The Biligirirangana Hills, commonly called BR Hills, is a hill range situated in south-eastern Karnataka, at its border with Tamil Nadu (Erode District) in South India. The area is called Biligiriranganatha Swamy Temple Wildlife Sanctuary or simply BRT Wildlife Sanctuary. It is a protected reserve under the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972. Being at the confluence of the Western Ghats and the Eastern Ghats, the sanctuary is home to eco-systems that are unique to both the mountain ranges.
The site was declared a tiger reserve in January 2011 by the Karnataka government, a few months after approval from India's National Tiger Conservation Authority.
The hills are located at the easternmost edge of the Western Ghats and the westernmost edge of the Eastern Ghats. Thus this area supports a diverse flora and fauna in view of the various habitat types present. A wildlife sanctuary of 322.4 square kilometres (124.5 sq mi) was created around the temple on 27 June 1974, and enlarged to 539.52 square kilometres (208.31 sq mi) on 14 January 1987. The sanctuary derives its name Biligiri (white hill in Kannada) from the white rock face that constitutes the major hill crowned with the temple of Lord Ranganathaswamy (Lord Vishnu) or from the white mist and the silver clouds that cover these hills for a greater part of the year. An annual festival of Lord Vishnu, held in the month of April, draws pilgrims from far and wide. Once in two years, the Soliga Tribals present a 1-foot and 9 inches slipper, made of skin, to the deity in Biligiriranga Hills.
The hills are in the Yelandur, Kollegal and Chamarajanagar talukas of Chamarajanagar District of Karnataka. They are contiguous with hills in Sathyamangalam Wildlife Sanctuary in Erode District of Tamil Nadu to the south. By road, they are about 90 kilometres (56 mi) from Mysore and 160 kilometres (99 mi) from Bangalore. The road leading to the village on top of the hills may be approached either from Yelandur or Chamarajanagar. Kyathadevara Gudi or K Gudi is located close to BR Hills, where safari is conducted.
The BR hills links the Eastern Ghats and the Western Ghats allowing animals to move between them and facilitating gene flow between populations of species in these areas. Thus, this sanctuary serves as an important biological bridge for the biota of the entire Deccan plateau. The BR hills along with the Male Mahadeshwara Hills (MM Hills) range forms a distinctly unusual ridge running north-south amidst the plains of Bangalore (~900 m above MSL), Mysore (~800 m above MSL) and Krishnagiri(~450 m above MSL). The peaks of these lofty range rise as high as 1800 m (BR hills 1400 to 1800 m; MM Hills 1000 to 1200 m). The highest hill is Kattari Betta, at 1800 MSL. Various observations point to a possible biogeographic link between BR hills and Nilgiri ranges.
The best time to visit B.R. Hills is in January, February, March,June ,August, September, October, November and December.
The Biligiri Rangan Hills, commonly called B R Hills, is a hill range situated in south- eastern Karnataka at its border with Tamil Nadu BR Hills is where guests arrive for a off-beat nature centric getaway. The reserve forest BR Hills offer excellent bird watching and where wildlife can be spotted. BR Hills is an Ex-Bangalore / Mysore getaway and also a part of the wildlife and birding itineraries of South India BR Temple, Soliga and the Jenukurba tribal hamlets, the thousand year old Mara (Big Champak Tree) are some of the tourist spots. Guests may visit MM hills and the Stanley reservoir as well. Jungle safaris and Bird watching are the prime activities here
Destinations renowned for Wildlife and Bird watching in Karnataka"The reserve forest BR Hills (180 kms from Bangalore) offer excellent bird watching and where wildlife can be spotted. BR Hills is often part of the wildlife and birding itineraries of South India." Nature Getaways around Bangalore - within 200 kms"BR Hills is where guests arrive for a off-beat nature centric getaway. The reserve forest BR Hills offer excellent bird watching and is an Ex-Bangalore / Mysore getaway where guests arrive for back to basic no frills jungle living experience."
Nearest Airport -Mysore (86 kms), Bangalore (180 kms), Coimbatore (180 kms) Nearest Railway Station - Chamarajanagar (27 kms), Mysore (86 kms), Ramanagaram (128 kms) B R Hills is an Ex-Mysore / Ex-Bangalore / Ex-Coimbatore / Ex-Calicut / Ex-Trichur / Ex- Trichy / Ex-Mangalore / Ex-Madurai / Ex-Cochin (Ernakulam) / Ex-Kottayam / Ex-Chennai / Ex-Hubli Getaway
The B.R Hills Wildlife Sanctuary spread over a sprawling area of 540 sq. km offers a mix of climate of Western and Eastern Ghats. The mean temperature of the hill has a huge variation with the minimum being 9°C to 16°C and the maximum reaches around 20°C to 38°C.
The annual rainfall too varies according to place and location. The annual average rainfall recorded at the base is around 600mm whereas this figure goes up to 3000mm when read at the top.
This type of variation in temperature is attributed to the fact that the hills in these forests too varies in their height. It is about 600m tall at the basal plateau region but it stands 1200m high from the basal plateau at some places.
This variation topography leads to a thick vegetation of almost all kinds in the B.R Hills Wildlife Sanctuary.
Though B.R Hills Wildlife Sanctuary enjoys a decent climate all through the year still the time period between November to March is considered to be the best time to visit these forests.
