Daroji Bear Sanctuary is known to house the famous Indian Sloth Bear, which is locally known as Karadi. These bears live in open scrub forests with rocks, tumbled boulders and caves. Sloth bear are mainly vegetarian and they feed on fruits, tubers, honey, termites and insects. Sloth bears also likes ber fruit and mahuva flowers to eat. They rest during the day and hunt for food at night.

This sanctuary was made in 1994. Few years back, it was estimated that about 120 sloth bears live in this sanctuary. Leopards, jackals, boars, porcupine, pangolins, monitor lizard, painted spur hen and tortoise can be seen here. There are about 90 species of birds and about 27 species of butterfly that have been seen.

There are about 8 species of Bear in the world and Sloth bear are only found in India and Sri Lanka. Its fore limbs are longer than the hind limbs. It has armed feet with blunt white and curved claws that can extend up to 3 inches. The sloths have a low sense of vision and sight because of small ear and eyes but they have a very strong sense of smell. They can close their nostrils at will. An adult can gain a height of about 6 feet and stand three feet at the shoulder. Male sloth weighs about 140 kg and female weighs about 75 kg. Sloth gives birth to cubs in winters and new born cubs remain blind for 3 weeks. Average life span of bears is 40-50 years. They are nocturnal animals.

The wildlife sanctuary and the area around have a very rugged terrain with shrub vegetation and boulders. The bears can be seen wandering around in free range. There are about 100 bears in the area. Forest guards prepare jaggery and apply on rocks in order to attract bears so tourists can easily spot them. 

Location

Daroji Sloth Bear Sanctuary is located at about 15 km from Hampi World Heritage Site and at about 50 km from Bellary district of Karnataka. It is spread over an area of about 56 square km. This sanctuary was made for the preservation of Indian sloth bears. The government of Karnataka declared 5587.30 hectares of Bilikallu reserve forest as Daroji Bear Sanctuary in 1994.

Flora

The sanctuary has many wild fruit bearing trees and bushes like kavale, jane, ulupi, nerale and bore. Authorities have also started raising orchards of custard apple (seta phal), Singapore cherry, mangi banana and maize within the sanctuary. There are also plenty of waterholes for the bears to get water from.

Fauna

It was found that almost 120 sloth bears reside in this sanctuary. Apart from that, hyena, leopard, jackals, wild boars, peafowls, monitor lizard, star tortoise and quails are also found. An interesting 27 varieties of butterflies has been identified in this sanctuary.

Accommodation

Sloth bear resort run by Jungle Lodges and Resorts limited can be a good place to stay with the complete package of wildlife safari included. Budget hotels can also be found in Hospet, which is the nearest city 12 km away. Hospet is well connected and has good road network. There also runs a bus service from Hospet to Hampi. Mango Tree Restaurant is a good option to have food.

Visitor Information

Charges/entry fee for Indians is Rs 50 per person and for foreign tourists it is Rs. 300. One has to pay an extra Rs. 500 to take a private car in the sanctuary. It takes about 2-3 hours to complete the tour. Visiting hours of the sanctuary are between 6 am - 6 pm on all week days. There is a watch tower at a hillock to watch bears. This hillock has about 100 caves where the bears reside. Visitors are advised to wear dark colored clothes while visiting. They must also carry binoculars and camera along.

Nearby Places

Vijaya Vittala Temple

This beautiful temple in Hampi is a must watch. The temple has a chariot that is Hampi’s most iconic structure. This temple is dedicated to lord Vishnu and has a shrine housing Garuda, the Eagle God and a vehicle of Lord Vishnu. This is a must watch for those visiting Hampi. It can take about 3-4 hours to explore complete temple.

Achyutaraya Temple

This temple is dedicated to Lord Venkateshwara. The temple has Vijayanagara architectural style. The temple is very old but remains magnificent for a visit. The temple’s pillars and walls are made with fine carved ornamentation.

Archeological Museum

This museum has a wide collection of sculptures and artefacts that date back to the most glorious empires of Indian history. The museum has gallery of various deities that were revered in Hampi and also a gallery that displays armory, metal objects and gold coins of that period.

Best Time to Visit

The best time to visit this sanctuary is between August and April.

How to Reach

Road

Bangalore to Chitradurga is 199 km on NH-4, then Hospet is at a distance of 135 km on NH-13. Kamalapura is 12 km from Hospet and from there sanctuary is 10 km further.

Rail

Nearest railway station is Hospet where trains from Bangalore and Hubli are connected.

Air

The nearest airport is Bellary.