Past the small dusty towns of Chamarajanagar, and under the blazing sun I stopped by a few waterbodies, before speeding my way into the lush greens of Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary. A couple of forest check points later I was in Gopinatham, a tiny hamlet near Hoganekkal Waterfalls, and within the fringes of the sanctuary.

The secluded village of Gopinatham along the borders of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu has been away from the limelight for almost 20 years after the death of Koose Munusamy Veerappan. Now, that name might strike a chord, as Veerappan was one of the most notorious bandits who ruled these forests of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, and was born in the village of Gopinatham. Though his notoriety and name linger over the village and the surroundings, life has moved on for the people here.

My intent of visiting Gopinatham wasn’t to delve into the stories of this place, but instead explore Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary. Jungle Lodges and Resorts owns a wonderful property here, Gopinatham Mystery Trails, which gives you the access to explore the wildlife and nature trails bordering Gopinatham. Nestled next to a sprawling waterbody, the property has rooms which are large tents built in the shape of domes, giving it a feel of camping in the wild.

After a yummy lunch I strolled through the premises of the property and along the fringes of the waterbody. It was all calm until one of the workers hollered that there are elephants on the other bank of the waterbody, and all guests ran to catch a glimpse of the same. A mother and a baby elephant were happily enjoying their afternoon drink. With zoomed in lenses and binoculars, we gazed at the pachyderms while they peacefully quenched their thirst. As they trudged their way back into the woods, I changed the angle of my camera to capture some cormorants, storks and egrets. Peacefully perched on protruding wooden stumps, they darted off directionless and randomly came back to the same stump. As most of the birds wandered off, I noticed the beautiful frame of lush green hills juxtaposed in the backdrop. It slowly dawned upon me that I was indeed in the middle of a forest.

A hot cup of coffee later, went on jeep safari with other guests into the wilderness of Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary. Muddy red pathway meandered its way through the greenery, and the jeep left a puff of dust as we rolled deeper into the forest. We waded past a couple of streams and then paused at the memorial of the IFS officer P. Srinivas, who was assassinated by the dacoits of this region in early 1990s. Further ahead, we slowed down multiple times to spot many species of birds such as Indian Roller, Serpent Eagle, Lapwings, peacocks and many others. As we kept gazing at the branches of the trees in search of more birds, the vehicle suddenly halted, as ahead of us lay an exhausted and weak wild boar making its way across the road. A little later, the jeep braked again as there was a tusker behind the trees. With bated breath we waited for that moment for the pachyderm to turn up from the woods, but unluckily despite the long wait it didn't, and instead disappeared further into the thicket. We rumbled on the muddy pathway as the sun set, and along the way we also startled a family of...

Tales Of A Nomad

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