INTRODUCTION

Madhav National Park is located in Shivpuri district of Madhya Pradesh state in Central India. It is in northern region of Madhya Pradesh, close from popular tourist destinations like Orchha, Gwalior, Chanderi and Agra. It is close to Shivpuri town of Madhya Pradesh and its nearby large city is Gwalior thus major arrival & departure of tourists are reported from this city. Road connectivity from Gwalior to Madhav National Park is good. Forest of Shivpuri is dry deciduous type as it is close to Rajasthan region. This forest is connected with Kuno Palpur wildlife sanctuary forest of Madhya Pradesh. Thus we can say that in past their had been healthy wildlife corridor from Madhav national park till Ranthambore and thus animals must do migration from one forest to another. Its name Madhav is derived from Scindia dynasty ruler called "Madhav Rao Scindia". They had control over this region, During summers, they treat Shivpuri as their summer capital and often spends time here and undretakes hunting expeditions in this forest area. Before that, Mughals have control over this region. In 16th & 17th century, whole region was a dense forest and wild elephants were also present in this forest. Its reference comes in book Ain-e-Akbari in which it was mentioned that Mughal emperor Akbar, captures large number of wild elephants, from this forest and took them to Agra. We all know that elephants were used in kingdoms for movement of royal family members and also in wars between different kingdoms.

HOW TO REACH

Here check about the different ways to reach Madhav national park, from different cities of India. This wildlife destination is close to Shivpuri town which itself is a popular tourist attraction of Madhya Pradesh state. This forest is located in northern part of state.

Reaching Madhav National Park by Air

The nearest airport to this National Park is at Gwalior which is 130 km away. This airport is well connected with many important cities like Delhi, Kolkata etc. Pre-paid taxi services are available from the Gwalior airport to Madhav National Park

DISTANCE CHART
From	Distance (in Kms)
Madhav National Park to Shivpuri	12
Madhav National Park to Gwalior	130
Madhav National Park to Orchha	105
Madhav National Park to Chanderi	135
Madhav National Park to Agra	240
Madhav National Park to Bharatpur	270

Reaching Madhav National Park by Train/ Railways :

Nearest railway station to Madhav national park is Gwalior station (GWL). It is well connected from all important cities & tourist destinations like Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Varanasi, Agra, Bhopal, Jabalpur etc. Further journey from Gwalior to Madhav national park is possible through tourist cabs, which are easily available at railway station or travel agencies.

Reaching Madhav National Park by Bus / Roadways

Their is direct bus service from Gwalior to Shivpuri, through which visitors can reach Shivpuri town and further they can manage by locally available means of transportation. Otherwise, they may hire tourist cab, from Gwalior to Madhav national park. Here main bus-stand is Shivpuri thus its connectivity is considered as the base for visiting this national park.

TOURIST ATTRACTIONS

Madhav national park is close to Shivpuri lake. Here chances of birding is good, especially during winters, when migratory birds visits North-Central India. In this period,we can enjoy birds sighting like Pochard, Indian, Pond Heron, Red Wattled Lapwings, Pintail, Teal, Geese, Large Pied Wagtail etc. During jungle safari drives, we can enjoy the lush green forest with different species of mammals and birds. Prominent animals, seen during jungle safaris are Spotted deer, Black buck, Sloth Bear, Leopards, Sambar, Chowsingha, Nilgai etc. 

TIGER REINTRODUCTION PROJECT

Madhya Pradesh forest department is working on a tiger re-introduction project for Madhav national park. Here they have planned to pick male and female tigers from different national parks of Madhya Pradesh and introduce them to this national park, in phased way. All this is going to be done in an attempt to revive tiger population in this national park.

CLIMATE & WEATHER

Madhav national park is located in northern part of Madhya Pradesh state. It is close to Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh state border. This region is comparatively dry and arid thus vegetation is not so dense and dryness can be observes all around. Here we can experience all 3 climatic condition i.e. summers, winters and monsoon season.

Summers in Madhav National Park

Here summer season prevails from March end to July month during which temperature reached 45°C and severe heat waves prevails in April-May-June months. Thus it is the period when tourism falls down. Still local visitors from Gwalior, often visits this park on weekends.

Monsoon in Madhav National Park

Here in Madhav forest area, we can experience monsoon season from July end till end of September. It is the time when we can experience Arabian sea monsoon in this region. As it is located in North-Central India thus impact of monsoon is limited. Here heavy rainfall is rarely experienced still peak monsoon period is August month. During this time, tourism is almost negligible in Madhav national park and thus it is considered as the worst time to visit this forest area.

Winters in Madhav National Park

Once monsoon season gets over, till beginning of October month, park is having greenery everywhere. From November, we can find winter visitor birds in all over the park area thus winter is the best time to visit Madhav national park. During winter period, temperature dips to 2°C in early morning hours. It is the time when majority of tourists prefers to visit this national park to enjoy the nature at its best.

BEST TIME TO VISIT

Madhav national park is open for visitors, from October to June month. It is the period, when we can undertake jungle safaris in Madhav national park. Here tourism is comparatively less as destination was not duly promoted still here high tourism season is from November to March when birding was at its peak. It is the time when birders use to visit this national park for birds photography. Due to limited tourism, we can enjoy the birding & photography, with more ease and least disturbance.

ACCOMMODATION

We can find limited accommodation options in Madhav national park. Here MPSTDC have its hotel in Shivpuri town called "Tourist Village". It is a standard category of medium size hotel. Although it is of standard category but it ist he best option for accommodation, near national park. Due to low popularity, new private hotels are not coming up openly. Those who want luxury accommodation option, may stay at Gwalior hotels and visit this national park as excursion trip.

NEXT TO

After completing the visit of Madhav national park, their are many other nearby tourists destination that we can explore like Gwalior, Orchha, Chanderi, Ranthambore national park, Kuno national park, Datia, Sonagir etc.