Bandhavgarh National Park

This is a small National Park,but with the highest known density of tiger population in India.The Bandhavgarh National Park is located within the district of Sahdol in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh.It is Situated at a distance of 195 km from Jabalpur and 225 km from Khajuraho. The Bandhavgarh National Park is a premier wildlife preserve in the Vindhya mountain range of Central India.Areas consists primarily of Sal(Shorea robusta) forests, which is the main tree-cover found in the entire park. Before becoming a national park, it was the game reserve of the Maharajas of Rewa. It was finally declared a tiger reserve under Project Tiger in 1993.

The White Tiger

The forests of Bandhavgarh are the white tiger jungles. No white tigers have been reported in the last 50 years, and it is believed that less than a dozen have been seen in India in about a hundred years. And yet when white tigers were sighted, it was right here in Bandhavgarh. In 1951, Maharaja Martand Singh of Rewa captured an orphaned white tiger cub from the Bagri forest in Bandhavgarh. The Maharaja domesticated this male white tiger and named him Mohan. Mohan was the last white tiger in the wild, and no white tiger has been reported ever since.

Flora: Sal (Shorea robusta) trees dominate almost half the forest of Bandhavgarh. The sal tree is an important component of the deciduous forests of North and Central India.

Fauna:

Mammals

The Bandhavgarh National Park has least 22 species of mammals. Tigers, leopards, gaur (Indian Bison-although some say this is no longer seen), chital (spotted deer), Sambar deer, holes, nilgais, wild boars, chinkaras, sloth bears, rhesus macaques, black faced langurs, jungle cats,hyenas, porcupines, jackals, foxes, wild dogs, chausinghas and ratels, among others. It is the density of it's big cat population that has made Bandhavgarh really famous across the globe.

Birds

It has about 250 species of birds in the Park. White browed fantails, steppe eagles, green pigeons, grey malabar hornbills, black and white malabar hornbills (quite a rare sighting), blossom headed parakeets, parakeets, blue bearded bee eaters, green bee eaters, white bellied drongos, owls, Jerdon's and gold fronted leaf birds, minivets, woodshrikes and the lovely paradise flycatchers. Bandhavgarh is also a bird lover's paradise.

Best Time to Visit: November to June. the Park is closed from 1st July to 31st October.

Transport Information :

• By Air:The most convenient route to Bandhavgarh is by air to Khajuraho from where it is 5 hours drive (237 km).
• By Rail: The nearest railway stations near Bandhavgarh are Jabalpur (164 km), Katni (102 km) and Satna (120 km) on the Central Railway and Umaria ( 35 km ) on the south Eastern Railway.
• By Road: Taxis are available at Satna, Jabalpur, Katni, Umaria, Bilaspur ( 300 km) and Khajuraho.