Visit Nagarhole National Park

Visit Nagarhole National Park

Trip to visit Nagarhole National Park – All You Need To Know

The name Nagarhole is made up of two Kannada name Nagar means snakes and hole means streams. The reason behind this name is the few streams that snake through the tropical forests. The Nagarhole National Park sprawls over a 247 square-mile area. The park has a total of 47 streams and 41 artificial tanks and four lakes. There are four perennials streams, along with a dam and a reservoir.Planning a visit to Nagarhole National Park, here we have covered all the important information.It is located in the Mysore and Kodagu district of Karnataka. It ranks among the well-maintained national parks of India.

Other interesting national parks in India :  Ranthambore, Bandhavgarh, Kanha, Pench etc.

Visit Nagarhole National Park

If you plan to explore this park, and want to have Nagarhole National Park travel information, you have come to the right place. 

What are the different areas you can visit during your visit to Nagarhole National Park

The park is situated where the Deccan plateau merges with the Western Ghats.

North of the Park: The Kabini River borders the northern region of the park. The Kabini River is the main water source of the park. You would see various mammals near its banks as well.  The region is covered with forest and receives heavy rainfall. It is also home to large herbivores as well.

South-east of Park: The south-eastern area of the park is dry and an ideal spot for bird-watching and would also spot for searching predators.

Center of the Park: The central region of the park is famous for the Kabini backwaters. You would find elephants and other wildlife here as well.

West of the Park: The western region of the park is covered with mountains, streams, valleys, and waterfalls. The area has a lot of trees bamboos and sandalwoods being the most common. As a result, you would see a variety of tree-dwelling species here.

Visit Nagarhole National Park

The Wildlife Safaris : How to visit Nagarhole National Park

The park offers a range of safari experiences to the visitors. Jeep safari happens to be the best for spotting huge predators such as elephant, leopard, tiger, and some herbivores.

Visitors can enjoy bus safari in the morning and evening. You can spot more animals this way. 16-20 people can easily travel in a bus.

The river Kabini is available on the boat safari. This type of safari is the best to spot crocodiles, water birds, and others. You could also enjoy a crocodile ride in the river. An Indian round boat, Coracle, is the best boat for slow drifting. The ride is kept alongside the river bank so that the riders could see land animals as well.

 The timings for the safaris to visit Nagarhole National National Park

For Jeep safari, the timings are from 5:30 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. and from 3:00 pm to 7:00 pm.

For Bus safari, the timings are from 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

For Coracle ride, the timings are from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. and from 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.

The Fauna

The top animals that you can spot here are Bengali tiger, barking bear, antelope, ussuri dhole, elephant, and sambar deer. You would also see many jungle bison here. Elephants are found in areas where bamboo trees are common. Other animals are the jungle cat, gray langur, civet, mongoose, bonnet macaque, leopard cat, hare, pangolin, and the Indian giant flying squirrel.

The park is known for bird-watching as well. There are more 250 species of birds in the Nagarhole National Park. Most of the birds live near Kabini River. The common birds are blue bearded bee-eater, common osprey, duck, herons, and Malabar whistling thrush.

Elephants in Nagarhole National Park

The Flora

The Western Ghats nestled in the northern part of the park form a predominant region. It is enriched with moist deciduous forests.  Teakwood and Rosewood are the most common trees found in the southern area of the park. Dry deciduous forests are in the central part of the park with Pala indigo being the most common. Eugenia trees are very common in the swamp regions.

Reaching Nagarhole National Park

How do you reach Nagarhole National Park? The nearest airports are the ones in Mysore and Bangalore. Bangalore is the nearest international airport to the park and is located 236 km away. Mysore airport is located at a distance of 96 km from the park. Tourists normally enter India via Bangalore airport. Then, they have to take a connecting flight to Mysore. You would find a lot of buses, cabs and other transportation from Mysore airport to take you to the Nagarhole National Park.

The nearest railway station is located in Mysore as well, just at a distance of 80 km from the park. Various train services from different parts of the country and run to Mysore. One can hire a cab or bus to reach the park from the railway station.

Accommodation in Nagarhole

As a lot of tourists also come to see the part apart from Indians, there is a forest guesthouse located inside the Nagarhole National Park so that tourists can comfortably stay there. You have to get prior booking for lodging. Getting accommodation is a bit difficult during the peak season. Some of them are Jungle Inn, Machaan resort, and Kabini river lodge in Nagarhole National Park. Some of them are located in Kabini such as Red Earth, Waterwoods, and Evolve Back (Orange County resort).

Handy Travel Tips to visit Nagarhole National Park

You should arrive at the park gates well before dusk. This is because the road winding through the park that leads to the lodges often gets blocked because of elephants. It gets closed by 6. People who want to do trekking should avoid visiting the park during the monsoon season as most of the dirt racks get washed out and leeches come out making it impossible to trek.

Hope you found this Travel Guide to visit Nagarhole National Park helpful!

Our pages in French and Spanish

Planning a trip to India ? Get a free quote

We are glad that you preferred to contact us. Please fill our short form and one of our friendly team members will contact you back.





    Category of hotels
    3*4*5*Luxury
    Guide service during the visit of the monuments
    YesNo

    X
    GET A FREE QUOTE