Introduction
Bandhavgarh is a famous tiger reserve in Madhya Pradesh state of Central India. In the heart of Kipling's country, it is the best place to see the most endangered big cat, the Royal Bengal Tiger. It is the tiger country where one could have very good tiger sighting with comparatively less efforts due to high density of tigers in this forest area. Cradled between the Vindhya ranges and the eastern
flanks of Satpura ranges of Central Indian Highlands, Bandhavgarh
National Park lies mostly in Umaria district and partly in Katni
district of Madhya Pradesh, India. Because of great probability of
tiger sighting, it is best known as the ‘tiger land’ of India.
The Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve (1161.471 sq. km.)
comprises of Bandhavgarh National Park (448.842 sq. km.), Panpatha
Wildlife Sanctuary (245.842 sq. km.) and a Buffer Zone (466.787 sq.
km.) surrounding both the Park and the Sanctuary.
Initially, an area of 105 sq. km. was declared as the
Bandhavgarh National Park in 1968, which was extended to 448.842 sq.
km. in 1982. Panpatha Wildlife Sanctuary was notified in 1983. In
1993, the Bandhavgarh National Park, the Panpatha Wildlife
Sanctuary and the Buffer Zone were together declared as the
Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve under Project Tiger.
How to reach Bandhavgarh
Bandhavgarh national park is accessible by road, train & flight. Wildlife lovers from all over the world of all budget category visits this famous tiger reserve. Park remains closed from July to mid October in Rainy season but is easily accessible by all means of transport. Know how to reach Bandhavgarh by various menas of transport:
By Road: Tiger reserve is connected by road from places like: Umaria (37kms), Katni (100kms), Jabalpur (190kms), Satna (150kms), Khajuraho (250kms) & Kanha National Park (260kms).
By Train: Nearest railway station is Umaria Railway Station (37kms/45min). Other nearby railway stations are Katni (100kms), Jabalpur (190kms), Satna (150kms). These stations have connectivity with important cities like Delhi, Agra, Jaipur, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bangalore, Varanasi etc. Distance from railway station to park can be covered by local taxi or cabs.
By Flight: Nearest Airport for reaching Bandhavgarh National Park is in Jabalpur city (190kms/04:00hrs). It has direct flight connectivity with Delhi. Khajuraho airport (250kms/05:30hrs) can be second best option having flight connectivity with New Delhi & Varanasi. Small air-strip in Umaria (37kms) is suitable for those who intend to visit using small charter planes.
Bandhavgarh Eco-system
Bandhavgarh is a nice combination of hills and meadows. The diverse mix of habitats here, consisting of rocky
hills covered with dense forests as well as low-lying swampy plains.
Its luxuriantly rich eco-system offers amply for every living being –
from tiny insects to the magnificent tigers. The Bandhavgarh hill,
where fort is located, is flat-topped with gentle northerly slope. Its
vertical cliffs are the ideal nesting site of now highly endangered
long-billed vultures and other rare birds of prey like the Shaheen
Falcon. Bandhavgarh have great scenic beauty owing to the
presence of vast grasslands, extremely rugged terrain, high cliffs,
sharp crested hills and narrow valleys all in one single landscape.
Some of the area, inside Bandhavgarh, is generally plain with a few
scattered undulating hillocks.
Bandhavgarh Wildlife
Tree in Bandhavgarh: Commonly seen trees are Sal (Shorea robusta), Saja (Terminalia tomentosa), Bamboo (Dendrocalamus strictus), Jamun (Syzygium cumini), Pipal (Ficus religiosa), Banyan (ficus Bengalensis), Flame of Forest/Palash (Butea monosperma), Pakad (Ficus insectoria) etc.
Bandhavgarh Mammals: Important mammals attraction are: Tiger, Leopard, Spotted Deer, Indian Gazelle, Sambhar, Blue Bull, Wild Boar, Wild Dog, Sloth Bear, Wolf, Fox, Jackal, Black faced Langur etc.
Bandhavgarh Birds: Lesser Adjutant Stork , Red Wattled Lapwing, Great Cormorant, Rufous Woodpecker, Common Kingfisher, White Breasted Kingfisher, Small Blue Kingfisher, Indian Roller or Blue Jay, Red-vented Bulbul, Asian Paradise Flycatcher, Black Drongo, Racket-tailed Drongo, Brown Shrike, Long-tailed Shrike, Bay-backed Shrike, Shikra, Golden Oriole, Black-hooded Oriole, Common Myna, Bank Myna, Brahminy Starling, Asian Pied Starling, Indian Grey Hornbill, Malabar Pied Hornbill, Little Green Bee-eater, Bluebearded Bee-eater, Indian Pitta, Bush Lark, Rufous Tree Pie, Jungle Bush Quail, Crested Serpent Eagle, Crested Hawk Eagle, Spotted Dove, Jungle Babbler, <ottled Wood Own, Spotted Owlet, Lapwings etc..
Bandhavgarh Fort
This fort is located inside forest area at top on Bandhini hills of tiger reserve. "Bandhavgarh" literally means “Fort of Brother”. Bandhav+garh comprises two hindi
language words "Bandhav" means Brother and "Garh" means hilltop fort. The highest hill of the Reserve – the
Bandhavgarh hill (highest point-811.40 m above MSL) is adorned by the
2000-year old ruins of the majestic Bandhavgarh Fort. On the top of
the hill, one can find about 11 ponds as source of water for human
existence on Bandhavgarh Fort. The hill is surrounded by 32 other
hills and hillocks. Each of these hills and hillocks has their own
religious background and are regarded as sacred places of worship by
local people including tribal. Their very culture, tradition and life
are blended together with this area.
Bandhavgarh Safari
Two safari rounds are offered in a single day: Morning & Evening. Their timmings vary from season to season depending upon climate and sunrise/sunset timming. Average timming is as given below:
Safari Rounds |
Entry Time |
Exit Time |
Morning Safari |
06:00Hrs. |
10:30Hrs. |
Evening Safari |
14:45Hrs. |
18:15Hrs. |
Fort Safari |
From Sunrise |
Till Sunset |
All jungle safaris are held on open petrol-jeeps, not older than 05 years. In a single jeep limited persons are allowed to sit. Total 06 tourists, 01 Guide & 01 Driver is allowed to jungle safari in a single safari vehicle. Park is divided into 04 zones: Tala, Magadhi, Khitauli & Panpatha. Their is limited separate tickets for each safari zone, need to be booked in advance. In a particular safari round, vehicle can visit in a single allotted safari zone only, voilation will lead to penalty. In order to book safari ticket, one can take service from a travel agent, resort, park authority counter or even book online also. Safari ticket charges vary for Indian citizen and foreigner citizen. During safari, must carry your identity proof with you, to be checked at the time of entrance. Similarly one can do elephant safari booking also. Elephant safari in Bandhavgarh is of two types: during tiger show for 5-10minutes and full day safari as per safari timming.
Best time to visit
Bandhavgarh national park is open for visitors from mid October to June end.
Best time to visit Bandhavgarh varies with the desire or motive with which visitors is visiting the park. For normal visitor, months of Oct-Nov-Dec are good as during this time climate remain cool and jungle remain green, dense and scenic. December is the peak season during which park remain fully packed and even in last week of December month safari charges, resort charges get hiked by 20 to 50%. Months of Feb-Mar-Apr-May remain good time for birding due flowering time in trees like Indian Butter Tree, Flame of Forest etc. March-April-May is good time for tiger sighting and is favorite time for wildlife photographers. In May-June one can enjoy special summer discounts but hot climate poses some problem during evening safaris.
Bandhavgarh Local People
Tala Village is the most important village in Bandhavgarh. As it is close to Tala entrance gate (Gate No.1), it remains frequented by visitors. Almost all popular resorts & lodges are located around it. Similarly other nearby villages are like Rancha, Bijaharia, Parasi, Khitauli, Patour, Ketkiya etc. In religious composition, area is dominated by Hindu people with other religion followers in monority. Among hindus, most of the people are tribal like gonds etc.
This area is good for crops or rice(paddy), wheat, sugarcane, lentils, soya bean etc. In most of the villages people are still doing agriculture as their main occupation and in addition to it, they serve in local resorts & lodge also. Similarly local people can also be seen as working in forest department, safari jeep drivers, safari guides. taxi drivers etc. Litrecy rate is not so good but is increasing gradually. Despite of being known worldwide and visited by tourists from all over the world, local villagers are still economicaly poor where as people from other regions of India, posing as pesudo-wildlife conservationalists have encashed the tourism opportunities and increased their bank balance from the same area. Positive side of this change is that outsiders have motivated local people for wildlife protection and provided some source of income and improved their living standard and way of thinking. Local people are not business minded and perfer to remain in service sector or in agriculture sector. Some young generation have entered into local taxi business. Growth of tourism in region has definitely increased awareness towards wildlife conservation and economic benefits of such conservation.
