South India’s Bird Lover’s Paradise: “RANGANATHITTU”

Ranganathittu is one of the best bird sanctuary tourist destinations in South India located in Mandya district of Karnataka. It takes about 3 to 4 hours of drive from Central Bengaluru (Bangalore) and a little off from Mysore city (19 kilometers). The sanctuary is situated on the backdrop of Cauvery River covering about 6 main islets within the sanctuary that can be visited in a rowing boat. An offbeat road trip can be planned to visit this sanctuary on the highway from Bengaluru to Mysore and the nearest railway station is the Mysore station. Since accommodation is limited inside the paradise people can choose to stay in the Mandya district. The sanctuary was discovered by ornithologist Salim Ali around 1940s century. A best place to visit to enjoy nature’s beauty and for those who are bird lovers it’s a heaven and a treat to watch these birds.

• Contents hide

  1 Best month to Visit

  2 Nesting month

  3 Jaw dropping fact

  4 Offers

  5 Layout map of the sanctuary

  6 Nearby places to visit

  Best month to Visit

Mid-December, that is during winter as reported by the authorities of the sanctuary as many as 40,000 birds approximately expected that migrate from different parts of the world (Siberia, Latin America and parts of north India).

• Nesting month

June-November has witnessed as the nesting month for the birds reporting about 8000 nesting’s. Birds like pied Kingfisher, open billed storks, snowy egret, white ibis and many more are found here.

• Jaw dropping fact

There are about 100+ crocodiles in the river. Make sure to take a rowing boat ride tour to experience the birds and massive crocodiles view up close. The highlight of the sanctuary is the boat ride around the islet and one of the cautions is that do not touch the water during your drive as there are large number of crocks in the river.

• Offers

Boating as per January 2017 costs Rs.60 per person and if you wish to book the whole boat it costs Rs.1000 which is about a 20 minutes ride.

• Layout map of the sanctuary

The entire pathway is well maintained and an information centre that is located inside the sanctuary and is named after famous ornithologist Salim Ali.

• Nearby places to visit

The order by which you can visit the places is Srirangapatna, Sangam, Ranganathittu Bird’s Sanctuary, Balamuri falls and KRS dam.