About Bandhavgarh Forest

Madhya Pradesh has nine National Parks and twenty five Sanctuaries. It is known as the Tiger State of India and has the distinction of having the highest tiger population in the country. It has six tiger reserves which are fast developing into important destinations for tourists from all over the world. The most famous of them all are Bandhavgarh, Kanha, Panna and Pench.

Tala Entrance of Bandhavgarh

Bandhavgarh is a small National Park; compact, yet full of game. The density of the Tiger population at Bandhavgarh is the highest known in India. This is also White Tiger country. These have been found in the old state of Rewa(Rewa merged into Madhya Pradesh later) for many years. The last known was captured by Maharajah Martand Singh in 1951. This White Tiger, Mohan, is now stuffed and on display in the palace of the Maharajahs of Rewa. 

Flora and Fauna in Bandhavgarh

Covering 448 sq. km., Bandhavgarh is situated in Umaria district among the outlying hills of the Vindhya range. At the centre of the park is Bandhavgarh hill, rising 811 mt above MSL. Surrounding it are a large number of smaller hills separated by gently sloping valleys. These valleys end in small, swampy meadows, locally known as 'Bohera'. The lowest point in the park is at Tala (440 mt above MSL). The vegetation is chiefly of Sal forest in the valleys and on the lower slopes, gradually changing to mixed deciduous forest on the hills and in the hotter, drier areas of the park in the south and west. Bamboo is found throughout.

The remains of Bandhavgarh Fort

There is a fort present in Bandhavgarh.No records remain to show when Bandhavgarh Fort was constructed. It is thought, however, to be some 2,000 years old, and there are references to it in the ancient books, the Narad-Panch Ratra and the Siva Purana. Various dynasties have ruled this fort: for example, the Maghas from the 1st century AD, the Vakatakas from the 3rd century; the Sengars from the 5th century and the Kalchuris from the 10th century. In the 13th century AD, the Baghels took over, ruling from Bandhavgarh until 1617, when Maharajah Vikramaditya Singh moved his capital to Rewa. The last inhabitants deserted the fort in 1935.

The view of hills(back of Bandhavgarh Fort)
 and meadows in Bandhavgarh

These are some of the statistics associated with Bandhavgarh. Now the question is how to reach Bandhavgarh? The best possible way to reach Bandhavgarh is either to reach Satna, Jabalpur or Katni railway station. Since we went from Pune so we took a train from Pune to Kalyan Jn to avail the Muzzafarpur fast passenger which arrives in Katni the next day early morning. Bandhavgarh is about 90 Kms from Katni railway station. You can avail local transport or ask your hotel for a pickup service to reach Bandhavgarh. Just remember that roads near Bandhavgarh are very bad and it may take lot more time than you anticipate during your trip planning. 

Inside Tala Zone

Bandhavgarh Forest is divided into Tala , Magdhi, Khitauli and Panpatta zones. The maximum probability of Tiger viewing is there in Tala and Magdhi zones (Tale is the prime zone). So before you go there you must ensure that you have booked your slots for Safari’s in these zones. After the New Supreme Court order the number of safaris are reduced to 1/3rd and so there is lot of rush for this. The Safaris are mostly done by Jeep or Elephant. You can visit MP Forest Department site for more details about booking and tariff of such safari’s. You can also do the booking through your hotels.

Bloodline of Tigers in Bandhavgarh

When you visit Bandhavgarh. Your Naturalist will tell you various folklore on tigers in the forest. Here's a complete list of tiger bloodline as per wikipedia. 

In Memory of CHARGER

Charger was the first known male tiger of Bandhavgarh. Charger, an animal so named because of his habit of charging at elephants and tourists (whom he nonetheless did not harm), was the first healthy male known to be living in Bandhavgarh since the 1990s. A female known as Sita, who once appeared on the cover of National Geographic and is considered the most photographed tiger in the world was also to be found in Bandhavgarh for many years. Almost all the tigers of Bandhavgarh today are descendants of Sita and Charger. Their daughter Mohini, son Langru and B2 also maintained their tradition for frequent sighting and moving close to tourist jeeps. Charger died in 2000 and his body was buried at Charger Point where he was kept in a closed region at his old age. Between 2003 and 2006, many of his descendants met with a series of unfortunate ends. B1 was electrocuted and B3 was killed by poachers. Sita was killed by poachers. Mohini died of serious wounds to her body. After the death of Charger, the fully grown B2 survived as the dominant male in the forest between 2004 and 2007. He also became the strongest tiger in the world.

Pug Marks of Bamera

Mating with a female in the Siddhubaba region of Bandhavgarh, he became a father of three cubs. One of them was a male. He was named Bamera. Bamera was first sighted in 2008 and is now Bandhavgarh's dominant male. In November 2011, B2 died. Postmortem studies suggest that he died a natural death. But many other professional people, who know more than the officials, say that he was injured by the villagers of the village in the buffer area.Now, the most prominent tiger in Bandhavgarh National Park is Bamera, who has territory in all the four zones of the park. The females are Kankatti and Panpatti who both have three and two cubs respectively. Bilwa is now one of the rising male cub who is challenging Bamera these days.

Next part of the travelogue will deal with your Stay at Bandhavgarh