Read about Bandhavgarh tiger reserve and wildlife tourism in this tiger country. No tiger tour is considered complete without visiting Bandhavgarh. Their are many tiger reserves in India with high tiger population and high tiger density but probability of tiger sighting is average or below average. Here in case of Bandhavgarh tiger density is high and probability of tiger sighting is also high thus it is considered as the best place to visit for tiger safari and photography. If we go by the history of this place, we will find that this jungle is for Tigers, since last 500 years. Earlier it was used as hunting preserve and now used for wildlife tourism & tiger photography. Usually we have seen the trend that human society has encroached the wildlife but here human society vacated the place for wildlife thus it is also a place to witness the victory of Wildlife over Human encroachment. This national park has given many superstar tigers like Charger, Sita, Mohini, B1, B2, B3, Jhurjhura Tigress, Langdi Tigress, Bokha, Kankati, Bamera Male, Mahaman Tigress etc. These tigers had their own aura which attracted tourists from different corners of the world. Here main safari season prevails from October to June month during which majority of tourists explore the wildlife treasure of this tiger reserve.
Bandhavgarh is a home of tigers from more than 2000 years old. It is located on Vindhya mountain range in which many other tiger reserves are also located. Here we will find many prominent marks of human civilization in the form of caves, statues, man-made structures, active temple, ponds etc. Till 16th century, Bandhavgarh was main power center of Baghelkhand and region was ruled from Bandhavgarh fort, located in Tala safari zone of national park. Later on capital was shifted from Bandhavgarh to Rewa and thus it was abandoned and nature took over the control. Before Baghel rulers, it was ruled by Kalchuri rulers and they were actively present in this forest area. Till year 1968, Bandhavgarh remain a private property of royal family of Rewa and later on they surrender it to Indian Government for better maintenance and management.
In order to plan for Bandhavgarh tour, it is important to know the safari timings so that accordingly we will draw our tour plan, decide arrival & departure schedule.
| Period | Morning Safari | Afternoon Safari |
|---|---|---|
| 01 Oct - 31 Dec | 06:00 - 10:00 Hrs | 14:30 - 17:30 Hrs |
| 01 Dec - 28 Jan | 06:30 - 10:30 Hrs | 14:30 - 17:30 Hrs |
| 01 Feb - 31 Mar | 06:30 - 10:30 Hrs | 15:00 - 18:00 Hrs |
| 01 Apr - 30 June | 06:00 - 10:00 Hrs | 16:00 - 19:00 Hrs |
Here the park management authority retains the right to change the safari timing at any time as per situation. Usually park opens 30 minutes before sunset and closes 30 minutes after sunset. As per change in sunrise and sunset timing, park authority adjusts the park entry & exit timing.
Here in Bandhavgarh, jungle safaris are done in two ways i.e. Jeep Safari and Canter Safari. In between them, jeep safari is most popular among tourists and Canter safari is considered as secondary option. Here jungle safari tickets are offered online to tourists so that anybody can do the ticket booking at any time from any location. Booking of confirm ticket means your entry to park is confirm. Later on you need to book your safari jeep and take the guide at the time of safari entrance. Maximum 06 tourists are allowed in one safari jeep in which guide and jeep driver will be additional. Here safaris are done one safari zone for one drive. Two safari rounds are offered to tourists on each day, except on Wednesday when park remains closed for afternoon safari drive. Canter safari is offered on open bus and is offered to walkin tourists. Its online tickets are not offered.
Bandhavgarh tiger reserve nestles more than 30 mammal species in which prominent ones are: Tiger, Leopard, Blue Bull (Nilgai), Spotted Deer, Four Horned Antelope, Sambar, Indian Gaur, Wolf, Jackal, Barking Deer, Sloth Bear, Striped Hyena, Common Langur, Wild Boar, Honey Badger, Porcupine etc. During each safari drive, we can expect to enjoy the sighting of 5-10 different mammal species. Nocturnal species are usually not visible to us as park remains closed in night hours but still while driving through public road in night hours, you may have sighting of Pangolin, Honey badger, Jackal etc in road side area. Many times we have seen them, while driving through the public road in night hours.
Nearest Airport = Jabalpur (180kms), Khajuraho (260kms)
Nearest Railway Station = Umaria (37kms), Katni (100kms), Beohari (90kms), Khanna Banjari (55kms), Jabalpur (180kms), Satna (150kms)
Nearest Bus Stand = Umaria (35kms)
Apart from these transport stations, tourist can reach Bandhavgarh from surrounding tourist destinations like Kanha national park, Panna national park, Khajuraho, Amarkantak, Bhedaghat, Sanjay Dubri tiger reserve etc.
Bandhavgarh national park core zones are open for visitors from October to June months. In this period we can do the jungle safari drives in both core zones and buffer zones. Here majority of tourists visits in period from November to April thus we can say that it is the best time to visit Bandhavgarh. But if you are a tiger photographer and ready to sweat for best tiger shots then your best time to visit will be from February to May month when tiger sighting increases and thus large number of wildlife photographers prefers to visit in this period.
As Bandhavgarh is a popular national park thus tourism is very good in this tiger reserve. Large number of wildlife lovers visit this national park, by covering thousands of kilometers, spending large amount of money and valuable time. Thus in order to provide best accommodation service to such a wonderful wildlife lovers, their are many resorts and lodge options are available. They are based of different themes like eco-friendly, luxury, home-stays, hotels, cottage-style, boutique resorts, chalets etc. Here accommodation options are available in all budget categories Among them Standard category & Deluxe category of resorts are many. In luxury category also we can find many options so one can visit this destination without worrying for stay options.
After visiting Bandhavgarh national park, tourists have various destination options to visit. If you are interested in wildlife tour and tiger safari, then you have option of visiting Panna national park (230kms), Kanha national park (250kms). But, after visiting Bandhavgarh you want to change the destination theme then you have option to visit Khajuraho temples (260kms) or visit to Amarkantak (240kms) which is a pilgrimage and hill station option.
8989007070