Tadoba national park is part of Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve. It is located in Chandrapur district of Maharashtra state in Western India. Although Maharashtras comes in Western India but lies in north-eastern part of state thus we can say it is in Central India region. Tadoba national park was declared in year 1955. In year 1993-94, it was declared as a Tadoba Andhari tiger reserve and its present total area is 1727.59 sq.kms. It is a dry decidous in Vidarbh region of state which is known for less rain-fall. While driving towards Tadoba national park, you will realize this fact due to its hot temperature, dry lands with poor vegetation. Here in Chandrapur district, liquor is total banned so don't carry any such stuff and also don't expect this service in resorts. It is just 150 kms from Nagpur city which is best for reaching Tadoba national park by flight or train option thus majority of tourists use Nagpur city as arrival & departure point. Aproach road is good and area is almost plain, no hilly terrains. While passing through local villages, we will realize that their is wide spread poverty in the region due to poor agricultural productivity and majority of people speak local Marathi language only. Despite of all challenges, it is best destination for tiger safari in India. We recommend this destination for tiger photography tours.
If we go by the history of Nagpur- Chandra pur region, we will find that it is very much linked with Central India than Western India. Gonds of Central India had their rule over this region from 12th to 18th century. The Gonds ruling over Chattisgarh region, Gondwana Kingdom of Central India and in Chandrapur region, they all are from same family. With the passage of time, when family expanded, their kingdoms get divided but they remain cooperative to each other. Name of Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve is derived from word "Taru" which means Trees and Andhari is derived from local Andhari River which is treated as life line of this forest area. Local people also says that "Taru" is their local god. It was name of their local leader who got killed in an encounter with Tiger and thus villagers make a shrine in his memory and thus this name get popular among local society. It was first notified as the Reserved Forest in year 1879, during British India rule. Due to such efforts, wildlife developed in this region and thus attracted the attention of Hunters and was declared as a Shooting Block. In year 1935, Central Province & Berar Government put restrictions on hunting except special permit has been obtained. Declaration of national park came in year 1955 and thus restrictions were introduced with passage of time. It came under Project Tiger scheme in year 1993.
Here we have shared safari timing of Tadoba national park. In order to plan the Tadoba tour, it is important to have the information of safari timing and thus accordingly we can decide our tour duration and number of safari rides. This will determine our tour package costing.
| Period | Morning Safari | Afternoon Safari |
|---|---|---|
| 01 Oct - 30 Nov | 06:00 - 10:00 Hrs | 14:30 - 18:30 Hrs |
| 01 Dec - 28 Feb | 06:30 - 10:30 Hrs | 14:00 - 18:00 Hrs |
| 01 Mar - 30 Apr | 05:30 - 10:00 Hrs | 15:00 - 18:30 Hrs |
| 01 May - 30 June | 05:00 - 09:30 Hrs | 15:30 - 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. Actual safari timing is decided by local park authority, headed by Field Director. According to situation and climatic conditions, they decide the park entry & exit timing. They have the right to change the safari timing, at anytime, without any prior notice.
Tadoba national park lies in Chandrapur district of Maharashtra state. Geographically, it lies in Vidarbh region, which is known for low rainfall and dry decideous forest type. Here in Tadoba national park, jungle safaris are operated from October to June month. In this period, we can visit to Core and Buffer areas of park. Both of these areas are divided into safari zones. At a time, we can visit to only one safari zone. Here prominent entrance gates are Mohurli, Khutwanda, Navegaon and Kolara. They are most frequently used by tourists and all major resorts are located close to these entrance gates only. Apart from these gates, you have option to check Zari and Pangdi entrance gates but their we will not find good accommodation option and they are far from Nagpur and tourists avoids them to visit. Here we can do jungle safaris on open gypsy and canter (open bus) service. We can do online permits booking for gypsy but canter booking is done through Chandrapur office so it is mainly counted for walk-in visitors only. Here safari permit costing rules are slightly different from other national parks of neighbouring Madhya Pradesh state. Here we have to keep in mind 4 type of permits costing. Here safari booking is done in last 120 days in which 60 to 120 days, permit cost is on higher side but if you will book in 0-60 days, normal permit rate will be applicable. Similarly if you will try for Monday to Friday dates, then cost will be less in compare to Saturday & Sunday dates. Thus you will find 4 different safari rates options for jungle safari drives. Here in Tadoba national park, authority takes Camera fee separately, in cash, at the time of entry, as per dimensions of your camera lens.
Tadoba national park lies in Chandrapur district of Maharashtra state. It is a dry decideous forest of Vidarbha region. Here climatic condition is relatively hot. As per local wildlife experts, here we can find 41 mammal species in which 9 are of endangered category like Tiger, Panther, Rusty Spotted Cat, Leopard Cat, Sloth Bear, Rattle, Indian Gaur, Four horned Antelope etc. In compare to other tiger reserves, here tiger sighting probability is high thus it is ideal place for tiger photography. Summers is good time for tiger sighting. Similarly Indian Dholes sighting is also comparatively better than Bandhavgarh or Kanha national park. Here population of Spotted Deer, Wild Boar, Sambar, Barking Deer, Indian Gaur is healthy. Indian wolf is also present in outskirts of tiger reserve area where as Asiatic Jackal sighting is better in Andhari region of tiger reserve. Wild Dog (Dholes) are frequently seen in Tadoba, Kolsa, Moharli region in form of small packs. If you are interested on Smooth coated Indian Otter then explore the damp regions like surrounding to Tadoba Lake, Irai lake and other water bodies.
Tadoba national is visited by many passionate wildlifers, having keen interest in birding. Birds are unique among vertebrates due to their true ability to fly. Here in Tadoba national park, approx. 196 bird species are recorded and this count may increase with passage of time as here conservation efforts are going on right direction. Popular birding areas in Tadoba national park are Panchdhara, Tadoba Lake, Telia Dam, Kolsa Tank, Kala Amb etc. These are the popular wetlands thus concentration of birds in these region is good. During jungle safari, we have seen good quantity of Plum-headed and Rose ringed Parakeets in Vasant Bandhara area. Here Tailor Bird, Iora, White-eye Sunbird, Purple Sunbird, Red vented Bulbul, Black-headed Oriole, Black Drongo, Green Bee-eater are frequently seen. Here approx. 78.10% birds are Resident, 17.20% are Winter Visitors, 3.70% are Winter/Resident visitor, 0.50% are Moonsoon visitor and 0.50% are Summer visitors. Some endangered birds species in Tadoba forest area includes Peregrine Falcon, Indian White-backed Vulture, Indian Peafowl, Grey Junglefowl, Green Munia, Large Grey Babbler etc.
Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve is just 150 kms from Nagpur city. It is the best place to reach first for visiting this national park. Nagpur city is one of the largest city on Maharashtra state in West India region thus its train and flight connectivity is very good. Even some inter-national flights operates from Nagpur which makes it most suitable place for arrival and departure. Nearest railway station is Chandrapur at a distance of 35 kms but due to small station, some long routes train do not have stoppage here thus in an all, we should rely more in Nagpur city. If you are already on tour then you have option to visit Tadoba national park from surrounding destinations like Satpura National Park, Pachmarhi, Pench national park, Kanha national park, Nagzira, Umred Karandla etc. If you are on visit to Ajanta-Ellora caves or Aurangabad city then with a long rund of 8:00 to 9:00 hrs. you can reach Tadoba national park.
Tadoba national park is mainly open for visitors from October to June month. Here monsoon season prevails from July to September month in which most of the safari areas remain closed. They opens very limited part of jungle in monsoon season, where road condition is good. They may open buffer zone area also in monsoon, but it is not assured in advance. Here majority of tourists, do their wildlife tours from October to June month. Majority of visitors are from India and their preferred time depends upon local holidays. They usually prefer October- November, December end and March-April-May period. Where as majority of Foreigner visitors have their preferred period as from November to April. Thus according to thier circumstances, people decide their best time to visit. Still on average basis, we can stay best time to visit Tadoba national park is from November to April month. If your interest is in wildlife photography, especially in tiger photography then you may visit upto June month.
While planning for Tadoba national park tour, it is important to know about the accommodation facility, available at different entrance gates. At present, majority of tourists entries are done from Moharli gate, Kolara gate, Navegaon gate and Khutwanda gate. Thus majority of hotels and resorts are located, close to these entrance gates. If you are looking for budget or standard category of resorts, then try Mohurli gate and Navegaon gate. Most of the luxury resorts are located near Kolara entrance gates. Here you have to keep in mind that these entrance gates are too far from each other so it is not possible to cover two different core zones of Tadoba national park, while staying at one resort.
After completing the tour of Tadoba national park we have many surrounding destinations to visit. If you are interested in wildlife destination then consider Nagzira Navegaon Tiger Reserve, Pench Tiger Reserve, Satpura national park are the best available option.
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