The national parks of Nagarhole, Bandipur
and Mudumalai are contiguous and share very similar characteristics.
A fourth national park, Wynad, also adjoins them. Together
they form the largest protected area for the Indian Elephant,
Gaur, Tiger and Leopard in South India. Other large mallams
include Liontail Macaque, Wild Boar and Sambar. The parks
occupy a NW-SE alignment, with Nagarhole national park at
the top, Bandipur in the middle and Mudumalai at the bottom.
The forests are tropical mixed deciduous.
In the northern and western parts of Nagarhole national park,
which receive more rainfall, the forest are denser and taller,
with hardwood trees like Rosewood, Teak and Mathi . sandalwood
trees also grow here. Elsewhere in Nagarhole national park,
and in Bandipur and Mudumalai national park, which lie in
the rain shadow of the Western Ghats, the forests are more
open with more grasslands, and the trees are stunted (hence
mammal sightings are less difficult).
The drier SE corner of Bandipur National Park has scrub forests.
During the dry months of March-May, Indian Elephants stay
close to rivers and lakes. At this time of year, Indian Elephant
sightings are unsurpassed in Nagarhole National Park, especially
if you are staying at the Kabini River Lodge in Karapur. Nearby,
at Mastigudi large gatherings of 100 or so Indian Elephants
on the banks of the Kabini Lake are known, a sight unrivalled
anywhere. Bandipur National Park is probably the best place
in the subcontinent for seeing Dhole, and the Indian Giant
Squirrel can be seen at Mudumalai, lying curled in trees holes
or crooks of brances during the day.
Season :
Open year round, the best period being October-May, especially
April-May.
Fly to Bangalore and drive to Nagarhole (6 hours) or Bandipur
(6-7 hours). The nearest station railway station is Mysore.
For Mudumalai National Park the nearest airport is Coimbatore
(160 km) and the nearest railway station Ooty or Udhagamandalam
(64 km).
In Karnataka, the two attractive wildlife parks of Nagarhole
and Bandipur, though separate entities, are part of a larger
contiguous wildlife reserve that includes the Mudumalai Sanctuary
in Tamil Nadu and the Wynad Reserve in Kerala. Both the parks
are easily accessible from Mysore.
Nagarhole National park, 643.39 so. km. in area, to the north
of the Kabini river, has tall and dense forests. A dam on
the Kabini and its picturesque reservoir separate the two
parks. In the dense moist deciduous forests of this area the
upper canopy reaches heights of 30m and valuable hardwoods
like teak and rosewood are also to be found here.
At Nagarhole national park, t
oo, there are excellent facilities for viewing wildlife and
large groups of gaur, elephant, sambar, chital and even the
occasional tiger or leopard are seen. Among other mammals
are the muntjac, the tiny mouse deer, wild boar, pangolin,
giant squirrel, slender loris, langurs and macaques. The Park
has about 250 species of birds and the Malabar trogan, the
Malabar Herd of elephants pied hornbill, the great black woodpecker,
the Indian pitta and the green imperial pigeon are part of
its avian variety. Lesser cats like the jungle cat, leopard
cat and rusty spotted cat are also resident species.
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