| INDIAWILDLIFEAGUMBE, KARNATAKA
Excellent for: Watching snakesThe King lay a mere eight feet away.
The sky was full of stars, the cicadas
were carrying on a spirited symphony
and the darkness of the night was being
battled only by the glow from our torches.
There he lay coiled, a 10- to 12-foot
King Cobra.
Now, while we come to terms with
the fact that this was one of the most
venomous snakes in the country, let
me supply some context to this night.
I was on a night walk with researchers
from the ARRS (Agumbe Rainforest
Research Station), on a story for Lonely
Planet Magazine India. I was expecting
to see nothing, well, apart from a vine
snake or two, and some interesting
insects. At best, I was hoping to see
a slender loris, with its googly eyes,
scorpions or a flying squirrel – all of
which I did see. I was not expecting to
see the King; it doesn’t happen that easily.
People stay for weeks, months without
seeing one. I know of travellers having
made repeat trips, unsuccessfully,
to see a King in the wild.
This was truly a blessing from the gods.
Agumbe is a part of the Western Ghatsin Karnataka, and home to the ARRS,
a conservation and research initiative
started by Romulus Whitaker, to study
and document species in the Agumbe
region, especially the King Cobra. When
I visited, almost five years ago, they were
conducting the first-of-its-kind telemetry
project on these magnificent snakes.
Field visits revealed further gems, a krait
that slithered past us less than five feet
away, on the other side of a mesh fence,
a Malabar pit viper just outside the
lavatory, a hump-nosed pit viper coiled
near a stream...
Water lies at the heart of Agumbe’s allure.
The weather is tropical and humid,
ensuring torrential rain that refuses to go
quietly. To see the forest during and after
the monsoon is to see it covered in a shade
of green you’ve never seen before. Wildlife
photographer and researcher Tasneem
Khan writes about the Agumbe monsoon
in this beautiful manner: “At first, the
thirsty laterite soil seems to absorb every
drop of water, but the rain is incessant...
Soon, every little ditch, depression and
trench is converted into a water body.
Rivulets course through plantations and
forests, rapidly feeding these streams and
rivers. As the rivers begin to f low, they set in
motion countless processes of revival,
birth, growth, life and death.”I suggest you explore the forest
around ARRS, and spend time
understanding the habitat, but, if you
do want to venture out, there are a few
places to visit: the touristy Sunset Point,
Jogigundi Falls, Kundadri Hills.
Incidentally, Agumbe is where Malgudi
Days was shot, and the old house, Dodda
Mane, where everyone’s beloved Swami
stayed in, is alive and well, and open to
tourists.GETTING THERE
BY AIR: Mangalore Airport is 110km away.
BY RAIL: Udupi (55km away) is the closest
railway station. You can also alight at
Shimoga (90km).
BY ROAD: A direct KSTRC bus service
runs between Agumbe and Bangalore daily.
Buses ply every 20 minutes from Mangalore
to Shimoga that pass via Agumbe.STAY:
There aren’t too many places to stay at
in Agumbe. If you want to enjoy the forest
and avail of in-house expertise, these two
are your best bets.
AGUMBE RAINFOREST RESEARCH
STATION (ARRS): write to them at
[email protected]
KALINGA ACRE: Visit http://www.kalingacre.com
for more details.46 54 April 2017April 2017