BANDIPUR NATIONAL PARK
 Bandipur National Park, one of India's best known sanctuaries, is rightly situated in the Chamarajanagar district of southern Karnataka at the confluence of the Western Ghats and Nilgiri Hills. The park attracts tourists for its around seventy tigers and over three thousand Asian elephants. Besides them, other animals like leopards, dhole (wild dog), gaur, sloth bears, and a variety of birdlife immensely catch the attention of tourists. The Bandipur forests had served as the private game reserve of the Maharajas of Mysore. It was developed into one among India's nine Tiger Reserves in 1973, established under Project Tiger; it became a National Park the very next year. The rock-strewn hills and valleys in the park are thoroughly drained by rivers Kabini, Nugu, Moyar and several small streams. The diminutive trees, combined with bushes and open grassy patches, make the scrub jungles of Bandipur. The park is also well-known for the enormous thickets of sandalwood trees.
Best Time to Visit
The ideal time to visit the Bandipur National Park is between the months of April and October.
Tourists Attractions of Bandipur Wildlife Sanctuary
Bandipur is the home to the Asiatic elephant and also prides for a sizable number of tigers. With the constantly reducing number of tigers, around 66 tigers were counted in 1993, it was picked as one of the 15 sanctuaries for Project Tiger. Elephants in large herds can easily be seen here in the rainy season. With a healthy number of 1,900, seeing elephants at any time during the year won’t be a problem here. Other animals are gaur (a type of bull), sambhar, chital, mouse deer, four-horned antelope, wild boar, jackal, sloth bear, panther, Malabar squirrel, porcupines and the black-knapped hare.
Besides a wide range of animals, Bandipur National Park also has pleasant scenery to offer. Gopalaswamy Betta is situated close to the park forest office base and endows with a view of Mysore plateau and its adjoining hills from an elevated ridge. The Rolling Rocks is located to the south of the forest and provides striking spectacles of the weather-beaten 260-meter-deep "Mysore Ditch" and the entire Moyar gorge. Besides wildlife enthusiasts, these places have surely grown into a photographer's delight
How to Reach
By Air
The nearest airport is at Bangalore which is 220 km from Bandipur.
By Rail
Mysore is nearest railhead, at a distance of 80-kms.
By Road
220 km from Bangalore; 80 km from Mysore; 80 km from Ooty.
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