Bheemeshwari Fishing and Nature Camp

Bheemeshwari is a quaint little fishing and nature camp tucked away in the forests of Karnataka, India, along the majestic Cauvery river. We (my team at the workplace) made a trip to this beautiful haven a few weeks back. It is situated at a distance of a little over a 100 kms outside the city of Bangalore, Karnataka.

On reaching the place, we were shown to our log huts; cute little wooden houses, slightly elevated with the help of small wooden pillars. They are so built to provide against sudden rises in the water level of the Cauvery. Oh yes, that reminds me of the scenic view that greets you if you stand on the small balcony of the log hut. You will witness the calm beauty of the gently flowing river in all its glory and magnificience! Each log hut is provided with its own hammock, where you can rock away to a blissful sleep, or even enjoy a calm evening of quiet reading.

My Log Hut

One of the intriguing things about this camp is that the log huts are situated on one side of a small stretch of the river, whereas, all the other things, including the offices, are situated on the other side! This warrants a small coracle ride everytime you want to get to the other side! Coracles are small, round boats that bob along the surface of the water in a delightful manner!

Coracle

The camp is said to be home to a number of wild animals, although, unfortunately, we didn't spot anything other than deer. I guess you need to go in a particular season to be actually able to see some leopards, jackals, and the like. The sight of the deer scrambling through the underbrush was a treat in itself, though! They went by so fast that no camera could catch the beauty of their flight!

Other than the sheer bliss of lazing around and soaking in the beauty of nature in all its hues, Bheemeshwari offers a number of other activities to keep you on your toes! A long and exciting coracle ride, over the ripples of the mighty river, puts to shame the small rides you almost get used to, going from one part of the camp to the other!!! If you're lucky, you may even spot a crocodile or two, lazing on one of the rocks in the water! We were lucky to spot one, doing just that!

Geared Up for the Coracle Ride!

Rippling Through the Water!!!

The camp also arranges a barbecue late in the evening, serving a wide variety of drinks and snacks. A perfect way to unwind at the end of a long day!

Early the next morning, we set off on a nice, long trek. It is during this trek that we managed to spot the deer running through the woods! The trek was a highly rejuvenating one! The mountain track that our guide took us through was extremely steep, to say the very least! Although we did stumble and lose our foothold a number of times, we managed to come out of it, unscathed, well aware that a fatal drop would have resulted in at least a few broken bones!!! Our guide was absolutely amazing! Nimble on his feet, he made me feel like a clumsy fool!!! The destination, on our way up the mountainside, was a nice tower, which gave a panoramic view of the entire landscape. The view from that tower was absolutely breathtaking! The mountains, the greenery, the river, all seemed to come together to form an amazing amalgamation of beauty and splendour!!!

Up the Tower!!!

View from the Tower

The fag end of the trip included an elephant ride; a ride that had us squealing with fear and giggling with excitement, all at the same time!

Elephant Ride

There was a cute little baby elephant that followed his parents, wherever they went! He was an absolute delight to watch, what with his capering around and his antics! He even picked up a fight with the resident dog!

Baby Elephant

In all, the trip was an absolutely amazing one! Before we knew it, it was time to get back to the concrete jungle of the city! What a far cry from the two days spent in the lap of bountiful nature!!!