Bandipur National Park

Location : Chamarajanagar District, Karnataka
Nearest Town : Gundulpet (20 kms)
Area Coverage : 87,420 hectares
Best Time to Visit : From March to June and September to November
Main Attractions : Jungle Cat Tiger Wild Boar Chital Gaur
Status : Comes under Project Tiger.

About The Park
The Bandipur National Park is one of the most engaging wildlife reserves nestling in the southern Indian State of Karnataka. The Maharajah of Mysore established the park in 1930's and was used as Maharaja's private hunting reserve. Later in 1941, it was expanded to adjoin the Nagarhole wildlife reserves, Kerala's Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary and Mudumalai Wildlife Sanctuary of Tamil Nadu. Niligiri Biosphere Reserve is the new name given to the three united parks, one of India's most extensive tracts of protected forest.

Bordering on the Mysore - Ooty highway the Bandipur National Park covers an area of 874.2 square kilometers. The park observes the most moderate climate, the temperature ranges from 10 degrees and 30.5 degrees that make it an all season favorite.

The region is well dotted with deciduous and evergreen forest covers along with open grassy woodlands. The Moyar River is the center of attraction as it plays a major role in forest irrigation along with other two minor streams. Bandipur is also one of the foremost and most accessible habitats of the Asiatic elephant. Its vast open tracks make it a most preferred elephant-siting zone for its visitors also making it a idle destination for photography sfari

Launch of Project Tiger Scheme
It has been declared as a tiger reserve in 1973. It became one of the sanctuaries selected across India for Project Tiger Scheme by the World Wide Fund (WWF) for Nature. The main aim of the project is to preserve and regenerate these endangered species in their natural habitat. In 1974, the Bandipur was declared as a National Park under the Wildlife Protection Act.

The Vegetation
The park has densely populated forest cover with vegetation dotted with Teak, Honne, Nandi, Rosewood, Sandalwood, Bamboo, Dindalu, making up a major portion of the forest. The entire park is well irrigated by four rivers.

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