Kokkare Bellur Mandya

Kokkare Bellur: The Stork Paradise

Kokkare Bellur is a small village about 100 kms from Bangalore in Mandya district. The name itself means 'village of storks' in kannada. The location of the village is about 15 kms off the Bangalore-Mysore highway.

For a very long time, I was planning to visit this place but somehow always skipped the spot. However in June of 2012 on my visit to nearby town in Mandya for a wedding celebration, my friends and I decided to check out this place.

Well to my surprise, there was no big crowd in this sleepy little town. I had heard that this place was the nesting grounds for the painted storks and like Ranganathittu I was expecting some fencing and park at this place. However all this lasted only till the time we reached this place. The village is a small one and you might just pass through without seeing any sign or hoarding for the place but you sure will not miss seeing the beautiful stork and their huge nest all around this place.

As soon as we reached the town and were about to ask the locals for directions to see the storks, we spotted 2 big storks sitting right on the side of the road. That was just amazing! And more had to come because on seeing around the place, we found that there were storks everywhere with nests very near to human settlements. It was like both man and birds were co-existing at this place in harmony.

Even though I could not identify the different species of storks, the proximity of their nest to the houses around really surprised me. The best thing about this place was that the birds were comfortable with humans and hence taking good shots was not a difficult job for an amateur like me.

On moving around the village we came across a small fence inside which storks that were injured or could not fly were kept with ample food supply. One can roam around this place freely and enjoy the beauty around.

The local childern might keep on pestering you for money and be sure not to hand them any or you might be flocked by dozens.

Photos:

Duration:
Half a day trip from Bangalore or Mysore
 

Best time to visit:

Winter, Evening

Things to carry:

Water

Food stuff

Note: There is not restaurant that we could spot nearby. The nearest restaurant is on the Bangalore-Mysore Highway.

Route Map:

From Bangalore

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