Chennai:

Bandipur is situated at the southern edge of Karnataka, and the National Park located there has drawn its fair share of visitors. Sharing its boundaries with three other national parks — Nagarhole, Mudumalai and Wayanad — which together form the Nilgiri biosphere reserve, Bandipur makes the ‘must-see’ list for most nature lovers. This belt is considered an eco-sensitive region and is also a part of the Project Tiger scheme since it has a considerable tiger population.

Bandipur’ s biggest lure is its promise of wildlife sightings. The reserve is home to a variety of species, including tigers, leopards and sloth bears, which is the reason for visitors to come. Bandipur National Park is amongst the most beautiful and oldest national parks in the country. Declared as a National Park in 1974, it once served as a hunting ground of the Mysore Maharajas. Bandipur National Park covers an area of 890 sq km, housing some of the most exotic species of flora and fauna along with Nagarhole National Park, it is the largest protected area in south India and a part of the Nilgiris, which is located 560 km from Chennai and 80 km from Mysore, Karnataka.

Bandipur lies in the rain shadow region of the Western Ghats and hence the vegetation is rather dry and deciduous but this lack of forest cover increases one’s chances of spotting wildlife. The yellowish-brown grass and scrub that covers the land is reminiscent of the African savannah and the occasional tree with its widespread branches seems like the perfect location to spot a wild cat lounging around. When we visited Bandipur, it was just before the monsoons, the weather cool in the evenings only.

This is the route we took when we drove to Bandipur and Mudumalai from Chennai: It was Chennai — Ranipet — Chittoor — Bangalore — Mysore — Bandipur, a journey of about 560 km that took us eight hours, with stops at Chittoor, Bangalore and Mysore.

The four of us set out at 11pm from Chennai. We stopped at Chittoor for coffee. By 4 am we were in Bengaluru, where we stopped for about 15 minutes before going on to Mysore. The weather was pleasant, perfect for driving without an AC. By 7 am, we were on the last leg of our journey from Mysore.

We were stopped by security when we reached the forest area for the toll fee and for safety and environment conservation tips. This was a strictly plastic-free zone and the speed limit 30 km. There was pin drop silence in the forest. We spotted a deer and peacock the moment we began our slow drive through the 13 km to the resort where we were going to stay.

source: http://www.deccanchronicle.com / Deccan Chronicle / Home> Lifestyle> Travel / DC / by S. Somasundaram / May 15th, 2014