Dandeli

Overview

Dandeli is a forest town on the Kali River in Uttara Kannada district, Karnataka, standing at around 470 metres in the Western Ghats. People come for white-water rafting and for the Kali Tiger Reserve around it, and rafting is usually at its best from November to February.

The Kali Tiger Reserve, earlier called the Dandeli-Anshi Tiger Reserve, joins Dandeli Wildlife Sanctuary to Anshi National Park. Its wildlife includes tiger, leopard, elephant, bison, wild dog, sambar and sloth bear, plus the occasional black panther, and the bird list runs to roughly 270 species. For many visitors the draw is hornbills: all four of the hornbill species found in southern India live here. Jungle safaris start from Phansoli, but the forest department controls access, so book through its channels and confirm what is open before you travel.

The river itself gives the activity. Rafting here usually covers 9 to 12 km of Class II and III rapids, a run that takes three to four hours once the transfer from camp is included. How much water there is depends on releases from the Supa Dam, which is why operations stop in the monsoon and can pause at other times. Rafting is run through the Forest Department and Jungle Lodges and Resorts, with private resorts also taking bookings. Kayaking and guided forest walks sit alongside it.

Away from the water there is plenty to fill a second day. Syntheri Rocks is a gorge where the river runs between tall rock walls, Kavala Caves and the Ulavi Caves, with a Chennabasaveshwara temple, are known cave sites, and Supa and Kadra dams are the two reservoirs most often visited. The tiger reserve also hosts a hornbill festival, usually in February.

Hubballi Airport, around 65 to 85 km away by road, is the nearest air link, and Alnavar, roughly 35 km from town, is the nearest junction on the railway. Bengaluru is about 460 km by road. Two to three nights cover rafting, a safari and a cave or gorge visit without hurrying.

Known for

Class II and III rapids over about 9 to 12 km