Established in 1955 as a wildlife sanctuary, Nagarhole was designated a national park twenty years later. The park today stretches in a series of gentle hills and valleys, over an expanse of 640 sq km, north of the river Kabini. The park is centred around a perennial water reservoir formed in 1974, when the Kabini River was dammed. This sanctuary in Karnataka state extends over an area of 643.39 sq km. The park houses diverse species of plant and animal life. The best places in the world to find the tawny, black-striped Royal Bengal Tiger, elusive and stealthy, noble and regal, Nagarhole.

Nagarhole's vegetation is refreshingly different from Bandipur's dry scrub- moist deciduous forests, including bamboo, teak, eucalyptus and cassia, cover much of the sanctuary, providing a refuge for a wide range of animals and birds. Nagarhole has all the resident wildlife of the Nilgiri hills: Nilgiri tahr, Nilgiri langur, bison, leopard, Asian elephant, wild boar, deer, dhole (wild dog) and porcupine, besides tigers. A high canopy of trees- up to thirty metres tall in some places- harbours rare birds such as the endangered Malabar trogon, the Malabar pied hornbill and the crested hawk-eagle.

Access
Rail: The major railhead closest to Nagarhole is Mysore, 80 km away, with train connections to a large number of towns and cities across peninsular India.
Road: Buses connect Nagarhole to Bangalore and to a network of smaller towns across Karnataka, Tamilnadu and Kerala.