Luxury Travel to Bandhavgarh National Park

In the east of the vast Madhya Pradesh state, Bandhavgarh is one of India’s most popular national parks and hosts what is thought to be the highest density of Bengal tiger in the country.

The national park was declared in 1968, but the human history here dates back many millennia. Cave paintings and the ancient ruined fort, from which the park takes its name, are thought to be 2000 years old and the forests were long maintained as a preserve for the Maharajas and their guests.

With a core area of 105 square km (41 square miles) and a buffer zone extending out to encompass over 446 square km (172 square miles), habitats here range from rugged hills to wide open valleys splitting grasslands flanked by Sal forests and bamboo thickets.

There is a rich biodiversity to be found and along with tigers, the park is home to leopards, sloth bears, dholes (Asian wild dogs), the four-horned chousingha, immense Indian bison, spotted deer, nilgai and even the occasional Indian wolf. There are also well over 150 bird species to spot, including pairs of graceful sarus cranes.