Bandipur National Park, a tiger reserve, is situated 65 km away
from Mysore city in Karnataka . The park was established in 1974
and spreads over 87400 hectares. The land is a combination of
chains of hills, hillocks, and watercourses. The vegetation in
the park includes scrubs, tropical dry deciduous forests, and
moist mixed deciduous forests. The park is home to fauna such as
langur, bonnet macaque, tiger, leopard, wild dog, jungle cat,
sloth bear, striped hyena, jackal, elephant, mouse deer,
muntjac, spotted deer, and gaur. Mugger crocodile and python are
the reptiles that can be found here. The park also holds about
180 species of birds. In the month of June Bandipur has a
temperature which goes upto 33oC and falls to 21. The nearest
railway station is at Mysore and the nearest town Gundurpet, at
a distance of 20 km from the park. The best time to visit is
from October to May. Forest lodges, cottages, and forest rest
houses offer accommodation facilities.