Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary, M M Hills!

The Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary is Bordered by the Cauvery river and state of Tamil Nadu on the eastern and northern boundary, the Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary formed in 1987 covers an area of 526.96 sq km and spreads over the districts of Mysore, Bangalore and Mandya. This area receives an annual rainfall of 945 mm. The Palar river and several seasonal and perennial streams ensure a sufficient supply of water for this protected area.The vegetation type is dry, deciduous forest.Terminalia arjuna-Tamarindus indica types are seen on the river banks.The Kanipanpura elephant corridor links this protected area with the high density elephant areas like Nagarhole, Bandipur, Wynaad, Mudumalai, as well as the reserve forests of Sathyamangalam and the Biligiri Rangaswamy Temple Wildlife Sanctuary.

The trip was exciting as i was traveling to these forests for the very first time.We set off Early morning by bus. The bus was heading to Kollegal. It was a long drive and we switched buses to head to MM Hills. The driver of the bus thought he was driving in a formUla one race.Those roads were so narrow he just whizzed past.We reached MM Hills around afternoon and met The officer who drove us to the camp site.Basic Facilities is what one can expect but the scenery is breathtaking.Since it was cloudy the weather was pleasant and the hills were covered with mist.

Mystery Trails is a set of planned eco-treks through the deep jungles of Chamarajanagar range of forests. These eco-treks will be designed to give trekkers a lifetime experience of nature in all its pristine glory. So as we are working on making 3 trails, hence we visited these hills.We drove through the forest and saw lot of quails. I spotted a shikra when we stopped. There's a Memorial dedicated to the late P. Srinivas DCF(IFS)who was murdered by the bandit-Verappan in 1991.It was a coincidence as it was his death anniversary on the day we reached 10/11. There was a function held for him.

We saw lots of elephant dung on the path and crossed steams and rugged terrain. It was exciting. We also had a guard to protect us :) Suddenly my colleague spots a rock python and we stop by ,i didn't see it as it moved away. On our way back i saw eyes glisten im pretty sure it was a spotted deer.We saw lots of shrews running about. We reached the camp site and the place was so quite. We had our dinner and headed to bed.

We woke up early and the scenery was breathtaking. The mist on the hills, the refreshing air and the dam (IN FRONT) filled with birds makes it paradise. We head out to trek around the dam which is easily 3 km. We walk along with our guard in case any elephants should chase us. I saw lots of water birds cormorants,Cattle Egrets, Grey Heron,Pied Kingfisher fishing for his meal, ashy wood swallow, spotted dove, Rose ringed Parakeets, Blue Breasted Kingfisher,the noisy Red Wattled lapwing etc.The trek took us through narrow paths and we saw the hoof prints of spotted deer.At the end of the trek there's a small temple dedicated to Lord Muneshwara.

We fresh up and leave for our departure to bang. We get dropped near the border. The Cauvery river is the line that separates Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. We took a coracle boat to reach the other side and there we were in Tamil Nadu :)It was a delight traveling across the river on the tiny boat.People there use this mode of transport as the water is high.We wait for our bus and when it arrives oh god there's a rush, That moment is back to Civilization for me :(
On The way back sitting on a bus is tiring and i reached Bangalore early evening.
This place is slowly recovering as poaching was Rampant especially by the Notorious Bandit. It needs to be strictly protected and the steady stream of visitors to the various temples around certainly has a negative impact.

A lovely place and a important corridor for Wildlife, it is truly Paradise.