Kabini River Lodge

The lodge is situated on the banks of the River Kabini. Once upon a time the lodge was a hunting lodge for the Maharaja of Mysore. Although know as a elephant country, if your lucky you may catch glimpses of leopards and other wild cats. The British Tatler’s Travel Guide rates the Kabini River lodge as one of the top 5 wildlife resorts.

Kabini is 220 kilometers from Bangalore. Take a bus to Mysore and from there you will need to switch busses to get to Karapor. From Karapor you can just hire a taxi. The view is breathtaking, and consist of mainly valleys and rivers. I would not recommend you take a taxi from Mysore to Kabini since it can get expensive.

Kabini has a couple accommodation options. Cottages, rooms and tents; I booked the cottage. The cottages are built on the banks of the river. The tents and the rooms are at least 10 minutes walk to the river. The food was very good and not very spicy. Breakfast, lunch and dinner are served very early. They also organize a campfire during dinner. They also have a well stocked bar. The booze is cheap and you can also buy cigarettes if you run out. The bar tender and staff are friendly and can give you hand information about other places to vist.

The lodge also has a Kerala massage clinic. The prices are not as steep as you may expect. I would suggest you get one of this after the jungle safari. Try not to miss the coracle ride. A coracle is a small boat for about 3 people. It looks like a really big basket.