Kabini – a brief introduction

The Kabini river, also known as Kapila, originates in the Wayanad District of Kerala and is formed by the confluence of the Panamaram and Mananthavady Rivers. It flows eastwards into Karnataka and joins the Kaveri River at Tirumakudalu Narasipura.

While it flows through three Protected Areas, the casual visitor or tourist can only access it from the Nagarhole National Park side. Our Protected Areas are divided into zones i.e. Buffer, Tourism and Core, with the Tourism zone being the only one open to the public.

The Nagarhole National Park is situated in the Mysore and Coorg districts of Karnataka and is also known as the Rajiv Gandhi National Park. It has a total area of 644 sq. km and has two tourism zones where game viewing by tourists is permitted. On the south-western side of the Park lies the Sunkadakatte Tourism Zone which includes a stretch of the Kabini River.

It is this zone that tourists are familiar with and is casually referred to as ‘Kabini’ by them. Safaris or Game drives are organized by the resorts that are located there. Two drives per day are allowed of approximately three-hour duration, one in the morning and one in the evening, no tourism is permitted during the rest of the day.

The Sunkadakatte Tourism Zone is representative of the forest types of the region having a mix of dry and moist deciduous forests and also includes the famed backwaters of the Kabini which is a unique micro – habitat on its own. This zone is located in the D.B Kuppe and Antarasante Wildlife Ranges. As this is a tourism zone certain measures have been taken to facilitate wildlife viewing.

These include a good network of game roads which enable the tourists to cover all the forest types in the region. About 30 meters on both sides of these roads are cleared of undergrowth to improve visibility. A large number of artificial salt licks are maintained by the Forest Department all along these roads which attract a large number of herbivores.

The Department has also created water holes close to these roads. Some of these water holes namely Bisalwadi , K.V Tank and Tiger Tank (so named due to the frequent sightings of the famous feline that occur here) have watch towers . The Bisalwadi Watch Tower is usually available for viewing during the game drive ( rules governing the use of watchtowers are subject to change and its best to check beforehand), but it can get quite crowed at times which usually takes away from the experience. All this makes this zone an excellent place for viewing wildlife.

The area called the Russell Line, name after a British Forest Officer, is representative of the Dry Deciduous type of forest where the Axel Wood Tree (Anogeissus latifolia) dominates the landscape. The wood of this tree used to be used in the construction of bullock carts and agricultural implements hence its common name. The undergrowth here is sparser than the other areas of the tourism zone. A waterhole called the Nainji Katte is located here. This waterhole tends to dry up during the summer.

This is the only place within the tourism zone that includes the habitat favored by the Four – Horned Antelope, the only species of antelope in Nagarhole, unfortunately it is very rarely seen. Due to the extremely dry nature of the forest here, safari jeeps tend to neglect going here. However, this area is a personal favorite and is highly recommended as it gives the discerning visitor a feel of a Dry Deciduous forest. Close to the Russell Line is the Temple Road, so called because it passes an old tribal temple. This road leads to the G.K.Tank (waterhole).

The terrain here is also very different from the rest of the tourism zone, being a little hilly in nature. The game roads follow the course of the Balle River, a rain fed stream, that is a tributary of the Kabini. At one point a check dam has been built across the Balle River. This is a good spot to stop and watch wildlife.