Bheemanakolli Sacred Grove

The Bheemanakolli Sacred Grove is located on a peninsula by the banks of the Kabini river. It consists of two ancient temples dedicated to Lord Shiva and Lord Krishna dating back to the 15th century. This sacred grove is located in between Nagarahole and Bandipur National Parks and was once surrounded by forests and wildlife. Unfortunately, the government has converted much of this area into a palm oil plantation and the Krishna temple has been abandoned by local communities after the Kabini dam was built in 1974. Vana Nadi Pashu-Pati has been maintaining the Krishna temple for over a decade and is now in the process of restoring this 400 year old heritage structure into a living temple with the expertise of INTACH (Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage). We plan to build a biodiversity park on this peninsula that will include reforesting over 100 acres of land, medicinal plant nurseries, butterfly gardens, rainwater harvesting and organic farming.