Another interesting place that you can visit while in
Mysore(Mysooru) is the Bandipur National
Park. This Park is about 80 km from Mysore(Mysooru) city
and is a peaceful retreat in nature's lap far from the
din of the city. After going around the vibrant city
of Mysore(Mysooru) and visiting all its treasures take some time
off to unwind and enjoy quite peace of the lush green
forests.
The Maharaja of Mysore(Mysooru) set up this Park in 1931. The
Park is at the foothills of the Nilgiri Hills. The Park
has well laid out roads that lead you into the heart
of this Park. Here you can see a wide variety of birds
and animals in the natural habitat. This Park is home
to a number of rare and endangered species of birds
and animals. The World Wildlife Fund has chosen the
Park for their project tiger scheme to protect tigers
in India. The Park has accommodation for visitors as
well. There are cottages that are run by the Forest
Department, a hotel run by the Karnataka Tourism Department
and some privately managed cottages as well. So there
is no difficulty finding accommodation in the Park.
Gundelpet is the closest town to the Park and is about
20km from it. Here too one can find accommodation.
The forest department has a number of safaris that
are conducted within the Park. These safaris are conducted
in well-protected buses. The animals that one sees commonly
are deer, antelope, elephants and peacocks and occasionally
on can see elephants and tigers. The forest department
also organizes group treks inside the park lead by professionally
trained guides. One can take a trip of the sanctuary
on an elephant as well. The highest point on the sanctuary
is the Gopalswamy Betta (Hill). This hill has a temple
of Lord Venugopal on the top that you can visit.
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