Wildlife
Resorts IndiaTiger
Den, Bandhavgarh
About Tiger Den Resort
Services & Facilities
National Park
Places to See
Reaching
Tiger Den Resort
Photo Gallery
Booking
Bandhavgarh National Park : :
Bandhavgarh
is a new national park with a very long history. Set among the Vindhya hills
of Madhya Pardesh with an area of 1161sq kms it contains a wide variety of habitats
and a high density of game, including a large number of Tigers. This is also
the white tiger country. These have been found in the old state of Rewa for
many years. The last known was captured by Maharaja Martand Singh in 1951. This
white tiger, Mohun is now stuffed and on display in the palace of Maharaja of
Rewa.
Prior to becoming a National Park,
the forests around Bandhavgarh had long been maintained as a Shikargarh, or
game preserve of the Maharaja of Rewa. Hunting was carried out by the
Maharaja and his guests-otherwise the wildlife was well protected. It was
considered a good omen for Maharaja of Rewa to shoot 109 tigers. His
Highness Maharaja Venkat Raman Singh shot 111 Tigers by 1914.
History Bandhavgarh has been a center of human activity and
settlement for over 2000 years, and there are references to it in the
ancient books, the NARAD-PANCH RATRA and the SHIVA PURANA. Legend has it
that Lord Rama, hero of the Hindu epic, the Ramayan, stopped at Bandhavgarh
on his way back to his home land after defeating the demon King Ravana of
Lanka. Two monkey architects, who had engineered a bridge between the isle
of Lanka and the mainland, are said to have built Bandhavgarh's fort.
At independence Bandhavgarh remained the private property of the
Maharaja until he gave it to the state for the formation of the national
park in 1968. After the park was created poaching was brought under control
and the number of animals rose dramatically. Grazing by local cattle was
stopped and the villages with in the park boundaries were relocated. The
tigers in particular prospered and the 1986 extension provided much needed
forest to accommodate them.
Declared a National Park in 1965
Declared a part of Project Tiger in 1993
Within the Park
The most effective way to search for Tigers is on elephant back. Government
elephants belonging to the forest department and equipped with
walkie-talkies, can be boarded from a point near the forest rest house not
far from the park entrance. It is advisable to book your elephant and to
wear plenty of warm clothing if going for an early morning ride in winter.
There are many tigers in the park and the elephants are able to take you up
steep, rocky hillsides and down marshy riverbeds which are impassable to
vehicles.
There are several good weather roads in the park.
Jeeps are definitely recommended over other vehicles and can be hired from
the Tiger's Den resort. A forest guide must accompany all visitors into the
park. Entry in to the park is allowed only during daylight hours. For both
elephants and jeep rides the hours immediately after dawn and before sunset
are best.
Geographical Details Area: 1161 sq. kms.
Core: 624 sq kms.
Buffer: 537 sq. kms.
Longitude: 80 4715
to 81 11 45 E
Latitude: 23 30 12 to 23 45 45 N
Altitude: 440mts to 810mts above sea level.
Rainfall: 1175mm.
Temperature: Min. 2 c Max. 44 c.
Forest Type Moist
Peninsular low level Sal -3C/C2a
Wet Gangetic moist mixed Deciduous
forest -3C/C3a
Seasons Monsoon mid- June to Sept.
Winter Nov. to mid-Feb.
Summer mid -March to mid -June
Opening Time The park is open from 1st October till 30th
June.
Places to See :
Places to See in the Park :
»
Sidhababa - The Holy Meadow
» Chakradhara - The Sprawling
Meadow
» Gopalpur - A Place for Bird Watching
»
Shesh Shaiya - Origin of River Charanganga
» Bari Gufa -
Ancient Monument of Past
» Ketkiha - Pendanus Point
» Bhitari Bah - Tranquility in Wilderness
»
Three Cave Point - The Archaeological Remains of past
»
Rajbahera - The Bandhaini Hillock View
» Climber's Point
- Nature's Beauty
» Sehra - The Fort View
»
Mahaman Pond - Place to Quench the Thirst
Places to See
around the Park : » Village Tala : To view a
day in the life of an Indian village, where the pace of life is still
measured by the rhythm of the seasons. The humble dwellings, the mud
clustered houses, the elders smoking hookahs sitting on a cot, are some of
the common scenes which signify that the time stands still in certain areas
of the world even today.
» Baghel Museum : Located
only 100 metres from the resort, it houses certain precious belongings of
the Maharaja of Rewa who maintained Bandhavgarh as his Shikargah, or a game
preserve, a stuffed white Tiger still stands in the museum amidst certain
personal belongings of the Maharaja.
» Bhamera Dam
: 20kms from the resort, huge water bank in the neighboring Panpatha
Sanctuary, good place for water birds.
Reaching Tiger Den Resort :
By Train : Umaria-32 kms and connected by a direct
train from New Delhi, Agra, Gwalior, Jhansi, i.e. Kalinga Utkal Express, it
leaves Nizamuddin station at 1250hrs and gets in at Umaria at 0615hrs.
Katni-95 kms and well connected by trains from New-Delhi, Varanasi,
Pune, Mumbai, Cochin, Chennai, Calcutta, Nagpur, Allahabad.
By
Air : Khajuraho, daily flights from New Delhi Jabalpur,
flights from New Delhi.
By Road : Approx
8hrs drive from Khajuraho (280kms), 4 hrs from Jabalpur (210kms), 7 hrs from
Kanha(240kms), Katni- two and a half hours drive (95kms), Satna three and a
half hours drive (112kms).
About Tiger Den Resort
Services & Facilities
National Park
Places to See
Reaching
Tiger Den Resort
Photo Gallery
Booking