Dandeli.com

(the pride of Dandeli)

Started of 2014 with a visit to Dandeli (yes, again), courtesy Dandeli.com who intend to be the guiding force for people or groups who would want to visit Dandeli and surrounding areas. I stayed at a lesser known Eco friendly camp, Dandeli Jungle Camp situated about 11kms from Dandeli town closer to the village Pradhani. This post is an attempt to review the facilities and the hospitality I was offered.

(Dandeli Jungle camp)

Ø Rajesh / Sanjay / Ramnath of Dandeli.com were very cordial and hospitable in working with the clients and ensured I had a pleasant stay right from arranging pick-up and drops to the food to activities.

Ø They can plan and organize your stay basis your budget and preferences right from a basic stay to a luxurious resort stay, they have one for all.

Ø Dharmesh and staff at the camp were also very hospitable and catered to every need. The guide Hanumanthu with whom I went on hikes was an excellent spotter (of birds) and very humble.

Ø The camp is a basic yet rustic and appealing located in the buffer zone of the Dandeli Wildlife Sanctuary.

Ø No air-cons, geysers, only one-time non-veg meal were a welcome sight at the camp. Cottages were decent enough and basic, no ultra luxuries here that was a good sign.

Ø Food, simple yet good, the options of spread can be increased.

Ø The staff comprises mostly local people, which imply the revenue benefits the local community.

Ø Incidentally, I met couple of other travel bloggers whom I was only used to seeing in the virtual world, it was a good opportunity to catch up.

Being more than a general traveler and been around Dandeli quite a few times, I chose not to do the regular attractions of Dandeli like Coracle ride, River Rafting, Backwaters drive, Sunset point trek instead chose to explore the birdlife around the camp that turned out to be a good choice for me.

Both the days I stayed, I did a good 3-4 hours hike covering the surrounding wooded areas and was more than pleased to record about 70 species of birds from there. Credit goes to the guide who knew the tracks well and was a good spotter too.

(Dandeli Wildlife Sanctuary)

Also, chose a Jungle Safari ride into the Dandeli Wildlife Sanctuary (jeep courtesy JLR along with their other guests). Historically, the safari ride is unexciting because of multiple reasons (that I would divulge in sometime). Few birds, Gaur, Deer were those we saw.

Enjoyed a delicious, mouth-watering dinner at a ‘Khanavali’ in Dandeli before I bid adieu to fellow travelers and boarded my bus towards Bangalore.

Dandeli is not a place to go picnicking and littering, be responsible and cautious and enjoy your stay. I would definitely recommend the services of Dandeli.com for people who want to experience Dandeli but do not know how to go about it. They can devise plans for each and every one, give them a chance, they won’t disappoint.

Contact Sanjay - 094487 97270 or Ramnath - 099005 47763 for more information.