OOTY
Bookings are mostly on-spot at the Theppakadu forest reception, not guaranteed online — arrive early for the first slot since later ones sell out fast in season. Sightings aren't guaranteed; this is a reserve, not a zoo.
The forest here was already known as 'Mudumalai' when the British government leased it from the Raja of Neelambur in 1857 for commercial logging, with large tracts declared reserve forest in 1914 for systematic timber extraction. An area of about 60 sq km was formally established as Mudumalai Wildlife Sanctuary in 1940, making it the first wildlife sanctuary in South India; it was enlarged in 1977, folded into the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve in 1986, upgraded to a national park in 1990, and declared a tiger reserve in 2007. Safaris depart chiefly from the Theppakadu range office.
