India (Frommer's, 4th Edition) - Keith Bain [413]
Bandhavgarh National Park, Village Tala, District Umaria 484 661. Reservations: 866/969-1825 in the U.S. and Canada, or 1800-111-825 or 022/6601-1825 in India. www.tajsafaris.com. tajsafaris@tajhotels.com. 12 units. Rs 32,000 per person per night all inclusive. AE, MC, V. Amenities: Dining room and various dining areas; bar; airport transfers (Rs 6,000); bicycles; butler; doctor-on-call; jeep safaris; Internet (complimentary); library; outdoor pool. In room: A/C, flashlight, hair dryer.
6 Kanha National Park
160km (99 miles) S of Jabalpur
A continuation of “Kipling Country,” Kanha is in many ways the most beautiful and fascinating national park in the country, not only for its sizeable tiger population but the landscape that keeps changing as you traverse the 250 sq. km (98 sq. miles) open to tourists; thick wooded areas open into scrubland, which in turn dissolves into meadows, and all periodically interspersed with natural bodies of water and streams. Kanha was included into Project Tiger in 1973 and here, we can say with some relief, it has had positive results (currently India is battling under the ignominy of losing its tigers at an alarming rate to poachers due to insufficient infrastructure and conservation mismanagement). Another success story is that of the Barasingha—a handsome deer whose numbers had dwindled to 66 in 1970, but is now at 450 and climbing! Although sighting a tiger is not as easy here as in Bandhavgarh, the picturesque park is teeming with all kinds of birds and mammals which you will most definitely come across during the safari; even on the worst of days, finding langurs, chital and peacocks is guaranteed.
ESSENTIALS
VISITOR INFORMATION There are two zones open to tourists—Mukki and Kanha. Given that you will most probably be staying at one of the Mukki resorts, it would make sense to cover Kanha in the morning when the Park is open for longer (6am–noon), and the close-by Mukki in the evening (3:30–6pm). As in most other national parks, it is best to let your resort make all the necessary arrangements by opting for the “jungle plan.” Although they have their own in-house naturalists, to create employment, guides have been inducted into the forest department from the villages around Kanha—each has been given some training, binoculars, and a bird guidebook and it is compulsory to have one accompany you on the safari—this makes perfect sense as they are more aware of the animal movement and besides, the more eyes the better. You are advised to tip them at least Rs 50, a figure that would increase depending on how many of you there are and how happy you have been with his services.
GETTING THERE By Air Both Nagpur and Jabalpur have flights from Delhi, Mumbai, and Chennai. At press time, there were talks on for connecting all wildlife areas in MP by charter flights, arranged through some of the upmarket resorts.
By Train Jabalpur and Nagpur are your closest rail connections. Your chosen resort will make the necessary travel arrangements for you. If you’re coming from Bandhavgarh, there is an option of catching a train from Umaria (40 min. from Tala) to Jabalpur, although the timings aren’t quite suitable; instead, you could do it the other way round and go from Jabalpur to Umaria by the early morning Narmada Express and thereafter by road to Bandhavgarh.
By Road There are no shortcuts to getting to Kanha—nearest airports and railway stations are at Nagpur and Jabalpur (both take 4–5 hr.