Mudumalai National Park

The Mudumalai National Park is located on the northwestern side of the Nilgiri Hills in Nilgiri District about 150 km north-west to Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu. State-wise, the sanctuary shares its boundaries with Karnataka and Kerala, and is divided into five different ranges - Masinagudi, Thepakadu, Mudumalai, Kargudi and Nellakota.

The national park shares its position very strategically as a wildlife corridor between multiple other protected areas covering as an essential part of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve. Bandipur National Park and Nagarhole National Park lie to its north while the Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary covers to its west and the south is adorned with Mukurthi National Park and Silent Valley National Park. The entire area of lush greenery and rich flora and fauna along with protected wildlife covers over 3,300 sq km of forest area supporting a population of over 2000 elephants alone!

Keeping in mind its location at the Nilgiris district in Tamil Nadu, Mudumalai National Park enjoys a moderate climate which accounts for its rich bio-diversity and dense vegetation attracting tourists with its lush green natural beauty and exotic wildlife. Demographically, it lies in the south eastern part of the Indian peninsula - extending between 8? 04' N latitude and 78? 0' E longitude, and that makes the area moderately warm throughout the year with a slight variation in temperatures during the summer and winter. However, specifically from April to June, the area is hot, contrasting comparatively cold winters in December and January. The annual rainfall the area receives is around 1420 mm.

The best thing is, you can visit Mudumalai National Park anytime throughout the year. However, the best time to visit is from March to June and from September to October.

Indian Elephant, Bengal Tiger, Gaur and Indian Leopard are among the several endangered and vulnerable species that find Mudumalai their protected home. Owing to its rich diversity in wildlife preservation, there are near 266 different species of birds including critically endangered Indian white-rumped vulture and long-billed vulture. Mudumalai Wildlife Sanctuary is the proud home of 8% of the bird species in India among which 110 species are insectivores, 62 are carnivores, 23 species are fishivores, 12 species are omnivores and 20 species are grainivores.

Apart from these, there are about 50 species of fishes, 21 species of amphibians, 34 species of reptiles, and 55 species of mammals. As a matter of fact, 13% of all wildlife mammal species in India are found in Mudumalai National Park.