Himavad Gopalaswamy Betta.
Most Bandipur safari-day visitors do the morning + evening safari and skip Gopalaswamy Hill — it requires a separate Karnataka Forest Dept permit, sits 10km inside the reserve buffer, and access is restricted (vehicle pass + small group only). At 1,450m it's the highest peak in Bandipur and the only Karnataka hill that maintains near-permanent mist/cloud cover at the summit — hence "himavad" (snow/mist in Kannada).WHY NOBODY KNOWS
A 1,450m forest-reserve peak with a 14th-century Hoysala-style Krishna temple at the summit — the ONLY Karnataka hill where the summit Krishna idol is perpetually mist-shrouded (rarely visible without a 10-min cloud-clear wait). The temple is a small ekakuta shrine with a 4ft black-granite Venugopalaswamy idol playing the flute. Pilgrim crowds on Saturdays + Tuesdays; off-day weekdays quiet. KFD ₹100 vehicle permit; open 8.30am-4pm only.
