Trip to Jungle Lodges River Tern resort

River Tern resort is one of Jungle Lodge's finest locations. Situated about 280 kms from Bangalore on the Bangalore Shimoga Highway, the resort is perched on a thin strip of land atop a hill overlooking giant man made Bhadra reservior and adjoining the northern boundaries of the Bhadra Tiger Reserve and Wildlife Sanctuary. The Bhadra reservoir was created between 1957 and 1964 as an irrigation project by submerging several square kilometers of village and forest land. The resort has just 10 log huts each with a balcony that offers a breathtaking view of the Bhadra reservoir. The gentle waves in the early mornings turn to a steady roar as night descends. The winds are strong enough even for wind surfing conducted by Ozone adventure sports, Bangalore. The lodge gets its name from the congregation of thousands of River Terns http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/River_Tern_(bird) during their breeding on a nearby island. This congregation of birds is a spectacular sight ! You can get mesmerized by observing their preening, feeding, cackling and many interesting antics.

We started early from Bangalore at 6:30am and drove down the Bangalore Shimoga highway for about 6 hours to reach Arsikere by 12:30pm. At Arsikere we took a turn towards the town of Lakkavalli driving through lush green paddy fields irrigated by little canals fed by the damned Bhadra river. Driving through the little town we see a rare example of a planned township that derives its existence and sustenance from the dam and several mini canals that snake through the paddy fields and living quarters giving an unusual sense of well being, orderliness, cleanliness and erudition. At this point the road ascends steeply and around the next bend we see the giant sluice gates that always send a bit of chill down my spine and awe at the same time; suddenly we are greeted by a large 50 ft wide canal that is almost overflowing with water and running along the road. The sight of swirling abundant waters is immediately so nurturing after a 6.5 hr journey; splash! go the green waters as bands of village boys leap into the swelling waters while their mothers wash kitchen utensils and clothes on the edge of the canal.

The resort is essentialy a promontory that is covered on almost three sides with water of the Bhadra reservoir, covered with bamboo plantations with 10 neatly laid out cottages each with a balcony that offers an unspoilt view into miles of the brilliant reservoir and tiny islands that have sprung up as waters recede during the summer months. Hidden amongst the rocky slopes of this water-locked strip of land are several coves that make for interesting hideaways. The resort has converted one of these coves into a makeshift boat jetty from where we take a motor boat into the reservoir. Within minutes we reach the river tern island where flocks of thousands of river tern have landed from the Himalayas to lay their eggs on the open groun. Hiding in another cove is a water trampoline about a 100meters from the rocky slopes. Wear your life jackets and take the plunge into the cool waters of the Bhadra. To those who do not know how to swim, it can be a bit daunting for the first 5 minutes; but the trick is to let go! lying on my back I gently push the waters away with hand strokes and reach the water trampoline, took the ladder to the top; a few leaps into the air from the trampoline was enough to set the motely group into peals of laughter and communion. One unforgettable experience is to leap into the cool waters beneath.

Suddenly we see our 7 year old daughter little Radhika who was till then mortally afraid of waters doing a canoe ride out in the reservoir in the company of an intrepid little friend!! just watching the two little adventurers rowing into the 150ft deep waters all by themselves was the biggest takeaway from the trip. Radhika who had taken a distaste for taking swimming lessons has ever since never looked back on taking the plunge and is now learning to swim all by herself!

Bhadra wildlife sanctuary offered us fewer animal sightings but very unique bird sightings. We were rewarded by sighting the endangered pied Hornbill http://www.iloveindia.com/wildlife/indian-birds/great-indian-hornbill/index.html

The resort staff are warm and have a great service attitude. Overall this was one of most memorable jungle lodges trips.