Foreigners prefer Nagarahole to Bandipur

The latter may have the largest density of big cats, but the former has better infrastructure and facilities

Niranjan.Kaggere @timesgroup.com 

    Bandipur National Park may have the highest density of big cats in the country, but it is Nagarahole National Park that draws in more foreign tourists and rakes in more moolah. 
    Statistics in the Economic Survey of Karnataka 2011-12 said, there were 7,401 foreign tourists visiting Nagarahole in 2011 while there were only 2,407 in Bandipur. 
    Sources in the forest department told BANGALORE MIRROR that Nagarahole has a better advantage over Bandipur though it is spread across 120 square miles while the latter extends across 340 square miles. 
    For one, it is a moist deciduous forest while Bandipur is dry. Topographically too, the two reserves are different. And though Bandipur has the highest density of big cats in the country, Nagarahole is only marginally behind, explained a senior forest official. 
    According to the National Tiger Conservatory Authority’s (NTCA) estimation, Bandipur’s tiger density is 90 while Nagarahole’s is a little less than 80. 
    Forest Minister C P Yogeshwar feels that Bandipur loses out to Nagarahole in terms of infrastructure. “Nagarahole is blessed with the backwaters of the Kabini and many resorts have come up on the banks. It has plenty of recreational facilities like boating, safari, camp fire, photographic opportunities etc. Since Bandipur is a highly sensitive zone and close to the biosphere reserve, it cannot offer many entertainment activities. I think this is what makes the difference. Tigers are present in both the parks and spotting them in the wild is a matter of sheer luck.” 
    Unlike Nagarahole, Bandipur has few options for both affordable and luxurious stay. And with the government cracking down on illegal resorts around Bandipur and Gopalaswamy betta, the number of tourists has come down drastically. 
    But officials are not giving up. “Though we cannot allow private resorts to come up around Bandipur, we have been taking every step to improve the infrastructure. We hope this will attract more tourists in the coming days.”

Unlike Bandipur, Nagarahole has plenty of recreational facilities like boating, safari, camp fire, photographic opportunities etc