Doggies come first at this very special getaway. Ananth Shankar, a passionate animal lover who’s at the helm of things at Mandal Woods, formerly Hunkal Woods, read about the island of Eden (where animals live together in harmony) in the Phantom comics. With Mandal Woods, Ananth and Nandan Gowda (whose family owns the estate), have aimed to recreate just that. Owning a dog (you are welcome to bring a horse or a cow or any other animal) is almost a prerequisite to your visit to Mandal Woods, that’s perched high up in the Western Ghats and covers over 1,000 acres. Here, your dog has access to every nook and cranny, can roam around freely without a leash, and even spring up on couches.
The staff too, many of whom who have worked at the property for a couple of decades or so, shower your pooch and fill them up with food (all dog-related expenses come free of cost here). Mandal Woods can only house three groups of guests at a time and if any guest has a problem with the dogs, they will have to deal with it and not your dog. And if you are worried about your dog’s safety in the jungle, Ananth assures you that your fears are unfounded, the property has hosted over 1,400 dogs and there hasn’t been a single casualty in this slice of Eden.