Biligiriranga Hills
| Biligirirangana Hills | |
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| Biligiriranga Swamy Temple Wildlife Sanctuary | |
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IUCN category IV (habitat/species management area)
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BR Hills as seen from Krishnayyanakatte reservoir at the foothills near Yelandur
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| Location | Chamarajanagar, India |
| Nearest city | Mysore 80 kilometres (50 mi) |
| Coordinates | 11°59′38″N 77°8′26″E / 11.99389°N 77.14056°ECoordinates: 11°59′38″N 77°8′26″E / 11.99389°N 77.14056°E |
| Established | 27 June 1974 |
| Governing body | Karnataka Forest Department |
The Biligirirangana Hills, (Kannada: ಬಿಳಿಗಿರಿರಂಗನ ಬೆಟ್ಟ) commonly called B R Hills, is a hill range situated in south-eastern Karnataka, at its border with Tamil Nadu (Erode District) in South India. The area is called Biligiriranganatha Swamy Temple Wildlife Sanctuary or simply BRT Wildlife Sanctuary. It is a protected reserve under the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972. Being at the confluence of the Western Ghats and the Eastern Ghats, the sanctuary is home to eco-systems that are unique to both the mountain ranges. The site was declared a tiger reserve in January 2011 by the Karnataka government, a few months after approval from India's National Tiger Conservation Authority.
The hills are located at the easternmost edge of the Western Ghats and support diverse flora and fauna in view of the various habitat types supported. A wildlife sanctuary of 322.4 square kilometres (124.5 sq mi) was created around the temple on 27 June 1974, and enlarged to 539.52 square kilometres (208.31 sq mi) on 14 January 1987. The sanctuary derives its name Biligiri (white hill in Kannada) from the white rock face that constitutes the major hill crowned with the temple of Lord Rangaswamy or from the white mist and the silver clouds that cover these hills for a greater part of the year. The hills are in the Yelandur, Kollegal and Chamarajanagar talukas of Chamarajanagar District of Karnataka. They are contiguous with hills in Sathyamangalam Wildlife Sanctuary in Erode District of Tamil Nadu to the south. By road, they are about 90 kilometres (56 mi) from Mysore and 160 kilometres (99 mi) from Bangalore. The road leading to the village on top of the hills may be approached either from Yelandur or Chamarajanagar.
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