Jungle Safari as the word says –
Jungle Safari, not Tiger Safari. Please read it right, dear readers. Located approximately 165 km from Jabalpur, this Tiger Reserve is 1536 sq.km.in the area known as Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve.
Garh means a small hill surrounded by thickly vegetated mountains. One of these mountains is Bandhavgarh, which has a fort and a temple atop. This garh can be accessed on foot twice yearly, during Guru Poornima and in December for the Kuber festival. The rest of the year, it is not accessible to tourists.
Proximity to the nearest metro city
Jabalpur is very closely connected to UP, Rajasthan, and Maharashtra making Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve – a vacation destination and an affordable one.
It’s a little oddly located considering the country’s geography; hence, a road trip is suggested, but it is well connected by Road and Rail. Air connectivity is until Jabalpur.
Reaching Jabalpur from Nashilk
We reached Jabalpur by train, hired a vehicle to and fro, and then traveled back to Nashik by train. Bandhavgarh is just a small village with major activities such as Safari Booking, Safari jeeps, drivers, and guides. It hosts families of these people who run the economy of this place. The park is open for 9 months, leaving monsoon, during which these people do farming.
Giving in to the lush green forest of Bandhavgarh is spiritual
Life isn’t easy, as the jungle is dense, and passing through these villages amidst the core zone after 6:00 pm is threatening.
CORE ZONES at Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve.
The Village Bandhavgarh is surrounded by three core tiger sighting zones mainly;
- TALA
- MAGHADHI
- KHITAULI
Out of 100% core zone area, all three zones outline 80% of inaccessible jungles.
Buffer Zones
Then there is the buffer zone. These are the areas on the periphery, further to the 20% of core zones but sightings are possible as the wildlife fortunately is free-willed.
Life in the core zones of Jungles
Life here revolves around the 2 Safaris of the day for normal tourists
- Morning safari- 6;30am to 11:30 am
- Evening Safari: -2;30pm to 6;00pm
- Full-day safari: -for the hardcore wildlife enthusiasts, Photographers, and forests analyst
- Night safari: -For more adventure & thrill.
The park is open on all days except for Wednesday Evening and the bookings for the park can happen in 2 ways
- Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve Safari – MP tourism site online
- Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve safari booking window at the venue on the ground.
Suggestion
You should plan well in advance and reserve it from the government portal to avoid the risk of: –
A. Not getting safari booking
B. Getting seats in various jeeps and not in one vehicle
C. Spending extra
The timing for the physical ticket booking window is 7:00 pm. onwards.
The local tribe of Bandhavgarh
The Second source of income for the locals here is the Resorts. They are here for ages to host the tourists …you find every variety of them fitting your pocket.
The Olive Resort
We stayed at a recently developed small property from TRIPADVISOR, and that was the perfect decision. The Olive Resort
The path trodden by DM – searching for his PAW marks
Number of safaris at Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve
We did 3 safaris. All are shared either in Jeep or Canter. We were lucky to spot “DM” the Tiger on our first Safari. The euphoria of spotting the healthy Bengal Tiger our National Animal was a cherry on the cake as the sighting percentage while on wildlife safaris on our last few visits to National parks has been very scanty.
Irresistible
So Patience paid off ..DM rested near a stream after what may be his lunch, taking a ” Siesta “soaking in the Sun.
Hours passed, and we could only see very little of him through the dense plantation. But guides know better. The pug marks tell a different story and the calls from the animals especially the monkeys and the sambar deer are to be heard to be decoded.
Patience paid off as DM walked elegantly to showcase his most elegant self, and for the next 20 minutes, everything was just Click, click, and click …as he entered back the thick vegetation, the drivers and guides were met with high fives, and some rewards too.
We are so focused on a Tiger sighting that we forget to enjoy the other species that are an important part of the ecology. The biodiversity in our jungles is a bit sparse and the jungle area is widespread making sighting challenging.
The jungles though are fully refreshing and hence eating, sleeping repeating, and back to the jungles is the only itinerary. The biodiversity is a bit sparse and graph of enthusiasm and disappointment of sighting, sharing stories and pictures with those who could see.
It’s all a luck-by-chance game, and if luck sides you, it’s the best Euphoria. The freshest air and the no connectivity zones tend to relax you and fulfill the definition of a true vacation.
Prepare yourself for a safari
- # Jungle colors are majorly beige, brown, green white, grey, and black.
- # Jungle Gadgets are Binaculors, Camera
- # Jungle accessories are shades, hats, Scarf, Water, and dry munchies.
- # You must carry your patience along to keep all senses heightened, prepared to be silent throughout
King of the Jungle-DM Royal Bengal Tiger
