Wildlife National Sanctuaries and Parks
Bandhavgarh National Park |
  
Location: 32 km SE of Umaria District, Madhya Pradesh, India
Area covered: 448 sq. km.
Main Wildlife Found: Tigers, Leopards,
Bears
Best time to visit: November to March and May-Jun (The park
remains closed between July and October)
Places To Stay : Nature Heritage
Resort (www.natureheritageresort.com),Tiger’s Den etc...
About Bandhavgarh National Park
Set amidst the Vindhyan Mountain range
in Madhya Pradesh, the Bandhavgarh National Park is home to the famous White Tigers
of Rewa. The prominent ones captured in the Park include the legendary White Tiger
called Mohan, who supposedly fathered several offspring found in zoos the world
over.
The park was a former hunting reserve of the royal family of Rewa
where once Maharajah Venkat Raman Singh made his illustrious career out of hunting
111 tigers. Bandhavgarh was declared a national park in 1968. The landscape is
a unique mixture of steep and rocky hills, with flat tops and level grasslands
in the valleys below. The vegetation found within the Park is moist deciduous
forest with fine Sal trees and stretches of bamboo.
Today, Bandhavgarh
Wildlife Sanctuary is known for having one of the densest populations of Tigers
in the country. Prominent among other wild animals are Nilgai, Chital, Chinkara,
Gaur, Sloth Bears and Wild Boar along with some 250 species of birds. It is one
of the best places to witness the Tiger in action with the highest density of
tiger population for any wildlife park in the country.
Wildlife
Attractions in Bandhavgarh National Park
Chances are you will spot a striped
predator while wandering through the park on elephant back. Other animals seen
here are Nilgai, Chausingha, Chital, Chinkara, Wild boar and sometimes a fox or
jackal.
Around 250 species of birds are also found in the park including
migratory birds that arrive in winter such as the steppe eagle and various water
birds. The terrace of the Bandhavgarh Fort provides a breathtaking bird's-eye
view of the Park.
Other avian species found here include Peacock, Paradise
fly catchers, Jungle Fowl, Golden and Black headed Orioles, Yellow Ioras, Red-vented
Bulbuls, Blue Jays, Purple Sunbirds, Green Barbets and Mynahs.
Safaris
Safari options in the park include Jeep Safari and Elephant Safari. Jeep
safaris are undertaken during the early morning hours till evening. It is essential
to take along a forest department guide on a Jeep safari, while on an elephant
safari your guide will be the mahout or elephant driver. Elephant safari trips
are organized for tiger tracking early in the morning. It is advisable to go on
every possible safari, because a sighting is never guaranteed and no sighting
is the same. The best time for a safari is the early morning hours, while you
can also make good use of the afternoon. The tiger show is another major attraction
which guarantees a sighting.
Other Attractions In Bandhavgarh National
Park
Kalchuri Archaeological Remains
Besides the wildlife, Bandhavgarh
is also famous for the archaeological remains of the Kalchuri period that have
been found here.
Bandhavgarh Fort
Within the Park, stands
tall the ruins of Bandhavgarh Fort, believed to be over 2000 years old. The Fort
has a large number of caves belonging to the pre-historic period with Brahmi inscriptions
dating far back to the first century B.C.
Baghela Museum
The
museum houses the private collection of the maharajah of Rewa. The stuffed body
of Mohan, the first Tiger found in the park in 1951, can be seen here. Also seen
is a unique collection of military weapons and other hunting stuff. The museum
timings are 10 AM to 3 PM and 5 PM to 8 PM.
How to Get there
By Air : Khajuraho is the nearest well connected airport. Indian Airlines
flies from Delhi to Khajuraho seven days a week (Dep. 11:40). Jet Airways has
a daily connection between Khajuraho-Delhi via Varanasi (Dep. 10:40). Another
major airport, Jabalpur is connected by a daily Air Deccan flight from Bhopal
(7:55) and Delhi (5:55).
By Rail : The nearest railhead is Umaria
located on the Katni-Bilaspur section of South-Eastern Railway. Important trains
between Delhi-Umaria are Kalingautkal Express (12:50, Daily) and Hirakund Exp.
(8:45, Mon, Thu & Sat). Other convenient railheads near Bandhavgarh are Jabalpur,
Katni and Satna on the central railway. Mumbai is connected with Jabalpur through
a number of daily trains which include the Gorakhpur Express (6:35), Mahanagari
Exp. (00:10), Rajendra Ngr Exp. (23:40), Kolkata Mail (21:25), LTT RLPB Exp (22:10),
Guwahati Exp. (7:45, Wed, Fri, Sat) and so on. From Jabalpur, a short journey
by bus from will take you Tala, near the entrance of the park.
By
Road : Bandhavgarh National Park is situated on the Satna-Umaria & Rewa-Umaria
highway. Madhya Pradesh State Transport Bus Services are available from Rewa,
Satna, Katni and Umaria. Another option is to hire cars from Katni, Umaria, Satna
or Bilaspur and hit the bumpy road. The road trip from Khajuraho to Bandhavgarh
is an interesting one which passes through the Ken river, a crocodile sanctuary.
It then moves on to the diamond mining industry of Panna and Satna before branching
off on a subsidiary road across the ridges of Vindhyachal to Bandhavgarh.
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