Pench Tiger Reserve or Pench National Park is one of the premier tiger reserves of India and the first one to straddle across two states - Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra. The reference to Pench is mostly to the tiger reserve in Madhya Pradesh. Pench National Park or Pench Tiger Reserve is located on the border of Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra, which is at 70 km. from Nagpur. Pench National Park is located on the boundary of the Seoni and Chhindwara districts of Madhya Pradesh, close to Maharashtra’s northern border. The reserve lies in the forest belt that extends to Balaghat in the east and Nagpur district to the south. The park is named after the Pench river. The park is a delight for bird lovers and is home to more than 300 species of birds. For fans of Rudyard Kipling’s “Jungle Book”, Pench is a must-visit as it was in this forest that the stories of “Mowgli” and “Bagheera” were forever immortalized.
Address: Turia, Tehsil: Kurai, near Turia gate, Madhya Pradesh 480881
How to Reach Pench Tiger Reserve
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By Rail: Nearest Railway Station is Nagpur – 96 Kms.
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By Air: Nearest Airport is Nagpur – 96 Kms.
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By Road: Seoni is linked to all places in Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra by a good network of Roadways. Pench on the Nagpur- Jabalpur highway is accessible by local transport options such as taxis, private car transfers, etc.
Climate
Pench National Park has usually a tropical climate, and is warm during the summer, and cold in winter. Winters, temperature ranging between 3º C to 16º C, is the most comfortable season to visit the park, but it doesn’t guarantee good wildlife viewing. Summers (April – June), temperature soaring from 26º C to 42º C, is the best time to view rich wildlife in the park.
Safari
Safari timings of Pench National Park change according to the seasons. However, during the monsoon season, the park remains shut for tourists as it is a breeding season for wild animals. Therefore, as a tourist attraction, the park remains open from 01st October to 30th June. In the winter season, the timings of the morning jeep safari in Pench National Park start from 6:30 am to 11:00 am. Whereas, the evening safari starts from 3:00 pm which lasts till 5:30 pm. For the months of Summer, the safari timing changes and is scheduled from 5:30 am to 11:00 am for the morning batch and 4:00 pm to 6:45 pm for the evening batch.
Jeep Safaris at Pench National Park:
The best way to explore the forest is through the open Gypsy. Only registered jeeps are allowed inside the park for safaris. There are two safaris in a day. One in the morning and the other in the afternoon. Morning Safaris are for around 4 to 5 hours whereas Afternoon Safaris are for around 3 hours. Safari permits are to be booked online through the forest portal. It is always advisable to book the permits 2 months in advance, especially for the core zone Turia. Permits once booked can not be altered.
BUFFER/OTHER ZONES - Khawasa, Khumbhpani, Rukhad, Teliya
CORE ZONES - Jhamtara, Karmajhiri, Touria
ITINERARY OF PENCH NATIONAL PARK
Day 1
Reach Nagpur and Drive to Pench. Check-in and Post Lunch we go for the First Jungle Safari. Dinner and Overnight at the Resort
Day 2
Entire Day at Pench. We have two Safari on this day. One in the Morning and the Other in the Afternoon. Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner Included
Day 3
This is our last day and we don’t have a safari on this day. Have a Lazy Morning and your Breakfast in the Resort. Check out by Noon.
Best Safari Gates (Safari Zones) at Pench National Park
Planning to visit a national park is an exciting feeling for everyone. Pench is the only national park in India that occupies the area of two states, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh. Though this park covers a wide area, it is a must for every visitor to plan well in advance before visiting this national park. Selecting the Best Gates in Pench for Safari is one of the very important tasks before planning the Trip.
Choose the Right Safari Gate in Pench National Park
For every jungle safari trip, it is quite necessary to book the permits well in advance and for the right entry gates. As there are so many gates, one must plan properly before booking the forest permits. A tourist must research in detail about the park and its different entry gates. Generally, tourist books multiple safaris from different gates in excitement to sight a Tiger. However, it may not be always possible to reach out to different entry gates due to their distance from your accommodation. It takes a lot of time to travel between different gates. Also, these are the different entry gates but you have excess to the same forest. Generally, at Pench when you book a permit for any of the Core Zones you have access to the same core forest. It is only that the entry points are different. Buffer zones are independent and have no connections with the Core Zones. In order to avoid this problem, we must always check the different gates and their distances. It is always favorable for the tourists to book the gate for a safari ride near to your tour accommodation (Resorts).
Best Gates (Zones) in Pench National Park
The Madhya Pradesh side of the Forest is divided into Core Zones and Buffer Zones. The entire Pench forest has six different entry gates. Out of 6 entry gates, 3 gates are in the Cores Zones and 3 in the Buffer. The 3 Gates in the core zones are Turia gate, Karmajheri gate, and Jamtara gate. And the other 3 gates in the buffer zones are Rukhhad, Khawasa and Teliya.
Turia Gate
The most famous gate of all the gates, is the Turia Gate, in the Core Zone. Maximum Tiger Sighting happens in this zone. Turia gate lies almost on the border of Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra close to the NH7. Most of the resorts are located towards this zone which is in the southern part of the forest.
Karmajheri Gate
This gate is less busy and with limited accommodation, Forest rest houses are also located at this gate. This part of the forest is majorly covered with Teak Trees.
Jamtara Gate
This is the third gate of the park and offers a limited area of the park to explore. One has the option of crossing over to other zones from Chendia ghat.
Rukhad Buffer
As this area is in the hilly region. Rukhad is also a crucial Tiger corridor for Pench and Kanha. Guests have the option to do a jeep safari in this buffer. This is better suited when one is staying near the Karmajhiri gate.
Khawasa Buffer
This buffer is also known as the Wolf Sanctuary and one can experience a night safari in this area. The area is mostly open wooded forest which is preferred by animals like wolves, foxes, porcupines, Owls. This has a better approach when one is staying towards the Turia gate.
Teliya Buffer
Known For its wolf sighting, this new Buffer zone is hailing with its Black Panther/ Melanistic Leopard sightings. Besides Leopard, teliya buffer offers wonderful sightings of Barking Deer, Chowsingha, and Blue-Bull Antelope.
The Maharashtra side of the Pench Forest has 2 Core Zones. Khursapar Zone is very close to the Turia Gate and the other core zone is Sillari Gate.
Khursapar Gate:
At a distance of 12 km from Khawasa and 30 km from Turia, Khursapar is another most popular safari zone of Pench National Park on the Maharashtra Side. The entry gate of the zone is situated at Khursapar village. It is the most famous zone among day tourists as the chances of spotting the wild predators in their natural habitats is high in this zone.
Sillari gate:
This gate is 30kms away from Turia gate. The whole jungle is very beautiful with a mix of any type of habitat. There are open grassy patches, densely wooded patches, rocky and bushy patches, thick bamboo patches, dry open hilly areas, and freshwater streams. There are very few basic options for accommodation at this gate.
Famous Tigers of Pench National Park
The beautiful Pench National Park is set in a flourishing teak jungle, which is home to various deer species, tigers, and leopards. A spectacular natural reserve, set among typical Central Indian teak jungle, Pench National Park offers a quiet and secluded game viewing experience. Some of the Famous Tigers of Pench are Collarwali, Langdi, Patdev, Rayakasa, L Mark, Baghinala Female, BMW Male, Tarzan Male, and a few others.
Pench is known for its most famous Tigress Collarwali – T15 Collarwali (meaning one who has a collar in Hindi)- This tigress once had a collar on her neck but as of now (2021) it is broken and can’t be seen on her neck anymore. Her enumerated code name is T-15 as given by the Forest Department. She was born in 2005 to another famous tigress Badi Mada (Great Mother) when she had mated with one of the most legendary male tigers of Pench – Charger or T1. She was part of a litter of 4 tigers (2 female and 2 male). Collarwali was the first of Badimada’s four cubs to set out on her own and establish her territory in the prime area of her mother’s range. She, today is the most famous tigress in Pench and is a darling of wildlife enthusiasts and photographers. She is not at all afraid of humans and safari vehicles, and once sighted will most possibly grant very good photographic opportunities. Perhaps her fondness for the camera is because, right from her birth, she has always been in the limelight. She and her siblings were raised under the continuous watch of the Trunk Cameras that were tied to forest tracking elephants during the shooting of BBC’s exceedingly famous documentary Spy in the Jungle. But Collarwali has also earned all her own fame and adulation. She has been more than a true and worthy successor to her mother Badi Mada who herself had given birth to 19 cubs in her 12 years of motherhood. As of 2021, Collarwali has given birth to 30 cubs in 8 litters. Officials maintain that she is the only known tigress who has been recorded to have 26 cubs in the wild. Unfortunately, her first 3 cubs from first litter in 2008 didn’t survive and died due to pneumonia during the harsh monsoon rains that year. In October 2008, after the monsoon, Collarwali recovered to produce her second litter. This time four cubs were born, three of which were male. On July 6 and 7, 2010 Collarwali mated with T-30, the very tiger from whom she had to protect her cubs from the previous litter in October 2008. Her third litter on October 23, 2010 consisted of five cubs- a very rare occurrence, with four of the cubs being females. In May 2012, Collarwali again gave birth to a fourth litter of three cubs. In 2015, the tigress gave birth to four more cubs in its sixth litter. Her 7th litter was first seen in early 2017. Due to her prolific record as a mother, she is also known in the local language as Mataram (Mother God) It is believed that most of her litters, at least after 2012, are the offspring of the dominant tiger called Rayyakasa Male, who is also called as ‘Sula’, after the famous wine brand, due to a wine glass marking on the very bottom of his body. Older litters are mostly from the male tigers T30, and also from another male known as the Chhota Male (T2). Incredibly, tourists visiting the park on 27th Jan 2019, discovered that Collarwali had given birth to a record eighth litter of four cubs.
Tigress Baghinala
Baghinnala female Collarwali’s other siblings have been famous as well. Baghinnala female was Collarwali’s sister from the same litter of Badi Mada. Established her territory partially overlapping Badimada’s on the fringes of the Karmajhiri range, and was first seen in February 2006. T-31, one of Collarwali’s brothers, finally settled in the Pench Mowgli Wildlife Sanctuary. Another brother, T-17 was last sighted in the Pench Tiger Reserve in September 2009. She was called Baghinala as she lived close to a nullah (watercourse). Though she was a bit shy, she was famous as well and, in her time, had given a lot of good sightings to tourists visiting Pench. However, one of the worst tragedies happened when she, along with her two 8-month-old cubs (out of four) were found apparently poisoned.
Tigress Langdi
Langdi (lady with a broken limb) – This tigress is a popular one at this park. She has a vast area under her and walks almost as if had some injury on her limbs. She doesn’t fear the jeeps or the tourists and is a delight to watch. She bore 2-To 3 cubs a few years back. 2 of them reached adulthood. As of January 2019, Langdi tigress had another litter of 4 cubs.
Patdev Female
Difficult to spot, walk away of human activities. Patdev, Born in 2010 to a Rayyakasa male and Collarwali female from her 3rd litter. Patdev took some time in landmarking her area and settled in the north-eastern side of Kalapahad temporarily. After some time her Aunt Baghinala Tigress who was settled in the south-eastern area of the park suddenly died of poisoning. As she covers a pretty big area of about 30 sq km, covering Baghinala waterhole, BondwalDogri, Alijhod Nayatalab, and Bodhanalah makes her one of the strongest tigresses in the reserve.
Rayyakasa Male
A male in his prime and arch-rival of the BMW, he has succeeded in establishing dominance in the Karmajhari range. Initially shy and reserved, he gradually got used to the tourist traffic and was seen more frequently in the last year. He was named ‘Sula’ after the famous wine brand, due to a wine glass marking on the very bottom of his body. He has been a constant mate of Collarwali, fathering at least three of her litters
L-Mark Male
Born in 2016 to Langdi female and Rayakassa male is ruling the other half of Pench tiger reserve. One can easily identify this handsome male by looking at his left cheek which clearly shows the L mark. He is one of the Dominant Male tigers of the park who took the territory from his father Rayakassa Tiger, which includes, the Junewani waterhole, Bijamatta waterhole, Salaitek, and Pyorthadi rocks.
Tarzan Male
Another massive male of this region. He is one of the cubs among that littler of 5 cubs of the famous tigress Collarwali. He grew up fast and massively. He learned the hunting skills from his mom faster, and he even hunted big stags when he was still young. This massive male tiger had a big territory. He is mostly in the northern side of the park. He too fathered to some cubs through different tigresses around his territory.
Durga
She is hopefully one of the cubs of the tigress Baghinallah. She moved towards a new area a little closer to her mom’s territory and established herself. Her two cubs from the first litter are now the stars of that area. Her second litter was 3 cubs, a male, and two females. She and her 3 cubs were happily living until one day a new male entered into her territory and killed the male cub. In a couple of days, she lost a female cub too. Then immediately she took her remaining daughter and disappeared for a few months. The daughter has grown up and now both of them came back to her territory.
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