Galibore - Fishing Camp

Galibore - Nature camp from jungle lodges is one of the best gifts from nature to people staying in Bangalore. It is so close to the city, yet so different - serene and quiet. It is nature at its best. One is guaranteed with a refresh and recharge on every visit. This is the best place to unwind after a hectic week. It is just around 100kms from Bangalore - about 2 1/2 hours from dairy circle.

We wanted a small break from our routine and wanted some thing close to Bangalore yet far from the hustle bustle of the city life. Galibore Nature Camp was a perfect choice. Also, we just love  the jungle lodges camps. The beauty of jungle lodges is, they are in perfect sync with the nature and wildlife.

We started from home after our Saturday's breakfast. Until we crossed Kankpura, the city traffic was with us and we were still not getting into the mood of a break. Once we crossed Kankpura town, the traffic slowly died and we were left with only the empty roads, sometimes shepherds crossing the road with their herds of sheep/goats/cattle, birds chirping and the sun playing hide and seek with the trees. We reached the parking place of Sangam and saw the direction to Galibore Nature Camp. From this sign board it is about 9Kms on a mud road. If you keep following this road, you would see some ashram on the way and in about 15-20min you are in Galibore.                                                                          

Fun on the huge hammock

Galibore has around 10 tented cottages. They also have an option of staying in tents that can be pitched. However travelers using this option will have to use the common toilets/bathrooms. Around the tented cottages there are plenty of hammocks to laze around, there are 2 huge nets tied to huge trees. Kids loved climbing these. There are some Tyre and Log swings too. We loved swing on these like Tarzan. There are quite a few adventure sport options like Water Rafting, Kayaking, cycling, trekking etc. These sports are not included in the package cost.

After checking in, we were offered lemonade as welcome drink. We put our luggage in the tent and headed straight to the hammocks. At 1'O clock lunch was ready in Gol Ghar. This is another thing which I appreciate about Jungle Lodges - everything is very well planned and is carried out as per the plan. This is true all the Jungle Lodges. Kudos to them. We had a very lazy lunch. Kids were busy playing. I headed to a cozy hammock under a tree and crashed. Had a good nap under the tree shade with complete silence and only noise I did hear was of the birds chirping.

Kids Playing in the shallow water

Around 4, we had tea and biscuits and went for a coracle ride. Our guide was explaining how the delay in monsoons has impacted the water and greenery around the camp. We had a nice and quite 40 min coracle ride down stream. We alighted at a point where we were brought back to the camp in a jeep. After this we went for joy fishing. This was our first fishing experience. With the help of a guide, the kids were able to catch around 6 Masheer fishes. These fishes can grow up to 50 Kgs. They have bigger mouths and shiny gold-silver body. When we felt the fishes they were quite slimy. The fishes were put back in the water.

Pankaj with his catch

After fishing it was barbecue and camp fire time. We picked our snacks and went by the banks of the  river. It was a beautiful evening, the sun had just set, the sky was in orange, dark blue color and the moon was just showing up. It felt great and relaxing sitting on the sand by the river. It was quite romantic. By this time it was pitch dark. The camp does not have any electricity, there are only some solar powered dim lights. Each tent is provided with kerosene lantern and lot of lanterns are put around the path ways. The camp site looks beautiful with these lamps lit and the almost full moon in the sky added to the beauty. After some time we joined the camp fire.

Kerosene Lantern for cottages

As scheduled, dinner was served at 8PM, we had dinner and back to our tents for good night sleep. As per the planned activities, there was a wake up call at 6:30 AM with tea/coffee served at our tents. We had the option of choosing trekking along the river or trek to top of a small hill. We decided to climb the hill, as we had already explored the path along the river on previous evening. This was a small trek and ideal with kids. It took us about 30 min to climb up. The views were quite good from the watch tower on the hill top. We spent some time on the hill and then descended to reach Gol Ghar in time for breakfast. Breakfast was great with lots of options. We had a good breakfast and started to pack and head back to Bangalore.

Trek to Hill Top

This trip was surely one of those Chota Packs which rejuvenated and recharged us. It is best for a weekend getaway!