5 National park in Karnataka [MAP]

National park in Karnataka

Karnataka is home to some of the most beautiful and diverse National Parks in India. From the stunning Nagarhole National Park, which is a natural habitat for the source population of Tigers and is a critical elephant habitat, to the breathtaking Kudremukh National Park, which represents one of the world’s major habitats and is among one of the 34 biological hotspots of the world, each park has its unique charm.

The Bannerghatta National Park, located very close to Bangalore, is known for its mammalian, reptile, and bird diversity, while Bandipur Tiger Reserve, which is a part of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve, is home to the world’s largest Asian Elephant population. And last but not least, the Bandipur Tiger Reserve is also a part of the last remaining large patch of tropical dry thorn forest in the country.

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1. Anshi National Park

Anshi National Park is a beautiful protected area located in Joida and Karwar Taluks of Uttara Kannada Districts, covering a total area of 339.866 sq.km. It is a crucial part of Kali Tiger Reserve and plays an important role in the conservation of tigers. The park is situated in a lush green and diverse forest area and is one of the two protected areas in North Karnataka, the other being Dandeli Wildlife Sanctuary. Together, they form the Dandeli-Anshi Tiger Reserve, which is one of the five Tiger Reserves in Karnataka. Anshi National Park is also recognized as one of the 25 Global Biodiversity hotspots of Western Ghats. It was declared a national park in 2003.

2. Bandipura National Park

Bandipur Tiger Reserve is a magnificent protected area located partly in Gundlupet Taluk of Chamrajnagara District and partly in H.D.Kote and Nanjangud Taluks of Mysuru District. The Bandipur National Park is an essential part of the 5520.00 Sq. Km. Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve, which is the country’s first Biosphere Reserve under the Man and Biosphere (MAB) Programme of the IUCN. The Bandipur, Nagarahole, Madumalai & Wynad complex is home to the world’s largest Asian Elephant population. The ecosystem is represented by flagship and umbrella species, including tigers and elephants.

In 1941, the then Princely State of Mysore declared an area of 90 Sq.Km. as Venugopala Wildlife Park under the Mysore Game and Forest Preservation and Regulation Act-1931. Later, the area was increased to 800 Sq. Km. by adding adjacent forest areas in 1942.

In 1973, an area of 683.52 Sq.Km. was brought under the Project Tiger and became one of the first nine Tiger Reserves in the country. In 1974, the initial notification of the Bandipur National Park was issued, and additional adjacent Reserve forest areas were added to the Tiger Reserve, extending it to 880.02 Sq. Km. The final notification of the Bandipur National Park was issued in 2001.

The National Park covers an area of 872.24 Sq. Km., forming the Core/Critical Tiger habitat of the Bandipur Tiger Reserve. However, an area of 3.20 Sq.Km. in Begur Reserved Forest and 4.28 Sq.Km. from Katwal Reserved Forest were excluded and released for tribal rehabilitation. Additionally, an area of 0.30 Sq.Km. of forest land was set apart for the existing Sanctum Sanctorum of Gopalaswamy Betta Temple in Kaniyanapura Reserved Forest.

3. Bannerghatta National Park

Bannerghatta National Park is a stunning protected area located partly in Bangalore urban district and partly in Ramanagara district, very close to Bangalore, the capital of Karnataka and India’s third most populous city. The park boundary is highly irregular and fragmented.

The National Park is named after the village Bannerghatta, a pilgrimage centre located near the Bannerghatta Biological Park in the northeast corner of the Bannerghatta National Park. The initial notification of BNP was issued in 1971, and the final notification was issued in 2004.

The park is known for its mammalian, reptile, and bird diversity, and forms part of the last remaining large patch of tropical dry thorn forest in the country. It is also a terminal point on the northern side of Mysore Elephant Reserve, which is inhabited by India’s largest land mammals – Asian elephants.

4. Kudremukh National Park

• Kudremukh National Park got its name from the highest hill peak – Kudremukh Peak having an altitude of 1892 meters.
• It is also called as the queen of hill peaks in Karnataka. The name of the peak, meaning horse-face, is due to its appearance seawards.
• Kudremukh Peak is a popular peak and its name has become an acronym for places around it, So are the names of Kudremukh town and the Kudremukh National Park born.
• KNP is geographically located at the tri-junction of Dakshina Kannada, Udupi and Chikmagalur districts of Karnataka.
• This place is source of major rivers like Tunga, Bhadra and Nethravathi rivers and catchment for many other minor rivers like Gurupura, Yenehole, Swarna and Seethanadhi.
• KNP lies approximately in the middle of mid-Western Ghats (the stretch between Goa and Nilgiris).
• KNP have least disturbed low altitude wet evergreen forests and shola-grassland biome.
• Kudremukh represents one of the world’s major habitats and have tropical biological richness and is thus among one of the 34 biological hotspots of the world.
• KNP have the single largest contiguous populations of Lion Tailed Macaque(LTM) in entire world.
• KNP have tropical wet evergreen forest and have population of top  three carnivores like Tiger, Leopard and wild dogs.
• Kudremukh National Park forms critical link connecting protected area on the Northern & North-Western side ( Someshwara, Mookambika, Sharavathi &Shettihalli wildlife sanctuaries and Bhadra tiger reserve ) to the protected areas on the Southern side ( Pushpagiri, Talacauvery, Brahmagiri wildlife sanctuaries and Nagarahole tiger reserve ).

5. Nagarahole National Park

Nagarhole National Park, partly situated in Kodagu district and partly in Mysuru district, is a stunning protected area with an area of 643.39 sq.km. The park was renamed as “Rajiv Gandhi (Nagarhole) National Park” in 1992 to mark the first death anniversary of Late Prime Minister Shri. Rajiv Gandhi.

The park is a part of the Nagarhole Tiger Reserve and is a natural habitat for the source population of Tigers. The entire Nagarhole-Bandipur-Mudumalai-Waynad conservation unit holds the single largest source population of Tigers in the world. It is also a critical elephant habitat and was included in Project Elephant in 2000.

The Nagarhole National Park acts as an eastward connection to the Brahmagiri Ridge, which further merges in the North with the Talacauvery Wildlife Sanctuary, ultimately joining with the Kudremukh-Bhadra landscape. To the southeast, it connects with the large forested tract of Bandipur Tiger Reserve of Karnataka and Mudumalai Tiger Reserve of Tamil Nadu. To the southwest, it connects with the Waynad Wildlife Sanctuary of Kerala, thereby forming a green necklace shape of connectivity with neighboring habitats.