{ India Tours } -- { Central
India Travel Guide } -- { Bandhavgarh }
Bandhavgarh
Brief
Compact, yet full of game; Bandhavgarh is essentially known for its small, but thriving national park, which is home to tigers, langurs, chinkaras, chitals, sambars and the Indian bison. The terrain is rocky with swamps and thickly-forested small, swampy meadows, locally known as bohera. Scattered throughout the park and particularly around the fort, are numerous caves
containingshrines, with ancient Sanskrit inscriptions. The park is best
explored, on the back of an elephant. During the winter months,migratory
birds, including the steppe eagle and a variety of wildfowl, head for the
salubrious clime of this park. Some deadly reptiles canbe found here too
- namely cobras, kraits, pythons and a variety of lizards. With the highest
density of tiger population, Bandhavgarh isalso populated with the Indian
Bison, Sambar, Barking deer and Nilgai.
History
A small National Park, the density of the tiger population at Bandhavgarh,
is the highest point in India. Also known as White tiger country, prior
to becoming a national park, the forests around Bandhavgarh, have long
been maintained as a Shikargarh or game preserve of the Maharajas of Rewa.
The maharajas and their guests carried out hunting, as it was considered
a good omen for a Maharaja of Rewa to shoot 109 tigers. In 1947, when
the state of Rewa, was merged with Madhya Pradesh, Bandhavgarh came under
its regulations. But the Maharajah of Rewa, still retains the hunting
rights. Today, numerous steps have been taken to retain Bandhavgarh National
Park, as an unspoiled natural habitat. Atop the Bandhavgarh hill, stands
Bandhavgarh Fort, believed to have been constructed around 2000 years
ago. Several dynasties, including the Maghas, the Vakatakas, the Sengars
and the Kalachuris have ruled the fort. The oldest signs of habitation,
are the caves dug into the sandstone, which contain Brahmi inscriptions,
dating from the 1st century B.CCulture
Madhya Pradesh constitutes the very heart of India. The vegetation in Bandhavgarh is varied and includes a blend of grasslands and forests that support large herbivores, an impressive diversity of birds and a host of insect life that has not yet been fully catalogued. This wildlife haven is linked through patchy corridor forests with Kanha and together constitutes one of the world's most important tiger-breeding habitats. Madhya Pradesh is therefore justifiably proud of both reserves and calls itself the "Tiger State" of India because over 20 per cent of all the world's tigers are to be found here.
Climate & Geogaphical Location
There are three well-defined seasons - the cool (from middle of Oct to end of Feb), the hot (from March to middle of June) and the wet (from middle of June to middle of Oct). While summers are very hot, winters are very chilly. Bandhavgarh is situated in Shahdol district, among the outlying hills, of the Vindhya range in Madhya Pradesh.
How to Reach
Bandhavgarh is well connected by rail, road and air. The most convenient route to Bandhavgarh ,is by air to Khajuraho , at 237 Km from where it is a five hour drive. Though long, the drive is interesting ,as the road crosses the Ken river, some stretches of which ,have been declared a crocodile sanctuary ,famous for the ghariyal, a rare fish eating crocodile and goes past Panna town, famous for its diamond mines before branching off across ridges of the Vindyachal to Bandhavgarh. By rail, the nearest railways stations near Bandhavgarh are Jabalpur at 164 Km, Katni at 102 Km and Satna at 120 Km on the Central Railway and Urmaria at 35 Km on the south Eastern railway and is well connected to Delhi, Bhubaneshwar, Jabalpur, Varanasi, Mumbai, Nagpur, Kolkata etc. By road, state private transport buses ply between Katni and Umaria and from Satna and Rewa to Tala at Bandhavgarh. Taxis are available at Satna, Jabalpur, Katni, Umaria, Bilaspur (300km) and Khajuraho.
Tourist Places
Bandhavgarh National Park.
Compact, yet full of game; Bandhavgarh is essentially known for its small but thriving national park, which is home to tigers, langurs, chinkaras, chitals, sambars and the Indian bison. Situated among the outlying hills of the Vindhya range, at the centre of the park, is Bandhavgarh hill, separated by gently sloping valleys. These valleys end in small, swampy meadows locally known as bohera. There is more than 22 species of mammals and 250 species of birds. Common langurs and rhesus macaque, represent the primary group. Carnivores include, the Asiatic jackal, Bengal fox, sloth bear, ratel, grey mongoose, striped hyena, jungle cat, leopard and tiger. The artiodactyls frequently sighted, are wild pig, spotted deer, sambar, chausingha, nilgai, chinkara and gaur. Mammals such as dhole, the small Indian civet, palm squirrel and lesser bandicoot rat are seen occasionally. The vegetation along streams and marshes is rich in bird life. The common ones, are the little grebe-egret, lesser adjutant, sacrus crane, black ibis, lesser whistling teal, white eyed buzzard, black kite, crested serpent eagle, black vulture, Egyptian vulture, common peafowl, red jungle fowl, dove, parakeet, kingfisher and Indian roller. Reptilian fauna include cobra, krait, viper, ratsnake, python, turtle and a number of lizard varieties including varanus.
Others
THE FORT - Apart from scouring the park landscape for tigers, you can also check out the Bandhavgarh Fort, which now stands in ruins. The fort is believed to be 2,000 years old and a ramble through it, can be very pleasant
Get Answers from our Experienced Travel Consultants now
