Destination Nagarahole – Shining jewel of India's jungles

Driving away from the remote Kutta village in south Kodagu district, our SUV occupied by members of my family crawled silently through the dense early morning fog on this winding Western Ghats' road. The powerful headlights lit up the signboard on which a tigress and cub were painted neatly, with "Welcome" etched in English and Kannada, the languages that a majority of the people of Karnataka state speak. Across the signboard was a check post of Rajiv Gandhi or Nagarahole National Park, among India's richest and deservedly the best known. The check post was manned by personal from the wildlife wing of the Karnataka Forest Department. Rubbing my hands to warm myself against the cool breeze that hit me as I stepped out of the vehicle, I approached one of the forest guards manning the check-post. Dressed in khaki field uniform, complete with a pair of anti-leech boots, "Saar" he said, "10 more minutes before I can let you into the park". A therm