Bhadra Tiger Reserve

Bhadra Tiger Reserve is a protected tiger reserve spanning Chikkamagaluru and Shivamogga districts in Karnataka, with its main entry at Muthodi. Covering about 492 sq km of Western Ghats forests around the Bhadra Reservoir, it is known for its dense deciduous and evergreen forests, diverse wildlife including tigers, leopards, elephants and rich birdlife. Notified as a wildlife sanctuary in 1951 and declared a Project Tiger reserve in 1998, it offers jeep and bus safaris.

Visitors enter through Muthodi gate into dense moist and dry deciduous forests interspersed with grasslands and the Bhadra Reservoir backwaters. The main experience is a guided jeep or mini-bus safari along forest tracks to view wildlife such as gaur, chital, sambar, elephants, leopards and tigers if sighted, and over 250 bird species. The reserve also offers boating on the Bhadra Reservoir, nature trails, and forest rest house stays surrounded by Western Ghats landscape.

The area was notified as Bhadra Wildlife Sanctuary in 1951 covering 77.45 sq km, later expanded to 492.46 sq km in 1974. It was declared as the 25th Project Tiger reserve in India in 1998 under Project Tiger, aimed at conserving the tiger population and Western Ghats biodiversity.