on which the sanctuary spreads is 53 square Km and the total water spread of the reservoir is 5.82 square Km. The topography of this region is hilly and the three major forest types recognized in the wildlife sanctuary are; Southern hilltop tropical evergreen, West coast semi evergreen and Southern moist mixed deciduous forests.

The wildlife of this sanctuary includes elephant, gaur, sambar, barking deer, mouse deer, wild boar, tiger, panther, wild dog, lion tailed macaque, Nilgiri langur, Malabar squirrel etc

Water birds like darter, little cormorant, pied king fisher and egrets are also common. Many kinds of snakes including the king cobra and python are also present in this sanctuary. The area is rich in variety of moth and butterflies.