How To Reach Mudumalai National Park

Mudumalai National Park lies in the north western part in the Nilgiris district of Tamil Nadu, sharing its borders with the states of Kerala and Karnataka. The Park lies on an easily reachable terrain, situated midway on the National Interstate Highway between Mysore and Ooty and is about 125 km from Calicut (Kerala) and about 240 km from Bengaluru (Karnataka). Thepakadu, Mudumalai, Masinagudi, Nellakota and Kargudi are different ranges of the Mudumalai National Park. Mudumalai National Park is a very touristy destination, made more within reach considering the number of major cities and towns that surround the Reserve.

The easiest way to reach Mudumalai would be by flight to Coimbatore or Mysore and then a road trip to the Park.

The nearest airport is the Coimbatore International Airport at Peelamedu. The city caters to domestic flights from Chennai, New Delhi, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Mumbai and international flights to Singapore, Colombo and Sharjah. You can hire a cab from the airport to Mudumalai National Park.

The nearest railway station to the national park is Mysore, which is about 90 km away from Mudumalai. Mysore is well connected by train to most cities across the country. You could book a train to Mysore and take a cab or a bus from Mysore to Mudumalai.

The next option would be a train to Coimbatore that’s about 120 km away from Mudumalai. Coimbatore too links a train service to major cities of the country. You could hire a cab from Coimbatore to Mudumalai.

The nearest town is Gudalur that’s about 16 km away from Mudumalai and a bigger town is Gundlupet that’s about 32 km away. There are several private and government buses that run from Ooty, Coimbatore, Gudalur, Mysore and Bengaluru to Thepakadu, which is the main bus stop for Mudumalai. From Thepakadu you might hire a cab or a jeep to the Park.

You could also drive to Mudumalai from Mysore via Gundlupet or from Ooty on the Kalhatti (Segur Ghat) through a beautiful landscape with sharp hairpin bends, said to be the steep climbs of South India. The Ghat roads via Kalhatti, and Gundlupet to Ooty (Bandipur National Park) are closed for vehicular traffic from 10.00pm to 6.00am for the safety of the wild animals, so if you plan on driving to Mudumalai, plan in view of that.

Private vehicles are not allowed into the protected area of the Park. But private vehicles run along the highway on the fringes of the Park, with speed regulations, of course and chances are you might spot a few wild animals, then. Inside the protected area, movement is through government or private jeep safaris.