Bandipur National Park is situated in the Chamarajanagar district of Karnataka in South India. Lying 80 kms off Mysore, on the way to Ooty in Tamil Nadu, this well known Indian wild life sanctuary is strategically located at the confluence of the Western Ghats and the Nilgiri Hills. It is now a part of The Nigiri Biosphere Reserve and the neighboring wild life sanctuaries of Mudumalai in Tamil Nadu and Wayanad in Kerala.
In 1973, it was brought under the WWF scheme “Project Tiger” and is one of the nine Tiger Reserves in India. Besides tigers, this picturesque and verdant region is home to elephants, bison, spotted deer, sambhar, sloth bears and langurs and a wide variety of birds.
The terrain of the park ranges from rocky hills and valleys with stretches of grass land and large tracts of sandalwood, teak, and mahogany. Ebony teak, bamboo and deodar. It used to be the private game reserve of the Maharajahs of Mysore.