Introduction:

Rhino in Kaziranga Nagarhole national park (NNP), the enchanting 247 square-mile park in Karnataka has an astonishing abundance of wildlife including large mammals such as tiger, leopard, wild elephant, dhole (Indian wild dog).

Other species present are chital spotted deer, muntjac (barking deer), mouse deer, four-horned antelope, wild boar, sloth bear, hyena, mongoose, civet, otter, and more. The landscape is one of gentle slopes and shallow valleys. Dry deciduous forest trees are leafless in the summer rather than in the winter. There are grassy swamps where the soil is clayey, perennially moist, and which support a luxuriant growth of green grass all year. The change in terrain throughout the park in refreshing and the river system provides a unique wildlife viewing experience.

Nagarhole National park derives its name from the combination of two Kannada words. 'Nagar,' meaning snake, and 'hole,' meaning streams. True to its name, quite a few serpentine streams fork through the rich tropical forests of the park. Nagarhole Park was set up in 1955. In 1975, its area was increased to include a greater expanse of forest reserve. The original forest was once an exclusive hunting ground for the erstwhile Maharajas of Mysore. The park has been recently renamed as Rajiv Gandhi NationalPark after the late Prime Minister of India.

Nagarhole National Park is counted among India. s best wildlife parks. It has a large elephant and bison population. It also hosts a variety of animal species along with approximately 250 species of birds. On its northern confines is the Kabini River and on its southern fringes is the Bandipur national park. A dam on the Kabini River and its picturesque reservoir demarcates the two national parks. During the dry season (February. June), this artificial lake attracts a large number of animals, making it an ideal spot for sighting wildlife.

Visit Nagarhole National Park
Climate
Kaziranga Leopard The summer (March. May) temperature does not cross the 33°C mark. The brief winter, which lasts from November to January, has temperature plummeting to 14°C. Monsoon is erratic, but it generally rains from June to September.
Flora The predominant vegetation in the Nagarhole National Park is of southern tropical, moist, mixed deciduous type with a substantial eastern portion intergrading into dry deciduous type. The upper tree canpy is dominated by Terminalia tomentosa is association with Tectonia grandis, Dalbergia latifolia, Pterocarpus marsupium, Lagerstroemia lanceolata, Anogeissus latifolia, Adina cordifolia, Boambax malabaricum, Schleichera trijuga, Ficus sp. and others. The lower canopy has Kydia calycina, Emblica officinalis, Gmelina arborea etc. Several shrubs belonging to Solanum, Desmodium and Helicteres sp. etc. are abundantly found but weedy shrubs like Eupatorium and Lantana now dominate.

Fauna
The important predators and carnivora in the Nagarhole National Park are tiger, leopard, wild dog (dhole or Cuon alpinus), sloth bear and the hyena (Hyaena hyaena). The herbivores are spotted deer, sambar, barking deer, four-horned antelope (Tetracerus quadricornis), gaur (Bos gaurus), wild boar (Sus scrofa) and elephant. Nagarhole National Park provides an opportunity to see some of the southern population of Gaur (jungle Bison). Also, this park in Karnataka is a good place to see elephants in the luxuriant forests and bamboo thickets which they most enjoy. Their total population in southern India is now about 6500, nearly all living in the area where Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala adjoin in the shadow of the Western Ghats. Other mammalian miscallany includes the common langur (Presbytes entellus), Bonnet macaque (Macaca radiata), jungle cat, slender Loris (Loris tadigradus), leopard-cat (Felis bengalensis), civet cat (Viverricula indica and Paradoxurus hermaphroditus), mongoose (Herpestes fuscus and Herpestes vitticollis), common otter (Lutra lutra), giant flying squirrel (Petaurista petaurista), giant squirrel (Ratufa indica), porcupine, jackal, mouse-deer (Tragulus meminna), hare and pangolin (Manis crassicaudata). Over 250 species of birds are found at Nagarhole National Park. Besides the enormous variety of woodland birds, there are large congregations of water fowl in the Kabini river. Birds range from blue-bearded bee-eater, scarlet minivet and Malabar whistling thrush to the more common ospreys, herons and ducks.
Kaziranga
Among reptiles, the marsh crocodile, monitor lizard, rock python and several other species are represented. Aquatic and terrestrial tortoises, frogs, toads and tree frogs and a myriad insects, including some very colourful butterflies, adorn this lovely southern jungle of India.

How to Reach Nagarhole National park
Nagarhole National park is well connected to adjoining areas of Karnataka. Motorable highways link the park to the towns of Madikere (90 km) and Mysore (96 km) . The journey from both places lasts approximately 2 hours. The nearest well-connected railway junction is Mysore, while the nearest international airport is Bangalore (220 km). Various airlines link Bangalore to the rest of the nation.

It is a tiny hamlet located in the middle of a large conjoining forest range in southwest India known as Nilgiri Biosphere. There are many designated wildlife parks within the Nilgiri Biosphere. Nagarhole National Park is one of them. Nagarhole National Park , also officially Rajiv Gandhi National Park , is special among other wildlife sanctuaries in the area , thanks to its significantly higher population of wildlife especially of tiger and huge elephant herds.

A short history of the park. Originally the forest area was the private hunting sanctuary for the Mysore royals. In 1955 the two adjacent forest ranges ( Mysore and Nagarhole) combined to form the Nagarhole National Park. Later the park is named after the late prime minister of India, Rajiv Gandhi. Still the old name – Nagarhole National Park- survives.

Naga means snake , hole means pond or stream in local parlance. There is a steam in the west side of the park called Nagarhole. So the name of the park.

In practice you are more likely to spot elephants and deers than that elusive tiger. The Safari takes you around in a predefined forest trail .

The thick undergrowth on either side of the safari path is cleared to enhance the spotting of wildlife. There are two safari slots , one in the morning and one in the evening ( 06:00 – 09:00 and 15:00 – 17:00 Hrs ). The possibility of spotting the animals are more during theses periods. Depend on the number of visitors , they operate a number of trips.

You’ve to park your vehicle near the guesthouse area and board the forest department’s safari van ( 16 – 20 seater). It’s a noisy affair, unless you are lucky to have a well informed and serious crowd. Now the van takes a slow circuit relatively deep into the forest and return to the base after about one hour. End of safari.

Usually they discourage taking private vehicle into the forest. However it is possible to get special permission. There is a fee for it and a guide would accompany. Check with the forest department if they allow and what are the formalities.

Same is the case for trekking. Prior permission is needed.

Common wisdom says that summer months are better opportune season to spot animals. The shrubs are not as thick as during the rainy period. That enhances visibility. Also animals come more closer to the water holes which are few and far in between during the summer peak. Again it’s just a theory. Your luck does matter a lot .Any ways the Fauna list of Nagarhole National Park is shown in the box.
Fauna of Nagarhole National Park : Four-horned Antelope (Tetracerus quadricornis) , Indian Palm Squirrel (Funambulus palmarum) also known as Three Striped Palm Squirrel, Indian giant squirrel ( Ratufa indica ) or Malabar Squirrel, Flying squirrel ( Biswamoyopterus biswasi) , Slender loris (Loris tardigradus), Royal Bengal tiger (Panthera tigris or Panthera tigris bengalensis), Sambar (deer) , Porcupine , Wild Boar , Panther , Pangoline , Otter, Striped necked mongoose (Herpestes vitticollis), Small Indian Mongoose (Herpestes javanicus), Common Mongoose (Herpestes edwardsi) , Bonnet Macaque (Macaca radiata) , Sloth Bear (Melursus ursinus), Barking Deer (Muntjac) ,Mouse Deer (Chevrotain), Spotted Deer ( Axis axis) , Common Langur (Hanuman Langur or Presbytis entellus), Wild Dog, Jackal , Civet Cat , Gaur and Elephant.

Birds of Nagarhole National Park : Peafowl ( Pavo cristatus) , Common Babbler(Turdoides caudata ), Reed Warbler, Bea-eater, Red-whiskered Bulbul ( Pycnonotus jocosus ) , Red-vented Bulbul (Pycnonotus cafer) , Brown dove, Blue-winged Parakeet ( Malabar Parakeet or Psittacula columboides) , Alexandrine Parakeet (Psittacula eupatria) , Ring-Necked Dove (Streptopelia capicola), Spotted Dove (Streptopelia chinensis), Malabar Grey Hornbill ( Ocyceros griseus ) , Malabar Pied Hornbill (Anthracoceros coronatus) , Crested Hawk eagle ( Nisaetus cirrhatus cirrhatus) , Crested Serpent Eagle ( Spilornis cheela or Kanmuri-washi ) , Tawny Eagle (Aquila rapax ) , Blyth’s Myna (Sturnus malabaricus blythii) , Small Minivet ( Pericrocotus cinnamomeus ) , Lorikeets, Blossom-headed Parakeet (Psittacula roseata) , Rose-ringed Parakeet (Psittacula krameri), Southern Treepie (Dendrocitta leucogastra) , Green Imperial Pigeon (Ducula aenea) , Malabar Trogon ( Harpactes fasciatus ) and Bar-winged Flycatcher shrike ( Hemipus picatus ).

Reptiles of Nagarhole National Park : King Cobra, Spectacled cobra ( Common cobra or Naja naja), Banded Krait (B. fasciatus), Bamboo viper ( Trimeresurus stejnegeri ) , Pit viper, Russell’s viper, Indian Rock Python (Python molurus ), Monitor Lizard, Tortoise and Toads.

Location wise Nagarhole National Park spreads over two districts of Karnataka state – Mysore and Kodagu. Its a relatively large national park covering an area more than 600 sq. kilometers ( 230 sq miles) .

Though not impossible , accessing Nagarhole is not very easy. Of course there are options ranging from the local bus services to specially chartered helicopter services .

The humble one first. without much of hassle you can reach the places located around Nagarhole by bus. But buses operating right through the national park are few and far in between. So one of the best strategy is to reach one of these towns on the fringes of Nagarhole.

Kutta is a small town located right outside the southern entrance to Nagarhole National Park. There are frequent services from Kerala to Kutta , as it is located a few kilometers from the Kerala State border. There are a very few bus services from Kutta town that passes through the Nagarhole National Park. Remember the forest department office and guest houses are located about 6 kilometers into the park from this gate. If bus is not an option ( think of coming back also! ) from Kutta you can hire a jeep to reach the place where the safari start.

Virarajendrapete ( Virajpet ) is a larger town of Kodagu district . Its about 45 kilometers northwest of Kutta. Virajpet has plenty of bus services , especially to the neighboring districts. Gonikoppal , 16 kilometers from Virajpet is another village were the road from Kutta , Virajpet and Hunsur meet. You can get bus from Gonikoppal to Kutta .