About Bandhavgarh National Park

Where is Bandhavgarh National Park?

Bandhavgarh National Park is in Umaria district, in the state of Madhya Pradesh, central India. It became a national park in 1968, and the wider Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve was declared in 1993.

Size and landscape

The tiger reserve covers about 1,536 square kilometres: roughly 716 square kilometres of core area and 820 square kilometres of buffer.

The land is rugged and hilly, with sal and bamboo forest, open grassland and dry deciduous woodland.

Wildlife

Tigers are the star, but they share the park with leopards, dhole (Indian wild dogs), gaur, sloth bears, chital, sambar and many more mammals.

The birdlife is rich too, including Indian peafowl, rollers, hornbills, kingfishers and several eagles and owls.

Want the tiger story? Read Tigers of Bandhavgarh.

Bandhavgarh Fort

The park takes its name from the old fort on the hill at its heart. "Bandhav" means brother and "garh" means fort. Local legend says Lord Rama gave the fort to his brother Lakshmana to watch over Lanka.

What are the safari zones?

The three main zones are Tala, Magdhi and Khitauli. Each zone has a limited number of jeeps, so book well in advance.

Safaris run in the morning and evening, each lasting around three and a half hours.

What is the best time to visit?

Most visitors come from November to March, when the landscape is green and the days are mild. December and January mornings can be cold in an open jeep.

April and May are very good for tiger sightings, but temperatures reach the mid-40s Celsius.

When is the park closed?

The park closes for the monsoon from the start of July until the end of September.

Getting there

The nearest railway town is Umaria, about 40 kilometres from the park. Many visitors take an overnight train there from Delhi.