Pench Tiger Reserve – Safari

Pench Tiger Reserve – Safari

Safari is one of the major attractions of the park. Pench national park remains open throughout the year, except for the monsoon season. However, the buffer zone remains open during this time too. Additionally, Holi and Diwali are two occasions when the park remains closed. Furthermore, the afternoon safari is not available on all Wednesdays. The Pench national park is divided into several zones, six of which fall in Madhya Pradesh and the remaining in Maharashtra.

Turia Zone:

It is the most popular zone. This zone is open from October to June. Morning and afternoon safari is available here.

Karmajhiri Zone:

This zone is considered a premium zone. It shares part of forest area with Turia gate. Morning and afternoon safari is available here.

Jamtara Zone:

It is another popular zone in Madhya Pradesh. Morning and afternoon safari is available here.

Wolf Sanctuary:

This zone is famous for wolves. Morning, afternoon, and night safari is available here.

Teliya Zone:

It is a new buffer zone in Pench National Park and situated close to the wolf sanctuary. It remains open throughout the year. Morning and afternoon safari is available here. Only a limited number of vehicles are allowed for night safari.

Rukhad Zone:

It is the buffer zone of Pench National Park. It is famous for its gaur population. The zone remains open throughout the year.

Khursapur Zone:

This zone is famous for its beautiful waterbodies. This zone is famous bird watching. It attracts birds and wildlife due to the presence of water bodies. Morning and afternoon safari is available here.

Sillari Zone:

It is the most famous zone in Maharashtra side of Pench. It remains open from October to June. It is the only zone in Pench that offers canter safari in the morning and afternoon.

Entry Fees for Tourism Activities:

Entry Fees for Tourism Activities
S.No.	Purpose of Entry	Fee (in Rs.)
1.	Viewing wildlife by vehicles (Per round)
A	Light vehicle, up to 8 persons (6 Tourists + 1Guide + 1Driver)	1,500/-
B	Mini bus, per tourist, per round (Bus Facility by Madhya Pradesh Tourism Development corporation)	510/- Per person
2.	Fees for Guides (G-2) Excursion in vehicle per round	360/-
3.	Photography by tourists - Video / Still camera	Free
4.	Elephant ride 1 hour. (To be booked one day in advance)	1000/- Per person

Filming and Photography:

Filming and Photography
S. No	No. of days	Indian educational / research institute	Other
a.	1st Seven days	10,000	40,000
b.	Next 8 to 15 days	7,500	30,000
c.	Next 16 days	5,000	20,000

Pench Tiger Reserve, Madhya Pradesh

Pench Tiger Reserve, Madhya Pradesh

Pench Tiger Reserve is a tiger reserve located in Seoni and Chhindwara Districts of Madhya Pradesh in Central India. This tiger reserve derives its name from the Pench River that flows through the park from north to south dividing the park into almost equal western and eastern halves. It is one of the premier tiger reserves of India and the first one to straddle across two states namely Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra. The majority of the tiger reserve is located in Madhya Pradesh. Pench tiger reserve has of the highest density of herbivores (90.3 animals per square kilometer) and the second highest prey base biomass in India after Nagarhole (6013 Kg per square kilometer). The high habitat heterogeneity favors high population of Chital and Sambar.

History

For brief details, please refer below link;

https://explore-natural-beauty-of-india.blogspot.com/2025/01/pench-tiger-reserve-history.html

The Tiger Reserve

For brief details, please refer below link;

https://explore-natural-beauty-of-india.blogspot.com/2025/01/pench-tiger-reserve-tiger-reserve.html

Safari

For brief details, please refer below link;

https://explore-natural-beauty-of-india.blogspot.com/2025/01/pench-tiger-reserve-safari.html

Activities

For brief details, please refer below link;

https://explore-natural-beauty-of-india.blogspot.com/2025/01/pench-tiger-reserve-activities.html

Contact

Field Director,

Pench Tiger Reserve,

Seoni – 480 661

Madhya Pradesh, India

Phone: +91 7692 223 794

Fax: +91 7692 223 204

Email: fdpennp.sni@mp.gov.in / dirpenchnp@mp.gov.in

Connectivity

Turia Gate is located at about 8 Kms from Teliya Gate, 13 Kms from Khawasa Gate,16 Kms from Karmajhiri Gate, 19 Kms from Khursapur Gate, 26 Kms from Jamtara Gate, 34 Kms from Rukhad Gate, 42 Kms from Sillari Gate, 54 Kms from Ramtek Railway Station, 57 Kms from Seoni Railway Station, 58 Kms from Seoni, 93 Kms from Nagpur and 102 Kms from Nagpur Airport. Turia Gate is situated at about 13 Kms to the north west of Khawasa Gate on the Nagpur to Seoni route. Turia gate is the popular & most frequently used entrance gate for Pench Jungle Safari.

Location

Kanha Tiger Reserve – Safari

Kanha Tiger Reserve – Safari

There are four safari zones in this tiger reserve namely Kanha, Kisli, Sarai and Mukhi. Kanha zone is the famous among the four zones. The chances of sighting the tigers are more in Kanha and Kisli Zones.

Jeep Safari:

Jeep Safari is the most common and popular way to explore the wildlife in the reserve. The safaris are conducted in 4x4 open jeeps, accompanied by a trained guide and a driver.

Elephant Safari:

This safari is one of the best ways to explore the wildlife in their natural habitat in this reserve. This safari help the visitors to access the places inside the park which is not accessible by jeeps. This safari requires written permission of Field Director of the National Park.

Jungle Walk (Nature Trails):

The walking trail is another option to explore the wildlife in this reserve. It is allowed only in the buffer area. The forest department has made jungle trails near Khatia entrance gate and Chhapri village. The jungle trail at Chhapri is famous for bird watching.

Safari Timings:

The reserve remains open for visitors from 16^th October to 30^th June. The safari timings are:

Timings	Morning Safari	Afternoon Safari
16th October to 15th February	Sunrise to 11:00 AM	02:00 PM to Sunset
16th February to 15th April	Sunrise to 11:00 AM	03 PM to Sunset
16th April to 30th June	Sunrise to 10:00 AM	03:30 PM to Sunset

The reserve remains closed during the monsoon season (July 1^st to October 15^th). The entry to the reserve remains closed for the visitors on every Wednesday afternoon and Holi.

Vehicles Entry:

The number of vehicles permitted to enter inside the reserve in each shift are as follows:

Safari Zones	Kisli Zone	Kanha Zone	Mukki Zone	Sarhi Zone
Morning Shift	18	40	40	27
Afternoon Shift	18	40	40	27

Fees:

·      Entry Fees: ₹ 1370 per entry for Indians & double for foreigners

·      Guide Fees: ₹ 360

·      Gypsy Charge (max six persons): ₹ 2000

Kanha Tiger Reserve – The Tiger Reserve

Kanha Tiger Reserve – The Tiger Reserve

The tiger reserve encompasses a core area of about 940 km2 (360 sq mi) in the two districts Mandla and Balaghat. The surrounding buffer zone is about 1,067 km2 (412 sq mi). The neighboring Phen Wildlife Sanctuary of about 110 km2 (42 sq mi) also forms part of the Kanha Tiger Reserve. The reserve is located in the Maikal Range which forms the eastern base of the triangular Satpura Range. The altitude of the park ranges from about 600 m (1900 ft.) at Kanha Village to 870 m (2900 ft.) at Bamhni Dadar. The major topographical feature of this reserve is the horseshoe shaped valley.

The reserve is surrounded by the spurs of the Mekal. The Surpan River flows through the central grasslands of the reserve. These grasslands covers the extensive plateau. The reserve is divided into six ranges namely Kisli, Kanha, Sarhi & Mukki in the western block and Bhaisanghat & Supkhar in the eastern sector which are closed to the public. The park is open for visitors from October 16^th to June 30^th. The park remains closed during the monsoon season (July 1^st to October 15^th). The best time to visit this park is from November to March. 

Flora:

This tiger reserve is home to over 70 species of trees and 1000 species of flowering plants. The tiger reserve comprises of moist peninsular sal forests, southern tropical moist mixed deciduous forests, and southern tropical dry deciduous mixed forests. The lowland forest is a mixture of sal (Shorea robusta) and other mixed-forest trees, interspersed with meadows. The highland forests are tropical moist, dry deciduous type and of a completely different nature from bamboo (Dendrocalamus strictus) on slopes. A notable Indian ghost tree (Davidia involucrata) can also be seen in the dense forest. The major trees found here are Saja, Lendia, Dhawa, Tendu, Palas, Bija, Mahua, Aonla, and Achar. Several species of climbers, forbs and grass can also found here.

Fauna:

The mammals found in the reserve are Bengal tiger, Indian leopard, dhole, sloth bear, Bengal fox, porcupine, hare, jungle cat, barasingha, gaur, chital, sambar, barking deer, Indian tree shrew, small Indian civet, common palm civet, ruddy mongoose, Indian wolf, common mongoose, flying squirrel, ratel, nilgai, Indian pangolin, Indian flying fox, fulvous fruit bat, greater false vampire, Indian pipistrelle, hyena, chausingha, langur, wild pig, and Indian jackal. It is also the first tiger reserve in India to officially introduce a mascot, Bhoorsingh, the Barasingha. Barasingha is called the jewel of Kanha National Park.

Some of the reptiles found in the reserve are python, Indian cobra, Russell’s viper, Indian krait, common rat snake, common skink, Indian monitor lizard, fan throated lizard and Indian garden lizard. Some of the fishes found in the reserve are giant danio, common rasbora, mud perches, brown snakehead, and green snakehead. The butterflies found in the reserve are lime butterfly, common rose, crimson rose, yellow orange tip, Indian cupid, striped tiger, plain tiger, gaudy baron, common crow, common jezebel, Daniad egg fly, common evening brown, common tree brown, tawny rajah, black rajah, and Indian skipper.

Avifauna:

The reserve is home to around 300 species of birds. Some of the birds found in the reserve are black ibis, Asian green bee-eater, cattle egret, plum-headed parakeet, Indian pond heron, common teal, crested serpent eagle, Indian grey hornbill, Indian roller, lesser adjutant, little grebe, lesser whistling teal, minivet, Malabar pied hornbill, woodpeckers, pigeon, Indian paradise flycatcher, hill myna, Indian peafowl, red junglefowl, red-wattled lapwing, steppe eagle, Tickell's blue flycatcher, white-eyed buzzard, white-breasted kingfisher, white-browed fantail, wood shrikes, warblers, racket- tailed drongo, golden-hooded oriole, Indian treepie, Rufous treepie, wolly necked stork, brown fish owl, white rumped shama, white bellied drongo, spangled drongo, twany babbler, jungle babbler, Indian scimitar babbler, grey francolin, painted francolin, black naped flycatcher, common Iora, eurasian blackbird, gold mantled chloropsis, Jerdon’s leaf bird, black hooded oriole, Malabar pied hornbill, Asian brown flycatcher, Tickell’s flowerpecker, verditor flycatcher, twany fish owl, barred jungle owlet, spotted owlet, Indian scops owl, mottled wood owl, shikra, common kestrel, changeable hawk eagle, pariah kite, oriental honey buzzard and Indian pitta.

Medicinal Plantation Conservation Area:

Medicinal Plantation Conservation Area (MPCA) is located at Boda Chhapri village. This village is situated at about 2 kms from Mocha village. This place is situated inside the dense forest. It is advisable to visit this place with permission from forest officers and a guide with good knowledge of plants.

Bamni Dadar:

Bamni Dadar is famously known as Sunset Point. It is situated at an elevation of 1,667 feet. This place is known for its spectacular sunsets. It offers a breathtaking view of the landscape of Kanha Tiger Reserve.