What to expect
Highlights
- Watching and helping bathe and feed the camp elephants.
- Crossing the Kaveri by boat to reach the camp.
- Coracle rides and the riverside forest setting.
Dubare Elephant Camp
Dubare Elephant Camp sits on the far bank of the Kaveri near Kushalnagar, a forest camp once used to train elephants for the Mysuru Dasara. Visitors cross the river to watch the camp’s elephants being scrubbed, fed and cared for by their mahouts.
Practical guide
Plan Dubare Elephant Camp
Who's going?Tailor Dubare Elephant Camp to your trip
Typewildlife
Nearest baseKushalnagar
DistrictKodagu
Best timeOctober to May
Time needed2 to 3 hours including travel and the…
EntryEntry + boat + interaction fees apply
Places to visit4→Listed businesses2→Run with the Forest Department, the camp offers elephant interaction sessions, coracle rides and riverside walks, and adjoins forest where wild elephants and birds are sometimes seen.
Getting there
How to visit
- About 15 km from Kushalnagar and ~40 km from Madikeri; the camp is reached by a river crossing.
- Go for the morning session (roughly 8:30–11 am) when the elephant activities happen; river crossing depends on water levels.
Distance by road
- Mysuru120 km
- Bengaluru260 km
- Mangaluru135 km
- Kannur115 km
- Ooty210 km
Road km to Kodagu; ghat roads and traffic vary — allow extra.
Timing
Best time
October to May; the morning interaction session. High monsoon flow can suspend the river crossing.
Weather in Dubare Elephant CampSeasonal guide
Live forecast loads in your browser.
Today at Dubare Elephant Camp
Sunrise6:16 am
Sunset6:07 pm
Golden hour best light5:07 pm–6:07 pm
Blue hour after sunset6:07 pm–6:32 pm
Sun sets toward compass bearingW · 261°
Moon tonight🌒 Waxing crescent · 30%
Retreating monsoon. October and November still see spells of rain from the retreating monsoon, though it is usually lighter than mid-year. Conditions are generally good but worth checking.
Sun and moon are calculated for this location and shown in IST. Photography windows are the hour around sunrise and sunset; the sunset bearing is degrees clockwise from true north. Moon phase is accurate to about half a day.
Visitor notes
- Entry, boat and interaction fees apply; timings depend on river levels — confirm before travelling.
Photos
Dubare Elephant Camp in pictures
Stay · eat · do · rent · see · shop
Stays, food & things to do near Dubare Elephant Camp
Verified hotels, homestays, restaurants, experiences, sights, shops and rentals around Dubare Elephant Camp — commission-free, with direct contact. Filter by what you need.
2 places to eat near Dubare Elephant Camp
Top pick
Restaurant
Shanthi BitesA restaurant on the B M Road opposite Nisargadhama at Kushalnagar, with a wide menu running from south and north Indian through European and Chinese to Tibetan — the Tibetan end reflects the big settlement at Bylakuppe next door.
Top pick
Restaurant
Fish Curry RiceA Mangalorean restaurant at Kushalnagar opposite the Government Engineering College, doing coastal fish curry and rice rather than Kodagu cooking.
Book with the place itself. India’s cyber-crime coordination centre warned in April 2025 that convincing copies of hotel and pilgrimage booking sites are being pushed through sponsored search and social ads, taking payment for rooms the property never hears about. Every listing here links to the business’s own contact details and its own Google or Bing profile — we take no commission and sit in nobody’s payment path. If a booking page reached you through an ad, check the address bar against the property’s own site before you pay. Fraud can be reported on cybercrime.gov.in or on 1930.
Ranked guides
Top experiences around Kushalnagar
3 more places around Kushalnagar. Open a guide to plan the visit and onward journey.
templeNamdroling Monastery
12.4 km · 17 min drive
The Golden Temple at Bylakuppe near Kushalnagar, the largest teaching centre of the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism in the world, with gilded 12–18 m Buddha statues, vivid murals and hundreds of resident monks.
heritageNisargadhama
20.8 km · 22 min drive
A 64-acre river island of bamboo, sandalwood and teak on the Kaveri near Kushalnagar, reached by a hanging bridge, with a deer park, boating, a treehouse and easy forest walks.
damHarangi Dam
26.9 km · 30 min drive
A dam across the Harangi, a Kaveri tributary, near Hudgur about 10 km from Kushalnagar, with a garden and boating; the reservoir and its spillway are busiest and most scenic when the gates open after heavy rain.
Roampedia is commission-free — own or know a stay, eatery, guide or shop near Dubare Elephant Camp? List it and it appears here once verified.
Add a nearby businessBefore you go
Dubare Elephant Camp — at a glance
TimingsMorning session ~8:30 - 11:00 AM (river crossing subject to water level)
Best timeOctober to May; morning
Entry: Entry + boat + interaction fees apply
Getting here
How to reach Dubare Elephant Camp
~15 km from Kushalnagar; reached by a Kaveri crossing
Getting back
If you are travelling by bus or ferry, check the return service with the operator before setting out. Leave time to reach the stop or jetty after your visit.
- KSRTC— the Karnataka state bus operator; route and schedule enquiries.Online booking.
- Indian Railways— live running and seat availability for the nearest railhead, named under “Getting here” above.
Ask at the bus stand for the time of the last service back, not the next one. If you miss it, an auto or app cab is the fallback — agree the fare before you get in.
Getting around Dubare Elephant Camp
If you need step-free access, contact the site before travelling. Ask about a level entrance, steps along the route, the nearest drop-off point, seating and accessible toilets.
If you need help at Dubare Elephant Camp
112All emergencies (police · fire · medical)The single number to call in any emergency (ERSS).100Police101Fire108Ambulance (emergency / EMS)1091Women’s helpline (distress)1098Child helpline1363Tourist helpline (India, 24×7, multilingual)
Emergency numbers are verified against official government and state tourism sources. 112 works anywhere in India.
Nearby
What’s near Dubare Elephant Camp
templeNamdroling Monastery
The Golden Temple at Bylakuppe near Kushalnagar, the largest teaching centre of the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism in the world, with gilded 12–18 m Buddha statues, vivid murals and hundreds of resident monks.
12.4 km · 17 min driveheritageNisargadhama
A 64-acre river island of bamboo, sandalwood and teak on the Kaveri near Kushalnagar, reached by a hanging bridge, with a deer park, boating, a treehouse and easy forest walks.
20.8 km · 22 min drivedamHarangi Dam
A dam across the Harangi, a Kaveri tributary, near Hudgur about 10 km from Kushalnagar, with a garden and boating; the reservoir and its spillway are busiest and most scenic when the gates open after heavy rain.
26.9 km · 30 min driveH
Honnamana Kere
Place
heritageHonnamana Kere
The largest natural lake in Kodagu, at Doddamalthe about 6 km from Somwarpet, ringed by coffee estates and forest and revered for the Honnamma temple on its bank; a calm boating and picnic spot with an annual temple fair.
43.6 km · 47 min drive
heritageGaddige Raja's Tomb
The Raja’s Tomb (Gaddige) — domed, Indo-Saracenic mausoleums of the Kodagu kings and a royal priest on a hill above Madikeri, with fine views.
46.8 km · 40 min drive
heritageMadikeri Fort
A hilltop fort in the heart of Madikeri, first built in the 17th century by the Haleri rajas and rebuilt in stone by Tipu Sultan and the British, now enclosing government offices, a small museum, a church and views over the town.
48.1 km · 41 min drive
templeOmkareshwara Temple
An 1820 Shiva temple in Madikeri built by Lingarajendra II in an unusual blend of Kerala, Gothic and Islamic styles, with a domed roof, minaret-like towers and a central tank.
48.7 km · 42 min drive
viewpointRaja's Seat
A garden viewpoint where the Kodagu kings are said to have watched the sunset over layered Western Ghats valleys — Madikeri’s classic sunrise-and-sunset spot, with a musical fountain and a toy train.
49.4 km · 44 min drive
waterfallAbbey Falls
A powerful waterfall about 8 km from Madikeri, set among coffee and spice estates and viewed from a hanging footbridge; fullest and most dramatic during and just after the monsoon.
51.9 km · 45 min drive
trekKotebetta
The third-highest peak in Kodagu at about 1,620 m, north-east of Madikeri, with a Shiva shrine near the top; a grassland-and-shola trek quieter than Tadiandamol, rewarding clear-day walkers with wide Western Ghats views.
57.6 km · 57 min drive
heritageNalknad Palace
A 1792 palace of the Kodagu (Haleri) kings tucked among coffee estates at the foot of Tadiandamol near Kakkabe, its wooden halls painted with faded murals; it was the last refuge of the Kodagu royals before the British annexation.
57.7 km · 66 min driveM
Mandalpatti
Place
viewpointMandalpatti
A grassland hilltop viewpoint within the Pushpagiri range, reached by a rough jeep track from near Madikeri, famous for sunrise and sunset over layers of misty Western Ghats hills; often wrapped in cloud in the monsoon.
64.8 km · 67 min driveWalking and driving times are real routed distances, except the few marked “straight line”, which are direct-line estimates and will read short.Routing: © openrouteservice.org by HeiGIT | Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors
On the map
Where Dubare Elephant Camp is
Good to know
Dubare Elephant Camp — frequently asked
When is the best time to visit Dubare Elephant Camp?
October to May; the morning interaction session. High monsoon flow can suspend the river crossing.
What are the entry fee and timings at Dubare Elephant Camp?
Entry: Entry + boat + interaction fees apply. Timings: Morning session ~8:30 - 11:00 AM (river crossing subject to water level).
How do I reach Dubare Elephant Camp?
About 15 km from Kushalnagar and ~40 km from Madikeri; the camp is reached by a river crossing. Go for the morning session (roughly 8:30–11 am) when the elephant activities happen; river crossing depends on water levels.
How much time do I need for Dubare Elephant Camp?
2 to 3 hours including travel and the river crossing.
What else is near Dubare Elephant Camp?
Nearby you can pair Namdroling Monastery (12.4 km), Nisargadhama (20.8 km), Harangi Dam (26.9 km), Honnamana Kere (43.6 km).
Read before you go
Dubare Elephant Camp guides, stories & itineraries
We have not published a story about Dubare Elephant Camp itself yet. These cover Kushalnagar and the wider district, with separate journeys between stops.
Karnataka-wide guides & itineraries
Route-level itineraries and practical guides for the rest of Karnataka.
Local story
Kotebetta: one neelakurinji season in one photograph
4 min read · Read →
Visit planning
Kotebetta: a safe route and return plan
4 min read · Read →
Visit planning
Kotebetta, Hattihole and Mallalli without rushing
4 min read · Read →
Local story
SAI Sanctuary: from plantation ground to forest
4 min read · Read →
Local story
SAI Sanctuary: what private conservation means
4 min read · Read →
Visit planning
SAI Sanctuary: arranging a responsible visit
4 min read · Read →
Image credits
Photographs: BHARATHESHA ALASANDEMAJALU, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0), BHARATHESHA ALASANDEMAJALU (CC BY-SA 4.0), Vinayaraj (CC BY-SA 4.0). Wikimedia Commons.