The calm and peaceful Dandeli Wildlife Sanctuary is reputed as the largest wildlife sanctuary in Karnataka. Nestling some very rare animal and birds is an unspoilt, untouched and unexplored treasure of wildlife that is sure to leave you spellbound. Dandeli Wildlife Sanctuary abounds with a richness of Flora and Fauna. Its richness and diversity offers ample opportunities to nature lovers to enjoy the captivating landscape. The sanctuary is generally undulating with steep slopes with picturesque deep river valleys and rich hilly forest terrain. The breathtaking valleys, regal looking meandering rivers and the splendid scenic beauty of the syntheri rock make it an awe inspiring experience. The forest in Dandeli is typical moist deciduous and semi evergreen types, with pockets of every green.
River Kali and its tributaries – Kaneri and Nagajhari, meander through its deciduous and semi evergreen forest. Yet another wonderful quirk of nature is the Syntheri Rocks, situated outside the sanctuary. An imposing limestone cliff-face with hundreds of beehives; has dark mysterious caves at its base. The breath-taking valleys, the scenic vista and the awe-inspiring Syntheri Rocks make it a wonderful experience. The Dandeli forests also play host to the graceful Virnoli Rapids, the magnificent Supa Dam, Nagajhari Viewpoint, the Kulgi Nature Education Camp, the Kavla Caves with their Shivling-like stalagmites, and Sykes Point which offers a stunning view of the Kalinadi Valley.
Sighting animals is difficult and always involves an element of luck. The sanctuary is home of the barking, spotted and mouse deer, sloth bear, panther, tiger, gaur, elephant, wild dog, civet cat, bison, jackal, langur and giant flying squirrel, besides a variety of colourful birds and reptiles. The reptilian and amphibian fauna of the region include a variety of ruffles and frogs.
The Black Panther: One of the scariest animals in the wild, Black Panther is the most common form melanistic leopards that have been selectively bred for captivity in zoos. Because of its selective breeding, the number of black panthers found in the world is limited. Official records say that there are eight of them existing in Dandeli Wildlife Sanctuary. Sighting the animal is very rare and mostly depends on one’s luck but there are people indeed who have actually seen the mysterious black big cat glide through the forest. The dark coloration of the panthers gives them a huge hunting advantage.
Some of the birds which inhabit the area are the Great Pied Hornbill, Blue-Throated Barbet, Peregrine falcon and the curious-looking Malabar Pied Hornbill. This bird is quite large and has a yellow beak with a hard, helmet-like bump on top, called a ‘casque’.
The forest here is awash with colour, a mix of deciduous and evergreen trees including bamboo and teak plantations. The many fruit bearing trees provide food for the 196 species of birds in the area, and many of the plants are revered for their healing and medicinal properties. For example, the leaves of the Kydia Clycina are used to relieve muscular aches and pains.
Evening ride in a coracle (a circular boat, woven with bamboo and lined with buffalo hide), down the river Kali is 
memorable. The leisurely drift of the coracle allows you to watch hornbills returning to nest in tall trees on river banks, observe darters drying their plumes on deadwood entrenched in the river and admire egrets flying against an orange sky.The sanctuary offers wildlife safaris in jeeps, nature walks, bird watching, crocodile sighting trips, fishing, coracle boat rides besides trekking. For the sheer adventure lovers, there is white water rafting in river Kali. Rowing through the surging rapids with sunlight filtering through the jungle trees will for sure be an unforgettable experience.