Bandipur national park safari & Bandipur resorts

Bandipur national park is known for its tiger and elephant reserve forests and sandalwood trees. Bandipur is 240 Km from Bangalore and 90 Km from Mysore. Bandipur national park travel guide is given below in full details:

Bandipur national park Safari information:

Official Bandipur safari is organized only by the Bandipur national park authority. Some hotels and resorts might claim to do so but it is recommended that you go by the official tour.

Bandipur safari booking:

Here is the Bandipur national park official websiteYou can do Bandipur safari booking online on the above site.

Bandipur national park safari timings:

  • Bandipur safari timings in the morning are:
    • 6.30 AM to 8.00 AM and 8.00 AM to 9.30 AM
  • Bandipur safari timings in the evening are:
    • 3.30 PM to 5.00 PM and 5.00 PM to 6.30 PM

More about Bandipur national park safari:

  • There is a total of four safari slots. Two slots in the morning and two slots in the evening
  • I prefer going in the late evening safari slot
  • Each Safari bus will have the capacity for 14 seats. All the seats are Window seats.
  • Bandipur Safari Charges for Indian adults are Rs. 300 and Safari charge for foreigners is Rs. 1100.
  • Handycam charge is Rs. 1000.
  • For children from 6 years to 12 years, Safari charge is 150 rupees.

Bandipur national park Jeep Safari (also night safari) from Gudalur side:

Bandipur safari is also conducted from the Gudalur, Tamilnadu side. You can get a jeep at the Gudalur Bus stand. A jeep costs around 1600 rupees and can accommodate around 6 to 7 persons.

Note: I would not encourage anyone to pay Jeep wala and go for the night safari. As, I have been sighted many a time by my blog followers about the its cons. Here is a snippet of the comment:

As far as concerned, please don’t encourage the Jeep walas from Gudalur region since it’s very illegal and you are not assured of your safety. Don’t encourage anyone for night safaris. Sorry. Your pictures are nice.

Bandipur night safari:

For Bandipur night safari, you need to understand that Bandipur national park is shared between two states i.e. Karnataka and Tamilnadu. Bandipur night safari is illegal. However, you can still go for the night safari or at least very early morning safari.   you can ask the guys operating jeep safari at Gudalur bus stand. A few years back, those guys took us for the night safari which was a nice experience. Night safari is not conducted by the Official Bandipur safari guys. I am not sure about the trails that these Jeep guys from Gudalur cover but I am sure they cover a lot of places. It’s advisable that you ask things in and out before setting out on the Jeep safari option

Bandipur national park is the part of the Karnataka forest. While Bandipur national park is called ‘Mudumalai national park’ in Tamilnadu side. Bandipur night safari is illegal on the Karnataka side. . However, you can still go for the night safari or at least very early morning safari.   you can ask the guys operating jeep safari at Gudalur bus stand. A few years back, those guys took us for the night safari which was a nice experience. Night safari is not conducted by the Official Bandipur safari guys. I am not sure about the trails that these Jeep guys from Gudalur cover but I am sure they cover a lot of places. It’s advisable that you ask things in and out before setting out on the Jeep safari option

Bandipur safari that you mostly hear is from the Karnataka side. While on the Tamilnadu side called Mudumalai reserve forest, there is no such government procurement for the safari. B However, you can still go for the night safari or at least very early morning safari.   you can ask the guys operating jeep safari at Gudalur bus stand. A few years back, those guys took us for the night safari which was a nice experience. Night safari is not conducted by the Official Bandipur safari guys. I am not sure about the trails that these Jeep guys from Gudalur cover but I am sure they cover a lot of places. It’s advisable that you ask things in and out before setting out on the Jeep safari option

Bandipur night safari, a herd of bisons

Bandipur night safari, a herd of bisons

How to reach Bandipur national park:

The best way to reach Bandipur reserve forest is to book your own vehicle. Distance from Bangalore to Bandipur is around 230 Kms. And it almost takes five to six hours to drive there.

Road conditions to Bandipur:

From Bangalore, main routes to Bandipur passes through Mysore. There are two routes to Mysore from Bangalore:

  • Via Ramanagara, Mandya, Srirangapatna
  • Via Kanakpura, Malavalli

The first route (Via Mandya, Ramanagara) is better. The road condition is good and it’s a four-lane road that means two vehicles can travel in opposite directions.
The second route via Kanakpura is just a double road that means only single vehicle can travel in opposite directions.
I would not recommend passing through Mysore while driving to Bandipur. On the outskirts of Mysore, a new six-lane bypass road has been constructed. It better to take that road.

Road condition from the outskirts is not so good. Seems government is widening the road from Mysore towards Bandipur. So first 15 Km stretch of road from the outskirts of Mysore will not let you drive above 30 Kmph.  After that, the road condition is good.

Bandipur highway view

Bandipur highway view

Bandipur Entry and exit timings:

The Bandipur reserve forest entry timing is 6 AM in the morning from both Karnataka and Tamilnadu side. Try to be there at the entrance around 5:30 AM. There will be a long queue of vehicles at the Bandipur reserve entry point on weekends.
Exit timing for the last vehicle is 8.30 PM from both Karnataka side and Tamilnadu side. A vehicle is given half an hour to cross the reserve forest. That means a vehicle should exit the forest by 9 PM. The total distance to be covered within the forest in between entry and exit is around 14 Kms.

Vehicle queue at Bandipur entry in morning

Stay in Bandipur National Park or Reserve Forests, Karnataka side:

There are many places where you can stay if you want to visit the Bandipur national park. Based upon your choice, you choose where to stay and spend your wildlife time.

Staying options and resorts in Gundlupete town:

Gundlupete is a small town situated 15 Kms before the Bandipur national park. It is 75 Kms from Mysore. So, if you are just planning to do Bandipur safari, you can stay in Gundlupete and start in the morning to Bandipur national park and get safari tickets and do safari and return.
Please note that on Weekends and especially on long weekends, the Bandipur safari tickets are sold out and pre-booked. So please do Advance Bandipur safari ticket booking well in advance. Sometimes, hotel guys also arrange the safari tickets for you. Also, please consider Gundlupete as a staying option only if you were unable to get an accommodation inside Bandipur reserve forest.

Here are some of the staying options in Gundlupete:

Staying option & resorts near the Bandipur reserve forest entrance:

You can also stay near to the entrance of the Bandipur national park. Some of the hotels nearer to the entrance of the Bandipur reserve forest from Mysore side are:

Staying inside Bandipur reserve forests:

Understand that no public hotels are allowed inside the reserve forests. Even if some hotels claim to be situated inside the reserve forest, check out the location first. In my view there is only one stay that can be made inside the Bandipur reserve is of Government stay. Here is the link of official website for booking jungle stay inside Bandipur reserve forest.

forest guest house lodge, Bandipur

forest guest house lodge, Bandipur

On the outskirts of the Bandipur reserve forest:

There are some other options as well if you are looking for a stay far from the road traffic and in a tranquil ambiance. Here are some of the hotels on Mangala village road, Bandipur forest:

Staying options in Bandipur National Park, Tamilnadu Side:

As mentioned before, Bandipur reserve forest is divided into two states of Karnataka and Tamilnadu. Karnataka side is called ‘Bandipur National Park’ and Tamilnadu side is called ‘Mudumalai National Park’. Consider staying on the Tamilnadu side of the Bandipur reserve forest if you are planning to go further to Ooty or Munnar or towards Kerala.

Note: Tamilnadu side of Bandipur national park also called as ‘Mudumalai reserve forest’ is heavily encroached with hotels and resorts. Road condition is also not so good on Tamilnadu border side.

Staying inside Mudumalai tiger reserve:

Here is the official Govt. website for booking staying inside Mudumalai national park

Resorts near Masinagudi side (En route Ooty):

There are a lot of hotels on the Masinagudi side. Masinagudi lies en route to Ooty. There are 36 hairpin bends from Masinagudi to Ooty. Following are a few resorts near Masinagudi:

And a lot more resorts are there. You can just drive to the hotels around Masinagudi side and you will surely find a place to stay in case you are not finding on the Karnataka side.

 Other things to do in Bandipur National Park:

  • Drive to Himavad Gopalaswamy Betta. You get a spectacular panoramic view of the Nilgiris and Western Ghats hills from there
  • If you are planning to drive to Ooty and want to experience nice adrenaline pumping driving, Take left from Theppakadu towards Masinagudi and Ooty. This road has 36 hairpin bends en route.
Panoramic view of nilgiris hills

Panoramic view of Nilgiris hills

Did you like it?
Please Rate it below:

1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars (3 votes, average: 4.33 out of 5)
Loading...

14 Replies to “Bandipur national park safari & Bandipur resorts”

  1. P. Basu

    Night safaris are illegal and should not be encouraged. One should also think of not disturbing the wildlife all the time – only then you are a true lover of wildlife.

  2. Kailash

    Good experience mite.. I am naming to go there this weekend and want to go for the night safari. Is there a number we can speak on please.

  3. Rethi Vinod

    My family (3 persons) is planning to visit both mudumalai and bandipur. We are wildlife enthusiast.
    We want to stay inside jungle and want to go for a night safari also. It will be helpful for us if u provide full details of jungle stay ie tariff, tel.no. etc. and also the details about night safari both in bandipur and mudumalai.(from where to get permission)etc. Whether we can stay outside jungle and go for a night safari? Please give full details.

    Thanking u in advance.
    Regards

  4. journeyidea

    Mind-blowing photography, no doubt you have enjoyed too much in the bandipur national park. Last month i was there for two days, our trip was memorable though bandipur was first south India tour.

Leave a Reply