Biligiri Rangaswamy Temple B.R.T. Wildlife Sanctuary

The Biligiri rangana Hills, commonly called B R Hills, is a hill range situated in south-eastern Karnataka, at its border with Tamil Nadu (Erode District) in South India. The area is called Biligiri ranganathaswamy Temple Wildlife Sanctuary or simply BRT Wildlife Sanctuary. It is a protected reserve under the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972. Being at the confluence of the Western Ghats and the Eastern Ghats, the sanctuary is home to eco-systems that are unique to both the mountain ranges. Biligiri Rangana range of Hills are picturesquely situated between the Kaveri and Kapila rivers.  The site was declared a Tiger Reserve in January 2011 by the Karnataka government, a few months after approval from India’s National Tiger Conservation Authority. The hills are located at the easternmost edge of the Western Ghats and support diverse flora and fauna in view of the various habitat types supported. A wildlife sanctuary of 322.4 square kilometres (124.5 sq mi) was created around the temple on 27 June 1974, and enlarged to 539.52 square kilometres (208.31 sq mi) on 14 January 1987.

This sanctuary is unique because it has scrub, dry decidous, moist deciduous, semi-evergreen, evergreen and shola forests. It is also known for its many endemic species of plants including valuable medicinal ones.

The sanctuary derives its name Biligiri (Kannada for white rock) from the white rock face that constitutes the major hill crowned with the temple of Lord Rangaswamy or from the white mist and the silver clouds that cover these hills for a greater part of the year. The hills are in the Yelandur, Kollegal and Chamarajanagar taluks of Chamarajanagar District of Karnataka. They are contiguous with hills in Sathyamangalam Wildlife Sanctuary in Erode District of Tamil Nadu to the south. By road, they are about 90 kilometres (56 mi) from Mysore and 160 kilometres (99 mi) from Bangalore. The road leading to the village on top of the hills may be approached either from Yelandur or Chamarajanagar.

Biligiri rangaswamy Temple Wildlife Sanctuary is home to a rich variety of flora and fauna. This sanctuary is home for wildlife’s like elephants, gaurs, sambars, chitals, bears, panthers and tigers. BRT Wildlife Sanctuary provides shelter to over 250 species of birds, about 22 species of reptiles and an amazing 116 species of Butterflies.

Safari is the main activity over there. Other activities at are trekking, amateur fishing, professional angling, coracle boat rides, bird watching, river rafting and outdoor camping.

The ancient temple dedicated to Biligiri Rangaswamy in the sanctuary is a place of pilgrimage for over 500 years. The temple here is built in traditional Dravidian style of architecture. The annual festival of Lord Rangaswamy at Biligiri Temple is held during ‘Vaishaka’ in the month of April.

Best time to Visit: October to May

Open: Round the year

Safari Details: Safari in BRT is conducted by Jungle Lodges & Resorts (JLR) K-gudi resort (Kyathadevara Gudi Wilderness Camp)

To get complete details of Safari, timings, location, cost and info related to booking please download our app or send us an inquiry:

Park/Forest Status: Wildlife Sanctuary, Tiger Reserve

Animals: Tiger, Gaur, Elephant, Wild dogs (Dholes), Sloth bears, Chital (Spotted Deer), Sambar Deer, Leopards, Jackals, Wild boars, Mouse Deer, Barking Deer, Mongoose etc.

Birds: Oriental white-backed vulture, greater spotted eagle, Nilgiri wood-pigeon, darters, oriental white ibis, greater grey headed fish eagle, red headed vulture, blue winged parakeet, Malabar grey hornbill, white bellied treepie, white cheeked barbet, Indian scimitar babbler, Malabar whistling thrush, painted bush quail, Sirkeer malkhoa, ashy prinia, Indian robin, Indian peafowl, yellow legged green pigeon

Reptiles: Mugger, Common vine snake, common wolf snake, rat snake, bamboo pit viper, Russell’s viper, common krait, Indian rock python, Indian monitor lizard, common toad

How to Reach there:

By Air: Bangalore/Coimbatore are the nearest airports.
By Rail: Mysore is the nearest railway station.
By Road: Mysore 86 Kms, Bangalore 225 Kms, Coimbatore 175 Kms

Accommodations: Forest Lodges has a Forest Camp at K.Gudi (Kyathadevara Gudi) for accommodation. (in the middle of the forest)

To get complete details of all possible accommodations please download our iOS/Android app.

To get complete details of the Resorts, their location, cost, whether they offer Safaris, and to book and lot more, download our app or send us an enquiry:

Address: BR Hills Road, State Highway 80, Chamarajanagar, Karnataka 571127

Geo Coordinates (Long Lat) :   12.000732, 77.138403

Nearby Attractions:

BR Hills
Shivanasamudra Falls
Talakad
Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary
Somnathpur
Mysore Palace
Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary

MAP:

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