Bandipur National Park witnessing increase in tourist footfall

Tuesday, January 5, 2021

Bandipur National Park is popular for tigers and elephants, and it is witnessing an increase in tourist footfall since the last two weeks.

The tourist rush started in the run-up to the Christmas and has continued since then and more than 600 people are availing the safari facilities on a daily basis.

Park officials said that the tourist rush is top on weekends and on Sundays, the parking lot in front of the booking office at Melkamanahalli is packed with vehicles. “We reckon the tourist footfall to decline again as the hangover of Christmas and New Year celebrations, which were a low key affair due to the pandemic, will subside from Monday,” said a park official.

Although December and January are holiday seasons, the pandemic has kept outstation tourists away even though visitors from the bordering Tamil Nadu and Kerala have visited the park. The weather condition and increased rate of sighting tigers and other wildlife also make Bandipur a favored choice for tourists and this has been seen since the third week of December.

Although sighting a tiger is sheer luck, despite their huge numbers in the park, elephants and leopards have been sighted regularly during the last few days.

For safaris, more than 50% of the tourists make an online booking, and hence, one bus has been reserved for walk-in tourists.

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