around the camp played a major role. We were mesmerized by the number of birds that we got to see here and bump up our Lifers list. You can easily spot birds like Orioles, Black hooded Oriole and Golden Oriole here at the Anejhari Camp. Other birds that can be seen here are Hornbills – Pied, Indian Grey and even The Great Hornbill, Paradise Flycatcher, Brown Breasted flycatcher, Crimson Backed Sunbird, Black capped Kingfisher, black bird, etc.

Here are few pics of the Birds that we captured in our frame, perhaps it will be a good idea to have another blog to give the complete list with their Photographs. Lookout for a link in this section later for the complete list of Birds that can be seen here and what we managed to capture during our visit.

BEST TIME TO VISIT

Best time to visit Anejhari Butterfly camp is from October to March.

TARIFF

One can choose the package that suits from the multiple stay package options offered by the camp.
1. Chalet (Wooden cottage) – Rs. 2596 /-
2. Tented Cottage – Rs. 2036/-
3. Dormitory – Rs. 1800/-

Package includes:

1. Location of the selected accommodation, stay, Lunch, Dinner & Breakfast, trekking.
2. Activities mentioned at their website, unless specified other wise for additional charges.

Note:

1. Charges are per person on Twin Sharing basis
2. Forest entry charges and GST 18% extra.
3. Check their website for latest tariffs and discounts

HOW TO REACH

Travel By Bus:

There is very good bus connectivity from Bangalore to Udupi and both bus and train connectivity from Mangalore to Udupi. Private buses and taxis are available from Udupi to Anejhari.

Travel By Rail:

The nearest railway station is the Mookambika Road (Byndoor) and taxi service is available from there till the camp. Also, one can easily get a taxi from Kollur to Anejhari.

Self Drive to Anejhari Camp:

If you are like me you can chose to drive. We drove from Bangalore and covered a distance of about 500 kms in approximately 9 hours. Google map gives multiple options to chose from, but I decided to go for a custom route and it turned out to be the best in terms of drive quality as well the scenic beauty the route could offer.

LOCATION – Anejhari Camp

Google map location of Anejhari Butterfly Camp can be accessed through this link:  https://goo.gl/maps/4zopTc2fbMRrSRid8

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PS: If you are in to Bird Watching or thinking about it, read my blog “How to start Bird Watching?”