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Bandipur National Park is regarded as one of the most beautiful and better-managed national parks of India. Located amidst the picturesque surroundings of the towering Western Ghats on the Mysore-Ooty highway in Karnataka, it is an important part of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve that constitutes Karnataka’s Rajiv Gandhi National Park (Nagarahole) to its Northwest, Tamil Nadu’s Mudumalai Wildlife Sanctuary to its South, and Kerala’s Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary to its Southwest. The total extent of Bandipur National Park is 872.24 sq km. It is located partly in Gundlupet taluk of Chamarajanagar District and partly in H.D.Kote and Nanjangud taluks of Mysuru District.
Once the private hunting grounds of the erstwhile Maharajas, and nestled at the foothills of the Nilgiris, Bandipur has had a long tryst with tigers. One of the thirty reserves identified across the country to save the tiger and its habitat, it’s also one of the last refuges of the endangered Asiatic wild elephant. Apart from the two famed residents, a number of other endangered species such as sloth bears, gaurs, Indian rock pythons, jackals, muggers, and four-horned antelopes can be spotted in this national park. Bandipur also shelters sambar, mouse deer, chital, sloth bear, and the rare flying lizard. Over 200 species of birds and a diversity of flora add to its attraction. Bandipur also supports a wide range of timber trees including teak, rosewood, sandalwood, Indian-laurel, Indian Kino tree, giant clumping bamboo, etc.
History of Bandipur National Park
The Bandipur Sanctuary was created by the Maharaja of the kingdom of Mysore in the year 1931. It was during that period when only 90 sq km of the area was being used and was named as Venugopala Wildlife Park. In the year 1973 around 800 sq kms of area was introduced to the Venugopala Wildlife Park and was established as Bandipur Tiger Reserve under the tiger project.
Later Bandipur National Park joined its hands with its other neighboring parks, the Nagarhole National Park (643 sq km), Madumalai National Park (320 sq km) and Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary (344 sq km) together to form the essential part of Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve making the area as the largest wildlife protected zone.
How To Reach Bandipur Wildlife Sanctuary
By Road - Bandipur National Park is located on the highway connecting Mysore and the hill station of Ootacamund (Ooty). Reaching Bandipur by bus is very convenient. All regular and express state transport buses plying between Ooty and Mysore pass through the park fringes and the Forest Department Center is a designated bus stop. It takes 2½ hours to reach Bandipur forest from Mysore and about 3 hours from Ooty.
By Rail - The nearest rail junction is Mysore (65 km) and the nearest international airport is the software Mecca of Bangalore (204 km).
Karnataka Tourism rich with scenic beauty, is located at the southern part of India. Resourceful with all kind of varieties including temples, wild life sanctuaries, water falls, cosmopolitan cities, valleys, hill resorts, beaches etc..., Karnataka is a must visit state in India for all tourist enthusiasts and will not get disappointed. The weather is very moderate at southern districts. The temperature remains ideal throughout the year. Most part of the Karnataka state are agricultural lands as the state is rich in rivers. The western part has Arabian see and then the range of Western Ghats follows. This is the eighth largest state in India both in area and population. This state is famous for its natural beauty, rich culture and pleasant climate. Bangalore is the capital city of Karnataka and is famous as IT hub housing many small and large IT companies. Kannada is the official (spoken and public correspondence) language of the state. But, the accent varies from region to region within the state. We will discuss some important places of various districts to travel as destinations in Karnataka. Here are details of various districts on Karnataka tourism. Visit the individual district page for more details about important places to visit and the distances of each place from various other places.
