Hi, Kabini river lodge is @ the edge of the forest reserve ..(though a lone tusker crossed our path when we visited there 3 yrs ago ..)!! hence it is quite ok to travel on bikes .. the road upto kabini dam was quite good ( as of last october) . The other thing that works in your favour is that you will have to travel only in morning ( if U plan to make use of the package available) ..so have a great trip !! the other option is to bike until Mysore and then take abus/jeep to karapur.
Mysore - HD Kote - Antarasanthe - to Kharapura you will never enter the forest. The forest route has been closed for private vehicles and you would have to reach there by the village route. So it is safe to go on bikes. Even when the road was open for tourists, people managed on two wheelers.
Its quite safe and you wont ride inside the jungle.
take into account the heat these days and the unruly motor and bus traffic on the road - meaning lots of water and wearing helmets and shades.
package starts with lunch and ends with breakfast - so plan your arrival.
the roads from Mysore are great all the way to the Kabini Dam - the road after that was being relaid - should be good now. There is also a deviation marked via back roads, which are a bit bumpy.
Dear Arun, Its perfectly safe to go on ur bikes. My only recommendation to anyone going to Kabini is to stay only in JUNGLE LODGES and not any other resort. We stayed in water-woods and they charge Rs 600 per head for one trip into the forest.....total rip-off. Enjoy your stay.....though it may be very hot at this time...dont forget the sun-screen -Monica
My apologies for the delayed response. Hope this reaches you in time to be useful . . . .
While i do agree with Monica that it is safe to venture out on bikes, a few things to consider:
We were there almost 8 months ago and the last stretch of about 15 KMS was in shambles. The semblance of the stretch was strewn with stones and littered with quite large pot holes. Consider biking in pairs and do think of a hand pump and a couple of instant puncture patches - just in case your tyre decides to pack (if the stones and holes do not get them, the heat may well do so).
Secondly, this last 15 KM stretch is also the most likely 'Animal Spotting' stretch. When we drove into Cicada, we spotted a heard of Elephants and a Lone tusker (at two different spots) in this stretch. So, plan to be there before evening and if possible - tag along a car or a jeep that carry's visitors into the private resorts.
