Ever seen a tiger drinking water or a herd of elephants crossing river ? These are some of the sights which you can witness at Kabini. It's a paradise for wildlife enthusiasts and nature lovers.

On a cold Saturday morning, both of us decided to pack our bags and drive to this beautiful weekend getaway. A breezy 3-hour drive from Bangalore, with tiny villages and plantations on either side of the road, made the journey memorable.

Th most enjoyable stretch of the journey was the 40kms patch through the Nagarhole National Park. It was an adrenaline rush drive through the forest. There were plenty of butterflies all moving around in patches. Just after a few metres we were greeted by a group of spotted deer. The group consisted of bucks, does and some very cute calves. Later we also spotted langoors, elephants and wild boars. The drive was really thrilling and turned out to be our very own private safari.

After conquering the last bumpy patch of of the road we reached the beautiful and expansive Red Earth, Kabini.

The property was secluded and peaceful and it stood on the banks of the famous Kabini river. The view was breathtaking. We were welcomed by hospitable hosts with fresh juice and hot towels, What a welcome !. The checkin process was swift and we were quickly helped to our river side cottage.

The landscape was covered with beautiful flowers and the cacophony of insects rung in our ears. The cottages were built of natural, earthy red mud and looked very inviting . We were awed by the tranquility of this space. Our cottage housed an indoor open-air Jacuzzi with a view of the river. This was heaven for us !!

We lazed in our cottage overlooking the river Kabini. The lunch served was sumptuous and finger licking. Taste of fresh river-picked fish curry still lingers on my tastebuds.

In the evening, we tried the coracle ride which is offered free of cost by the resort. The ride turned out to be a really wonderful experience and we enjoyed the ride. While making our way back to our cottage, we bumped into the old mango tree which was a sight in itself as it was overloaded with ripe mangoes.

After the ride, we decided to take a plunge in the infinity pool and further spoil ourselves with

in-house massage at Red Earth’s Spa Room. The masseuses’ skilled hands and the scent of aromatherapy oils sent us to a different world. We walked out of the spa room feeling entirely refreshed.

Our dinner was served at the beautifully decorated resort restaurant. The whole setup was very rustic. The south indian dishes were very authentic and lip smacking. Our dinner was accompanied by a wonderful cultural show .

Beyond the perimeter of this placid land, was the even more serene, thickly forested, Nagarhole National Park. Nagarhole National Park is counted among India’s best wildlife parks. It is spread over 247 square-mile and provides safe heaven to wildlife including large mammals such as tiger, leopard, wild elephant, dhole (Indian wild dog) and gaur (Indian bison) and over 250 varieties of birds.

Next day, we started for our morning safari in a jeep arranged by the resort. We were pumped up and were expecting to see some Big Cats. The jeep rattled along the jungle roads through the 6.30 am morning mists. The safari jeep took us in the deeper jungles and also near to some water bodies.

After roaming around for almost 2 hours, we got lucky!!! We spotted a leopard hardly four-feet away !! It was a breathtaking experience for us !! We quickly clicked some pics before the leopard vanished into the bushes.

We also saw many other wild animals like bison, spotted deer and elephants. To see the animals in the wild is an experience in itself. We were still looking for big cats but had a satisfaction of witnessing a leopard. After wandering in the jungle for next 1 hour, we realized its not our day to spot a tiger. We learnt that the best time to spot a tiger is just after the monsoon.

Anyways, we were more than happy to spot so many animals in such a short trip. We will go back to Kabini for sure till the time we spot the big cats and even after that. It was an amazing experience and it taught us a lot about wildlife. Post safari, we came back to our cottage for a hefty breakfast before leaving for Bangalore. Overall it was a pleasant trip and we loved it :)