Kanha Tiger Reserve

Kanha National Park is nestled in the Maikal range of Satpuras in Madhya Pradesh, the heart of India that forms the central Indian highlands.The national park is being popularized as the Tiger reserve and interestingly is being declared as one of the finest wildlife areas in the world. Spreading across two revenue districts the Mandala and the Kalaghat, Kanha National Park was declared a reserve forest in 1879 and revalued as a wildlife sanctuary in 1933. Its position was further upgraded to a national park in 1955.

The Kanha National Park is spread across the area of 940 sq km in the Maikal chain of hills. By bringing up the buffer and core zone all together, the Kanha Tiger Reserve has the total area of 1945 sq km.

The landscapes and the surrounding luxurious meadows along with the wooded strands and the dense maroons of forests offer magnanimous sightseeing experiences for the nature lovers. Making the land more beautiful and adorable, the crystal clear streams amidst the dense jungle cleanses the surroundings and makes the wildlife unrivalled. This vivacious land has been the source of inspiration for Rudyard Kipling, a famous writer for his outstanding creation- “The Jungle Book”.

The Kanha National Park is the ideal home for wide ranges of wild creatures; right from the mighty tigers to the most populated Barasingha and the countless species of plants, birds, reptiles and insects. This reserve has fascinated many travelers around the corners of the world with its well developed infrastructure specially meant for them. The best location here to enjoy the most is the Bammi Dadar, also known as the Sunset Point.

Fauna & Flora

The Kanha National Park is reckoned as the perfect habitat for large amount of herbivores and carnivores animals. Tourists can discover the abundant varieties of wildlife. It is the only location in India where the most abundant variety of Barasingha can be found and so does to call them as the “Jewel of Kanha”.

Some of the commonly found wildlife in Kanha National Park :

Mammals: Tiger, Panther, Sambar, Barasingha, Chital, Black Buck, Barking Deer, Gaur, Langur, Wild Pig, Jackal, Chousingha, Sloth Bear, Wild Dog.

Reptiles: Python, Indian Cobra, Indian Krait, Russell’s Viper, Indian Monitor, Common Rat Snake, Common Skink, Fan Throated Lizard and Indian Garden Lizard etc.

Fishes: Giant Danio, Mud Perches, Common Rasbora, Brown Snakehead and Green Snakehead.

Birds: The Reserve brings around 300 species of birds and the most commonly seen birds are the Black Ibis, Bee-eaters, Cattle Egret, Pond Heron, Drongos, Blossom-Headed Parakeets, Common Teal, Grey Hornbill, Crested Serpent Eagle, Indian roller, Lesser Adjutant Stork, Little Grebes, Lesser Adjutants, Lesser Whistling Teal, Minivets, Pied Hornbill, Woodpecker, Pigeon, Paradise Flycatchers, Mynas, Red Wattled Lapwing, Peafowl, Red Jungle Fowl, Steppe Eagle, Tickell’s Flycatcher, White-eyed Buzzard, White-breasted Kingfisher, White-browed Fantail Flycatcher, Wood shrikes and more.

Kanha is articulated with three major types of forests namely:

Moist Peninsular Sal Forests

Southern Tropical Moist Mixed Deciduous Forest

Southern Tropical Dry Deciduous Mixed Forest

These varieties are boasted with over 200 species of flowering plants and the major floras can be discovered here are: Sal, Saja, Lendia, Dhawa, Tendu, Palas, Bija, Mahua, Aonla, Achar and Bamboo. Apart from that many species of climbers, forbs and grass can also be found here.