Travel Guide Bandhavgarh National Park

Bandhavagarh is one of the country's parks with the highest concentration of tigers. As a result, it is very popular with Indians, who consider it the national park to visit at least once in a lifetime. In addition to tigers, the park is home to many other mammal species, including leopards, sloth bears, axis deer, the small-headed, blue-gray nilgaut antelope, the sambar or barking deer, jackals, hyenas and Indian wolves. The gaur, or Indian bison, completely disappeared from the reserve in 2011, following a disease transmitted by cow herds. It was reintroduced in 2012 with the arrival of around 50 animals from the neighboring Kanha reserve. Bandhavgarh's tall grass meadows and dense forests are also home to over 250 species of birds and 80 butterflies. This great diversity makes this national park one of the most beautiful in the country.Formerly a hunting reserve of the Maharajas of Rewa, the area was transformed into a national park in 1968, in order to preserve the endangered tiger population of the late 1960s. As a result, it was automatically included in Project Tiger, launched by Indira Gandhi in 1972. The aim was to take stock of tiger populations across the country, in particular by recording their footprints, and to step up the fight against poaching. In 2023, the park counted just over sixty tigers, i.e. one tiger per 25 km², making it the highest tiger density in the world!The park also features an ancient fort whose origins are lost in the mists of time. According to some sources, it has been there for almost 2,000 years. The ruins of the fort, still visible atop a rocky peak, are of course much more recent.The park is open from mid-October to the end of June, and remains closed during the monsoon season. Due to very high demand, we recommend booking safaris 4 months in advance. The resort where you have chosen to stay can arrange this for you. As the park is made up of several zones, it is possible to spend several days exploring them.