Bandhavgarh is spread at vindhya hills in Madhya Pradesh. Bandhavgarh consists of a core area of 105 sq km and a buffer area of approximately 400 sq km of topography varies between steep ridges, undulating, forest and open meadows. Bandhavgarh is known for the Royal Bengal Tigers The density of the Tiger population at Bandhavgarh is the highest known in India Bandhavgarh National Park was the former hunting preserve of the Maharaja of Rewa and at present is a famous natural hub for White Tigers. White Tigers, now a major attraction around the world's zoos, were first discovered in Rewa, not far from here. The terrain is broken, with rocky hill ranges, running roughly east west, interspersed with grassy swamps and forested valleys.At the center of the park is the bandhavgarh hill, rising 811 meters above sea level and surrounding it are a sloping valleys, These valleys end in small, swampy meadows locally known as “bohera”.

This forest nestled among the Vindhya hills came into existence in 1968 when the Maharaja of Rewa handed over the area to the government for it's formation. At the time when it was handed over to the government, the fauna was not faring too well due to the difficulty in the control of poaching. Once this became a protected area, the animal population took a drastic turn and began to flourish. At this time, the entire park covered an area of 106 square kilometers whereas it presently consists of an area of 448 square kilometers. These much required extensions, to the northern and southern areas, of the park were done in 1982.

These areas consisted primarily of Sal forests, which is the main tree-cover found in the entire park along with Bamboo. It was finally declared a tiger reserve under Project Tiger in 1993.

Bandhavgarh National Park as an unspoilt national habitat for a variety of wildlife peculiar to the area. These includes gaur (Indian bison), sloth bear, leopard, porcupine, wild boar, sambhar and spotted deer, among others and of course, the tiger.

Bandhavgarh Jungle Safari

Park safari in Bandhavgarh is the most important event of wildlife safari tour. Just like Game Drive / Park Safari in any other National Park in Madhya Pradesh, two jungle safaris are offered to wildlife lovers. First park safari of the day is held in early morning at 06:00 hrs of around 04:30 hrs duration and similarly second park safari begins from 14:30hrs of duration about 03:00 hrs. Game drives are conducted on 4-wheel driven vehicles which are not more than 5 years old. In each vehicle 6 passengers were allowed to travel along with one naturalist guide and one driver. Most of the safari jeeps are privately owned by local villagers and resort authorities. All such safari jeeps were allotted a particular serial number after their registration into national park management authority. Before entering into the tiger reserve, some formalities are to be done at entrance gate counter which includes filling up of form in which vehicle details, naturalist details, visitors details (like identity proof details), driver details are provided along with submission of government entrance fee. Generally it takes 15-20 minutes, so it is advisable to consider this time also in planning for game drive.

Bandhavgarh safari Timing

Note: Safari timing is discretionary power of Park management & may change anytime as per situation.

Bandhavgarh Safari Zone & Tiger Sightseeing

Bandhavgarh is known for assured tiger sighting. Sita and Charger were the most popular tiger-couple of Bandhavgarh. Among all Bandhavgarh Safari Zones, Tala Zone in Bandhavgarh is spread over of 105 sq. km. have highest tiger density of about 5 sq. km. Tala zone is also referred as Gate-1. Other two zones are Magdhi Zone (Gate-2) & Khitauli Zone (Gate-3).

Total Coverage Area:                   437 sq. kms / 44,884 hectares/

                                                     168 sq. miles

Established:                                 1968 as a National Park.

Extended In:                                Extended in 1986

Became a Tiger Reserve:            In 1993