Wildlife and Timelessness: Mythical Travels in South India

The Trip

Join us on our journey through south India in search of sloth bears and Bengal tigers. Along the way, we'll see elephants, profound religious traditions, ancient spice ports, maharaja palaces, tea plantations, and forbidding forests and mountains chock full of critters of every conceivable ilk. While our whirlwind journey focuses on wildlife, we will also immerse ourselves in the history, beliefs, customs, values, and lifestyles of those who inhabit this ancient land.

The India of the south is noticeably different from the north. In the south, life is more laid-back, nurtured by balmy tropical weather and lush vegetation. This is where Hindus have sought unity with God through reincarnations, where Christians and Muslims have peacefully pursued their eternal reward through good works, and where Buddhists continue to wrestle with the problem of suffering and the meaning of existence. It is said that the north is India’s heart while the south is its soul!

This trip is suitable for any adult who enjoys nature, adventure, and cultural exploration. All the sites on our itinerary are well removed from areas and provinces where unrest and political instability very occasionally occur. Most of our ground transportation is by private coach. Lodging is in stylish hotels, jungle lodges, a comfortable tented camp, a houseboat, and a maharaja hunting camp. A major objective of this trip is to experience India's incredible natural history, much of which is endangered. We will also alternately explore India's rich culture, and political, environmental, and religious issues. Finally, we will hopefully have an opportunity to observe tigers in their natural state and to understand the tiger's role as "top banana" in the Indian subcontinent's food chain.

Day 1: All participants should arrive in Bangalore today (or earlier). Opportunities for touring Bangalore, sometimes referred to as the "heart of modern India," can be arranged for early arrival participants. A welcome dinner is scheduled for the early evening. Overnight: Bangalore hotel.

Day 2: Early in the morning, we will travel either by train or coach to Mysore, arriving in the early afternoon. On the way we will stop at a lake with abundant bird life, which includes cormorants, terns, pelicans and others. Once the seat of the Maharaja of Mysore, the city has an interesting cultural and architectural history, which can be explored after we check into our hotel. Mysore is famous for its silk, sandalwood, incense, and pleasant climate. Our time here should be a restful prelude to the pending excitement of the next day's first wildlife safari! Overnight: Mysore hotel.

Days 3-5: Arriving at the Kabini Jungle Lodge, an 18th-century hunting camp originally built for the Maharajas of Mysore, we will get our first taste of Nagarhole National Park (a/k/a Rajiv Gandhi National Park). Encompassing an area of nearly 2,000 square miles, the park and several adjoining protected sanctuaries are the former hunting preserve of the Maharajas. In spite of being on the edge of the Western Ghats, the terrain is fairly gentle with most of the park on a plateau at about 2,200 feet above sea level. Nagarhole National Park gives us the chance to experience what all of India was once like -- seemingly endless forests, waterways, and grasslands teeming with all manner of wildlife. Both tigers and leopards thrive here; however, neither is easy to find given their nocturnal nature and the general avoidance of their only enemy -- man! Nonetheless, our chances of seeing a big cat here is better than 50%. With the aid of open-backed jeeps we will traverse the park in the early mornings and late afternoons in search of any and all wildlife possibilities. Overnight: Kabini Jungle Lodge.

Day 6: After a final look-around, we depart Nagarhole and the State of Karnataka to climb the seemingly vertical face of the Nilgiri Hills into the heart of the Western Ghats mountains. Our destination is the sprawling hill station town of Ooty. Located at 7,250 feet above sea level, Ooty (also known as Ootocamund or Udagamandalam) is a tea plantation community in the State of Tamil Nadu. Here we will hike into patchworks of evergreen forest interspersed with rhododendrons and magnolias (called "sholas"). Birding and/or hiking are specialty activities of this area! There are a number of endemic bird species here difficult to find anywhere else, e.g., the absolutely beautiful Black-and-Orange Flycatcher, the Nilgiri Laughingthrush, and the White-Bellied Shortwing. Overnight: Ooty hotel.

Day 7: Today we will board the famous and incredibly scenic "Blue Mountain" train to take in spectacular mountain scenery. All told, there are 13 tunnels, 19 bridges, and wild elephants along the railroad right of way. The Blue Mountain Railway has a special pinion rack system with the locomotive pushing rather than pulling the carriages. In the afternoon an optional forest hike with an environmental activist will be arranged. In the evening over dinner, we will hear about the threats to the biological integrity of the Western Ghats. Overnight: Ooty hotel.

Days 8-9: On the morning of day 8, our coach will deliver us to Parambikulam National Park in the State of Kerala, where we overnight in a very comfortable tent camp with walk-in tents, beds, and hot water. Through a combination of walking safaris (!) and jeeps, we will again search for elusive wildlife such as wild dogs, sloth bears, pangolins, and various other species. Thickly forested with stands of bamboo, sandalwood, rosewood, and teak, Parambikulam is an arborist's and botanist's delight! Overnight: Tented camp.

Day 10: After breakfast we will drive to Madurai, site of the famous Meenakshi temple. We will arrive by lunchtime, check into our hotel, and after a short rest, visit the temple. The enormous temple is dedicated to Shiva (of the Hindu trinity) and his consort Parvati, known locally as Sundareshvara and Meenakshi. It was built several centuries ago, but brought to its current splendor in about the 17th century. Time permitting we will watch an evening service with its amazing rituals. Overnight in Madurai hotel.

Day 11: We will leave Madurai after breakfast and proceed to Munnar, stopping at local markets for a flavor of the village life in South India. After a simple lunch we will proceed to a birding area called Bodimedu where we hope to see, among others, the yellow spotted bulbul. We will transfer from the coach to jeeps to penetrate the forest. Then we will drive to Munnar for a restful evening. Overnight in Munnar hotel.

Day 12: Munnar is a breathtakingly beautiful place of spice plantations, pristine valleys, and mountain forests. Hiking, conservation discussion, and exploration of flora and fauna are the activity of the day. We will visit the Eravikulam National Park to see the endemic Nilgiri Tahr -- a mountain goat found nowhere else in the planet. Time permitting we will visit a tea estate for a firsthand experience in tea production. Overnight in Munnar hotel.

Days 13-14: Another long drive through the interesting countryside will bring us to the Periyar National Park. Periyar is one of the most popular of India's wildlife sanctuaries. The forest is dense and lush, teeming with all varieties of wildlife, including a healthy population of tigers. (They are, however, hard to see given the tiger's natural camouflage and rainforest-like vegetation.) We will stay at a lodge on the periphery of the park from where we will take a boat to view wildlife on the lakeshore. Elephants, antelopes, deer, monkeys, and rare and beautiful birds (e.g., hornbills, trogons, and raptors of all ilk) should make this an exciting natural history adventure! Our naturalist guides are from neighboring hill tribe villages. Overnight: Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary.

Day 15: Traveling toward the coast and arriving at Kottayam, we'll board private houseboats for a day-long and overnight cruise through a series of idyllic waterways nestled between the hills of Cochin and the sea. The waterways are tranquil and the way of life is completely unique for the boat builders, fishermen, and rice farmers populating this area. Each houseboat carries four to six passengers and a crew of two to three staff who will attend to all our needs and comforts. At night, bewitched by palm trees, balmy breezes, and superb southern Indian food, we should be able to look up at a spectacular, star-studded sky. Overnight: Houseboat.

Day 16: After arriving in Cochin (also known as Kochi), we'll have the majority of the day to explore the city's fascinating old quarter and the colorful outdoor fish market. Walks along the narrow passages of Fort Cochin and Mattancherry should reveal Cochin's European heritage, including the oldest synagogue in India, as well as the still-present allure of the spice trade. One of the country's major port cities, Cochin hosts numerous busy ferries and large ships, and the gamboling dolphins following in their wake. Overnight: Cochin hotel.

Day 17: After one last stroll through the historic district, participants are free to fly home anytime this afternoon from Cochin.

Getting There

You should plan to arrive in Bangalore, India, no later than the evening of January 8. Your flight home will be from Cochin (Kochi) through a major hub such as Mumbai (formerly known as Bombay), Bangalore, or New Delhi. The trip leader can assist with scheduling internal India flights between major hub cities (e.g., Mumbai) and Bangalore or Cochin.

A visa for entry to India will need to be obtained in advance in the U.S. prior to flying to India. Once you have registered for this trip, the trip leader will assist you in obtaining the necessary visa. 

Please do not make non-refundable travel arrangements until notified to do so by the trip leader.

Accommodations and Food

Our hotels will be of three-star and four-star quality; the eco-lodges and tent camps will be comfortable but not luxurious, allowing us access to the natural settings that we could not otherwise explore. All of our accommodations on this outing have beds, private bathrooms, running hot water, and showers. We will be eating typical south Indian cuisine -- in most cases with hot spice adjustments for those of us having delicate palates! Vegans and vegetarians fare well in India where there are probably more vegetarians than anywhere else on the planet. All meals are included.

Trip Difficulty

Potential trip members should be aware of the nature and demands of adventure travel. You do not have to be in excellent physical condition to make this trip; however, there will be bumpy jeep drives on rough terrain as well as occasional long coach rides. Except for Parambikulam National Park where we will be accompanied by a ranger, our opportunities for walking will be restricted when we are in tiger habitat. Remember -- the tiger is at the top of the food chain in his territory! Otherwise, we will be on foot for a fair amount of time each day. We are likely to have some 90-degree Fahrenheit temperatures -- especially when we are in non-forested areas. Emotional balance, flexibility, maturity, and a spirit of adventure are essential to making this an enjoyable experience. There might be some itinerary variations depending upon road and weather conditions and train schedules. 

Equipment and Clothing

A water purifier or filter, in conjunction with a Nalgene-type water bottle, is recommended for every one to two participants on this trip. We do not want to contribute to the problem of landfills teeming with plastic bottles! Good hiking shoes or boots, a day-pack for hikes and bus rides, and head-lamps are also required. A complete packing list will be sent out to all registered participants well in advance of the start date of the outing.

References

• Das, Gurcharan, India Unbound. The history of India’s rise to being an economic superpower with the accompanying socioeconomic implications.
• Grimmett, Richard, Carol Inskipp, and Tim Inskipp, Birds of India. The best field guide on India -- for serious birders only!
• Gurung, KK, and Raj Singh. Field Guide to the Mammals of the Indian Subcontinent. The best field guide to the mammals of India.
• Hockings, Paul (Ed.), Blue Mountains Revisited: Cultural Studies on the Nilgiri Hills. A study of the languages, tribal customs, beliefs, and anthropology of the hill tribes of the Western Ghats.
• Plunkett, Richard, Teresa Cannon, Peter Davis, Paul Greenway, and Paul Harding, South India Lonely Planet Guide.
• Roy, Arundhati, The God of Small Things. Award-winning novel about life and social class in areas of Kerala we will be visiting!
• Smith, Huston, The World’s Religions. A primer providing the basic tenets of Hinduism, Islam, and Buddhism.
• Thapar, Valmik, Land of the Tiger. A pictorial and narrative account of the natural history of India.
• Watts, Alan, The Philosophies of Asia. Spiritual and philosophical analyses of the differences between Eastern and Western thought.

Conservation

The Sierra Club is an environmentally focused entity. We are concerned about conservation and sustainability of resources, both locally and globally. Our work is accomplished by volunteers and aided by a salaried staff, encouraging grassroots involvement. Our outings seek to empower participants toward environmentally understanding parallel concerns at home and abroad.

The last century has not been good for India's natural heritage. The sheer size of India's ever-increasing population -- currently the staggering sum of one and a quarter billion people -- has led to increasingly destructive environmental practices. India has lost almost 90% of its forest and 96% of its tigers since 1900. According to recent estimates, there may be only 1,500 critically endangered Bengal tigers left in the wild. A century ago, India had more than 40,000 of them.

South India's three major eastward-flowing rivers -- the Godavari, Krishna, and Kaveri -- originate in the Western Ghats. These rivers provide drinking water, irrigation, and power to people in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, and Tamil Nadu. Conservation International recently declared the Western Ghats a "Biodiversity Hotspot" -- a region that harbors a great variety of endemic species that, at the same time, has been significantly damaged and altered by human activities. The United Nations Environmental Program weighed in, too, declaring closed-forest preservation "critical" to this area.

The Sierra Club has also responded to the growing crisis. In 2000, the Club began working with Indian environmentalists to preserve the rich biodiversity of the Western Ghats. Drawing on more than a century of experience -- in particular the lessons learned campaigning for the protection of the Sierra Nevada mountains -- the Sierra Club is working with Indian environmental groups to develop effective conservation strategies for this threatened region. We will discuss and explore these strategies with some local activists during the Western Ghats portion of our itinerary. Also, a small portion of each participant's trip fee has been designated as a contribution to these conservation efforts.

On this outing, we will see firsthand how overpopulation and poverty affect not just humans but the entire natural world. Perhaps nowhere else on the planet are man's impacts on the planet so readily visible -- from scant protections for water and air to deforestation, poaching, and overhunting. In India, as in most of the world, conservation can only work if culture, socioeconomic realities, and the human psyche are taken into account. There is much fertile ground for discussion and many conservation conundrums to be addressed when one immerses oneself in the frothy, aromatic cauldron of one of the most fascinating and complex countries of the world -- India!

Evacuation and Travel Insurance

The Sierra Club provides evacuation insurance to all participants on international trips. Since this coverage does not include any trip cancellation or interruption insurance, we suggest you purchase another policy separately to provide coverage for your trip and other travel costs. This policy also does not cover pre-trip and post-trip travel. Please note the evacuation insurance provided does not cover claims resulting from any pre-existing condition that occurs within 60 days of the trip departure. If you have specific questions about this exclusion, please review the insurance brochure. For information on purchasing a separate policy, please see our travel insurance page.