The end of the trail brought us to a cliff overlooking a beautiful forested valley. We could see animal movement in the jungle below but our cameras couldn't pick out anything recognizable. There was a construction project at this half-way stop: a small temple or mosque and a tower. Just as the sun was setting we boarded our jeep and started back along the trail.

We stopped at various spots to listen to the bird sounds -- all very enchanting under the beautiful sunset framed by shadowy trees. This sanctuary is well-known for birdwatching. We did see a vulture (quite rare now) sitting on top of a bare tree. There was a flurry of excitement as we saw a black bear ambling off into the bushes. Then another jeep coming from the opposite direction stopped and shouted to our driver: ^&%$#@*&^%!!!!" so we sped on down the road to discover what he had just seen. 

There was a momma elephant with her baby feeding off the road in the bushes, but it was too dark now to get a good photo. We kept asking the driver to call out for the tigers, but they weren't about to make an appearance.

Night falls pretty quickly here so we drove back to Blue Valley Resort in the dark for a buffet supper in an open-sided restaurant with free WiFi.

There was no AC in our room and no screens on the windows . . . and there were a few beasties scurrying or slithering across the floor during the night. The night air was often filled with sounds of wild animals near and far -- all of this enhancing the jungle atmosphere  . . . but we slept fairly well. We arose refreshed, had a good breakfast and were soon on the road to Mysore.