The Chikmagalur district is 30% forest area. Similarly the Chikmagalur city has several hills in and around which are covered by lush green forests.Towards its north west, Chiakamagalur has the Bhadra Wildlife Sanctuary. This sanctuary is surrounded by the scenic hills and steep slopes of the Baba Budan Giri Range, and covers an area of around 492.46 km2. In the year 1998, this Wildlife Sanctuary was declared as a Project Tiger Reserve. This sanctuary is the first tiger reserve in the country to complete a successful village relocation program. By the year 2002, 26 villages in the sanctuary were successfully relocated to M C Halli which is about 50 km away from the sanctuary. This tiger reserve has around 33 tigers apart from several other species of animals like elephants, black leopards, sloth bears, gaurs, barking deer, flying squirrels, porcupines, jackals, sambhars, etc.

The forests of this sanctuary are deciduous and evergreen forests. These forests have several species of timber trees such as Teak and Rosewood, apart from many others. Along with these forests there are mountain grasslands as well. This area is rich in flora as there are several species of plants which can only be found here. You can also find several species of medicinal plants here.