Vivek Dhage's Portfolio and Photoblog

This series captures my experiences when two good friends» of mine and I travelled extensively, especially across the wild side of South India. I hope you enjoy the ride through my photographs and the written word.

Bangalore to Ranganathittu

March 7th saw us waking up early at 4:30AM, all groggy-eyed (because of the partying the previous night; we slept at around 2:00AM!) but raring to go. The places on the agenda were Ranganathittu» , Nagarahole» , Irpu» , Dubare» and Byalukuppe» . After having our breakfast at Kamath Upachar near Maddur» (God! This is getting to be my regular breakfast hangout on Mysore Road), where Cindy and Ashleigh had their first taste of genuine South Indian idlis» and uddina vadas» , we got back on the road towards Srirangapatna» . We stopped on the way to take pictures of farmers ploughing their fields and a lovely marigold field that brought in a dash of orange to the landscape.

After Srirangapatna, we took a right turn on the highway to head into the road towards Ranganathittu. Three kilometers later, we were at the gates of Ranganathittu, where the ticket collector peeped into the car (not a good habit, you’d say) and said “Two foreigners” and asked “How many cameras?”. For those who may not be aware, foreigners are charged more than the locals (read that as Indians in this context). Once the tickets were taken care of, we parked our car and then hired a boat (cost us Rs.500 — “foreigners” you see!). There were a lot of birds this time as it was the nesting season, and because of this, they looked really colorful. It was a visual feast (though Ashleigh may not agree with me, for she really doesn’t like birds) and Cindy and I went berserk with our cameras.

We spent a considerable amount of time at Ranganathittu, and we soon realized that we didn’t have time for Mysore and had to head straight towards Irpu, via Hunsur» and Nagarahole. The next post will cover the Irpu leg of the journey and I do hope you enjoy the ride as much as you did this one.

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• The roads in Bangalore are pretty bad, with heavy traffic. But once you hit the Bangalore-Mysore highway after Rajarajeshwari Nagar, the road is smooth and the traffic is considerably less.

Watch Out For:

• Motorists heading towards you from the other direction, especially in the smaller towns and villages
• Trucks laden with sugarcanes near Mandya» and Maddur
• Guides suddenly appearing in front of your vehicle at Srirangapatna
• Cattle, sheep and humans trying to cross the highway at undesignated places

Look Out For:

• The rocky landscape of Ramanagaram»
• The innumerable handicraft shops selling the famed Channapatna» toys along the highway from Channapatna to Mandya (The shopkeepers are willing to bargain.)

Route Map

About Ranganathittu:

Ranganthittu is a bird sanctuary in Mandya District of the state of Karnataka in India. It comprises six islets on the banks of the River Cauvery. The islets are host to numerous small mammals, including Bonnet Macaque, colonies of Flying Fox and common small mammals like Common Palm Civet and Indian Gray Mongoose and the monitor lizard.

The Mugger Crocodile or Marsh Crocodile is a common inhabitant of the riverine reed beds. Breeding water birds include Painted Stork, Asian Openbill Stork, Common Spoonbill, Woolly-necked Stork, Black-headed Ibis, White Ibis, Lesser Whistling Duck, Indian Shag, Stork-billed Kingfisher and other common birds like egrets, cormorants, Oriental Darter, and herons. The Great Stone Plover, and River Tern also nest here. The park is home to a large flock of Streak-throated Swallows.

Nearest Town: Srirangapatna (3 km)
Nearest City: Mysore (19 km)
Nearest Railhead: Srirangapatna
Nearest Airport: Bangalore
Nearest Highway: Bangalore – Mysore highway

More From Vivek Dhage's Portfolio and Photoblog

• Leg 6: Back to Bangalore | Vivek Dhage's Portfolio and Photoblog
• Leg 2: Irpu | Vivek Dhage's Portfolio and Photoblog
• Leg 3: Byalukuppe | Vivek Dhage's Portfolio and Photoblog
• Leg 1: Bangalore to Mysore | Vivek Dhage's Portfolio and Photoblog
• Leg 3: Ooty | Vivek Dhage's Portfolio and Photoblog