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KANHA NATIONAL PARK
India offers many popular national parks, which
are natural habitats of various animals, and rare species. A
wildlife tour in India would take you to the famous Kanha
National Park in Madhya Pradesh, one of the finest wildlife
parks in the country. This national park is spread out over
an area of 940 sq. km. The park is home to over 22 different
species of mammals and some 200-bird species and is well
placed in a horseshoe shaped valley.
The Kanha National Park is an excellent place for wildlife
viewing and photography, especially for the nature lovers.
The abundance of wildlife species exists today in Kanha
National park, which forms the core of the Kanha Tiger
Reserve created in 1974 under Project tiger. The grasslands
at Kanha are interspersed with forests of Sal, teeming with
varieties of deer - the barasingha, chital, chousingha,
nilgai, the majestic gaur and the wild pig. It is ideal for
viewing both the predator and the prey.
It was here at Kanha that the eminent zoologist George
Schaller undertook the first ever-scientific study of the
tiger. Another landmark at Kanha is the preservation of the
'hard ground' barasingha the only surviving population of
this Central Indian subspecies. This was achieved by
extending the grasslands, relocating villages and by
increasing the habitat. It is only here that you would find
the unique barasingha, being the hard ground variety, which
populate the large open tracts of grass amidst the forests
of teak and bamboo. Twenty years ago, the barasingha was
faced with extinction but some desperate measures including
the fencing-off of some animals helped save them and this is
how Kanha was established.
The Kanha National Park still retains its beauty and was the
inspiration behind Rudyard Kipling's unforgettable classic
Jungle Book. The animals at Kanha are best observed from
elephant back and the open country makes the chances of
sightseeing reasonably good. Deer are seen along the maidans
and gaur at Bamhnidadar or in the Bishanpura
Sondhar-Ghorella area of the Mukki range. This area is also
ideal for spotting the dhole or wild dog. Langurs, wild
boar, waterfowl and birds are also commonly seen. One can
easily spot tigers at Kanha.
 Among
the large animals, the Indian bison is perhaps the most
difficult to view because of its nocturnal habits. Usually,
one comes across a herd either in the late evening or very
early in the morning, and the light is always a
photographer's nightmare. It is said that you can usually
spot a bison at the road upto Bamhnidadar.
Besides Kanha, Madhya Pradesh boasts of some extremely good
Reserves of which Bandhavgarh is perhaps the best linked,
from a tourism point of view, to the famous Khajuraho
temples. Besides the tiger and the leopard, this Reserve,
like Kanha, is extremely productive for medium-sized bison
herds. The drive from Kanha to Umaria, the headquarters of
Bandhavgarh, is through some very desolate country. A short
drive from Kanha, would take you to Umaria by train from
Delhi as it is on the main Orissa line, or driven through
Gwalior, Jhansi and yet another Tiger Reserve on the banks
of the Betwa river, Pench. In the morning, one could look up
from the valley below to the table-like cliff where the
Bandhavgarh Fort seemed completely impregnable.
Compared to Kanha, Bandhavgarh is a tiny Park with nearly
the same number of tigers, or at least that is the official
figure. Dominated by a cliff in the middle, the Park
stretches on either side and though the vegetation is fairly
similar, the meadows of Kanha are missing though there are a
few grasslands, which were once regular swamps. Formerly a
part of the Rewa kingdom, famous for its white tigers,
Bandhavgarh is among the best-organized wildlife Reserves in
the country. The jungle camp run by K.K. Singh and the White
Tiger Lodge are the two main resorts at Tala.
Today the pure Wild Buffalo, Chattisgarh's state animal, is
struggling for survival in Indravati National Park and
Udanti Wildlife Sanctuary, while the state bird, the Bastar
Hill Myna, is under threat in the beautiful forests of
Kanger Valley National Park.
The White Tigers of Rewa
On your India wildlife tour you can visit the Bandhavgarh
National Park, where the white Tigers of Rewa were
discovered. The delighted Maharaja converted his summer
palace at Govindgarh into a safe haven for the white tigers.
Bandhavgarh, once a hunting reserve of the royal family of
Rewa was declared a park in 1968. Wandering through the
Bandhavgarh national park on an Elephant Back, the chances
of seeing a tiger are quite good. Among the other wild
attractions include, Nilgai, Chausingha, Chital, Chinkara,
Wild Boar and sometimes a Fox or Jackal.
Places Around Kanha
While on wildlife tour to Kanha you can visit Bamni Dadar,
situated near the national park. This place is also known as
the sunset point. The Kanha National Park is at it scenic
best at this point. The sunset from this spot is
mesmerizing. The eminent natural splendor of the park comes
to the fore here. The grazing sambar, barking deer, gaurs,
and other animals make the ambience magical.
Fact File
 The
ideal time to visit Kanha National Park is in the months of
April - June and November - January. The park is closed from
July - Mid-November i.e. the monsoon season.
Nagpur is the nearest Airport to visit Kanha National Park
and is also connected with Mumbai by various domestic
airline services. From Nagpur one can hire the taxi / bus up
to the Kanha National Park available in plenty and in large
frequency. Jabalpur is the nearest railhead to visit the
Kanha National Park. From Jabalpur the tourists can hire a
bus / taxi up to the national park.
Kanha National Park is well connected to Jabalpur 175-kms,
Khajuraho 445-kms, Nagpur 266-kms, Mukki 25-kms and Raipur
219-kms by road. There are regular and frequent bus services
available from Jabalpur to Kanha.The Madhya Pradesh State
Tourism Development Corporation operates a Jeep Service for
the tourists to visit in and around the park. The advance
booking has to be made regarding the local sightseeing tour.
Your tour to Kanha would be more exciting and comfortable
with the good accommodation options available here. Apart
from the government tourist lodges, rest houses, and log
huts, there are private hotels and rest houses for the
tourists.
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