National Parks and sanctuaries India

India's first wildlife park, Jim Corbett National Park, was formed in 1936. Once a popular hunting ground among the British, the park was named in honor of the late Jim Corbett, a legendary hunter-naturalist turned author and photographer who helped in demarcating the park's boundaries.Today India has dozens of national parks and hundreds of wildlife sanctuaries. The preserves are committed to maintaining the delicate ecosystems necessary to ensure the survival of both flora and fauna.

India's national parks teem with an astounding variety of animal and plant life. Ranthambor encompasses nearly 152 square miles of dry deciduous forest in southwestern Rajasthan, where the landscape is dotted with ancient banyan trees, dhok and pipal trees, clusters of mango trees and and evergreens. The diversity of flora there includes 300 trees and 50 aquatic plants.

As for fauna, India's parks play an enormously significant role in the protection of India's wild animals, including its tiger population. The parks provide a safe haven for tigers, which outside the parks are forced to compete with about 100 million humans who make their livelihood from India's forests. Indian tigers were once threatened by the shooting safaris of the Maharajas and British colonists, but today an even greater threat is posed by the demand for tiger bones and other body parts demanded by the practitioners of"traditional" medicine in certain regions of Asia.

India's parks protect other species of wildlife, too. For example, Little Rann of Kutch, Gujarat, situated in the Thar Desert, is a sanctuary for the last population of Indian wild ass, and India's greatest bird sanctuary can be found in Keoladeo Ghana National Park, more commonly known by its old name, Bharatpur. Formerly the shooting preserve of the Maharaja of Bharatpur, where in 1938 the Viceroy of India's party shot 4,273 birds in one day, today the park protects 3,000 species of bird.

Some of the rarest wildlife on the planet can be found in India's national parks, such as the golden langur, the world's rarest monkey. Golden langurs can be found only in a small patch of forest on the Manas River, which forms the border between the Manas Wildlife Sanctuary in Bhutan and the Manas National Park in India. Gir Forest holds the last surviving population of Asiatic lion in the world, and Kaziranga National Park in Assam is home to a large population of one-horned rhinoceroses and wild buffalo. For those eager to observe elephants, Bandipur, in the shadow of the Western Ghats, is one of the finest habitats of the Asian elephant.

Bandhavgarh National Park

A wildlife retreat, where history and nature meet, Bandhavgarh is not too far away from Kanha. Set amidst the Vindhyan ranges, the Park has a series of ridges running through it. Initially just 105.40 sq. km. in area, Bandhavgarh with 25 resident tigers, was noted for its high density tiger population. Today, it has been extended to an area of 437 sq. km.

About half the Park is covered with fine stands of sal, while mixed forests are found in the higher reaches of the hills. Stretches of bamboo and grasslands extend to the north.

The main viewing area is still in the core of the Park with its 32 picturesque, wooded hills. An ancient fort up on a precipice, 800 metres high, dominates the Park.

Bandhavgarh's history goes back 2000 years in time and the earliest signs of habitation can be seen in the Caves excavated from the cliffs to the north of the fort. Brahmi inscription here, date back to the 1st century BC A hunting reserve of the roya! family of Rewa in more recent times, Bandhavgarh was declared a Park in 1968. This is where the famous white tigers of Rewa were discovered.

Wandering through the Park on elephant back, the chances of seeing a tiger are quite good. Also to be seen here are nilgai, chausingha, chital, chinkara, wild boar and sometimes a fox or jackal.

Other inhabitants of the Park include the muntjac, jungle cat, ratel, hyena, porcupine, the rhesus macaque and the black-faced langur. About 150 species of birds are also found here and include the migratory birds that arrive in winter like the steppe eagle and various water birds.

It is possible to climb up to the Bandhavgarh fort for a breathtaking bird's-eye view of the Park and there is also a small population of black buck that lives here, protected from the predators below.

Mudumalai Wildlife Sanctuary

Mudumalai wildlife reserve is a continuation of the Bandipur National Park. The river Moyar that flows along the border or Tamil Nadu and Karnataka separates the two. The Mysore - Ooty highway runs through the park. The 321 sq. km. reserve is situated in Tamil Nadu.

Mudumalai wildlife reserve was the first sanctuary in south India. The terrain is extremely varied with hills, valleys, ravines, watercourses and swamps. The vegetation comprises of tropical moist deciduous forests, dry deciduous forests and scrub forests. Compared to the nearby reserves, the climate is warmer in Mudumalai.

Langur, bonnet macaque, tiger, leopard, wild dog, hyena, jackal, sloth bear, elephants, gaur, sambar, spotted deer, Indian muntjac, mouse deer, wild boar, rodent and flying squirrel are part of the wildlife in Mudumalai. It has a rich bird life that includes Malabar trogan, Grey hornbill, crested hawk eagle, crested serpent eagle, etc.

The best time to visit the reserve is from February to June. The sanctuary can be reached by road. The nearest railway station is Udakamandalam. The nearest airport is Coimbatore. Accommodation can be arranged at forest rest house, guesthouses at Masinagudi, Kargudi, Abhayaranyam and Theppakkadu

Bharatpur National Park

Each year before the advent of winter in the northern hemisphere thousands of birds wing their way across the frozen waters of Siberia, Mongolia, Tibet and the high reaches of eastern Europe to the warmer subcontinent of India. One of the choicest destinations for these avians is the marsh of Bharatpur lying between the cities of Agra and Jaipur in the north-west. The protected marsh, woodland and scrub area of about 29 square kilometres is now known as the Keoladeo Ghana National Park. The sanctuary derived the first part of its name (Keoladeo) from a temple dedicated to Lord Shiva situated in the central zone of the park. The other part (Ghana) of the name is a Hindi word denoting dense and thick forests. The sanctuary was established by the Maharaja of Bharatpur in 1890 purely for the purpose of creating an exclusive royal game. A large area of the forests were enclosed with embankments and earthen dams called bunds. This led to the creation of a number of lakes and marshes and it proved godsend for the migratory birds from Siberia and other parts of the world. Poaching was banned by the government in 1965 and large-scale conservation efforts began by famous ornithologist Dr. Salim Ali led the sanctuary to be declared as a National Park in March 1982. The sanctuary was accepted as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1985.

Places to visit in destination - Bharatpur

The Keoladeo Ghana National Park is home to an astonishing range of flora and fauna. Birds come to this national park in waves. From August through November, it is indigenous water birds. In early October the first migrants arrive from the high plateaux of Central Asia, Mongolia and Siberia, the most eagerly awaited of the lot being the gravely threatened Siberian crane. The month of March sees most of these migrants leave the national park. But animals that have made it their home—the nilgai (blue bull), sambar, jungle cat and mongoose—spend the entire summer here.
A bike or rickshaw ride through the length and breath of this sanctuary is an unforgettable experience. Most parts of the sanctuary can be reached by using bicycles or rickshaws that can be hired from the office of wildlife authorities situated at the main gate. Binoculars and English-speaking trained guides can also be hired to increase your chances of sighting a Siberian crane, the most famous of its migratory guests.

Corbett National Park

Located in the foothills of the Himalayas is the majestic Corbett National Park. Home to a variety of flora and fauna, it is famous for its wild population of Tigers, Leopards and Elephants. Corbett national park was established in 1936, as the Hailey National Park. India's first national park and the first sanctuary to come under Project Tiger, Corbett supports a variety of vegetation making it the ideal habitat for the Tiger and its prey.

Once a popular hunting ground of the British, this 201 square mile park was named in honor of the late Jim Corbett, the legendary hunter-naturalist turned author and photographer who most of his years in this area and contributed in setting up the this park. With the help of the World Wildlife Fund, Project Tiger was launched in Corbett National Park in 1973 and this park was one of the first such tiger reserves in the country.

Gir National Park

Gir is the only home in India of the Lion of which there are nearly 300 in the park. The Gir national park lies in the Gujarat peninsula in SW India. The terrain is rugged with low hills and the vegetation is mixed deciduous, with stands of Teak, Acacia, Jamun, Tendu and Dhak trees, interespersed with large patches of grasslands. On the hills of the trees are sparse and stunted.

Within the sanctuary, there are numerous human settlements of cattle herders called Maldharis with an estimated 20,000 head of livestock (which, incidentally, forms a significant part of the Lion’s diet). There are also places of Hindu worship and pilgrimage and sulphur springs at Tulsi Shyam and Kankai Mata. At the edge of the park there are good populations of Indian Gazelle, protected by the religious sentiment of the local people.

Birds in the park include the Paradise Flycatcher, Bonelli’s Eagle and Painted Sandgrouse. Three unusual reserves, the Nalsarover Lake and Sanctuary, where large numbers of water-birds can be seen; the bare saline flats of the Rann of Kutch, incredibly the home of the Indian wild ass and the spectacular Flamingo island where nesting colonies of flamingoes are to be seen, make Gujarat an exciting place for wildlife enthusiasts.

Great Himalayan National Park

Hemmed in on three sides by the towering peaks of the Himalayas, Himachal Pradesh's Great Himalayan National Park is undoubtedly the place to go for a rendezvous with the wildlife of these mountains. Here, amidst dense forests of blue pine and cedar, in high alpine meadows and mountain slopes which remain covered with snow throughout the year, lives one of the densest and most impressive populations of Himalayan wildlife.

Created in 1984, the Great Himalayan National Park (officially known as the Jawaharlal Nehru Great Himalayan National Park) includes, in a wide swathe of land covering 765 sq km, the previously-established Tirthan Sanctuary.

Kanha National Park

How many of you have seen a tiger before? Most of the answers will be ambiguous because everyone wants to see a tiger. Then where can one spot a tiger? Well, even if there are circuses and zoo's all over India, there's some kind of a thrill you experiences when all of a sudden you came across a Tiger roaming freely in the wilderness of its natural habitat: the fields and forests of India. There are numerous Tiger reserves in India, that are preserving this ferocious beast, but nowhere can you see them as often, and as regularly as in Kanha National Park.

Located in the Mandla district of Madhya Pradesh, Kanha national park cum Tiger reserve extends over an area of over 1,940-sq-kms. The major feature of this region's interesting topography is the horseshoe shape valley and the whole park area is surrounded by the spurs of the Mekal. The Surpan River meanders through Kanha's central Maidans, grasslands that cover the extensive plateau. Steep rocky escrapments along the edges offer breathtaking views of the valley.

Kanha National Park in the Mandla District spreads over 1,945 sq.km of dense sal forests, interspersed with extensive meadows and trees and clumps of wild bamboo. This area known as Kipling Country' is where all the jungle books of Rudyard Kipling were conceived.

Kaziranga National Park

Located on the banks of the mighty Brahmaputra River in the far North East of India, Assam, Kaziranga National Park covers an area of approximately 430-sq-kms with its swamps and tall thickets of elephant grass making it the ideal habitat for the Indian One-Horned Rhino. Due to limitless poaching of this prehistoric survivor, the Kaziranga National Park was declared a wildlife sanctuary in 1940.

Major Wildlife Attractions of Kaziranga Wildlife Sanctuary

Beside ofcourse the great one horned Indian Rhino, the other major wild attractions include a large population of Indian Elephants, Indian Bison, Swamp Deer or Barasingha, Hog Deer, Sloth Bears, Tigers, Leopard Cats, Jungle Cats, Otters, Hog Badgers, Capped Langurs, Hoolock Gibbons, Wild Boar, Jackal, Wild Buffalo, Pythons, Monitor Lizards, etc.

Kaziranga National Park is a birding paradise; the grasslands are a raptor country that can be seen on safari makes a remarkable experience. These include the Oriental Honey Buzzard, Black-Shouldered Kite, Black Kite, Brahminy Kite, Pallas's Fishing Eagle, White Tailed Eagle, Grey-Headed Fishing Eagle, Himalayan Griffon, etc. Huge numbers of migratory birds descend on the parks lakes and marshy areas during winters, including Greylag Geese, Bar-Headed Geese, Ruddy Shelduck, Gadwall, Falcated Duck, Red-Crested Pochard and Northern Shoveller.

Nagarahole National Park-Kabini RiverLodge

The fame of Kabini spread: it also became the headquarters of the world famous Kheddah (the corralling of wild elephants, for domestication in the royal stables and for agriculture, held every three or four years by the Maharaja and his descendants till 1971). Even today, though the Maharaja of Mysore isn't there any more, it's stayed un-spoilt, one of the few eco-tourist havens left on earth.

People still come from all over the world to enjoy its scenery, the richness and diversity of its flora and fauna. The British magazine Tatler has called it "0ne of the world's Top five wildlife resorts" and it's played host to leading public figures like former Prime Minister of India I K Gujral, Azim Premji of Wipro and celebrities like Goldie Hawn.

Here you can enjoy it now, as royalty once did. You have the opportunity here, as you do at few other wildlife resorts, of seeing tigers and leopards at close quarters, ride elephants, or boats on the river or just revel in the peace and seclusion of the virgin jungle. 85 Kms from Mysore it shares a boundary Rajiv Gandhi National Park (also known as Nagarhole). The park spreads over 55acres and the Park Forest runs life with gaur, chital, sambar, barking deer, sloth bears, langurs, and on the riverbanks there are crocodiles.

Namdapha National Park

Namdapha National Park has perhaps the richest diversity of flora and fauna in the Indian Subcontinent. This is because of its biogeographical location within the Indo-Chinese subregion and its great altitudinal variation, from 4,500 meters at Daphabum, highest point, to 200 meters in the lowest valleys. The park is largely mountainous and is drained by the noa-Dehing, Deban and Namdapha rivers. In the lower levels grow a tangled profusion of tropical rainforests, with huge Hollock, Hollong and Mekai trees intermixed with giant creepers, tall cane and dense bamboo stands. Higher up are the deciduous forests, with temperate and alpine forests higher still, where Oak, Magnolia, Pine, Betula and Rhododendrons grow in profusion. Namdapha is a botanical haven, with over 150 tree species and many flowers and orchids, including the Blue Vanda, one of the rarest orchids. It will be many years before Namdapha's flora is fully surveyed. Namdapha's birdlife includes the Satyr Tragopan, Kalij and Monal Pheasants, Giant Hornbill, Forest Eagle Owl and the rare White-winged Wood Duck. principal reptiles include the Indian Python, Reticulated Python and King Cobra. For mammal watchers, the park boasts no fewer than four large cats- Tiger, Leopard, Clouded Leopard and Snow Leopard. It also has a good population of the Hoolock Gibbon.

Periyar National Park

Situated within the confines of the Western Ghats in the southern Indian state of Kerala, Periyar National Park and Tiger Reserve is one of the most captivating wildlife parks in the world. The picturesque lake in the heart of the sanctuary was originally 26 sq km but now spans an area of 55 sq km. This perennial source of water, which initially led to the submersion of large tracts of forestland, slowly attracted wild animals. It eventually resulted in the adjoining forests being granted protection by the Maharaja of Travancore. Post-Periyar National Park 975 Periyar finds itself in the enviable position of being a national park as well as a protected tiger reserve.

Periyar (also Thekkady) is a park where one can witness playful pachyderms, whose population is currently around 800. The population of tigers is also increasing appreciably. The terrain ranges from hilly to flat grassland areas at the edges of the lakes. The vegetation is of moist deciduous type.

Ranthambore National Park

Ranthambore National Park is one of the prime examples of Project Tiger’s conservation efforts in Rajasthan. The forests around the Ranthambore Fort were once, the private hunting grounds of the Maharajas of Jaipur. The desire to preserve the game in these forests for sport, was responsible for their conservation, and subsequent rescue by Project Tiger.

The Park sprawls over an estimated area of 400 sq kms. Steep crags embrace a network of lakes and rivers, and a top one of these hills, is the impressive Ranthambore Fort, built in the 10th century. The terrain fluctuates between impregnable forests and open bushland. The forest is the typically dry deciduous type, with dhok, being the most prominent tree. The entry point to the Park, goes straight to the foot of the fort and the forest rest house, Jogi Mahal. The latter boasts of the second-largest banyan tree in India. The Padam Talab, the Raj Bagh Talab and the Malik Talab are some of the lakes in the area, that attract the tiger population. They have been spotted at the edges of these lakes, and Jogi Mahal itself. Old crumbling walls, ruined pavilions, wells, and other ancient structures stand witness to the region's glorious past. The entire forest is peppered with the battlements and spillovers of the Ranthambore Fort - tigers are said to frequent these ruins, too. As a result of stringent efforts in conservation, tigers, the prime assets of the Park, have become more and more active during the day. More than in any other park or sanctuary in India, tigers are easily spotted here in daylight. They can be seen lolling around lazily in the sun, or feverishly hunting down Sambar around the lakes.