Bandhavgarh Travel Tour Information

In Bandhavgarh, tiger sighting is very organized. Local guides, armed with walkie-talkies, assist visitors in tracking elusive tigers; if a tiger is spotted, the word spreads, bringing tourist-packed jeeps inside the park. We found ourselves to be the fifth vehicle in line and jeeps were piling up behind us all the time. Two elephants were constantly ferrying tourists to 'the spot'. After 15 minutes, we were put upon an elephant and taken to where we could see the tigress.

She lay asleep on a shaded spot when our elephant found her, full-bellied after eating from the clutch of bones, all that remained of a chital kill. She seemed exhausted by the strain of caring for her litter of cubs, whose mewing I could just make out from still higher up the slope. We were just 20-odd feet from the tigress, close enough to hear her steady, deep breathing. Over the next half hour, three more elephants bearing tourists came and went. Cameras clicked. But the tigress slept on, oblivious. After some time, our guide urged the elephant towards a little stream that twists along the base of the hills. He splashed across the narrow stream, then along the bottom of the hillside, slowly trudging back to our jeep. The sun was sinking now, the forest silent. I asked our guide if the tigers ever reacted to the tourists. "Most tigers in this region have been habituated to human presence," he informed me. Amen.

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.

A small National Park, the density of the tiger population at Bandhavgarh, is the highest point in India. Also known as White tiger country, prior to becoming a national park, the forests around Bandhavgarh, have long been maintained as a Shikargarh or game preserve of the Maharajas of Rewa. The maharajas and their guests carried out hunting, as it was considered a good omen for a Maharaja of Rewa to shoot 109 tigers. In 1947, when the state of Rewa, was merged with Madhya Pradesh, Bandhavgarh came under its regulations. But the Maharajah of Rewa, still retains the hunting rights.