Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary is a destination perfect for a day trip from Bangalore. Plenty of migratory birds circle the sky above you as a boat takes you on a wonderful tour. The bird sanctuary is close to Mysore and can be included in your Mysore itinerary as well. Ranganathitu is easy to reach and I was personally impressed by the maintenance of the place. We visited Ranganathittu bird sanctuary on a public holiday and yet, it didn’t seem overcrowded.
You need to pay entry fees per head and for parking. Once you park vehicle, you can enter the garden. A conspicuous museum of birds aroused our curiosity. Pictures of various birds hanged in the museum with some relevant information and a button below. On pressing the button, chirps emancipate according to the corresponding bird. Later, we started exploring the park. The vast & peaceful park gave sense of calmness. Trees are marked with boards indicating their scientific names. Life size statue of crocodile welcomed us when we entered the park.
After exploring the park for sometime, we headed to buy tickets for boating. Ranganathittu bird sanctuary has a vast lake and offers boating to visitors in two forms. One is a common boat which does rounds regularly. Another option is to rent a private boat. The common boat provides a 25 minute tour whereas private boat allows you to spend one hour in the lake. The common boat costs Rs 60 per seat whereas a private boat will cost Rs 250 per head.
The lake is prime spot for bird watching and you will observe bountiful views of birds in their natural habitat. You opt for a private boat if you want to spend some more time trying to capture the perfect shot of a bird, crocodile or habitat. We opted for the common boat as private boat was not available for us.
As we were standing in queue for our boat, the sky grew darker. Birds started taking shelter to evade the rains. Shades of grey dominated the sky and rain drops invaded the lake furiously. Luckily, by the time we embarked our boat, the sun was out again in it’s glory. The birds were out again, trying to dry the raindrops off their wings.
We spotted interesting birds and observed their flights keenly. We saw black headed ibis, painted stork, egret, heron and many more species. A tree infested with bats also made a unique spectacle. We had some really close views of a crocodile and the monster looked gorgeous while resting in it’s habitat. It would have taken micro seconds for the crocodile to attack our boat, we were that close! Thank God the crocodile was lazy that evening.
After almost half an hour, we arrived back to the park having enjoyed the natural habitat of migratory birds and fierce crocodiles. July – August is a good season to visit Ranganathittu bird sanctuary as it’s the migratory season. Apart from these months, winter season (Oct – Jan) is also a good time to visit Ranganathittu bird sanctuary.
I have displayed some of my pics below. Have a look!
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Have you been to Ranganathittu bird sanctuary? Do share your experience with me in comments.