Chamarajanagar is the southern-most district in the state of Karnataka. It was carved out of the original larger Mysore District in the year 1998. Chamarajanagar town is the headquarters of this district.

Chamarajanagar was earlier known as Arikottara. Chamaraja Wodeyar, the Wodeyar king of Mysore was born here and hence this place was renamed after him. The Vijaya Parsvanath Basadi, a holy Jain shrine was constructed by Punisadandanayaka, the commander of the Hoysala king Gangaraja in the year 1117 A.D.

Since much of the southern area of the district is dense forest, it provided good refuge to the notorious bandit Veerappan, responsible for the death of over a hundred policemen. He was shot dead in an encounter with the specially formed Special Task Force (STF) in mid 2004, in Dharmapuri district, Tamil Nadu. He had been on the run for several years. The presence of illegal quarrying for black stone imposes a great threat to the forests in the region.

Being the southernmost district of Karnataka, Chamarajanagar district borders the state of Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Specifically, it borders Mysore district of Karnataka to the west and north, Mandya and Bangalore districts of Karnataka to the north-east. Dharmapuri district of Tamil Nadu to the east, Salem and Erode districts of Tamil Nadu to the south-east, Nilgiris district of Tamil Nadu to the south and Wayanad district of Kerala to the south-west.

Most part of the district lies in the leeward region of the Nilgiris and consists of mainly semi-arid rain dependent flatlands along with forested hills

Places of Interest

MM Hills: Malai Mahadeshwara Hills (short form: MM Hills), is an important Shaiva pilgrimage centre in the Kollegal Taluk. The yearly chariot festival (locally called 'jatre') at the MM Hills brings many devotees. The temple is situated within the MM Hills Reserve Forest, not very far from where the river Kaveri flows into Tamil Nadu.

BR Hills: Biligiri Rangana Betta (short form: BR Hills), is a hillock in the Yelandur Taluk and is famous for the Ranganathaswamy temple.

Kanakagiri: Kanakagiri in Chamarajanagar Taluk is a famous Jain pilgrim centre. It is described as Hemanga Desha in ancient works and is said that Bhagwan Sri Mahavira visited this place during his visit to South India.

GS Betta: Himavad Gopalaswamy Betta (short form: GS Betta is a hill near the Bandipur Wildlife Sanctuary in the Gundlupet Taluk. It is famous for the Gopalaswamy temple which is atop the hill. Gopalaswamy is an incarnation of the Hindu God Krishna. Dodda Sampige Mara: Located 4 kms from BR Hills, Dodda Sampige Mara is the location where a large Champaka tree, 34 mts in height and 20 mts of girth is present. Near its trunk, there are many Lingams (around 100) which are worshipped by the pilgrims who come here. Near the tree flows the stream Bhargavi which is a tributary of Kaveri. This stream is supposed to be an incarnation of Renuka, the wife of the revered Hindu sage, Jamadagni.

Bandipur: Bandipur is a well known wildlife sanctuary in the Gundlupet Taluk straddling the state's border with Tamil Nadu. It is also a tiger reserve and part of the Project Tiger initiative. Apart from tiger, the other animals found here include gaur, elephant, panther and wild dogs. It is contiguous with the Mudumalai wildlife sanctuary which is across the state border in Tamil Nadu.

BR Hills: Apart from being a religious centre, BR Hills is also the location of the BR Hills Wildlife Sanctuary. It is spread over an area of 539.52 sq. km. Some of the important animals found here are tigers, sloth bears, elephants and gaurs.