Bandipur: A wonderful day trip from Mysore. Review on Bandipur National Park

The Bandipur forests can be easily accessed in a comfortable day trip from Mysore.  It is much more convenient if you have your own or hired vehicle.   From Mysore you take the Mysore Ooty road via Nanjangud to Gundlupet where you can also eat your fill at Udupi Upahar which serves up delicious tiffin and meals.

From Gundlupet you can take the road going to Bandipur which goes through to Tamil Nadu where the forest becomes the contiguous Mudumalai National Park.  Another road from Gundlupet also goes through the Bandipur forest, to Sultan Bathery in Kerala.  At the Kerala border, the forest becomes the contiguous Muthanga sanctuary.  All form part of the Nilgiris Biosphere Reserve.

Both the aforesaid roads pass through dense forest, where we saw elephants, spotted deer, langurs and ordinary macaque monkeys on the roadside itself!    Those who want can also do the morning or evening'safari' from the centre along the Gundlupet Bandipur Mudumalai road.  Note that you cannot walk or trek along the Gundlupet Mudumalai section of the forest as there are several warning signboards here.  You can walk in sections of the forest on the Sulthan Bathery road but do bear in mind that this is elephant territory so if you are walking, proceed with caution.

From Gundlupet, a road leads also to Himvad Gopalaswamy Betta which is the highest elevation in this area and a scenic drive.