Kathmandu 1978; the Late Sri. Gundu Rao makes the journey to attend the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Conference and by what must have been an intervention of destiny is given lodgings at the world-famous Tiger Tops Jungle Lodges. The magical setting within the Royal Chitawan National Park and the number of international tourists it brought captured the imagination of the far-seeing bureaucrat who later went on to become the Chief Minister of the State. Tiger leopard elephant gaur crocodile blackbuck sloth bear mahseer peafowl - the state of Karnataka is home to a fascinating range of wildlife - so why not? Upon his return he wrote to Tiger Tops inviting them to build a similar model as he'd experienced in Nepal at Nagarahole. A year later the Government of Karnataka in partnership with Tiger Tops unveiled the Jungle Lodges and Resorts: and India witnessed the birth of what became the country's first-ever foray into eco-tourism.