Bandhavgarh national park is located in Eastern region of Madhya Pradesh state. It lies in Umaria district of state thus its administrative power center is in Umaria town. In geographical terms, this tiger reserve forest is spread over Vindhya mountain ranges of Central India. It is open for visitors from October to June month. Majority of tourists including wildlife lovers, photographers, conservationist etc. visits Bandhavgarh in this period. In order to explore this magnificent wildlife destination, it is important to know how to reach Bandhavgarh by flight, train or by bus option. Here we have tried to arrange the same information for you, so that you can make a prefect tour plan & enjoy the trip.
Through Airports | Through Railway Stations | Through Destinations |
Jabalpur Airport = 160 km / 04:00 hr | Umaria Railway Station = 37 km / 40 min | Bhedaghat = 200 km / 4:45 hr |
Khajuraho Airport = 260 km / 05:30 hr | Katni Railway Station = 100 km / 02:30 hr | Kanha NP (Khatia) = 260 km / 05:30 hr |
Prayagraj Airport = 310 km / 07:45 hr | Jabalpur Railway Station = 160 km / 04:15 hr | Panna NP = 220 km / 05:00 hr |
Khajuraho = 260 km / 5:30 hr | ||
Sanjay Dubri Tiger Reserve = 110 km / 02:30 hr |
If you have paying capacity and have very limited time in hand, then flight is the best way to travel. Nearest airport of Bandhavgarh national park is Jabalpur Dumna airport (JLR), at a distance of 160 kms/3:30hrs. It is well connected with Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Kolkata etc. Journey from Jabalpur to Bandhavgarh is very safe, with less traffic and can be undertaken at anytime of the day. Second best option is Khajuraho Airport at a distance of 260kms/05:30hrs. Its flight connectivity is limited thus it is least preferred by tourists.
If your plan is to travel by train option then nearest railway station for Bandhavgarh is Umaria (UMR) at a distance of 37 kms/35 minutes. It is having good train connectivity from Delhi, Agra, Haridwar, Jhansi etc. If tourists are coming from Mumbai, Kolkata, Varanasi, Bhopal, Pune, Jaipur, Sawai Madhopur etc then Katni railway station (100kms/02:30hrs) is best for visiting Bandhavgarh, Here in Katni city, you will find 3 stations i.e. Katni Station (KTE), Katni Murwara Station (KMZ) and Katni South Station (KTES). All of them are close to each other, in same city. As it is a junction so trains from different directions, have meeting point at Katni, thus its train-connectivity is good. Third best option is Jabalpur station (JBP) at a distance of 160 kms/03:30hrs. It is also having good train connectivity from Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad, Nagpur, Bhopal, Pipariya, Itarsi, Agra, Delhi, Howrah, Gaya, Varanasi, Jaipur etc. Their are some low profile station also like Beohari (90kms) and Khanna-Banjari (55kms) station. They are suitable for tourists, coming from West Bengal on condition that their train have stoppage here. As they are small station thus all long distance do not stop here so must check the stoppages.
Although now a days, very few tourists use bus service for reaching Bandhavgarh but still we would like to share this information. Here nearest bus stand is in Umaria town, which is also know as nearest railway station. If you are reaching Jablapur, Katni, Satna, Khajuraho, Kanha national park, Sanjay Dubri National Park etc. and want to visit Bandhavgarh then, their is no direct bus service thus tourists often find it difficult to use bus traveling as option to reach Bandhavgarh. Umaria bus stand is a small terminus where buses comes from Dindori, Katni, Beohari, Shahdol & nearby regions which are not popular for tourism. If you have reach Umaria by train and want further traveling by bus, then this option will be helpful.
If we will talk about surrounding tourist destinations of Bandhavgarh national park, then we have many options, of different type of tourism. If our interest is in wildlife tourism, then we have option to visit Kanha national park (250 kms) and Sanjay Dubri national park (100 kms), Panna national park (220 kms). Here Kanha & Panna national parks are already a popular tiger tourism destination where as Sanjay Dubri national park is upcoming destination whose bare foot walk is gaining popularity. In addition to this Amarkantak (245 kms), Chitrakoot (210kms) are popular pilgrimage destinations. For heritage tourism lovers, they can visit to Khajuraho town (260 kms). It is popular for its sand-stone temples which are magnificent example of our ancient sculpture art through which message was passed to society.
Majority of arrivals and departures, for visiting Bandhavgarh national park, are done through Jabalpur city thus it is a popular travel route for reaching this place. Jabalpur is used for both train and flight arrivals thus collective volume of transfer is much higher than any other travel route, thus we should must have good knowledge of this route.
Route | Approx Travel Time | Enroute Places |
Jabalpur to Bandhavgarh national park (via Shahpura) | 160 km / 04:00 hr | Jabalpur - Ranjhi - Kundam - Shahpura - Nigahri - Umaria - Dhamokhar - Bandhavgarh Tala village |
Jabalpur to Bandhavgarh national park (via Katni) | 200 km / 04:30 hr | Jabalpur - Panagar - Sihora - Sleemanabad - Katni - Majhgawan - Badwara - Chandia - Umaria - Dhamokhar - Bandhavgarh Tala village |
Jabalpur to Bandhavgarh national park via Niwas | 210 km / 04:45 hr | Jabalpur - Bilhari - - Umaria - Dhamokhar - Bandhavgarh Tala village |
Travel distance from Khajuraho to Bandhavgarh is approx. 260 kms. Bandhavgarh national park is located on the south-east of Khajuraho. Their is no direct flight or train or bus connectivity thus taxi travel is the only and best way to travel on this route. We are operating tourist taxi service on this route. Sometimes budget tourists tries to save the travel cost by changing the mode of transport like first travel from Khajuraho to Satna station by taxi or bus, then take train from Satna to Katni station, then take another train or bus from Katni to Umaria station and then finally take local bus from Umaria to Tala village. Here you have to change mode of transport by 3 times which is very very cumbersome and may take you full day time. Another noticeable thing is that their is no bus service after sunset, from Umaria to Tala village. Here in Bandhavgarh, resorts are mostly away from main village i.e 1-3 kms, away from main road and walking is extremely unsafe thus private or shared taxi is the best recommended way. Even if you reach till Tala village by bus, in day or night time, best way is to call your hotel to arrange transport for you from main raod to hotel. If you don't have Indian number of mobile network problem then best way is to visit the Tala check point or adjoining police station to arrange call for you. Here local person remains available, round the clock.
Route | Approx Travel Time | Enroute Places |
Khajuraho to Bandhavgarh national park (via Amanganj) | 260 km / 05:30 hr | Khajuraho - Bamitha turning - Chandrangar - Ken river bridge - Panna national park (Madla gate) - Panna town - Amanganj - Pawai - Shahnagar - Katni town - Majhgawan - Umaria - Dhamokhar - Bandhavgarh Tala village |
Here we will try to check how to reach Bandhavgarh national park from various entry gates of Kanha national park. Bandhavgarh lies in north of Kanha national park forest thus we have to undertake north direction surface drive to reach Bandhavgarh. Their is not direct train, flight or bus service on this route. Popular entry gate of Kanha tiger reserve are Sarhi gate, Khatia gate and Mukki gate. Resorts are located close to these entry gates thus travel route and duration to Bandhavgarh varies as per our resort location. Let us see how we can reach Bandhavgarh resorts from Kanha safari entry gates.
Route | Enroute Places |
Kanha NP (Khatia gate) to Bandhavgarh | Kanha Khatia gate - Mocha village - Banjar river bridge - Tatri village - Indri junction - Bamhani town - Mandla town - Phool Sagari junction - Khalwara - Dobha village - Niwas town - Shahpura junction - Umaria town - Dhamokhar check point - Bandhavgarh Tala |
Kanha NP (Mukki gate) to Bandhavgarh | Bandhavgarh Tala - Dhamokhar - Umaria town - Shahpura - Niwas - Dobha - Khalwara - Phool Sagar junction - Mandla - Bamhani - Jaharmau - Indri - Tatri village - Pondi - Dungariya - Jhangul village - Khairlanji - Baihar town - Tanneur river bridge - Banjaar Tola Lodge - Banjar river bridge - Mukki gate |
Kanha NP (Sarhi gate) to Bandhavgarh | Bandhavgarh Tala - Dhamokhar - Umaria town - Nigahri village - Dobhi - Shahpura town - Niwas - Dobha - Khalwara - Phool sagar junction - Mandla bypass - Anjaniya - Bichhiya town - Take right - MPT Sarhi Jungle Resort - Sarhi Gate |