Central India Vacations

The smallest of Central India’s National Parks, Bandhavgarh is located in Madhya Pradesh and is open from October to June. With 65sq miles of undulating forest, meadows and swamplands, its varied topography is home to a good population of Royal Bengal tigers, elephants, sloth bears and leopards, as well as deer, wild boar and antelope.

Morning and afternoon game drives take you into the grasslands and forests in search of the park’s inhabitants, tracking the tiger’s pugmarks and looking for telltale signs. The mighty Bandhavgarh Fort looks down imperiously, its impressive ruins forming a dramatic backdrop to the park’s natural beauty.

It’s said that Rudyard Kipling was inspired to write The Jungle Book by tales of Kanha, and it’s not hard to imagine Mowgli running through the open meadows and swinging through the dense forests. Tigers, leopards and the rare hard-ground Barasingha (swamp deer) roam the park, along with pythons, cobras and 300 species of bird.

Driving through the early morning mists on a Kanha safari you may catch sight of a tiger ambling through the undergrowth, or a leopard stretched out on a branch. More common sightings include chital, gaur, common langur, wild pig, black buck, striped hyena, jackal, chinkara, and ant-eating pangolin.

Mumbai is a city of extremes. Crumbling Victorian buildings stand proudly against the shimmering glass of the city’s high-rises while sprawling slums conceal a maze of resourceful livelihoods. The ‘Gateway to India’ is a worthy introduction to the rich tapestry of cultures, cuisines and heritage found throughout the country.

Whether you party all night in the home of Bollywood, dine at its world-class restaurants or shop till you drop in its stylish boutiques, this frenetic and fast-paced city will astound you with its energy. While it can be chaotic at times, Mumbai offers a snapshot of India’s future, while proudly embracing its past.

Just two hours from Nagpur in Madhya Pradesh, Pench National Park is one of the more accessible parks in Central India, though also one of the least visited. Named after the famed river that runs through it, Pench National Park is another location said to have inspired The Jungle Book, with tropical forests and grasslands that are home to tigers, sloth bears, leopards, jackals, chital and around 200 species of bird.

Explore the park in the crisp morning air with a jeep safari. Being a smaller park, tiger sightings may seem less common although they have around 50 tigers here. Pench safaris also offer lush teak forests and languid watering holes that are home to the endangered Indian wild dog, spotted deer, langur and wild boar for those wanting a more unique experience away from the tiger crowds.

Taking its name from the Satpura Range in Madhya Pradesh, Satpura National Park is a rugged landscape of sandstone peaks, deep ravines and dense forest. This diverse terrain provides a home for an equally varied wildlife population, including nilgai, chinkara, four-horned antelope, porcupine and Indian giant squirrel.

One of the least visited of Central India’s parks, Satpura may not have the tiger populations of other destinations, but the low visitor numbers make it an excellent choice for exploring the extensive wildlife without the throng of jeeps. Your safari here can be done on foot, by boat or by jeep.