Mudumalai National Park

Mudumalai National Park, part of the wider Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve, is one of South India's most significant tiger reserves, its forests adjoining Bandipur in Karnataka and Wayanad in Kerala to form one of the largest contiguous protected wildlife landscapes in South India. The park supports substantial elephant, tiger and gaur populations, and its position along the main road between Ooty and Mysuru gives it relatively convenient accessibility compared to some of India's more remote reserves.

Jeep and elephant safaris offer different ways to explore the park's varied terrain, and Mudumalai's role within the broader Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve gives it particular ecological significance for wildlife corridors connecting protected areas across three different South Indian states.

Declared a wildlife sanctuary in 1940, one of the earliest in India, and later a tiger reserve, Mudumalai forms a critical component of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve, its connectivity with adjoining Karnataka and Kerala reserves making it significant for large mammal conservation across state boundaries.

About 65km from Ooty, roughly 2 hours by road.