Muthanga Wildlife Sanctuary

Quick Info

Located around 16 kms away from Sulthan Bathery, the Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary is also popularly known as Muthanga Wildlife Sanctuary. This rainforest borders the parks of Nagarhole and Bandipur of Karnataka on the northeast and Mudumalai of Tamil Nadu on the southeast. Spread over an area of 345 sq km, the sanctuary is an abode of rich flora and fauna. It is considered to be the second largest wildlife sanctuary in Kerala and bio-geographically one of the richest tracts of peninsular India. Here you can see semi-evergreen, moist deciduous and dry deciduous forests.

You can sight wild animals like elephants, tigers, panthers, jungle cats, civet cats, monkeys, wild dogs etc. The sanctuary is also blessed with its endless population of birds like peacocks, babblers, cuckoos, owls, woodpeckers, jungle fowls etc. The sanctuary has one of the largest populations of elephants in India. The eco-tourism programmes in the sanctuary consist of elephant camp visit, jeep safari, trekking, bird watching, tribal folklore etc.

The sanctuary is located 16 kms east of Sulthan Bathery (22 kms from Kalpetta, the headquarters of the sanctuary) which is well connected to other major cities of Kerala. Frequent buses are available to reach this destination. Reaching this sanctuary by road is very easy as Wayanad is well connected to the rest of Kerala through a wide network of roads.The other destinations near to Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary are Bandipur National park, Mudumalai Elephant Park and Nagarhole Willife Sanctuary.

Editor's Review

The Muthanga Wildlife Sanctuary is exclusively for adventure lovers. You can take a safari and spot many animals in the sanctuary. The bumpy jeep ride is quite exciting. But you cannot always expect to see tigers or leopards. The trek is also a very good option.

We kindly request our guests to respect the pristine environment. Please do not litter or feed the animals. In order for you to enjoy a safe trip, please stay a little away from the animals and do not cause them any indirect harm.

Detailed Info

Popularly known as the Wyanad National Park, the Muthanga National Park is a popular wildlife sanctuary located on the Kerala hills and offers a natural habitat to a large number of wild animals. The Muthanga National Park is located over an area of 345 square kilometres. The scenic vegetation at offers a natural habitat to a wide variety of wildlife such as Gaur, sloth bears, sambhar, elephants, reptiles, tigers, spotted deer, monkeys, panthers, jungle cats, civet cats, wild dogs, bison, lizards, bears, wild pigs, leopards and other animals.

Muthanga in Kerala, South India is a special Project Elephant site and you are bound to see herds of elephants frolicking near the water holes as you course the wildlife trails within this lush wildlife sanctuary. Be amazed at the colourful assembly of good-looking birds at the National Park and enjoy the singing of these birds as you spot and identify them to your delight with the help of a bird watching guide.

A profusion of herbal and medicinal vegetation grows wild all over the Muthanga national Park that is an integral part of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve. The entire area is covered with dense rainforests with moist deciduous vegetation and a large variety of exotic flora and stretches of tea and coffee plantations that spread their aromatic scent all over the Wayanad hills. The vegetation at Muthanga differs from tropical evergreen vegetation to rolling stretches of grasslands and mesmerizing meadows.

Wayanad wildlife sanctuary consist of four ranges – Sulthan bathery, Kurichyad, Muthanga and Tholpetty, of which Muthanga and Tholpetty ranges are mostly targeted by the tourists’ to Wayanad. They are separated by plantations. The eco-tourism programmes consist of elephant camp visit, jeep safari, trekking, bird watching, tribal folklore etc.

Though only the outer corridor of the sanctuary is open to visitors for exploration totalling about 25 kilometres, yet the Wayanad Sanctuary is possibly one of the few places in India where an astonishing variety of wild animals and incredibly diverse flora can be found. There are a total of 44 different species of mammals and over a hundred different types of birds inhabiting the Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary, to say nothing of the wide variety of reptiles, fishes, amphibians, butterflies and dragonflies that reside within the forest. Against the perfect backdrop of hills set aglow by the fiery rising morning sun, find your heart skip a beat at the distant roar of a tiger, the deer bounding by and the trumpet of a displeased Elephant.