Masinagudi.... Weekend in the Wild !

Masinagudi, is a small town set near Mudumalai forest . This place is about 30 km before Ooty.
Lovely weather, amazing food and best of all this is the closest i have got to nature in all my jungle trips so far.
The place we stayed was a huge 42 acre property and the best part was only about 3 - 4 acres of it was used for the property the remaining forest was left untouched.
This gave a feel of staying in the forest.. while technically it was not.
But for someone who has just resumed travelling with a toddler, ideal setup of a forest .

It is like heaven for photographers. Spotted a lot of different birds but could not capture them well as i did not equip myself well to capture good pictures.
Lesson learnt! i have to carry all my lens and accessories when i go on a trip next time.

We had to cross the Mudumalai reserve to reach Masinagudi. And Mudumalai is known for its elephants and endangered species  of Bengal Tiger. We were not fortunate enough to spot any of the tigers. But did manage to go to the Elephant feeding camp and got to see elephants being fed live in action.

It was an amazing sight to see a tiny person put a big ball of mixed rice, jagery and coconut, right into the mouth of the huge animal.

While this was definitely a great sight to see, i personally felt, this is not how it should be.
The Elephant , so majestic, the biggest living land animal is chained and fed based on a timetable.
They are supposed to be free in the wild, living their life their style; not dependent on a bell to eat lunch and dinner.
The interference of man with nature has got this huge animal to a very sorry state.

I too was one of the many people who bought a ticket to go watch the elephant being fed. But what was an awesome sight initially, changed to more of pity towards that gigantic helpless animal as i stood there and watched .

This is where i sometimes feel that we humans have started misusing the 'Top of the Food chain' status that we acquired.
Anyways, with this deep thought we left the elephant camp and headed back towards Masinagudi.


Evenings are the most beautiful when you are in and around the jungle. The golden rays of the setting sun trickling through the leaves is something that lifts your spirit in an instant.

As the sun slowly slid behind the trees and the mountains, the sky turned into a pallet of colors !
And in an instant it was dusk and out came the myriad stars of a cool summer night !

Time for me to head back into my cottage for a good nights sleep for my ride back home early tomorrow.