Right on the banks of the river Kaveri, about 2 hours away from Bangalore is this beautiful little isolated jungle lodge. We were looking for a quick 3 day break and with the jungles on one side and river on the other, Bheemeshwari seemed perfect. With no cell-phone signal, and no place to go by foot besides within the immediate area of the lodge itself, this was the perfect switch off vacation
The government of Karnataka has undertaken a venture to ensure that its jungle and other natural beauties are preserved well. Bheemeshwari is just one of the jungle lodges, a better kept secret than Cabini and the others.
TO DO:
Between kayaking down the Kaveri and sleeping on a 20 foot hammock, we realized that even 3 days here passed very quickly.
Boat rides
We tried both kayaking and the round boats to sail through a small part of the Kaveri. We weren’t allowed on either of these without guides, because the river can be quite dangerous. We saw a crocodile resting on a bit of land all of 10 feet away, and my guide tried rowing even closer. Of course he soon realized that I was scared and turned back, but he explained that crocodiles are in fact more scared of us than we are of them. Well, I still wasn’t going to take any chances.
The round boat was fun too, once we were settled cross legged inside, we let the gentle rapids take us through our guide only had to steer away from the rocks. Apparently fishing is the major activity for Bheemeshwari, which is something we missed out on.
Adventure sports
The lodge has some fun sports to try out, nothing too intense though. We tried out the zip line, the burma loop and the parallel walk all which were mild and very safe
Safari
Bheemeshwari’s jungle is not as well known for animals. But the safari or trek through the jungle is fun anyway. We saw a couple of deer, a hungry looking fox and the nicest view of the sunset from a high point in the forest.
TO STAY:
Within this jungle lodge, you only have a couple of staying options – the treehouse which is their best room, the cabins- which have all the facilities you need including AC, and the camping tents. All are clean, neat and offer all three meals in the package.
We chose the tree house with this side porch that overlooked the river. Definitely a beautiful way to start the day.
TO SPEND:
The most luxurious treehouse with every modern amenity was for 170 USD a night, well worth it. This included all three meals. We only had to pay extra for the adventure sports we tried, but all were at minimal costs.
nutterbugg 