Dandeli was one place that was on all our colleagues mouth for long time. Finally the date with Dandeli was fixed, It was 11th, 12th and 13th of Dec.
Everybody was gearing up for Dandeli and its cold. We all (around 25 people still few missed out) started journey from Majestic on 10th night. Reached Dandeli one and half hour late (11am). Our holidays were booked in Jungle Lodges (Kali Adventure Camp) which is just a km away from Dandeli and beside Kali river.
Our Tent booked was on the banks of Kali river. Sound of river flow added to the pleasure . Some Monkey's and birds were also waiting for us near the tent.
We all freshened up and had lunch. We had 2 options for the evening. One to go for evening Jungle Safari/Coracle Ride and the other to go for famous White River Rafting(This was optional). The only one White river Rafting spot in South India and the 2nd longest in India next to Hrishikesh in the North,ie 15km stretch.
Only 12 people turned up for the Rafting. And others preferred Coracle Ride instead of Jungle Safari.
We were taken on Jeep to the starting point of the Rafting that is near the Supa Dam. The river looked calm at the starting point. We were given Life jackets and made a group of 4 each based on the weight.
Myself, Sunil,Prabhakar and Vijay were in one boat and Deepak, Shrimanth, Lohith and Kiran were in another boat. Rest were in another boat.
Every boat has one trainer in it. They will first train us about the few commands which we have to follow on course of the rafting. They also train us about how to save others if at all anybody fell off the boat. They ask everybody to jump to the river and others have to save the person. Actually this training was also very exciting.
After these training exercises it was time to experience the thrill. There are 6 Big Rapids in 15 km journey. Rapid is a major adrenaline rush of water . The boat falls from many feet which feels as if we are falling to the water falls...!!! Out of 6 big rapids major but it is the first rapid which is the best of all.
Just 10 min after the start we encountered first and the biggest rapid. Everyone were screaming in joy. We all were thrilled to the core. There were many more rapids as well where we enjoyed. After some time we were heading upstream for colliding with the small rapid. It was just awesome. Water was all over the boat.
We could see many Birds all through rafting many of them were Kingfisher of different colors. After exhausting 2 hours of rafting we finally managed to reach our resort by 6.30pm.
Freshened up and started playing Table tennis for the first time and was not bad in that either. Enjoyed every point. Then it was time for Snacks and Campfire. After busy time in the middle it was time for dinner with not much of gap in between snacks and Dinner...!!
Day 2
Day 2 started with jungle safari at 5.30. Open jeep carried us through the forest. However we could not find any animals except Deer, wild hen and Peacock as it was winter.
Since the vehicle could not go further we trekked 2km to Kavala Caves which was discovered very recently(Early 1980's). The caves lie inside the thick forest. We saw footprints of Tiger on our way.
The caves were beautiful. The Shiva Linga formed was just like in Amarnath but here, from limestone deposition... Everyday linga will be under formation...!!! Passing through cave was a difficult task as there was no ventilation inside. Somehow all of us could successfully pass through it.
After couple of group photos we were back to the Jeep parking place. Bread-Jam and biscuits were waiting for us. Had few of them and started our way back. On our way back we visited two viewpoints. We could see only Green and Green all around.
We were back to resort by 11am and the breakfast was ready. Had sufficient breakfast. Next activity was Coracle Ride. Few had already completed it previous day and the rest enjoyed the ride on Kali river. 3km of Coracle ride was very enjoyable but we could hardly find any crocodile. There are many crocodiles in the river and the previous day they were visible. Within one hour Lunch was also ready. Finished lunch too...!!!
The food including breakfast and snacks at the resort were very good. Vegetarian food was too good and Non-Vegetarians were also very happy with the food they were supplied.
Next place to visit was the famous Syntheri Rocks. Open Jeep was ready and so we were. Synthery Rocks is 35km away from Dandeli with many curves all along. Roads are quite good. We reached there in 25 minutes, thanks to the speed at which our driver took us there..!!! Many had their heart in their mouth and few were even having vomiting sensation...!!!
After few minutes other jeep carrying another batch reached the place. Few steps down and we were at the famous Syntheri rocks. Had couple of snaps and back to the parking spot. Again a whirlwind drive back to the Resort. Had a blast in open jeep.
After adventurous tour it was the time bid goodbye to Dandeli. Everybody stayed back for another day and I was back to Bangalore next morning since I had some other work.
Others visited beautiful Sathodi Falls and Magod Falls near Yellapur the next day and they were back to Bangalore a day later.
