Visit Mudumalai Tiger Reserve For An Enchanting Wildlife Experience (2024)
Mudumalai tiger reserve is an adventurous site which certainly occupies a large extent of India’s land, and not only limiting itself to the physical boundaries, but it has also come to reserve its distinctly unique position in the country’s heritage and fascinating experiences. In the past few years, tourism in the Mudumalai tiger reserve has reached a new peak, attracting tourists not only from the country but the entire world as well.
The Overview Of The Mudumalai Tiger Reserve
The Mudumalai Tiger Reserve is considered one of the most crucial and significant wildlife reserves of the entire country. Spread over an area of 321 sq.km, the reserve shares its borders with three states, thus making it a tri-state junction. Listed as one of the prominent tourist places in Tamil Nadu, the other two states it shares its perimeters are Kerala and Karnataka. The reserve lies in the Nilgiris District of Tamil Nadu and stands as a remarkable part of the Nilgiris Biosphere Reserve, the first Biosphere Reserve in India, declared during 1986.
Image Source
On the periphery of the borders of Kerala, it has a common boundary line with Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary on the reserve’s west side. On its north, it shares a boundary line with Bandipur Tiger Reserve, Karnataka. Listed under one of the best places to visit in Tamil Nadu, this historical wildlife reserve is a prime landscape for raising awareness about the conservation of flagship species such as Tiger and Asian Elephant.
Where is Mudumalai Tiger Reserve Situated?
Mudumalai tiger reserve is one of the most visited reserve forests in South India due to its sharing its border with three South Indian states Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka. The location of the wildlife reserve may be slightly difficult to ascertain when taking note of its shared borders with the above states. Mudumalai Tiger Reserve is about 240 Km from Bangalore, about 90 Km from Mysore, about 68 Km from Udhagamandalam (Ooty), and about 124 Km from Calicut by road. The establishment of this reserve is a crucial location as it straddles the Ooty-Mysore interstate highway and is situated roughly in the middle of these two cities. Thus, it can be visited with the help of appropriate facilities from either side.
Image Source
Other must-visit places in the Mudumalai tiger reserve and its extent are the other three tiger reserves it is on a close distance with.
- Kalakad Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve (KMTR)
- Anamalai Tiger Reserve (ATR)
- Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve (STR)
Surrounded by the River Thamirabarani and its tributaries, these tiger reserves provide a very serene and intoxicating experience as a whole and serve as spectacular places to visit in the Mudumalai tiger reserve. Apart from the preservation of tigers, these reserves are also well-famed for the conservation of Elephants, Gaur, Black Buck, Four Horned Antelope, White Backed Vulture, and a variety of other creatures and several other endangered wildlife species.
How is the Weather of Mudumalai Tiger Reserve?
Due to the reserve being situated at a junction of the tri-state area, the wildlife reserve neither experiences massively cold weather now goes through hot and humid weather throughout the year. Mudumalai Tiger Reserve experiences moderate weather annually, with slightly chilly and cold during the month of December or at the advent of January. Slightly hot weather is also experienced during the months of March and April.
What Is The Forest Cover of Mudumalai Tiger Reserve?
As per the Forest Survey of India assessment (2009), the forest cover in Mudumalai Tiger Reserve is-
- Very Dense Forest – 47.05 km2
- Moderately Dense Forest – 214.98 km2
- Open Forest – 56.16 km2
Due to the perfectly stable weather all year round, Mudumalai Tiger Reserve attracts tourists from the country and abroad. It is especially appreciated among those who specifically seek nature during their tourist visits.
What is the Specialty Of Flora And Fauna Found In Mudumalai Tiger Reserve?
A large variety of extraordinary species of both flora and fauna can be discovered in Mudumalai Tiger Reserve. The reserve houses a wide range in the most astounding flora present, such as Elephant Grass, which grows tall, expensive timber types, namely Teak, Rosewood, and bamboo plants of several distinct sizes.
Other than these, the fauna species commonly witnessed by the oncoming tourists in the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve are tigers, elephants, Indian gaur, panther, sambar, spotted deer, barking deer, mouse deer, Hyena, common langur, Malabar giant squirrel, mongoose, wild dog, jungle cat, etc.
Furthermore, what also serves as another captivating point for the many tourists in Mudumalai Tiger Reserve is the rare species of birds found here. Essentially, more than 260 species of endangered birds can be found here. These include the Malabar grey hornbill and a pied hornbill, Malabar laughing thrush, frogmouths, a variety of woodpeckers, Malabar whistling thrush, peacock, and jungle fowl.
How to Reach Mudumalai Tiger Reserve?
There are several ways to reach the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve. The reception center for the same lies at Theppakadu, which is situated 240 km from Bangalore (Karnataka), 90 km from Mysore (Karnataka), 68 km from Ooty (Tamil Nadu), and 124 km from Calicut (Kerala). If one wishes to travel by railway, Ooty houses the nearest railway station to the reserve. Moreover, Masinagudi (7 km) and Gudalur (15 km) are the nearest towns from Mudumalai Tiger Reserve with all the essential facilities available. During the extreme night time, from 10 pm to 6 am, the roads to Theppakad are prohibited under government guidelines.
Timings and Entry Fee at Mudumalai Tiger Reserve:
Mudumalai Tiger Reserve Timings: 7:00 A.M. to 9:00 A.M. and 3:00 P.M. to 6:00 P.M.
Mudumalai Tiger Reserve Entry Fees: INR 15 per person and INR 135 per person for jeep safari
Conclusion
Mudumalai Tiger Reserve, a wildlife reserve, is listed under one of the primary attractions in the tri-state area due to its wide specialty in housing and conservation of extremely endangered fauna, flora, and bird species. Recently declared as a tiger sanctuary, Mudumalai Tiger Reserve has been established for about 65 million years and thus signifies the meaning “the ancient hill range.”
