Travel to Bandhavgarh National Park in India

Situated in the remote confines of Central India or Madhya Pradesh is a picturesque National Park known as Bandhavgarh. The park is named after Bandhavgarh Hill at 800 MSL in the middle.

It was kingdom of ancient tribal communities but the fort changed rulers due to frequent conquests. The turbulent history in its wake left many structures mostly carved out of igneous rocks. They comprise of ramparts, temples, courts, reservoirs, caves, stables. artifacts and zoomorphic idols of Lord Vishnu.

The Fort itself is in ruins, but some of the structures are intact. The date of construction is believed to be more than two thousand years back in time. This is true because it finds mention in old Hindu Scriptures dating more than two thousand years. The name arises due to a belief that the fort was a gift to brother Laxman from Lord Rama after their return from exile. Hence (bandhav = brother, garh=fort) the name Bandhavgarh. The whole park or tiger reserve derives its name from this mountain.

As a tiger reserve no human habitation is allowed in the park and the fort lies derelict frozen in time space forever. The last rulers had vacated the fort and moved to a nearby town.

The tiger rules supreme as the park is now a conservation unit. Twenty percent of the area of core is open for tourism. This area is subdivided into three zones namely:

Tala

Magdhi

Khitauli

Of these Tala is the central region with the historic structures and artifacts. On safaris one can come across the structures especially Shesh Shaiya or reclining Vishnu a fairy pool with twenty feet idol of the Lord.

The idol lies on the way up to the Fort which can no longer be visited. You can drive up to this point to see the ancient wonder near the pool and then turn back. The visit to the Fort is not allowed.

The animals seen during the safaris are the tiger and the leopard. Other target mammals are the sloth bear, wild dog and the bison. Deer, Nilgai, langur monkey, wild boar and chital are common.

The park is home to many birds almost two hundred and fifty share this habitat with winter migrants in the cold season. Hence the park has become popular for tiger safaris and bird watching as well.

In order to visit the park and enter for excursions a permit is required. The permit is available online at MPOnline a Government website. Although you can book at the gate as subject to availability. This is so because there is a limit to entry for safaris.

In order to reach Bandhavgarh National Park one must board flight to Jabalpur Airport and then drive four hours to reach your hotel. The hotels are situated in the outer area of the park and provide luxury and budget accommodations. The park is closed during monsoon from July to September.

Uday writes often on Indian wildlife especially about the tigers. He works as a naturalist and is fond of travel. Uday also provides search engine optimization service and website contents in English.