Chandoli National Park Safari is located in the Sangli district of Western Maharashtra. This Safari gives us an opportunity to click one of the best photos of wildlife and nature. So if forest, natural landscapes and wildlife interests you then are on the right blog. Let us get started.
Chandoli National Park Safari is on the south part of the Sahyadri Tiger Reserve. The north side being the Koyna Wildlife Sanctuary. This is a dense forest area.
We visited Chandoli National Park for a 2 day wildlife and nature trip. The photos have a distinct flavor of nature, wildlife and the forest..
By Air
By Road from Pune and Mumbai
The National Highway 4 connects Mumbai, Pune and Bangalore . Traveling to Chandoli through the National Highway 4 is a pleasurable experience. Once you reach Karad on the Highway then you need to divert to reach Chandoli National Park.
We took a lunch break in Karad city. After Karad, one enters rural Maharashtra and it is difficult to find all the supplies you would need.
This journey, after Karad, is through fields of rural Maharashtra. This part of Maharashtra produces a lot of sugar cane. While driving, you will see farmers and their produce piled up along the road side. This includes sugarcane, fruits and vegetables. The local market also has the hustle of a typical village.
The skies looked clear and blue hence we got down from our vehicle to take some snaps of the fields.
From Pune it took us around 4 to 5 hours to reach the Chandoli National Park Safari in the evening.
After our dinner, we had a small bonfire. We watched the dark sky filled with stars which we cannot see from the cities. We had a good night’s sleep before we woke up to the sounds of the morning birds in the jungle nearby.
For the next day, at the Chandoli National Park, we had planned for a Jeep Safari in the morning at around 9 am. Chandoli National Park is a picturesque location. One can expect to get fabulous photos of wildlife and nature throughout the safari. The flora and fauna of Chandoli National Park is attractive with vibrant colours. But we were also interested in the natural landscapes which were here in plenty.
We had our breakfast and our Jeep safari was ready. We wanted to check out the natural surroundings and hence preferred to stand in the jeep.
Starting with the Chandoli National Park Safari
The Chandoli National Park Safari has a grand entrance. It has models of animals inside the forest. Chandoli National Park photos are incomplete without this picture of models of animals.
Entering the Forest
Further going inside, the jeep safari takes up speed and if you stand you get to breathe the air of the jungle. The air was fresh and refreshed us.
From the top of the safari, you could see the water body and grassland in the distance and get to see how far this national park stretches.
Chandoli National Park Safari gets divided into 3 parts. They are the core area, the Jeep Safari area and the grasslands.
Core Area
One is the core area where tourists are not allowed. The wildlife gets protected inside this core area of the forest. Due to the protection the forest department expects the tiger numbers to increase. When the tiger population increases they will then allow tourists to visit the core area.
Right now, the tiger population is low but significant. It has a good number of leopards and other animals too.
Best Time to Visit for Wildlife Lovers
For people, who love nature can visit the Chandoli National Park anytime of the year. But for wildlife, one needs to visit in the summers. The core area of the Chandoli jungle dries up in summers. This is when the tigers and leopards move closer to the nearby river or ponds in search of water. Chances of sighting wild animals is higher during this time.
Your chances of wildlife sightings at the Chandoli National Park Safari increase if you go for the Safari ride of 2 to 3 time. It would greatly help if you take the early morning safari.
We clicked some birds’ photos but couldn’t identify them.
As we drove inside the forest the core area was coming close and the driver stopped the jeep safari. He let us look as far as possible into the core area but we didn’t spot any animal. We had to then move back.
The Walking Trail inside the Chandoli National Park
We got down from the jeep and started walking behind the guards on a muddy path. The trail passed a pond nearby. Wild Animals use this pond for drinking water. We didn’t find any animals there but to experience the eerie silence was quite an experience.
There was a watch point near a pond. The Photos of the interiors of the Chandoli National Park looked raw and wild. The forest was alive with activity. We captured wonderful photos of the forest here.
Checkout the bright green colours of the leaves in the morning sunlight.
We walked ahead. On seeing to find our safari waiting for us we felt relieved .
Grasslands of Chandoli National Park
A motorable road led us to the nearby grasslands in the Chandoli National Park. We could see grass as far as possible. These photos give us a feel that we are some African grassland. The height of the grass was around 3 – 4 ft and it is very easy for any tiger or leopard to hide in it.
We reached a watch tower which was around 3 storey tall with a ladder. The views from this tower were extensive. Due to the height of the tower we could see a lot further into the forest beyond the grasslands. We clicked some pics which gave a good perspective of the tower in comparison to the ground.
We then moved out from here. As we moved out we found some huts and understood that these were the homes of the tribals living in that area. From here we moved back to the resort.
We had 2 options of exploring, one was Chandoli Dam and the other was Kandvan Dam which was smaller. Also, the incentive was that this dam was on our route between Pune and Chandoli
Traveling to the Kandvan Dam
So in the 2nd half of the day, we traveled to the Kandvan dam. Kadanvan Dam is at an hour’s distance from the Chandoli National Park Safari. While traveling, on one of the bridges, we saw these trees which looked like cotton.
To reach the dam, we had to cross a narrow bridge on which only 1 vehicle could drive at a time. We went to the other side and parked our car in front of the dam(water barrier). From there the reservoir of the dam was at walking distance and we walked over.
As we went further into the lake, the reflections produced some mesmerizing views. We never expected the photos on this side of the Chandoli National Park to be so beautiful. We had never expected it.
Now it was time to move back and we clicked some photos of the river and the dam. We took some timeout to bathe in the flowing water.
Chandoli National Park Safari : Our take
Chandoli National Park Photos kept our memories fresh. Due to the outstanding locations and their beauty, we shot many photos which are unique. Chandoli National Park Safari is a must for Wildlife, Nature and Photography lovers.