
Kanha
National Park, which is one of the most well known tiger
reserves worldwide, is located among the Banjar and Halon
valleys in the Mandla / Balaghat districts of the state of
Madhya Pradesh. Its creation took place among, and after, a lot
of turbulence and storm within concerned circles regarding
rampant killing of wildlife in the area at the time. The central
Kanha valley was declared a sanctuary way back in 1933 but got
its status as a National Park in 1955. It covers a large area of
1,945 square kilometers, out of which 940 square kilometers form
the main park. The altitude of the park ranges from 450 meters
to 900 meters above sea level. The temperature, depending on the
season, ranges from 0 degrees in the winters to 48 degrees in
the summers. The park remains open from the 01st of November to
the 30th of June. Sometimes, as with most parks of the country,
it can be closed earlier if the monsoon season arrives sooner
than expected. The park has a heavy monsoon season with an
average annual rainfall of 1600mm. The basic infrastructure at
the park is well developed and visits can "mostly" be
expected to pass without any problems.
Kanha is also famous for it's animal conservation efforts made
in collaboration and cooperation with the local resident
communities. One of the famous success stories of the park is
the survival of the Barasingha population in the park, which
went down to as low as 66 animals in 1970 from the earlier 3000
and which through huge efforts have now revived to a respectable
number of around 1000. Kanha boasts of many such success stories
of which this is only an example.
Kanha National Park is world famous for it's tigers. Tiger
sightings are not as rare as in most other parks of the country.
The only other reserves in the country that can claim to have as
many sightings as Kanha are Ranthambor and Kanha's own
neighbour, Bandhavgarh.
Other than the tiger, some of the more frequently seen animals
in the park consist of Leopards, Gaur, Chausinghas, Sloth Bears,
Barking Deer, Swamp Deer (Barasingha), Blackuck, Langurs, Wild
Boars, Porcupines, Mouse Deer, Hyenas, Jackals and Wild Dogs
(Dholes).
The reptile residents of the park consist of Monitor Lizards,
Pythons and a large variety of other snakes.
Overnight at Banjaar Tola Kanha National Park - a 5* Taj
Group Hotel