”Look deep into nature and you will understand everything better.”
Once the hunting grounds of the Maharajas of Rewa, Bandhavgarh is now one of the most popular National Parks in India. Not only does it have the highest concentration of Bengal tigers of any park, but it is also steeped in history, perfectly blending your wildlife and cultural experience. Bandhavgarh National Park is the most visited and tremendously famed tiger palace in Madhya Pradesh, India located in the Vindhya Hills of Umaria district.
The park is recognized as one of the major destination opted for the tiger project on the wage of continuing the essential tiger project in India by spreading across an area of 105 sq km. The name Bandhavgarh has been acquired from the most prominent hillock of the area, flourished with high biodiversity and since the area is filled with large density of tiger population, Bandhavgarh stands among the most regarded national park preferably for tiger tours.
The Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve has great connection with ancient legends and beliefs and the name also has ancient values with Ramayana, an old epic from Treta Yuga, which can be learnt from the ancient books of Narad Panch Ratra and Shiv Purana. The word Bandhavgarh is a concoction of two words: Bandhav & Garh where ‘Bandhav’ means brother and ‘Garh’ means Fort. So the meaning of Bandhavgarh is brother’s fort.
The presence of an ancient fort bearing the same name has equivalent value to attract many archeologist and heritage lovers amidst the pristine jungle area. It is said that Lord Rama gifted this fort to his younger brother Lakshmana after returning from Lanka after killing Ravana on the way to Ayodhya. The Bandhavgarh fort is scripted with many convincing evidences of human activities and architectural techniques and interestingly, the legend also tells that the ruined fort was being reconstructed by the monkeys who built a bridge between Lanka and the mainland. The fort also brings several man made caves with inscriptions and rock paintings.
Though, the park is majorly inhabited by white tigers but it also provides shelter to several other Indian wild species like Cheetahs, Langurs, Bison and Sambars. The beautiful woods of Bandhavgarh attract numerous tourists from all over the world. The park remains at its best during spring season. The ideal time to explore wildlife in the park is from January to March.
Bandhavgarh has no direct air connectivity. The nearest airport to Bandhavgarh is at Jabalpur, one of the popular cities of India in Madhya Pradesh. Through airways one can reach Bandhavgarh quickly from New Delhi. On arriving at Jabalpur, one has to hire a taxi to Umaria.
If you have a special place for animals, especially tigers in your heart; this national park will amuse in numerous ways. So, definitely plan a trip to this beautiful park.
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