Maidenahalli (Jayamangali) Blackbuck Reserve near Tumkur, Blr

Heard about this place from a cousin and it proved to be a place I’d not visited yet, despite being so close to Bengaluru. So finally visited the Maidenahalli blackbuck reserve, also known as Jayamangali


Maidenahalli is located some 120 kms from Bangalore, can be reached via either Tumkur road (Nelamangala-Dabaspete-Koratagere)- or via Doddaballapur-Gauribidanur side. We went via Yalahanka-Doddaballapur route. Don’t bother asking anyone about the place-most of the villagers we spoke to were clueless about the Maidenahalli reserve. Just follow the map till you see a display announcing the reserve.

From here, drive slow and silent, keep an eye open for blackbucks. These animals are very sensitive to human presence and will run away once they spot you. If you can dress like a military commando- all covered in green, even better...

We saw couple of them on the way and once we went closer, we left the road and drove around randomly amidst the bushes and open fields. We spotted many individual ones and also few groups. It is a vast campus and the animals could be anywhere. Please be patient to explore.

Tata Safari from Zoom was good for this purpose- to drive off road where required, into the fields and grasslands. [More safari pics]

It was very interesting to observe the deers and black bucks roaming around freely, leaping high and running around. This is a complete different experience than seeing them in a zoo where their movements are confined and they appear resigned to their fate. Here in the blackbuck reserve, once they hear us, they would stare at us for a few moment, trying to assess the amount of danger we might be worth and then decide to move little away from us or in some cases when they felt danger is high, just run. The male blackbuck seemed to be commanding the group.

There are few watch towers set up by forest department, but nothing will be visible from here, unless you've high power binoculars. 

 

 
 

One photo without any zoom

The sky was also beautiful and cloudy.

Villagers feed their goats in the reserve. 

Roads were largely good, with occasional village roads or bad spots.

There are many good birds also.

There are no restaurants or any other facilities for several miles. I D Halli is a nearby town from where you might be able to buy bananas, biscuits and such stuff.

It was good time spent at Maidenahalli. Madhugiri fort, Siddara betta, Devarayana Durga etc are nearby places. You can easily plan a one day outing to these places.

Read Shankara's post and Shade's post on same place