Kali River Lodge - Dandeli. Review on Dandeli Wildlife Sanctuary

Dandeli is a small town located on the banks of the Kali river in Karnataka. The forest area around this town was established as Dandeli wildlife sanctuary in 1975 with an area of around 500 sq kms.

Dandeli sanctuary is known for the presence of Black Panther. This species is very rare and Dandeli is one of the few places in the whole of Asia where this has been tracked. During the 1995 census, only 9 of them were recorded (So sighting is virtually impossible).

How to reach?

The nearest hub by road is Dharwar (50 kms) and the nearest rail link would be Hubli (60 kms) Dharwar or Londa. The nearest airport is in Goa (180 kms). It is 480 kms from Bangalore by road.

The best way to explore Dandeli is to travel from Karwar (50 kms south of Margao) to Dandeli. The distance of about 120 kms takes around 3 hours by car.

We used this road from Dandeli to go to Goa. This is as good a drive as it can get. This good mountain road has literally no traffic except for an occasional jeep or truck. The road gently twists and turns as the landscape keeps changing. It offers you a very good view of the country side and vegetation. You will see a big dam and will soon cross the Kali river to reach Karwar.

What to Expect?

If you are looking for sighting wild animals only, then do not go to Dandeli.

This forest area was known for its manganese in the past, the mining for which resulted in wildlife moving away from the forest. In the recent past, the mining has been stopped and the animals are slowly returning back.

So chances of seeing Elephants / bison / panther are very less and limited.

Do not go away yet…

The scenic and rustic river Kali flows thru this sanctuary. This is the only river south of Himalayas where white water rafting is possible, making this place a unique destination.

Jungle Lodges arrange for 1 hour, 2 hour and 4 hour rafting on the Kali river. This adventure activity is conducted by Kali O2 adventures headed by a White Water Rafting specialist by name John Pollard from UK.

John says Class 3 rapids of the Kali river are perfect for white water rafting.

John goes to the extent of saying that even non swimmers can safely take their 9 to 14 km rafting.

Kali O2 use state of the art equipments, follow international standards and all people taking the rafting are insured. Canoeing and Kayaking are also offered by Kali O2.

Our Experience

We visited this place in Sep 2002. We drove thru Dharwar which is right on the Pune – Bangalore highway (soon to be part of GQ). Dandeli is an hour’s drive from Dharwar. The drive is on a good road with dense vegetation on both sides.

We reached the town of Dandeli and found that the Kali River Lodge (JLR) was right on the banks of the river close to the town. We were disappointed to begin with as we were expecting this lodge to be in the middle of the forest similar to the other properties of JLR.

The rustic resort is very simple and has 9 tented cottages. All the cottages have a view of the river. But a few of them are close to the river and a few away from it. We obviously took the cottage close to the river. The cottage had electricity and a clean wash room.

The food served was tasty and the variety was above average. We paid 1500 Rs person per night for their full board package (rafting packages cost more. Visit https://junglelodges.com for more details). The lodge has a tree house for bird viewing and plenty of hammocks.

We took a coracle ride on the river in the evening. Various types of Hornbills are common in this area and we did see quite a few of them. We also sighted king fisher and egrets here. We did sight crocodiles (if I remember correct) on the river. Crocs are usually aplenty and can be sighted in various sizes.

We then took a ride on the river down stream for a few kms on a conventional inflatable raft (with life jackets and what not). I for one did not originally know that this place is a delight for rafting and so we had not planned for this activity.

We took a jungle safari (Jeep) early in the morning. We saw a few chitals. We did not see anything other animals except a few monkeys. We came across a unique giant spider variety with a `X’ mark written on it. We saw a few of the manganese mining fields.

The JLR staffs are very friendly and courteous in this property also. We left this place to proceed to Goa

Activities ?

If you stay longer you could trek to the huge monolithic granite called Syntheri rock. You could also visit the Kavala caves with their Stalactites and Stalagmites. Another option is to take the half hour drive to visit the Gowli tribes in the forest.

A refreshing option is to go to the Mandurli and Kulagi fresh water springs in the middle of the sanctuary. Bathing in the crystal clear water in a natural surrounding could be a unique experience.

Other stay options ?

Bison river resort owned by Indian Adventures is another very good resort in this sanctuary. They are located around 20 kms from Dandeli. Their packages are costlier than JLR and they also use Kali O2 for their adventure activities.

Thanks for reading my review. Leave your thoughts in the comments section.