Kanha National Park, one of the most well known tiger reserves worldwide, is located among Banjar and Halon valleys in the Mandla / Balaghat districts of the state of Madhya Pradesh.
The central Kanha valley was declared a sanctuary way back in 1933 but got it's status as a National Park in 1955. It covers a large area of 1,945 square kilometers, out of which 940 square kilometers form the main park. The altitude of the park ranges from 450 meters to 900 meters above sea level.
It can be closed earlier if the monsoon season arrives sooner than expected. The park has a heavy monsoon season with an average annual rainfall of 1600mm. The basic infrastructure at the park is well developed and visits can "mostly" be expected to pass without any problems.
Kanha National Park is also famous for it's animal conservation efforts made in collaboration and cooperation with the local resident communities. One of the famous success stories of the park is the survival of the Barasingha population in the park, which went down to as low as 66 animals in 1970 from the earlier 3000 and which through huge efforts have now revived to a respectable number of around 1000. Kanha boasts of many such success stories of which this is only an example.
Bird Watching :
There are 175 varieties of birds in Kanha National Park. So if you happen to be bird watcher, look forward to a full spotting itinerary. The terrain inside the park is varied, nonetheless enjoyable. Bamboo forests flow into Sal forests and meadows. There are herds of spotted deer to be seen with smaller herds of spotted deer to be seen with smaller herds of beautiful antelope, the black buck. With a little luck, you could also spot the timorous barking deer. It's snapping warns other denizens of the forest that a predator is around. There is also a very strong possibility that you will see the rare Barasingha, the Swamp Deer. Once there were only 66 of these in Kanha, but careful conservation and management raised their population to over 400.
The Topography (Kanha National Park) :
Kanha has two main valleys, Halon in the east and Banjar in the west, and the grassy 'maidans' (often old village sites), dotted with clumps of forest harbour large numbers of herbivores. The hills offer support sizeable plateaus (locally called 'Dadars') and the characterized by extensive grasslands and scant trees. These 'Dadars' are much favoured by Gaur and Four-horned Antelope.
The forests are deciduous, the main tree being the Sal, and there are large stands of bamboo. Higher up the slopes the forests tend to become dense and mixed with Haldu and Bija trees. Birds in the park include the Painted Partridge, Shaheen Falcon and Golden Oriole.
Getting there :
The best way to go to Kanha is in your own transport as it located at quite a distance from any major town. However, if that is not a possibility, there are regular bus connections from Jabalpur to Kisli (at the park) via mandla.
Railway station :
Jabalpur is the nearest Railwaystation to the Kanha national park at a distance of 160 Km.
Airport :
Nagpur is the nearest airport to the Kanha National park at a distance of 225 Km.
