Kanha National Park

Kanha Tiger Reserve is a internationally renowned National Park of Central India. It is located in ‘Maikal’ ranges of eastern base of triangular Satpura range in Central Indian Highlands of Madhya Pradesh State of India. It falls under Mandla & Balaghat districts of Madhya Pradesh. Earlier in 1972, when Project Tiger program was initiated in India by government to protect Royal Bengal Tigers, nine tiger reserves were established in different states of India. Among those nine tiger reserves, Kanha National Park was one of them. Tiger Reserve covers area of 1949 sq. km. in total which comprises core zone (National Park) of 940 sq. km. and buffer zone (Multiple use area) of 1009 sq. km. Kanha National Park is known for its distinguished flora & fauna. Apart from Tigers, Kanha has also distinguished itself in saving the highly endangered hard ground Barasingha (Cervus duvauceli branderi) also known as Swamp Deers. These Barasingha’s are close to extinction and its last world population is in Kanha National Park. Kanha National Park was created on 1-June-1953 by combining two wildlife sanctuatires, Hallon and Banjar. Actually Hallon & Banjar are two prominent rivers of Kanha National Park around which whole national park was flourished.

Kanha National park has a picturesque topography with huge plateaus, meadows and valleys. Such huge grass-lands and meadows like Sondhar/Sondar, Bishanpura, Ghorella are lands of local villagers before project tigers. Although Banjar and Hallon are major rivers of Kanha. but some other small rivers are also their like Sulkum Nila etc.Park beauty is end- less and make you feel as heaven is here on every next moment visitor can find something never seen before. Kanha continues to sway the imaginations of visitors and considered as the most scenic and well-managed National Park in Asia.

At present one can enter into core zone of Kanha National Park through three gates: Khatia, Mukki and newly introduced Sarhi garte. Among them Khatia gate is the oldest entry gate of Kanha National Park. Park remain open for Tourists from 1st October to 30th June but dates may vary as per decision of Forest Department.

How to reach
Kanha National Park is in Madhya Pradesh state of Central India. It is spread over Maikal ranges of Satpura hills in south-east of Madhya Pradesh. Some important access points for Kanha Tiger Reserve are as given below:

Access Points	Kanha Khatia Gate (Distance in Kms.)	Kanha Khatia Gate (Distance in Kms.)
Jabalpur (Airport)	165	210
Nagpur (Airport)	290	320
Raipur (Airport)	290	250
Bandhavgarh National Park	260	300
Pench National Park	190	220
Satpura National Park	380	430

Best time to visit
Kanha Tiger Reserve remain open for visitors from 16th Oct. to 30th June. Best time to visit Kanha National Park varies with the purpose to visit. If you are a forest photography lover the the months of Oct-Nov-Dec are considered good for forest photography and birds photography. Feb-Mar-Apr-May are considered good for tiger photography and sighting. It is good time to see tigress with cubs and tigers around water holes. During this time, due to dry grass and low laying grass, visibility is more. Months of Mar-April are also good for sloth bear sighting as due to fruits like "Mahua" drops from Indian Butter Tree, bears often seen under this tree.

Kanha Safari
Like other national parks of Madhya Pradesh, here in Kanha also 02 safari rounds are offered to visitors i.e. Morning round & Afternoon round. Duration of Morning safari is more than Afternoon safari. Here safaris are done in an open petrol-jeep in the company of trained safari guide. Kanha Safari can be booked online or through a travel agent/resort. Kanha Safari timings are :

Safari Round	Entry Time	Exit Time
Morning Safari	06:00	11:00
Evening Safari	14:30	17:30

In a single safari-jeep, maximum 06 visitors are allowed excluding safari guide & driver. Here safari fee is as per vehicle and not as per person. It means if you are 01 person or 06 person, charge will remain same. During jungle safari, nobody is allowed to dis-mount safari jeep for any reason. At the time of entry in park, all the visitors as mentioned in safari-ticket are verified with their identification proof (in original) which means only those visitor's are allowed to do safari whose name is mentioned in safari ticket. Visitor's ID proof is verified are every safari round. Usage of mobile-phone, radio, match-box is totally banned (offence) inside park. Elephant safaris are offered in Kanha National Park. They are of 02 types: One is Elephant ride on Tiger Show & second is full day Elephant ride. Second option is very costly and preferred by film-makers. First option is offered only in Morning safari and its duration is 5-10 minutes.