Situated in Madhya Pradesh, the Kanha National Park was the inspiration behind Rudyard Kipling’s classic Jungle Book.
Best way to reach the park is to travel to Nagpur and take a cab. It's a 5 hour drive from Nagpur Airport.
The National Park is famous for its Tigers. Sigting one depends on your luck. I had been to 3 safari's in open jeeps conducted by the park. .
Was extremely lucky in being able to see a tigress up close. Once she is spotted then the driver & guide try to follow her track which they know due to past experience. I was extremely lucky as she came out of the bushes and walked past our Jeep so close that I could hear her breathing. It was a terifying moment and happend so quickly that I did not have time to change my lense so as to get a better shot. For a few seconds I was frozen by the spectacular beauty walking past....
The topography is varied. One one side we can see the vast open grasslands and on the other tall teak trees. The drive through such different surroundings are a treat in itself.
If one animal species were to represent Kanha, it would probably be the barasingha, or the swamp deer. The barasinghas at Kanha are unique, being the hard ground variety, which populate the large open tracts of grass amidst the forests of teak and bamboo. Twenty years ago, the barasingha was faced with extinction but some desperate measures including the fencing-off of some animals helped save them.
The main wildlife attractions in the park apart from Tigers are bison, gaur, sambhar, chital, barasingha, barking deer, black deer, black buck, chousingha, nilgai, mouse deer, sloth bear, jackal, porcupine, hyena, jungle cat, python, pea fowl, monkey, mongoose and leopard.
We saw a Mongoose just off the track. It was dificult to spot as it blended with the surroundings so well. We slao spotted Sloth Bear, Indian Bison, Wild Boars, Langurs & many diferent varieties of Deers.
The birds species in the park include storks, teals, pintails, pond herons, egrets, peacock, pea fowl, jungle fowl, spur fowl, partridges, quails, ring doves, spotted parakeets, green pigeons, rock pigeons, cuckoos, papihas, rollers, bee-eater, hoopoes, drongos, warblers, kingfishers, woodpeckers, finches, orioles, owls, and fly catchers.
Other Birds spotted were Jungle Owlet, Blue Roller, Parakeets, Peacocks, Red watted lapwing, India Treepie, Wagtails, Green pigeon,Racket tailed Drongo, Magpie Robbin, Grey Hornbill, different varieties of ducks etc.
I stayed in Baghira Log Huts. This is run by MP Toursim department and is just adjacent to the Kisli gate. The room was clean the location fabulous. Food was okay. But since this is located of the border of the park in the buffer zone you have a feeling of being inside the park itself. Spotted deers, monkeys & bison were seen outside the cottage.