Basically Pench tiger reserve forest and Satpura tiger reserve forest are adjacent to each other and spread over same Satpura range. Despite of near by locations, they have many difference in many ways. Here we have tried to understand that difference and try to judge which one matches to our expectations.
Please study the below given comparative analysis exposing the difference of experience during visit to these 2 popular national park of Madhya Pradesh in Central India. Here we have tried to cover all the important features which could affect our decision like location, jungle safaris, animal sightings, topography, accessibility, stay experience, scenic beauty etc.
| Feature | Pench National Park | Satpura National Park |
| Forest location | It is spread over Seoni and Chhindwara districts of Madhya Pradesh state and Nagpur district of Maharashtra state. Coordinates: 21.7450 N, 79.3374 E |
It is spread over Narmadapuram, Chhindwara and Betul districts of Madhya Pradesh state. Coordinates: 22.5793 N, 78.1434 E |
| Where in Madhya Pradesh ? | It lies in southern part of Madhya Pradesh state. | It lies in central part of Madhya Pradesh state. |
| Geographical Position | Pench forest is spread over Satpura range of Central India at east of Satpura tiger reserve. | Satpura forest is spread over Satpura range on west of Pench tiger reserve |
| Declaration as Tiger reserve | In year 1998-99 | In year 1999- 2000 |
| Tiger reserve area | 411.33 sq.km. (Core area)+ 768.30 sq.km. (Buffer area) = 1179.63 sq.km. | 1339.26 sq. km (Core area) + 794.04 sq. km (Buffer area) = 2133.31 sq. km. |
| Airport connectivity | Its nearby airport options are at Nagpur, Gondia and Jabalpur. | Its nearby airport options are Bhopal airport, Jabalpur airport. |
| Forest type | Pench forest is classified into 3 types: South Indian Tropical Moist Deciduous, Southern Tropical Dry Deciduous Teak forest and Southern Dry Mixed Deciduous forest. | Satpura forest is a tropical moist deciduous, tropical dry deciduous forest and tropical dry thorn forest. |
| Topography | It is combination of gently undulating hilly tracts with plain forests areas. Meadow areas are less. | This forest have deep valleys, high plateaus, more rugged and mountainous. |
| River system | Pench forest lies in between Pench river and Wainganga river. | Here Denwa, Sonbhadra and Tawa are the backbone rivers of this forest. |
| Dam and Backwater | Here Totladoh dam is existing on Pench river. Backwater of this river have impact of tiger reserve wildlife. | Here Tawa dam has been erected on confluence point of Tawa river and Denwa river whose backwater impact can be experience while visiting through Madhai entry gate. |
| High season | From Nov to mid of June. Here weekend crowd from Nagpur city keep it full in all seasons. | Here high seasons periods are Nov-Dec and March - mide of June. |
| Low season | Mid of June to Oct. | Oct and February month |
| Tiger population | Tiger population is higher than Satpura tiger reserve | Overall tiger population is lesser than Pench tiger reserve. |
| Dominating vegetation | This forest is dominated by teak trees. | Here some areas are dominated by sal trees, teak trees and bamboo grass. |
| Big cats sighting probability | Here tiger population is more scattered thus despite of presence, sighting probability is average. | Here tiger population is less than Pench forest still tracking is better thus sighting probability is good. |
| Top 5 attractions | Tiger, leopard, sloth bear, Indian langurs, wild dogs | Indian gaur, tigers, leopards, sloth bear, black buck |
| Core safari zones | Touria zone, Karmajhiri zone, Jhamtara zone, Khursapar zone, Sillari zone | Madhai zone, Bheemkund zone, Mallupura zone, Panaarpani zone |
| Buffer safari zones | Rukhad zone, Masurnala zone, Teliya zone, Khawasa zone, Khumbhpani zone | Parsapani zone, Jamani Dev zone, Burgodi zone, Tamia Delakhari zone |
| Night safari experience | At Pench tiger reserve, good night safari experience can be obtained at Khawasa zone and Rukhad zone. It is more satisfying than night safari of Satpura tiger reserve. | Here night safaris are mostly done at Madhai gate side in Parsapani zone and Jamani Dev zone. Here results are not as good as we can expect at Pench national park. |
| Safari achievements | Here jeep safari experience is good for tigers, sloth bears, leopards and Malabar pied hornbills, green pigeon, flame-backed woodpecker. | Here jeep safari and boat safari activities are more popular. Jeep safari is good for tigers, sloth bears, leopards, black bucks. Boat safari is very good for crocodiles and migratory birds photography. |
| Scenic beauty | Its scenic beauty is at its best from Oct to March. Later due to summer season, forest looks dry and dull. | Here whole national park scenic beauty remain very good in period of Oct to March. After March month, Bheemkund zone look more dry where as Madhai zone retains its scenic beauty throughout the season. Backwater starts receding from mid of April month. |
| Birdwatching experience | Here prominent birding attractions are Red jungle fowl, Grey jungle fowl, Malabar pied hornbill, Greater racket-tailed drongo, Yellow footed pigeon. Not very good for migratory birds. | Satpura national park forest especially its Madhai zone backwater area is excellent for migratory birds photography. Here |
| Popular hotel cluster hotspots | Near Touria gate, Karmajhiri gate | Major hotel cluster is near by Madhai entry gate. At Bheemkund gate side, hotels are increasing slowly. |
| Park management & conservation history | Here park management effectiveness is average with no great conservation history but it is the tiger reserve which gave tigers to other reserve but didn't required any species re-introduction till now. | Satpura national park visit will make you realize that park management is more effective, tourist friendly and more conservation projects are actively going on. Hard-ground barasingha project is its major achievement. |
| Re-introduced species | Nil | Hard-ground Barasingha |
| Historical background | Pench forest history is popularly associated wtih Rudyard Kipling's "The Jungle Book". It was controlled by Gond rulers of Deogarh. | Satpura forest history is more associated with Hugh Allen's book "The Lonely Tiger". This region was controlled by tribal rulers. |
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