Pench Tiger Reserve’s current geographical area has an illuminated history. Abul Fazl’s Ain-i-Akbari, an immortal book showcasing Akbar’s regime & era, does mention the flora, fauna & the location of this forest.Eminant natural historians like R. A. Strendale’s ‘Seonee – Camp life in the Satpuras’, Forsyth’s ‘Highlands of Central India’ and Dunbar Brander’s ‘Wild animals of Central India’ unambiguously presents the visual panorama of nature’s vividity in this area. Strendale’s semi-autobiographical ‘Seonee’ was the inspiration behind Rudyard Kipling’s epic tale ‘Jungle Book’.
The area of the Pench Tiger Reserve and the surrounding area is the real story area of Rudyard Kipling’s famous “The Jungle Book”. The idea of Mongali is made from the pamphlet “An Account of Wolves’s Nurturing Children in their Dens” by Sir William Henry Sleeman. In 1831 there was a report of the arrest of a child who had grown up with wolves in village Satbavadi near Seoni. The place described in “The Jungle Book”, the Vainganga River, its valley where Sher Khan was killed, the mountain ranges of village Kannivara and Sivani etc. are the actual places in the Seoni district. The forest areas of the Pench Tiger Reserve have a glorious history. Its natural beauty and richness is described in the Ain-i-Akbari and many other natural history books such as R.A. Strenthal’s “Sivni, Camp life in the Satpura”, James Forsyth “High Lands of Central India” and A. A Dunbar Brander “Wild Animals of Central India” etc. Pench Tiger Reserve was awarded to “Best Maintain Tourist Friendly National Park” Award under the National Tourism Prize 2006-07.
General information
Core: 411.330 Sq Km
Buffer 768.302 Sq Km
Total: 1179.632 Sq Km
Pench National Park has been bifurcated into five Zones, three in the core area ( critical Tiger habitat ) namely Touria, Karmajhiri & Jhamtara and the rest two are in buffer areas of the Tiger Reserve adjoining the core, namely Teliya & Rukhad. Khursapar zone located in Pench, Maharashtra is also accessible from Touria.
Daily there are two rounds of safari’s, the morning one from dawn to around 11.30 am & the noon one from 3 pm till dusk. The timings are rescheduled as per the season. Please be advised that there are no afternoon safari’s on Wednesday evenings & the day of Holi & Diwali, the Park remains restricted for tourists.
4x4 customized gypsies, pre registered with the Forest Department are used for the game drives.
It is mandatory to have a guide, registered with the Forest Department, during the excursions. The guides, although local, are well versed in the flora & fauna of the Park & showcase the Park aesthetically.
The best time to visit the Reserve is from 1st Oct to 30 June.
Pench being situated in Central India is subjected to extreme and tropical weather. Month of January may also witness sub-zero temperatures and frost. Monsoon arrives in the second week of June.
The Park remains closed from 1st of July to 30th of September each year. However, during this period, the buffer zones are open for tourism. Wildlife sighting is extremely high during summers whereas winters offer a spectacular view of the fog & mist settling on the meadows. The forest is also lush green during this period.
The permits which authorize a tourist to avail the safari’s are under the jurisdiction of the Forest Department of Madhya Pradesh. There is also a restriction on the number of permits issued each day & each zone. Hence, they are very sought after & exhaust soon. It is advisable to plan the trip well in advance. i4u Travel Services assists & facilitates tourists in arranging the safari. We also offer pickup & drop from the resort for all the safari’s.
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