Bandipur

Nestled in the Western Ghats about 80 kms from Mysore and 220 kms from Bangalore, Bandipur is a prestigious Project Tiger National Park located on the highway to Ooty in the Nilgiri Hills. This is a prime tiger and elephant habitat that supports over 300 species of birds and a variety of animals including the Gaur or the Indian Bison, Spotted Deers, Leopards, Hyena, Dholes or the Indian Wild Dogs, Sambar, Sloth bear, Mouse deer, Wild dog, Four horned Antelope and scores of other animals. Spread over 874 sq.kms, Bandipur is contagious with Nagarahole National Park, Wynad and Mudumalai National Parks to form the single largest continous stretch of forest cover that is spread over an area of more than 2400 sq kms. Between February and May, hundreds of elephants converge near the Kabini backwaters as waterholes in the jungles dry up and the backwaters of the Kabini Reservoir is the only source to quench the thirst of the animals. The Kabini backwaters plays host to the largest congregation of elephants in Asia in summer. As prime elephant habitat these jungles support nearly 2000 wild elephants while there are nearly 140 tigers in Bandipur-Nagarahole forests. This is one of the few wildlife habitat where all the major carnivores found in India- tigers, leopards and Dholes - are present in large numbers and have a high density. These jungles compare well with the spectacular Kanha in Madhya Pradesh and Kaziranga in Assam.