Wildlife & Tea Tasting Trail To Nilgiris

Tour Includes

• Transport- Car/SUV/Coach or Motorcycles as chosen
• Services of a tour guide
• Service of a mechanic for the bike party
• All Meals
• Mentioned activities & experiences
• Accommodation

Day 1 –Bandipur

The tour departs from Bangalore at 630 am. We will go past rustic villages and the towns of Kanakpura, Malavalli and Bannur before reaching Mysore by 1130 am. We go past Mysore and Nanjangud to enter the forest area with its breathtaking scenery. We are expected to reach Bandipur around 130 pm. After checking in to our wildlife resort, lunch is served. After a well deserved nap, we do a evening Safari in the Bandipur wildlife reserve which was the private hunting ground of the Maharaja of Mysore. Bandipur is part of the Nilgiri biosphere spread across 2000 square kilometers of rich wild life. Bandipur is both a Tiger and an Elephant reserve. The other animal inhabitants are gaur, deer, leopard, bison, dhole, sambhar, boar and sloth bear. Dinner and night stay is arranged at the same resort.

Day 2 -Bandipur & Mudumalai wildlife reserve

Today we will spend the entire day between Bandipur and the neighbouring Mudumalai wildlife reserves. We will do a morning safari in Bandipur and an evening one at Mudumalai. This provides the best chance of spotting a variety of animals coming to the water holes at dawn and dusk. We also visit Theppakadu Elephant camp in the evening. You will get to see how the elephants are bathed, fed and taken care of. We spend the night at the resort in Bandipur.

Day 3 –Ooty & Coonoor

After breakfast we leave Bandipur and go past the forests of Bandipur & Mudumalai once again and head to Coonoor. This 2 hour drive will take us past the popular hill station of Ooty. In Ooty we make a brief stopover. First we visit the incredibly beautiful botanical gardens. Spread over 22 hectares the garden has a 20 million old fossilized tree trunk, an arboretum and thousands of species. Next we ride to the Tribal research centre at Ooty, which is dedicated to the various tribes that inhabit the Nilgiri Mountain ranges like the Todas, Kotas and Paniyas. The museum here provides a good account of the culture and lifestyle of these tribes by way of tribal artifacts, books, audio visual material. We proceed towards Coonoor which will be our home for the next 3 days. Our stay is planned in a working Tea Estate. After lunch the rest of the day is at leisure. The local cuisine of Badaga community will be served at Dinner.

Day 4 – Plantation walk, Tea leaves pluckin, Tea tasting & making

Today is dedicated to the legendary Nilgiri Tea! Nilgiri Tea is an intensely aromatic, fragrant and flavoured tea. The elevation over 6000 feet, soil type and climate of Nilgiris, gives the Tea a unique balance of flavour and strength. We will start the day with a walk around the Tea gardens and neighboring forests. This will be followed by a Tea Tasting session. This will be the highlight of the tour! We will get to taste a wide range of Nilgiri Tea varying in levels of strength and flavour. After lunch, we will get an opportunity to pluck the Tea leaves from the garden. The guide will explain the technique to be used. A workshop will follow where we will learn about making or own handmade Tea.

Day 5 – Toda Village

Today we will visit a real Toda Village. Todas are the native tribes of Nilgiris. They are a pastoral people and revere the Buffalo. Buffalo milk products like cheese, yogurt and buttermilk forms their staple diet. We will get to see their unique huts and life in the hamlet. They usually wear a single piece of cloth like the plaid of a Scottish highlander over the dhoti and skirt. Rest of the day is at leisure

Day 6 – Bangalore

We check-out after breakfast and return to Bangalore. We drive past Ooty, the forests of Mudumalai & Bandpur, Mysore and reach Bangalore by 5 PM to bring an end to this tour.

  

Cancellation Policy

• In the event of cancellation of tour / travel services due to any avoidable / unavoidable reason/s we must be notified of the same in writing. Cancellation charges will be effective from the date we receive advice in writing, and cancellation charges would be as follows: 60 days prior to arrival: 10% of the Tour / service cost 45 days prior to arrival: 20% of the Tour / service cost 15 days prior to arrival: 25% of the Tour / service cost 07 days prior to arrival: 50% of the Tour / service cost.
• Less than 72 hours or No Show: No Refund In case of Special Trains Journeys and peak season hotel bookings a separate cancellation policy is applicable (which can be advised as and when required).
  Some cancellation and refund policies are out of our tender: Refund for hotel payment will follow the hotel’s cancellation policy Train tickets cancellations will follow the Railway’s policy Flight tickets cancellations will follow the airlines company policy In case you cancel the trip after commencement, refund would be restricted to a limited amount only which too would depend on the amount that we would be able to recover from the hoteliers/ contractors we patronize. For unused hotel accommodation, chartered transportation & missed meals etc. we do not bear any responsibility to refund.
• Our Liabilities & Limitations: Please note that after the finalization of the Tour/ service cost, if there are any Hike in entrance fees of monuments

Note

• Minimum 2 pax require.
• The tour can be customized in terms of duration as well as nature of activities. Guests can choose from SUV, Car, Coach or classic Enfield motorcycles.