Kanha National Park

Kanha National Park, Kanha is privileged with offering the background for the classic book ‘The Jungle Book’ that has been written by Rudyard Kipling. The jungle of Kanha is rich in lavish bamboo and saal tree forests, open grasslands, streams, and lakes. This national park is counted as one of the largest parks in the nation. Its core area remains 584 sq. miles and the area surrounding it is almost 625 sq. miles.

Kanha is very well appreciated for its conservation and research programs. Previously many threatened species of animals got saved here. Apart from Tigers, this park contains barasingha or swamp deer. The specialty of Kanha Park is it does not include a specific kind of species, rather it holds all varieties of nature.

Description:

Kanha is situated in Madhya Pradesh, in the south-east direction of Jabalpur. The national park allows entry through its three entrances –

• Khatia Gate – 100 miles away from Jabalpur (through Mandla)

• Mukki Gate – 124 miles away from Jabalpur (through Mandla – Mocha - Baihar)

• Sarhi Gate – 93 miles away from Jabalpur (through Mandla), it is about 5 miles away from Bichhiya on NH 12.

Visitor Information:

If you enter through the Khatia Gate, you will reach the buffer zone of the Park. A few kilometers ahead of this zone lies the Kisli Gate. Entering through it, you will reach the core zones of Kisli and Kanha.

Overall the Kanha National Park, Kanha has four core zones which are – Sarhi, Mukki, Kisli, and Kanha. Among these, Kanha is the oldest zone for entering the Park and it was the premium one too. But in 2016, the concept got eliminated by the authority. The Kisli zone got separated from the Kanha zone. And, in recent years, Kisli and Sarhi zones added to the Park.

The maximum possibility of spotting the tiger remains at the Kanha zone. But sightseeing is an important attraction here in the Park and this is why all the other three zones’ concept is launched.

You can also enter the Park through the other buffer zones, including Garhi, Samnapur, Sijhora, Khapa, Motinala, and Khatia.

Also, the Park remains closed between 16th June and 30th September due to heavy rainfall here.

The Park is not open on Wednesday afternoon of every week. It is closed too on Holi and Diwali.

Traveler Tips:

The peak time for visitors remains December and January. Try to avoid the peak times for visiting the Park as tourists often make the place crowded.

Things to Do:

Of course, the best attraction for visiting Kanha National Park is doing safaris through the beautiful dense jungles and wildlife. Two jeep safaris are available a day here - one from the dawn time to late morning and another from the mid-afternoon to sunset time.

It is said that the early morning safari time is the best to spot more animals. And, there are chances too after 4 PM in the evening.

You can book a safari permit online for each of the zones.

The management of the Park has also introduced a few other tourism facilities to encourage more tourists visit here, including –

• Night jungle patrols – from 7.30 PM to 10.30 PM

• Watching elephant bathing – performed at the Khapa buffer zone between 3 PM and 5 PM every day.

• You can explore the nature trails through the buffer zones by walking or riding on a bicycle. Bamhni nature trail is the most popular among all.

• Experience sunset at the Bamhni Dadar, which is known as the sunset point of the Park.

Best Time to Visit:

The best time to reach Kanha National Park, Kanha is either between November and December or March and April. These times the weather remains fine, not so cool or not so warm. The animals came out of their dens in search of water.

How to Reach?

If you want to reach Kanha at the quickest time, then you need to board a flight to Jabalpur Airport, in Madhya Pradesh or Raipur Airport in Chhattisgarh. Then hire any public transport or a cab to reach the Park. From both the airports you would be traveling around 4 hours to reach your destination. Mukki zone is closest to Raipur and Kanha zone is closest to Jabalpur.

Plan your trip at least 2-3 months advance to secure your safari bookings!