Pench is a magnificent forest, especially during the monsoon, It reveals its true beauty. Though the core zones remain closed during the monsoon, you should visit the buffer to relish the beauty of nature.
Wildlife | Safari Zone | How to Reach
Pench Tiger Reserve is a treasure for wildlife enthusiasts in India. The famous book "The Jungle Book" was written portraying this area. Pench is located in Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra and comprises a wide variety of flora and fauna. In Madhya Pradesh total area covered is 1180 sq km, whereas, in Maharashtra, the total covered area is 740 sq km. It is one of the largest national parks in India.
The weather of the region varies from tropical monsoon to temperate. Summers usually prevail from March to June. Winters start from November to February. Rainfall occurs throughout the year, but monsoon shows its might from May and September. However, in the jungle, nights are much colder than daytime. Therefore, you need winter clothes during the morning safari irrespective of the season.
December to June is the Best time to Visit Pench National Park.
Safari Zones of Pench National Park
In Madhya Pradesh, core zones are Turia, Jamtara and Karmajhiri. Buffer zones are Teliya and Rukhad. In Maharashtra, side zones are Sillari and Khursapar.
Turia Zone
Turia is the most popular zone mainly because of two reasons. Firstly most of the accommodations are close to this gate, and it has more publicity than others, secondly the landscape inside. Sometimes, you may feel that you are doing game drives in African planes. Tiger sightings are also very high in this zone. All most every year, this zone is blessed by new tiger cubs.
Karmajhiri Zone
Karmajhiri gate is also very popular among tourists. Inside this zone, roads run parallel to the Pench river. During winter, this zone becomes a hotspot of migratory birds. In other sessions, the residential birds will not disappoint you. There is a limited number of accommodations around this gate. The government forest guest house is near this gate only.
Khursapar Zone
Khursapar is a distant gate from Turia. It's around 30 km from Turia on Nagpur side and situated in Maharashtra side. As the tiger population of Pench is increasing, hence they are spreading across the park. In recent years tigers with cubs have been a very frequent sighting in this zone.
Image by Sagar Paranjape, Unsplash
Apart from these gates, Teliya and Rukhad are two buffer zone on the Madhya Pradesh side. Rukhad is mainly mountainous terrain. The jeep can go to the top of some mountains. From there, the surrounding view remains vivid in your memory for a very long time. Teliya is adjacent to the village. Hence cattle enter this zone very frequently.
On the Maharastra side, the Sillari gate is quite famous. In this zone, the sighting of bears is very frequent. Moreover, there are water holes that provide ample opportunity for animal sightings. Khursapar is also of the same characteristic.
While in Pench, you should not miss the opportunity to do a night safari in Wolf Sanctuary or the Rukhad buffer zone. Apart from a jungle safari, you can go cycling outside the park.
Image by Rahul Deshmukh, Pixabay
Wildlife of Pench National Park
Pench is a magnificent forest, especially during the monsoon. It reveals its true beauty. Though the core zones remain closed during the monsoon, you should visit the buffer to relish the beauty of nature. Pench is one of the finest wildlife reserves in India. The place is home to crocodiles, Leopards, Tigers, Indian Wolf, Deer, Wild Boar, Wild Dogs and many varieties of birds. In addition, this is a fantastic place where you can find tigers roaming around in the wild with ample opportunities to sight them.
How to Reach Pench National Park
The best way to reach Pench is via Nagpur (93 km). From Nagpur, Turia gate is 2.5 hour drive. Road condition is good. otherwise, you can check the train from Seoni junctions (80 km).
