Satpura National Park

Quick 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 December to May months
When to plan 4 Months in advance
Safari options Open Jeep, Walking Safari, Canoe ride, Night Safari
Official Safari Booking Link https://forest.mponline.gov.in/Index.aspx#
Map of Satpura tiger reserve

Introduction

Satpura National Park is located in Narmadapuram 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 Narmadapuram (old name 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. You will be surprised to know that Hugh Allen's classic book The Lonely Tiger is based on this forest. Here you can find that location and mentioned villages like Mogra, Tendukheda etc.

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. Narmadapuram, 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

Tigers in Satpura national park

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 relict 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 we get many safari options thus visitors can enjoy various activities in same trip. Some of the popular safari options are like jeep safari, walking safari, boat safari, canoe ride etc. Presence of huge back-water reserve makes this park more scenic and offers good sighting of reptiles and water activities. Here we can find 04 core zones and 04 buffer zones whose names are mentioned in below given table. In a single safari vehicle, maximum 06 tourists are allowed, along with driver and safari guide.

Safari Zone Zone Category Operational Season Safari Options Safari Rounds Entry Gate
Madhai Zone Core Zone October to June Jeep safari, Boat safari Morning safari, Evening safari Madhai gate
Bheemkund Zone Core Zone October to June Jeep safari Morning safari, Evening safari Bheemkund gate
Panaarpani Zone Core Zone October to June Jeep safari Morning safari, Evening safari Panarpani gate
Mallupura Zone Core Zone October to June Jeep safari Morning safari, Evening safari, Night safari Bheemkund gate
Parsapani Zone Buffer Zone Throughout the year Jeep safari Morning safari, Evening safari Pathai gate
Jamani Dev Zone Buffer Zone Throughout the year Jeep safari, Walking safari Morning safari, Evening safari, Night safari Sehra gate
Burgodi Zone Buffer Zone Throughout the year Jeep safari Morning safari, Evening safari, Night safari Pipariya gate
Tamia Delakhari Zone Buffer Zone Throughout the year Jeep safari Morning safari, Evening safari, Night safari Seethadongri gate

Safari Timing

Sloth bear safari in Satpura national park

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 and afternoon safari round lasts approx 30 minutes after sunset. Thus for core zone safaris, we need to book morning and afternoon or evening safari permits. Where as park management also offers post sunset activity in the form of night patrol safaris. In this option, we will get chance to do night safari on safari vehicle at buffer safari zones of Satpura national park like Parsapani zone, Jamani Dev zone, Pipariya (Burgodi) zone. It is a different kind of experience to see night life of Satpura forest. It is great opportunity to see some new wildlife species which are nocturnal by nature and thus not seen in day safaris.

Location

Satpura hill range is one of the major geographical plateau 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

Satpura National park is part of Satpura tiger reserve which lies in Narmadapuram district of Madhya Pradesh state. It has 3 popular entry gates i.e. Madhai gate, Bheemkund gate and Panaarpani gate. Majority of tourists visiting this tiger reserve, prefers to stay nearby Madhai gate or Bheemkund gate as these gates allows access to best safari areas of this forest. Its Panaarpani zone is suitable for tourists staying at hotels of Pachmarhi hill station. 

By Flight to Madhai Gate By Train to Madhai Gate By Road to Madhai Gate
Bhopal Airport  = 150 km / 3:00 hr Sohagpur station = 25 km / 40 min Sanchi = 170 km / 04:00 hr
Jabalpur Airport = 270 km / 06:00 hr Itarsi Railway Station = 70 km / 02:00 hr Pench National Park (Touria gate)= 300 km / 06:30 hr
Nagpur Airport = 300 km / 06:30 hr Pipariya Railway Station = 50 km / 01:30 hr Bandhavgarh NP = 430 km / 07:30 hr

If guests would like to explore the Churna forest area then they need to visit Bheemkund gate area. Its accessibility details are as follows

By Flight to Bheemkund Gate  By Train to Bheemkund Gate By Road to Bheemkund Gate
Bhopal Airport  = 150 km / 3:00 hr Itarsi station= 70 km / 1:30 hr Pench National Park (Touria Gate) = 290 km / 05:30 hr
Nagpur Airport = 250 km / 05:00 hr Nagpur Railway Station = 250 km / 05:00 hr Tadoba National Park (Kolara Gate) = 350 km / 06:30 hr
Jabalpur Airport = 370 km / 07:00 hr   Kanha National Park (Khatia Gate) = 400 km / 07:30 hr

Activities to do

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 and 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.

Where to stay

Here accommodation options are limited. Madhya Pradesh tourism department have its hotel, located near Madhai gate called MPT Bison resort which is surrounded by many other stay options. 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, Nauradehi wildlife sanctuary etc.

 



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