A beautiful forest reserve located in the south state of India, Karnataka, Bandipur National Park was created in the 1930s, making use of the local Maharaja Wodeyar’s hunting lands. The park was then called Venugopal Wildlife Park.
It was in 1941 that Bandipur National Park was expanded to connect to the Nagarhole national park found at its northern edge. Even the Wynad and Madumalai Sanctuaries which were found in its southern edge, and belong to the states of Kerala and Tamilnadu respectively, were adjoined to the park.
Today this whole area makes up the huge Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve, one of the many tracts of preserved forest of India. In fact, since 1973, this park has been declared one of the more acclaimed tiger reserves of India.
Climate – Bandipur National Park is mostly warm and comfortable throughout the year where temperatures range from 24 to 28 degrees Celsius. It is only during its short winter from October to January that the temperature falls to the 19 degrees mark. Though monsoon is erratic here, rainfall is usually between June and September.
Flora and fauna of Bandipur National Park
With the Bandipur National Park found in the Indian Deccan plateau area, it lies in the shade of the Western Ghats. The park is full of vegetation and flora that vary from deciduous and evergreen forests to open, grassy woodlands.
You can also find valuable wood such as rosewood and teak here. The Moyar River is called the life of the forest as it waters the park with its two minor distributaries and provides the borderline between the park and the Madumalai Sanctuary.
Bandipur National Park is famous for its Asiatic elephants and these love the park because of its vast, open spaces and visitors get to see elephants in their natural surroundings here. There are many other mammals you will see while in the park such as the Chital, Indian porcupine, ruddy mongoose, leopard cat, four-horned antelope and wild boar chital.
Bandipur Forest Route
Bandipur National Park is found on the Mysore-Ooty highway and the best way to travel to the park is by bus. There are regular and express state buses traveling between Ooty and Mysore, which pass through the borders of the park and stop at the Forest Department Center.
Bandipur National Park is a 2 ½ hour drive from Mysore and it takes 3 hours to reach it from Ooty. While the nearest train station is in Mysore (at a distance of 65km), the nearest international airport is in Bangalore (at a distance of 204km).
Accommodation and Travel tips
There are many lodges, cottages and rest houses here and these are maintained by the forest department. These places of accommodation are all reasonably priced and great for enjoying nature when in the park.
It is always better to wear light, cotton clothing during summer here but if you are visiting in winter, take along some light, woolen garments. However if you visit in the rainy season, carry raincoats as it can be rather windy, which makes umbrellas useless.
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