India is the land of tigers. It is home to the highest density of tigers on the planet and the main spot one will locate the ferocious and rich wild cat, the Royal Bengal Tiger. There have been serious concerns worldwide voicing the threat of shrinking numbers of tigers in the past many decades. Tiger conservation in India began with Project Tiger of 1973 which aimed at conservation of tigers and their habitats in the country. Consequently, numerous steps were initiated by nationally administered bodies in collaboration with international wildlife organisations to save these majestic wild cats from extinction. A continuous attempt and effort in preserving the numbers of tigers has enabled India to set a recent record of Tiger Census in the Guinness World Record for being the world’s largest camera trap wildlife survey. The achievement has come after All India Tiger Estimation (2018-19)’s survey found out that India holds 75% of world’s tiger population with an estimated 2967 tigers. It is may be mentioned that India tallies its tigers every four years – a strenuous undertaking that includes forest authorities and researchers traveling through extremely wide area of lands searching for proof of the tiger populace.

Tiger reservesin India are administrated by National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) which also manages Project Tiger, an initiative by the Government of India in co-operation with WWF. There are 50 tiger reserves in India which are considered the most ideal habitats for these species. Out of these, central and west Indian states like Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Gujarat have the most number of tiger reserves that are home to India’s rich tiger heritage with highest number of population. Madhya Pradesh alone has 526 number of tigers as per latest census.

Some of the most endearing and prominent tiger reserves of this region are highlighted with pictures below:

Kanha National Park/ Kanha Tiger Reserve

Settled in the Maikal range of Satpuras in Madhya Pradesh, Kanha National Park is strikingly one of the best wildlife regions on the planet and the largest national park of the state of Madhya Pradesh. The Kanha National Park came into being in 1955 and forms the core of the Kanha Tiger Reserve, created in 1974 under Project Tiger.  Spread across an area of 940 sq km in the Maikal chain of hills, Kanha provides a scenery encompassing lavish knolls alongside the lush strands and thick maroon woods which offer wonderful touring encounters for the nature enthusiasts. But what’s most ravishing for a wildlife lover is the tiger tour which will leave anybody awestruck.

Kanha National Park is renowned for its wildlife safaris and pulls in travellers from everywhere throughout the world. Other significant creatures in this park are leopards, wild canines, wild cats, foxes, sloth bears, hyenas, langurs, wild hogs and jackals. Reptiles including pythons, cobras, krait and different types of snakes are additionally found in this National Park. The tiger reserve that is the centre of attraction in Kanha National Park, houses the endangered species of Royal Bengal Tiger.  Kanha is also home to over 1000 species of flowering plants. This National Park was the inspiration behind Rudyard Kipling’s unforgettable classic Jungle Book.

Bandhavgarh National Park

Bandhavgarh National Park, the most well-known national parks in India is situated in the Vindhya Hills of the Umaria locale in Madhya Pradesh. Proclaimed as a national park in 1968 the Bandhavgarh National Park is spread over the region of 105 km². The territory of Bandhavgarh is prospered with a huge biodiversity, the spot which is likewise celebrated to grasp most noteworthy number of tiger populace in India. Correspondingly, the national park additionally views the biggest rearing populace of leopards and different types of deer.

Throughout the years, Bandhavgarh has indicated an extraordinary number of increases in the check of the tiger species and this is the motivation behind why tiger visits are so popular to draw in enormous measure of vacationers and tiger enthusiasts at its region. This park has a huge biodiversity. The density of the tiger populace at Bandhavgarh (8 Tiger for every square km) is one of the most noteworthy in India. Bandhavgarh National Park was the previous chasing safeguard of the Maharaja of Rewa and at present is an acclaimed centre point for White Tigers. White Tigers, presently a significant fascination around the global zoos, were first found in Rewa, not a long way from here. The territory is broken, with rough slope ranges, running generally east west, sprinkled with verdant marshes and forested valleys.

Pench National Park/ Pench Tiger Reserve

Pench National Park is situated in the sub divisions of Seoni and Chhindwara, located on the southern part of Madhya Prades, which also shares a boundary with Maharashtra. Named after the unblemished River Pence which courses through the wildlife reserve, Pench National Park is one of the most well-known wildlife reserves in India. The park likewise has its notice in the famous kids’ story of 1894, ‘The Jungle Book’, wrote by the prestigious English Author Rudyard Kipling. The story was overall acclaimed, and consequently, the national park turned into one of the mainstream national parks on the planet during the 1970s and furthermore a conspicuous vacation spot in India. From that point forward, each year gobs of wildlife buffs run to this spot just to detect the celebrated characters of the book, Akela (The Indian Wolf), Raksha (the female Wolf), Baloo (Sloth Bear), and the awful Sher Khan (Royal Bengal Tiger).

Pench National Park is the first to ride across two states – Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra. Customarily, the reference to Pench is generally to the tiger reserve in Madhya Pradesh (M.P). Pench Tiger Reserve includes the Indira Priyadarshini Pench National Park, the Pench Mowgli Sanctuary and a buffer. Pench is one of the go-to places for wildlife travel in Madhya Pradesh, yet somewhat less well known and mainstream than the other star attractions of the Madhya Pradesh tiger circuit-Kanha and Bandhavgarh.

Much like the arrangement of wildlife tourism in the greater part of India, the toursit activity in Pench Tiger Reserve is confined to 20% of the center territory and is helped out through safari drives done every day in the early morning and night. The quantity of jeeps that are permitted passage into the reserve is confined by the Forest Department.

Panna Tiger Reserve

Panna Tiger Reserve is nestled in the Vindhyan mountain range in the northern piece of Madhya Pradesh. It is spread over the Panna and Chhatarpur areas. Covering an area of 542.67 sq km, Panna Reserve lies besides the areas of the Ken River at the central state of India, Madhya Pradesh at a distance of 57 km from Khajuraho, a world heritage center. The terrain here consists of extensive plateaus and gorges. Panna was given the Award of Excellence in 2007 as the best kept up national park of India by the Ministry of Tourism of India. Panna National Park was pronounced as one of the Tiger Reserves of India in 1994/95 and set under the security of Project Tiger. The decline of tiger population in Panna has been reported several times. Ken River moves through this region and makes delightful cascades on its way to the valley. The park has various locales of verifiable significance with stone artworks going back to Neolithic time. The perfect home to Indian tigers, Panna is made out of deciduous timberlands to incorporate different species like Indian wolf, four-horned antelope, sloth bear pangolin, leopards, carcal and gharial. The reserve contains the last remaining tiger wildlife of North Madhya Pradesh.

Tadoba National Park/ Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve

Strikingly Maharashtra’s most seasoned and biggest National Park, the ” Tadoba National Park “, otherwise called the “Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve” is one of India’s 47 undertaking tiger saves existing in India. “Tadoba” is taken from the name of the god “Tadoba” or “Taru”, revered by the clans who live in the dense forests of Tadoba and Andhari district, while “Andhari” alludes to the Andhari waterway that wanders through the backwoods of Tadoba. Exhibiting one of the India’s best wildlife seeing encounters, the Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve, spread across 1725 Sq.Km, is one of India’s generally energizing and best ensured Tiger Reserve. Beside the cornerstone species, the Bengal tiger, Tadoba Tiger Reserve is home to different warm blooded creatures, including: Indian leopards, sloth bears, gaur, nilgai, dhole, striped hyena, little Indian civet, sambar, yelping deer, chital, chausingha and nectar badger. Tadoba lake hosts the the marsh crocodile. Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve region establishes a one of a kind biological system, containing wide assortment of greenery including differing and rich avi-fauna with exceptional common grand magnificence. Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve is a well-known wildlife vacationer’s paradise in India.

Achanakmar Wildlife Sanctuary

The Achanakmar Wildlife Sanctuary is an Indian wildlife haven in Mungeli locale, in the state of Chhattisgarh. Ordered as a tropical deciduous wood, Achanakmar Tiger Reserve consists the most fluctuated and widely varied vegetation. This tiger reserve is a piece of the enormous Achanakmar-Amarkantak Biosphere Reserve. The picturesque Maniyari River streams directly from the focal point of this hold. The sanctuary is home to the Bengal tiger, Indian leopard, gaur, chital, striped hyena, Indian jackal, sloth bear, Ussuri dhole, sambar, nilgai, four-horned antelope, chinkara, blackbuck, Indian muntjac and wild boar, four variety of monkeys among other species. A few watch towers are raised at better places inside the reserve, from where tourists can observe the wild creatures meandering in their characteristic environment. From Bilaspur, visit for this wilderness is sorted out by the forest division. Sightseers can likewise utilize their own vehicles to visit the wilderness.

Tigers involve a significant spot in the Indian culture. Since ages, it has been an image of fierceness, force and magnificence has been related with fortitude and boldness. The tiger is a national symbol of India’s natural legacy, and its endurance is an important priority to us. 

The Ministry of Tourism, Govt Of India, under its Dekho Apna Desh Webinar Series has so far organized more than 40 webinars out of which three episodes namely ‘Wild Wonders of Madhya Pradesh’, ‘Tigers and Tourism’ and ‘Destination- Sariska Tiger reserve’ were largely focused on the wildlife and tiger heritage of India.

While ‘Destination- Sariska Tiger reserve’ was presented by Shri Gajendra Singh Panwar, Founder, Sariska Manor, ‘Tigers and Tourism’ was presented by the eminent wildlife conservation photographer and filmmaker Mr. Sandesh Kadur and ‘Wild Wonders of Madhya Pradesh’ presented by Mr. Suyash Keshari, a young wildlife filmmaker who was born and brought up in Madhya Pradesh and worked extensively on its wildlife. The webinars touched upon many important and intriguing facts of tiger tourism in India, destinations rich in the habitats of these mighty creatures and the significance of protecting them.

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