INTRODUCTION

Ratapani Tiger Reserve is an upcoming wildlife tourism destination, close to Bhopal city of Madhya Pradesh state. It lies in Raisen district of Madhya Pradesh in Central India. This forest is spread over hills of Vindhya ranges. It is one of the beautiful teak forest, just 60 kms south-east of Bhopal city. While traveling from Bhopal to Pachmarhi hill station, we may pass through this finest forest. Despite of being at close proximity of Bhopal city, it is untouched forest area with hills and cliffs. It gives shelters to different mammals, birds, reptiles etc. In addition to this, it also conserves rich heritage treasures of caves, rock-paintings, rock-shelters etc. One of the most famous rock-shelters of Central India and UNESCO World Heritage Site Bhimbetka Rock Shelters are also part of Ratapani tiger reserve. In addition to this, many other tourist attractions are located inside the reserve area like Ginnorgarh fort, Ratapani dam etc.

HISTORY

Ratapani forest was declared as wildlife sanctuary in year 1976. Since then, it retained this status till year 2013 when National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) granted the approval to upgrade this wildlife sanctuary to tiger reserve. State government of Madhya Pradesh is working on it to notify the tiger reserve area, create core-buffer zones for reserve and develop it.

Jungle Safari

Ratapani jungle safari is performed mostly by own car or jeep. Here local safari operators are not available thus if you are not staying at local lodge and wish to undertake jungle safari then you can go inside on your own car, by paying the due gate entrance charges. If you would like to do jeep safari, as done in other national parks, then you are required to stay at local resort who maintian safari jeeps for jungle visit. Here safari track is short thus covers only limited part of forest. Work is going on to increase its total length so that tourists can explore more areas of this forest and thus overall wildlife experience will be improved.

HOW TO REACH

By Flight

Nearest airport for reaching Ratapani tiger reserve is Bhopal Airport (70kms/02:00hrs). It is connected with Delhi and Mumbai airports. We offer Bhopal airport taxi service from this airport to nearby destinations like Ratapani, Sanchi, Bhimbetka, Pachmarhi, Satpura national park etc. Second option is Indore Airport at a distance of 250kms. It is connected with Delhi and Mumbai airports. We offer Indore airport taxi service for reaching Ratapani tiger reserve, Ujjain, Omkareshwar, Maheshwar etc.

DISTANCE CHART
From	Distance (in Kms)
Bhopal to Ratapani tiger reserve	60
Pachmarhi to Ratapani  (Jhirri)	160
Satpura National Park to Ratapani forest(Jhirri)	100
Sanchi to Ratapani forest	120
Jabalpur to Ratapani tiger reserve	280
Indore to Ratapani forest	260

By Train/ Railways :

Nearest railway stations for reaching Ratapani tiger reserve are Obedullaganj, Itarsi, Bhopal railway station etc. We offer taxi services to Ratapani tiger reserve from all these important railway stations and other nearby tourist destinations and cities.

By Road :

Ratapani is best accessible by road. It lies in central of Madhya Pradesh state in Raisen district. Its nearby cities are Itarsi and Bhopal. Their is regular bus service from Itarsi and Bhopal to this tiger reserve. Travel route remains open throughout the year.

RATAPANI TAXI SERVICE

For reaching Ratapani tiger reserve, taxi is the most preferred way. More than 95% of tourist arrivals and departures in Ratapani forest are done by taxi vehicles. As their is poor bus connectivity from prominent arrival points, car hire is the best way to reach the forest area. Over office is located in Bhopal city to provide tourist taxi service from Bhopal to Ratapani tiger reserve or vice versa. Similarly we also offer cab service from Satpura national park, Pachmarhi, Sanchi, Jabalpur etc.

JUNGLE SAFARI

Here safari activities are controlled by Forest Department on current basis. Ratapani jungle safari booking is possible from counter only. Like Kanha national park, Bandhavgarh, Pench national par, Satpura national park, here online safari booking option is not available. Still one can easily get the safari ticket from booking counter. Visitors are required to carry their photo-id document during safari drives.

MAMMAL ATTRACTIONS

Here we have tried to make a mammals checklist of Ratapani tiger reserve.

RATAPANI MAMMALS LIST
Species	Common Name	Local Name	Scientific Name
Cats	Tiger	Bagh / Sher	Panthera tigris
	Leopard /Panther	Tendua / Gulbagh	Panthera pardus
	Jungle Cat	Junglee Billi	Felis chaus
Antelopes, Gazelles	Blue Bull	Nilgai	Boselaphus tragocamelus
	Chinkara	Chinkara	Gazella gazella
	Four-horned Antelope	Chowsingha	Tetraceros quadricornis
	Black Buck	Kala Hiran	Antilope cervicapra
Bovine	Indian Gaur	Gaur	Bos gaurus
Dogs	Wolf	Bhediya	Canis lupus
	Indian Wild Dog	Dhole/Sone Kutta/Jungle Kutta	Cuon alpinus
	Jackal	Gidhar / Siyar	Canis aureus
	Indian Fox	Lomdi	Vulpes bengalensis
Deer	Sambar	Sambar	Cervus unicolor
	Spotted Deer	Chital	Axis axis
	Muntjac/Barking Deer	Kakar	Muntiacus muntjak
Hyaena	Striped Hyaena	Lakar-baggha	Hyaena hyaena
Bears	Sloth Bear	Bhalu / Reech	Melursus ursinus
Apes, Monkeys,Lemurs	Common Langur	Langur	Presbytis entellus
	Rehus Macaque	Bandar	Macaca mulatta
Pig	Wild Boar	Junglee Suar	Sus scrofa
Civets	Small Indian Civer	Kasturi	Viverricula indica
	Common Palm Civer	Kasturi	Paradoxurus hermaphroditus
Weasels	Honey Badger	Kabar Bijoo	Melivora capensis
Mongoose	Ruddy Mongoose	Nevla	Herpestes smithii
	Common Mongoose	Nevla	Herpestes edwardsi
Pangolins	Indian Pangolin	Chinti Khor	Manis crassicaudata
Insectivores	Indian Tree Shrew	Bans Gilahri	Anathana ellioti
	Grey Musk Shrew	Chachunder	Suncus murinus
Bats	Fulvous Fruit Bat	Chamgadar	Rousettus leschenaulti
	Flying Fox	Chamgadar	Pteropus giganteus
	Indain False Vampire	Chamgadar	Megaerma lyra
	Indian Pipistrelle	Chamgadar	Pipistrellus coromandra
Rodents	Five-striped Squirrel	Gilahri	Funambulus pennati
	Indian Porcupine	Sehi	Hystrix indica
	Indian Mole Rat	Chuha	Bandicota bengalensis
Hares	Indian Hare	Khargosh	Lepus nigricollis

BIRD ATTRACTIONS

Their are about 210 bird species in Ratapani forest area. Presence of lake, rock shelters provides ideal conditions for birds survival in this forest thus during its local safari, we can observe many bird species. These birds can be categorized in 53 bird families like Eagrets, Storks, Herons, Grebes, Ibises, Cormorants, Ducks, Vultures, Hawks, Eagles, Hawks, Falcons, Sandpipers etc. This list includes both residents and migrant birds. Their are about 110 residents birds, 26 local migrant birds and 86 migrant birds in Ratapani birds checklist. During jungle safari drives, one can enjoy the tiger tracking with bird watching. Birds can be seen in all the forest areas but some points are favorite places for birds and their probability of good birding in high. Some of the frequently seen Ratapani birds are: Cattle Egret, Grey Heron, Jungle Babblers, Indian Oriole, Blue-jay, Kingfishers, Baya Weaver, Crested Hawk Eagle, Shikra, Spotted Dove, Red-wattled Lapwing etc.

BEST TIME TO VISIT

Ratapani tiger reserve is open for visitors from 01-October to 15-June. Remaining time, park remains closed for visitors due to monsoon season. In addition to this, park remains closed for evening safari drive on every Wednesday. In Holi festival day, usually park remains closed for full-day. These dates may vary as it is decided every year by Madhya Pradesh forest Department. This tiger reserves is popular for best tiger sighting in India due to which from beginning to end of a season, tourists arrival remains constant. Usually most of the tourist arrival has been registered from October to March months. This is the best time to visit Ratapani forest.

CLIMATE & WEATHER

Ratapani tiger reserve have moderate climate. Here Winter season starts from November to February during which morning temperature dips to 5°C and day temperature remains as 18°C. From April to June, we can experience the summer season when straight sunlight and heat waves poses challenge in safari drives. In peak summers i.e. May-June, temperature reaches 45°C level. With the end of June or beginning of July, monsoon clouds arrives and pours good rainfall. Monsoon season prevails from July to October. During this time, park remains closed for visitors and get prepared for new beginning. Here at Ratapani, you will experience significant difference in day and night temperatures. Due to straight sun-light effect, here day temperature raises swiftly and after sun-set and in early morning hours, we will experience cold. This difference is well experienced in morning safari drives when vehicle enters just before sunrise and exits after sunrise.

Months	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Minimum (°C)	05	12	18	24	30	30	25	23	22	22	18	10
Maximum(°C)	18	32	35	40	44	42	36	34	32	34	30	20

Above temperature chart of Bandhavgarh is based of past experience. Here we have gathered the average temperatures during each season so that user can get an rough idea.

ACCOMMODATION

Their are few hotels and resorts in Ratapani tiger reserve. Recently Madhya Pradesh State Tourism Development Corporation has opened their hotel for tourists and is the best place to stay to enjoy the wildlife safaris of Ratapani forest. Even by staying at Bhopal hotels, one can visit the Ratapani tiger reserve and enjoy the safari drives.

NEXT TO RATAPANI TIGER RESERVE

After visiting Ratapani tiger reserve, their are number of connecting tourist destinations like Satpura national park, Bhimbetka rock shelters, Sanchi, Udayagiri Caves, Pachmarhi, Ujjain, Indore etc. All these destinations can be easily reached by cab in few hours long journey. Ratapani tiger reserve is located close to Bhopal city thus whatever is accessible from Bhopal is accessible from this forest also.