Bandipur National Park is one of India's best known sanctuaries located in the Chamarajanagar district of southern Karnataka at the confluence of the Western Ghats and Nilgiri Hills. The reserve is part of the famous Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve along with Nagarhole National Park to the northwest, and the Mudumalai National Park of Tamil Nadu and the Wynad Wildlife Sanctuary of Kerala. The highest point of the park is at Gopalswamy Betta peak at 1,454 meters. It is home to around seventy tigers and over three thousand Asian elephants, as well as other animals like leopards, dhole (wild dog), gaur, sloth bears, and a variety of birdlife.
The Bandipur forests used to be the private game reserve of the Maharajas of Mysore. In 1973, Bandipur became one among India's nine Tiger Reserves established under Project Tiger and the next year it was notified as a National Park.
The park includes rocky hills and valleys drained by rivers Kabini, Nugu, Moyar and numerous small streams. The scrub jungles of Bandipur consist of stunted trees, interspersed with bushes and open grassy patches. There is a gradual shift in the vegetation from open dry deciduous forests to tropical mixed deciduous forests towards its northwestern periphery. Bandipur is also famed for the vast thickets of sandalwood trees
Bandipur unfurls its natural glory with the onset of pre monsoon showers in April, when the resident birds start their breeding. The huge forest reserve is shrouded in verdant green with herds of elephants and the majestic gaur in large numbers visible in the green meadows. March-June and September-November attracts major tourist influx to this region because of the dry climate. The backwaters of the Kabini Reservoir host huge congregations of large mammals who emerge to drink water here, during this time.
Tourism Info:
Office of the Field Director
Project Tiger, Aranya Bhavan,
Ashokpuram,
Mysore - 570 008
Tel : 0821-2480901
TeleFax: 0821-480901
The Chief Wildlife Warden
Aranya Bhavan,
18th Cross, Bangalore
Phone: 23341993 |
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