Most of the forest areas were including while forming the Bandipur National Park. The then Venugopala Wildlife Park was formed under the aegis of government and was further extended to make this national park. The Bandipur National Park was formed on February 19 1941 and the Sanctum Sanctorum in 1974. It was further extended to 874.20 sq km and was then named as the Bandipur National Park. It was in 1973 that it was bought under the Project Tiger. Also, some more forest areas adjacent to it were added to this national park, extending it to 880.02 sq km. Also, 0.03 sq km land was earmarked for a temple in the block II and III in Kaniyanapura.

History

It was the Maharaja of Mysore who came forward and formed a national sanctuary that went up to 90 km sq in 1931. This was named as Venugopala Wildlife Park. Then after a few years, many more adjacent parks were added to this sanctuary and then formed into the Bandipur National Park.

Geography

The location of Bandipur National Park is between 75° 12’ 17” E to 76° 51’ 32” E and 11° 35’ 34” N to 11° 57’ 02” N. At this location, the Western Ghats meet the Deccan Plateau and (2,230 ft) to 1,454 meters (4,770 ft) is the altitude of the park from 680 meters. When you enter this park, you will get to see many moist deciduous, dry deciduous forests and the shrublands. There are also a wide range of organisms present at this national park with the wide range of habitants. You can also see the Nugu River flowing through this park. The highest point of this park, Himavad Gopalaswamy Betta is where you can spot a Hindu temple. The tropical climate at Bandipur has wet as well as dry climates. The summers start from the month of March and are there till the first spell of rains in the month of June.

Wildlife

Flora

There are a wide range of timber trees that include like Rosewood, Teak, Sandalwood, Indian Laurel, Indian Kino Tree, Grewia Tiliaefolia, Clumping bamboo and many more.

Apart from these, one can also see many flowering and fruit trees over there like the Indian Gooseberry, Kadam Tree, Black Myrobalan, Axlewood, Crape Myrtle, Satinwood, Flame of the Forest, Shorea talura, indigoberry, black cutch and many more.

Fauna

You can find a considerable populace of the vulnerable and endangered species like Indian elephants, tigers, guars, sloth bearers, muggers, Indian rock pythons, four horned antelopes, dholes, etc.

Best Time to Visit

The best time to visit this national park is during the month of November as the hot climatic conditions are a deterrent for people to roam around in the wilderness.

Visitor Information

• One can see a larger population visiting this national park on weekends. With a huge crowd visiting the park, it happens that you may not get to see many shy creatures. To get the best experience, it is better to visit this park during week days as you will be able to make the most of this trip.
• The address: Bandipur, Ooty Road, Karnataka 571121
• It is open from 9:00 am to 6:00 pm

How to Reach

By Air

The nearest city is Bengaluru and Bengaluru airport is some 215 kms away from the Bandipur National Park. The other cities are well connected with this developed city. Mumbai, Pune, Delhi, Madurai, Guwahati, Kozhikode, Chennai, Srinagar etc are well connected with Bengaluru. Also, International spots are well connected as Bengaluru is an International airport as well.

By Rail

Nearest being Mysore, it is some 80 kms away from this national park.

By Road

The roads are developed making road travelling one of the options. Also many state buses run on this route.