Bannerghatta National Park, Bengaluru, Karnataka

With our friend June coming to visit, we decided to take a trip to Bannerghatta National Park.  The park is a well-known and highly recommended tourist destination in Southern India.  We have been wanting to take the safari tour for some time and with June in town, the stars were aligned.

Bannerghatta is about 65,000 acres of land dedicated to the preservation of some of India’s biggest and most endangered species of animals.  Asian elephants, leopards, Indian lions, Black bucks, Himalayan black bears, and of course Royal Bengal tigers are all protected within the park enclosure.  The park houses a zoo, animal rescue center, and a butterfly garden in addition to the safari experience itself.

Going on a Sunday meant that we were in for one of our first experiences with a BUSY Indian tourist crowd.  The atmosphere leading into the park was almost carnival-like.  Stalls of tiger masks, fry-ems, and corn on the cob all lined the walkway to the park.  The noisy sugar cane machines were running full tilt, pumping out cane juice for customers.

The ticket lined seemed daunting at first given hot sun and lack of people respecting line etiquette (still baffles me).  However, the staff were helpful and we had tickets in hand with in a few minutes.  The park, as I mentioned was quite busy, so we could only do the safari via bus instead of jeep. 

To kill time before the safari experience, we decided to take in the zoo (included in the price of safari admission). 

It was depressing. 

Monkeys roamed free and ate all the snacks people threw on the ground.

We may have been spoiled with the cleanliness, order, and attention of the Mysore Zoo (see Mysore Zoo post).  This zoo had none of those things.  The place seemed to be in repair with construction materials strewn all over the place.  Lazy staff sat around while stupid patrons yelled and threw things at the animals with the hopes of getting a reaction for a picture.  You never even knew where to go because there were no maps and in many cases no discernable pathways in the zoo.

We ate a light snack at the Hill Top Restaurant feeling a little annoyed and let down at the poor state of the zoo. 

We bewildered as to why this place gets such high reviews for experiences across most travel sights (like “5/5 stars” and “can’t miss”).

As we got on the bus John said he was hoping it would at least be quick so we could end the disappointment sooner rather than later.  I was thinking this will have to be one heck of a safari experience to make up for the zoo.

Sure enough the safari made it all worth it.  The driver zoomed us from collections of animals to collection of animals, often taking John’s phone camera to get the best possible shots because the driver told him to sit in the front. John and Ashram got front row action seats!  No fooling around.  As the boys said, the bus was more like a “roller coaster” than a bus. 

We got within feet of all of the major animals.  Himalayan black bears lazily sunning themselves, elephants and their babies going for a dip in the lake, Indian lions wrestling each other, and a white tiger doing something to himself I’d rather not mention.  It was amazing to see animals in their natural settings as opposed to a zoo.  They looked healthier, they moved more.   They didn’t look anxious or stressed. 

In the end, I can see why Bannerghatta gets such high reviews.  The safari experience was astounding.  However, the zoo needs a lot of improvement.  In the end, I am left with, mixed but positive feelings regarding the park.