BR HILLS

Prime Attraction: The Biligirirangan Hills Wildlife Sanctuary with its Asiatic elephants, Indian Gaur, Chousingha (four-horned antelope)

BR Hills at a glance

The Biligiri Rangaswamy Hills, abbreviated commonly as the BR Hills, is situated at a height of 5,091 feet in Chamarajanagar district of Karnataka (India) edging the State of Tamil Nadu. The Biligiri Rangaswamy Temple Wildlife Sanctuary (BRT), named after the famous BR Temple in its vicinity, acts like a geographic corridor bridging the Eastern and the Western Ghats. The sanctuary derives its name ‘Biligiri’, either from the white rocks that constitute the major hill crowned with the Temple, or from the misty white clouds that cast a cascade over the hills all year round making it one of the most picturesque wildlife abode. These are the forests where the much fabled Tamil bandit Veerappan once ruled.

Wildlife Adventure in BR Hills

Lying in the Nilgiri biosphere, the 540 sq. kms spread of scrub, dry and moist deciduous, evergreen forests with high-altitude grasslands, make a paragon home to a wide range of wildlife, including endemic species of plants of medicinal importance. Biogeographically, its unique topography facilitates a exchange of gene pool of the vast diversity of wildlife between the Eastern and the Western Ghats, especially true in the case of the Asaitic elephants, that populate this area in large numbers. The 26 mammal species in BR Hills include sambhar, chital, barking deer, the rare four-horned antelope, tigers, leopards, wild dogs, lesser cats and sloth bears and among arboreal mammals two species of primates and three species of squirrels including the giant flying squirrel are recorded.

About 278 species of birds ranging from the massive Egyptian vulture to the tiny purple-rumped sunbird, 22 species of reptiles including the rock python and the minuscule pond terrapin, an amazing variety of 116 species of Butterfiles and 48 species of Ants are recorded in therse forests.

The park can be toured in a jeep or atop an elephant. Professional angling, amateur fishing, coracle boat rides, bird watching, river rafting, trekking, outdoor camping and a host of adventurous activities will abound your vacation in BR Hills. The BR Hills Wildlife sanctuary is open throughout the year. Best time to sight wildlife is June to October when the animals come out for water.

Reaching BR Hills
The area is 90 km from Mysore and 180 km from Bangalore. It is connected by road, one from Yelandur and the other via Chamarajanagar. The nearest airport and railhead is at Bangalore.

Don’t forget to check these out....

Biligiri Rangaswamy Temple: The temple is situated on the 'white cliff' which gives the hill its name. The deity is a standing form of Ranganatha, and is probably the only place one can see Ranganatha in the standing form. You can join in the flock of pilgrims who come to the wonderful Ratha festival every April. Right behind the temple is a spine-chilling 1000-ft drop into the dense forests protected by iron raillings.

Boodipadaga: Nestled in the heart of the sanctuary is an erstwhile forest residence of the Mysore rulers. Now turned into a Forest Department Inspection Bunglow, this is the place where the forest brigand Veerappan was imprisoned for a brief period in 1986 and where the wildest of the wild can be seen prowling around.

Soliga Tribe: The entire forest regions of Yelandur, Chamrajanagar and Kollegal, including the hilly tracts and foothills of Biligiri Ranga and Male Mahadeshwara in the southern part of Karnataka, are inhabited by nearly twenty thousand Soliga tribal people. Meeting these nature worshippers and hearing from them the mysterious lores of the BR Hills can be an enticing experience.

Accommodation options

Furnished tents and ethnic huts, with attached modern toilet facilities, lit by hurricane lamps are available for tourists. The Maharaja's Bungalow can be an ideal lodge for the luxury lovers. There is a bar and multi-cuisine dining at the open-sided Gol Ghar restaurant.