Ranebennur blackbuck sanctuary

Whenever I crossed Ranebennur on NH48, I used to see the board of the Blackbuck sanctuary. Though I wanted to visit, I could not as I had other things to do. I got an opportunity only last month when we were driving from Dharwad to Davanagere. We had taken a detour to visit the temples at Galaganatha, Haralahalli and Choudayyadanapura. After our “Temple run”, we decided to focus our attention on blackbucks!!

I was following Google Maps, but my “sixth sense” told me not to trust it fully. At a deviation where I had to move away from the main road, I enquired with the local people. They told us that it would be hard for cars to tackle that road!! Instead, they directed us to go via Ranebennur town.

At Ranebennur, we took the Medleri road. There were enough signboards that directed us towards the sanctuary. We reached the blackbuck sanctuary, where a closed gate welcomed us!! A board mentioned that we need to get permission and guide from the Forest office. It is a problem with the Karnataka Forest Department. They like to play “hide and seek” games with visitors!! Luckily, in this case, the Forest Office was 3-4 km before the gate and not in different part of the world!! (Read my experience here)

We went to the forest office, and we saw the place deserted. I drove my car inside the complex, looking for people. We found one person and told him of our intention. He said that nobody was in Office as it was the second Saturday. After making some calls, he asked us to wait in front of the Office, where someone would come and guide us.

After ten minutes, two people from the forest department appeared. One of them was the guide who would take us inside the blackbuck sanctuary. We had to pay Rs 500/- for vehicle entry and Rs 25/- per head. I was glad to see that there were no charges for the SLR camera. They saved me from bankruptcy!! (Karnataka Forest Department charges exorbitant rates for SLR cameras)

I was feeling happy when my car entered the sanctuary. But I realized that I was handicapped to take photos as I was in the driver seat. I had to stop the car, put the gear to neutral, apply the handbrake, take out my big lens and camera, focus and shoot!! If the animal was there on the other side, it was hard to photograph!! Guide volunteered to drive my car so that I could concentrate on photography. But I was not ready to handover my vehicle to a stranger!!

I had seen blackbucks at Tal Chhapar in Rajasthan and Maidenahalli near Bengaluru. The terrain at Ranebennur was similar.  But due to high grasses during the time of our visit to Ranebennur, it was hard to get good photos of Blackbucks though we could spot many of them.

The place was also home to many birds which we could see. The guide also allowed us to climb a watchtower that provided a good view of the sanctuary.

We spent about 1.5 hours in the sanctuary, and it was a great experience. The guide and forest department people behaved very professionally.

Information and tips

• Blackbuck sanctuary is about 8 km from Ranebennur town.
• The sanctuary is open from 6 AM – 8 AM and between 4 PM – 6 PM.
• You can take our vehicle into the forest.
• Don’t go to the sanctuary gate directly. Visit the Forest Department office to get permits and a guide.