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Kanha
Brief
Kanha, 175 kms south-east of Jabalpur, is one of India's largest national parks covering 1945 sq. kms. Kanha, a beautiful area of sal and bamboo forest, rolling grasslands with many rivers and streams, supports an excellent variety of wildlife. Situated in a horseshoe shaped valley, this park with all its natural splendour was the setting, which inspired Kipling's 'Jungle Book'. Established in 1955, it came under Project Tiger in 1974.
History
The area that is now the Kanha National Park was once a sportsman's paradise, as borne out by Dunbar Brander, who wrote in his epic book, Wild Animals in Central India: "This tract contained as much game as any tract I ever saw in the best parts of Africa in 1908… I have seen 1,500 head consisting of eleven species in an evening's stroll."
Both the Banjar and Halon valleys used to be the exclusive hunting grounds
of the British. The area then supported the Swamp deer or Hardground Barasingha
in such large numbers that they virtually dominated the landscape. Over
hunting led to the forests being closed to shikar in 1931, and they were
gazetted as a sanctuary in 1933. In 1955, a 250 sq km area was declared
the Kanha National Park, primarily to save the Hardground Barasingha,
exclusive only to India and severely threatened with extinction (numbers
had fallen to 550). By now, Kanha was fairly well known, and administrators
were always on the lookout to expand its protected area. Consequently
land from surrounding areas was continually added, with the Mukki Valley
also coming under its protective umbrella in 1970. In 1974, thanks to
Project Tiger, a vital chunk of the upper Halon Valley towards the east
was also included. Today the Kanha Tiger Reserve is a 1,945 sq km park,
and a prime breeding habitat for the endangered cats.CultureClimate & Geogaphical Location
The climate of this region is tropical. Summers are hot and humid with a maximum and minimum temperature of 40.6°C and 23.9°C. Winters are pleasant with an average maximum and minimum temperature of 23.9°C and 11.1°C, respectively. The annual average rainfall is 152 cm. The park is closed from July to mid-November during monsoon.
How to Reach
Kanha is well-connected by Rail, Road & Air. By rail, Most convenient railheads are at Jabalpur and Bilaspur. By road, Daily bus service available for Kisli and Mukki from Jabalpur. By air, Nearest airports are at Jabalpur, Raipur and Nagpur.
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