The forests near Mysore

Talk or think about Mysore and one if immediately transported to several wildlife sanctuaries, forests and bird sanctuaries surrounding the royal City.

The Ranganthittu bird sanctuary in Srirangapatna, the Bandipur and Nagarhole forests are so well-known that there is no need to describe them.

However, there is one small oasis of green that a visitor has missed. This small patch of green too is in Mysore but it is not as well-known as other forests. This forest is home to several flora and fauna and more than anything else it is worth exploring.

This is the Arabithittu wildlife sanctuary of Mysore district.

Arabithittu was declared a wildlife sanctuary on April 30, 1985 and it is spread over 14 square kilometers.

The forest  is mainly scrub interspread with plantations and it is surrounded by agricultural fields on all sides except the north east which belongs to the Defence Food Research Laboratory, Mysore. The forests also house a fairly large area of eucalyptus and sandalwood plantations. Some of the other species of vegetation found here are Emblica officinalis, Ficus Species, Hardwikia binata, Mitragyna parviflora, Terminalia tomentosa, Zizypus spp, Acacia sundra, Dononea viscvosca, Cassia fidtula, Diosphyros melanoxylon, and even sandal wood.

The common birds that can be spotted are peafowls, partridges, mynas and black drongos. They are part of the 230 species of birds that have been recorded here.

Some of the reptiles found here are cobras, rat snakes and vipers.

Some of the animals I notices was Leopard, fox, spotted deer, wild pig, porcupine, hare and common mongoose.
This is the only patch of forests within a radius of 40 kms of Mysore apart from Ranganthittu and Chamundi Hills.

The area is surrounded by several villages like Bannikuppe, Mallinathapura, Jinahalli, Kuppa Kolghatta, Gagenahaly, Halepur and Madehalli.

The best time to visit the forests is between December to February. Mysore is the nearest airport and K R Nagar the nearest railhead. The forest is about 30 kms from Mysore and it comes under Hunsur taluk. There are regular bus services from Mysore and KR Nagar.

For more information about the forests and permission, you can contact the Assistant Conservator of Forests, Wildlife Sub-Division, Aranya Bhavan, Ashokapuram, Mysore - 570 008
Tel. 0821 - 481 159.