Bamboo Banks is a 40 acre farm situated beside the wooded Avaraihallai River in the Mudumalai Game Reserve. The location enjoys the vistas, flora, fauna and climate of the gorgeous foothills of the Nilgiris (Blue Hills).
Zerene and Siasp Kothavala started the Guest House in 1974 and are the pioneers in this area. In the last 30 years satisfied guests from around the world have been their best advertisement, with many returning as friends.
The sprawling acreage of the farm houses only 4 independent cottages to ensure that each guest can be looked after personally yet affording blissful privacy. Truly providing you with "Luxury in the Jungle".
Siasp is a wealth of information on the jungle, tea and coffee plantations and almost any subject you care to talk about. A wide variety of Parsi, Western and Indian dishes are served at every meal including pure vegetarian.
The Kothavalas make certain that the guest house remains as a model for others to emulate and invite you to enjoy the home comforts and personal attention as exclusive guests.
Rooms:
The Guest House has four detached cottages.
The cottages are well appointed with fully furnished bedrooms, attached bathrooms with western style lavatories and running hot and cold water.
The Cottages are a little distance away from the main house and from each other so maximum privacy is assured.
Each Cottage is different in its design and furnishing so that a rural and "Back to Nature" ambience is created with all modern facilities and conveniences.
The Annexe
The Annexe is located close to the reception and dining areas and is ideally suited for the elderly and for those who wish to walk less than 30 yards for the sumptuous food.
The Cottage
The Cottage has the magnificent Nilgiris as a backdrop and is ajacent to the farms coffee garden. The Cottage has a very comfortable sitting room with DTH TV, Fridge and kettle. The sitting room sofas convert to additional beds for the children.
The Brick House
The Brick House, left in the unplastered building style gives the "village" flavour to your holiday. This cottage is large and airy and has the best view of the Nilgiri hills.
The Stone House
The Stone House is exactly that - built entirely from local granite. It is the most secluded and is surrounded by gardens and greenery. The place to be if you want the ambiance of wilderness.
There are also Tamarind Tree economy cottages with meals served at the main venue.
Amenities:
Cuisine
* Vegetarian and Non Vegetarian
* Indian, Continental and Parsi
* Table d'hote and A la carte.
* Organically grown "farm fresh" vegetables enhances the taste of the home cooked food.
Travel Desk
Laundry facility
Doctor on Call
Barber on call
Boarding and Lodging for drivers/attendents
Siasp, after obtaining a B.Sc in agriculture in 1952, made a career of being a tea/coffee planter. He worked with major companies and being an able administrator was soon a General Manager. Looking for new challenges led him to take premature retirement in 1972, and with Zerene who Unfortunately passed away on 8-nov-2007 took the bold step in setting up a farm in a secluded and beautiful environment. It did not take them long to realize the potential for quality accommodation and food in the area – and the guest house was born in 1974.
Siasp was brought up in different camps across the country as his father was a Collector during the pre-independence years. It was at a tender age that he was introduced to wildlife and game shooting which is the foundation of his vast knowledge of the jungle. His love for the wild grew with age, ultimately seeing a reversal of roles, to that of a conservationist. Siasp will enthrall you with his experiences and insight of not only the jungle but on almost any subject!
(Late) Zerene was brought up in a family replete with legal luminaries with a convention for patronizing the arts and social causes. Her upbringing in a home with a tradition of hospitality and a love for culinary delights ensured her success as a homemaker for Siasp and their children.
- Jungle Safaris in Government Vans in Mudumalai Wildlife Sanctuary and National Park
- Jungle Safaris in Government Vans / Elephant Rides in Bandipur National Park
- Visit to Theppakadu Elephant Breeding and Rearing Camp
- Bird Watching
- Visit to a Tea Plantation and Factory
- Trekking accompanied by a tribal tracker
- Half day trek to Sri Murugan Temple, Bokkapur
- Visit to Chamandan Temple Ruins
- Half Day visit to Himavad Gopalaswamy Hill (Betta)
- Day Visit to Ooty, Coonor and Kotagiri
- Day Visit to Emerald Lake in the Upper Nilgiris
- Horse Riding
- Golf at Ooty/ Wellington
- Mountain Bike Trails
- Indoor Games and a Library
Jungle Safari Glimpses
- Bamboo Banks Farm is situated at the very edge of the Mudumalai Wildlife Sanctuary and National Park. There are a plethora of opportunities for game viewing and photography. The deciduous forests of Bandipur National Park are also easily accessible.
- The habitat ranges from semi evergreen, moist and dry deciduous, thorny open scrub and also includes swamps, dry grasslands and cultivated teak plantations. This variety of habitats is home to many species of animals, both predators and prey. The imposing white-socked Gaur and hundreds of Chital grazing in the grasslands, the majestic elephant foraging in herds, wild boar rooting by the road side - can all be witnessed here -and if lucky, you could even see a Tiger or Wild Dogs hunting in a pack.
- The calls of the Peacock, Jungle Fowl and Partridge merge with the song of the Mynas, Parakeets, Barbets and Cuckoos to fill the air.
- Early morning and evening Safaris / elephant rides into the jungle are organized by Government agencies and our Travel Desk will make the necessary arrangements for your convenience.
- On your drive to Bamboo Banks many animals are sighted on the main road in the jungle area. We earnestly request you to please remain in your vehicle at all times, not feed the animals and keep the forest litter free.
Birding
- The Garden and grounds of Bamboo Banks offer some excellent birding. Two hours in the early morning before breakfast should reveal the best part of 50 species.The small coffee plantation behind the dining area is particularly rewarding, being home to the Indian pitta, paradise flycatcher, orange headed thrush, and Tickell’s blue flycatcher. It is regularly visited by roving parties consisting of woodpeckers, minivets, nuthatches, leaf birds, the black headed oriole, the coppersmith and the Southern endemic white cheeked barbet, together with a good variety of other species. Patience and a measure of luck may also reveal other flycatchers such as the Nilgiri and white bellied. The orange headed thrush favors the small fresh water conduit near the office building and can be joined there by the blue capped rock thrush and the Eurasian blackbird.
- The flower garden near the Tank, occasionally visited by kingfishers, holds a large population of purple rumped sunbirds with the giant cherry tree in this garden hosting resident koels, with the Indian blue robin, emerald dove and blue bearded bee eater being occasional visitors.
- To the North of the Coffee plantation in the field behind the stables it is easy to find two endemics of South India, the green billed malkoha and the white headed babblers. Other babblers are possibilities here, namelythe Indian scimitar, the yellow eyed and the tawny bellied.To the South of the coffee plantation the white browed bulbul and cuckoo shrikes frequent the bushes and are easier to find here than on the field to the North.The vulture is making a comeback at Bamboo Banks, after nearing extinction in India . A flock of 35 white rumped vultures has recently been circling over Bamboo Banks and its nearby village of Masinagudi.
Wildlife in Mudumalai
- Elephant, Gaur (Bison), Wild Boar and Sloth Bear
- Sambar, Chital (Spotted Deer), Black Buck, Mouse Deer (Chevrotain), Four Horned Antelope and Barking Deer (Muntjac)
- Tiger, Leopard, Jungle Cat and Small Indian Civet Cat
- Giant (Malabar) and other Squirrels
- Common Langur and Bonnet Macaque
- Peacock, Jungle Fowl, Partridge, Quail, Malabar Tragon, Malabar Grey Hornbill, Wodpeckers, Crested Hawk and Crested Serpent Eagles and several varieties of birds
- Monitor Lizard and various types of Snakes
- Porcupine, Mongoose and Hare
- Hyena, Jackal and Dhole (Wild Dog)