Dandeli Jungle Camp-stay in the wild

Dandeli Jungle camp is a down to earth accommodation facility deep inside the buffer zone of Dandeli forest. It is located at about 13 kms from Dandeli town. It is a good place to stay if you want to experience a life away from luxuries and flamboyancy, enjoy a comfortable stay with only essential facilities, deep inside the forest, with lots of birds to company. A simple walk around the campus may enable sighting of several birds, including the hornbills.

  

Above: Outside and inside the room- notice room walls decorated with pictures of wildlife and forest

Dandeli Jungle camp also arranges forest safaris and visits to nearby attractions- such as Syntheri rocks, boating/rafting, bird watching etc. We spent a night here, courtesy Dandeli.com

Dandeli Jungle camp has a tree house, which was under maintenance when we visited and is expected to be operational soon. It also has a small pool.

 If you fancy spending a night in tents, you can opt for tent stay.

I'm told the room rents start Rs 1400 onwards, per person per night- stay, food and some activities included.

Family rooms are available if you wish to stay together as a large group. Hot water is supplied on demand to rooms. Food is fine. Not too many options though.

If you're going to stay for short duration, do tell your preferences to the staff clearly and they will organize activities accordingly. (What's your interest- bird watch, sun set, safari, visiting tribes, visiting tourist places, watersports etc)

Dandeli Jungle camp reportedly has a bit of history too, as told by one of the staff. There’s no proof available to validate this claim though.

The facility was set up few decades ago by a foreign lady (reportedly British) in tie up with a local business man. The place was then closed to Indians and only foreign tourists were allowed. Every year the lady would tour Europe for few months, meet travel agents and prospective customers and come back with lots of bookings for the facility. During those days itself (few decades ago), she used to charge INR 6000-7000 per couple for a 2 night-3 days package. Eventually at some point her partnership with Indian businessman turned sour and she left the country. The Indian partner couldn’t manage the facility well and it lay closed for few years, before being purchased by its current owners.

Related: Sunset at Dandeli * Kadu mane Narasimha and his bee story * Kali misadventure camp *