FAST FACTS
| Topic |
Short Description |
| Safari Season |
October to June |
| Best time to visit |
November to April |
| Nearest Airport |
Bhopal(150kms), Jabalpur (250kms) |
| Nearby Railway Stations |
Sohagpur (25 kms), Pipariya (50kms), Itarsi(70kms) |
| Best time for Tiger |
February to May months |
| When to plan |
4 Months in advance |
| Safari options |
Open Jeep, Walking Safari, Canoe ride, Night Safari |
| Safari Booking Link |
https://forest.mponline.gov.in/Index.aspx# |
INTRODUCTION
Satpura National Park is located in Hoshangabad district of Madhya Pradesh in Central India. It is a beautiful forest, spread over Satpura hills & highlands of Central India. Its name Satpura is a sanskrit word, which simply means Seven-hills. It is part of Pachmarhi Biosphere Reserve and covers an area of 524 sq.kms. If you are fed-up of struggle for entrance tickets, pool of gypsy at entrance gate, every now & then finding safari vehicles moving inside jungle then Satpura National Park is the right solution for nature & wildlife lovers. It is the place where every true wildlife lovers should must visit to appreciate the peaceful jungle, away from hustle & bustle of safari jeeps, beautiful hilly terrains, deep gorges, rivulets, virgin forest locations etc. of Satpura National Park is nurtured in the Satpura Ranges of Hoshangabad district in center Madhya Pradesh. Along with adjoining Pachmarhi & Bori Sanctuaries, Satpura Tiger Reserve is spread over an area of 1427 sq.kms, otherwise Satpura National Park covers an area of 524 sq.km. Various ways of wildlife watching distinguishes its from other tiger reserves of India. Here one can do jeep safari, elephant safari, walking safari & boat safari. Unspoiled Highland eco-system of Satpura National Park is unique in nature and was established in 1981.
PACHMARHI BIOSPHERE RESERVE
Satpura national park is part of Pachmarhi Biosphere reserve which is a protected area and created in 03/Mar/1999, by Government of India vide notification number J-220116/17/94-BR. It constitutes three conservation units i.e. Satpura National Park having an area of 524 sq. kms., Pachmarhi Wildlife Sanctuary having an area of 417.78 sq.kms. and Bori Wildlife Sanctuary having an area of 518 sq.kms. Overall size of Pachmarhi Biosphere Reserve is 4987.38 sq.kms. which is a large protected region. Apart from these three conservation units, other area has been declared as part of Buffer zone of 4525.93 sq.kms. Here Satpura national park area is considered as core zone area and remaining area is buffer zone. It is spread over three districts of Madhya Pradesh state in Central India i.e. Hoshangabad, Betul and Chhindwara. It is a non-use conservation area. Satpura range and its forest area falls in important ecological zone which serves as transition zone for wildlife species of Eastern and Western India.
FLORA
Satpura national park is densely forested area in state. Here Sal and Teak species are dominantly visible in the park. Entire forest can be broadly classified into three major types i.e. moist deciduous, dry deciduous and Central Indian sub tropical hill forest. These major forest classifications can be further sub-divided. Moist deciduous forest can be further classified into moist teak forest as moist teak forest, slightly moist teak forest, moist mixed deciduous forest. The dry deciduous forest can be further classified as southern tropical dry teak forest, southern tropical dry teak forest, southern tropical dry mixed deciduous forest. Here in this Biosphere Reserve, we can find 1190 species of angiosperms (Flowering plants) belonging to 127 families and 633 genera. Many angiosperms are yet to be identified. Flora is distributed into 180 families of which 54 are represented by just one genus each and 29 are represented by 2 or 3 genera each. Many of the thallophytes, broyophytes and pteridophytes are found exclusively. The occurrence of releict population of Sal (Shorea robusta) in this region is a unique ecological phenomenon. As the region is full of hilly terrains, gorges where sunlight reaches rarely results into moist loving tiny herbs, algae etc. of high ecological value.
FAUNA
Satpura national park, along with its surrounding buffer-zone area have a much better population of wildlife which are rarely seen in other national parks of state. This forest area is having history of wildlife conservation which is evident from the list of wildlife species currently present and those species which was present in past but not now like Lion, Water Buffaloes, Elephants, Barasingha etc. Here we can find 50 species of mammals, 254 species of birds, 30 species of reptiles, 50 species of butterflies and much more. Attractive birds species includes , Malabar whistling Thrush, Paradise Fly-catcher, Honey Buzzard, Malabar pied Hornbill etc. Presence of various flower species, moist conditions offers ideal conditions for various butterfly species to flourish like Oakleaf, Black Rajah, Great Eggfly, Blue Pancy etc. Here we can find about 14 species of endangered mammals and reptiles. Several species like Indian giant squirrels, Flying squirrels, Rhesus monkeys are endemic to the area.
JUNGLE SAFARI
Satpura national park is a popular jungle safari destination. Here tourists have various safari options which attracts many tourists from India and many other countries. Unlike other popular national parks like Bandhavgarh, Kanha national park, Pench national park, here over-crowding problem is less due to which tourists better enjoy their time in jungle. Here safari options includes, jeep-safari, walking safari in core zone, canoe, birding, night safari. Presence of huge back-water reserve makes this park more scenic and offers good sighting of reptiles and water activities. All jeep safari begins, after crossing the Denwa river. Presence of river acts like a boundary line to avoid unnecessary human disturbance and makes the region untouched from disturbance. Here we can find 03 core zones i.e.
Madhai zone, Bheemkund zone (Churna) and
Panaarpani zone (Pachmarhi). Similarly their are 02 buffer zones also i.e.
Jamani Dev zone (Sehra Gate) and
Parsapani zone (Pathai Gate). Jungle safaris can be done in all these 5 safari zones. Here we can visit to Madhai zone, Parsapani zone, Jamani Dev zone, while staying near Madhai entrance gate. Where as for Panaarpani zone, we need to take accommodation in Pachmarhi as its entrance gate is separate and close to Pachmarhi hill station.
Safari Timing
Here in Satpura National Park, safari is operated through Madhai entrance gate. Just like other national parks, safari timing of Satpura national park is basically begins 30 minutes before sunrise in Morning round which lasts for 4:00 hrs and Evening safari round begins from after noon till 30 minutes after sunset with duration of approx. 3:00hrs. As sunrise and sunset timing varies with season thus accordingly safari timings also changes with season. Here we have share safari timing as per our past experiences:
| Duration |
Morning Safari |
Evening Safari |
| October to November |
06:00 - 11:30 Hrs |
15:00 - 18:30 Hrs |
| December to January |
06:30 - 11:30 Hrs |
15:00 - 18:00 Hrs |
| February to April |
06:00 - 11:30 Hrs |
15:00 - 18:00 Hrs |
| May to June |
05:30 - 11:30 Hrs |
16:00 - 19:00 Hrs |
LOCATION
Satpura hill range is one of the major geographical plateaux of India. Highest point of Satpura hill range is Dhoopgarh in Pachmarhi whose height is 1352 mtr. and can be visited using vehicle. Satpura Tiger Reserve encompasses Bori Wildlife Sanctuary, Satpura National Park and Pachmarhi Wildlife Sanctuary. Satpura Tiger Reserve lies in 22°45' North Latitude and 77°50' East latitudes. Here Pachmarhi is a important hill station, frequently visited by tourists and lies in Pachmarhi Wildlife Sanctuary. It can be easily visited from cities like Bhopal, Nagpur, Jabalpur. Pipariya is a nearest railway station at a distance of 50kms. Bhopal is in North-West, Nagpur is in South-East and Jabalpur is in North-East direction.
HOW TO REACH
By Road: Satpura National park is close to Pachmarhi hill station and can be easily travelled by road from cities like Bhopal, Jabalpur, Chindwara, Nagpur. It is in Hoshangabad district and well linked by road from other places.
By Train: Nearest railway station for reaching Satpura tiger reserve is Sohagpur about 20kms from national park. Being a small station, many long-route trains do not stops here so next better option in Pipariya railway station which is about 45kms from national park.
By Flight: Nearest airport for reaching Satpura national park is in Bhopal city (190kms/04:00hrs) which has direct flight connectivity with Delhi, Mumbai, Indore etc. Next best option is Jabalpur Airport which is about 265kms/05:30hrs having direct flight connectivity with Delhi. On more option is Nagpur airport (approx 330kms) having connectivity with Delhi, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Dubai
TOURIST ATTRACTIONS
Here Jungle safari is the main activity to do. Tourists have the chance to view attractive various wildlife species, birds and reptile species. Jungle safaris can be done by open-jeeps, elephant ride and at some places, tourists can do walking safari also which is unique activity. Due to presence of Denwa river and Tawa Dam backwater, tourist can do water activity like boating, canoe, nature photography etc. Here village visit is also offered to foreigner tourists. Presence of marshy land, less human disturbance, rocky hilly terrains, dense forest areas offers suitable conditions for survival of many bird species which offers good scope for birding.
CLIMATE & WEATHER
Here we can experience all three climatic conditions i.e. winters, summers and monsoon. Here winter season prevails from October to February. Due to hilly areas, temperature falls rapidly after sunset. Summer time is from March to July months in which temperature reaches more than 40 °C in daytime and sometime jungle safaris become challenging task. Still, due to presence of jungle and backwater, temperature falls after sunset and weather remain pleasant. Here Monsoon season can be experienced from July to September months but sometime it goes upto October month. It receives healthy rainfall and their is no water problem in this region.
BEST TIME TO VISIT
Park is open for visitors from 16-October to 30-June. It is governed as per rules of Madhya Pradesh Forest Department. During monsoon season, park remain closed for visitor due to poor accessibility inside park forest. Visitors can visit Satpura National Park from October to June. During winters i.e. from November to February tourist arrival is healthy. In this time most of the tourists from other country visit this tiger reserve. Temperature rises from March to June and due to school holidays in Indian schools and other educations institutions, domestic tourist arrival remain high especially during weekends.
ACCOMMODATION
Here accommodation options are limited. Madhya Pradesh tourism department have its hotel, located near Tawa dam offers good accommodation option. Their are few but deserving luxury options like Forsyth lodge, Reni Pani lodge, Denwa backwater escape lodge. All these lodges offers best wildlife experience and their locations are unmatched. They all are best in their own and have potential to cater premium wildlife lovers. Here options are less for budget visitors. Budget tourists may consider Madhai resort, Sun Shine resort, Forest Department rooms, available on rent.
NEXT TO SATPURA NATIONAL PARK
Satpura national park is surrounded by many tourist destinations of different nature. Tourists of different taste and nature will found places matching to their expectation. Some popular tourist places, possible to visit from Satpura national park includes Pachmarhi, Bhopal, Sanchi, Jabalpur, Pench National Park, Kanha National Park, Tadoba National Park, Ujjain, Hanumantiya etc.
NEWS
Here we have tried to share some latest news and wildlife development in Satpura tiger reserve so that readers will get latest information.
02/Oct/2019: Satpura national park core zones will open from 16-Oct-2019.
As if now buffer safari zones are open but due to rainfall, in this region, maintenance work of forest routes, gets delayed thus park opening date was rescheduled and delayed by 15 days. Now climate is clear so park will must open from this date.
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