Kanha National Park/ Tiger Reserve was always a part of discussion whenever we discussed anything about wildlife management or national parks during our coursework at IIFM and if it is Prof. P C Kotwal’s class, no class was complete without mention of Kanha.
A few days back, got an opportunity to make a quick trio to Kanha National Park and it was really an experience. Though the forest safari was not that fruitful, we missed the tiger sighting by a few seconds (our vehicle was second and by the time we could spot the tigress, she was out of sight and we could only manage to view her pug marks) the experiences of being inside a lush green forest, watching deers grazing in open without being bothered by the intrusive safari vehicles and not so civilized visitors, were amazing. 
But it was also a glaring example of inefficiency and lack of planning by MP Tourism. We started our journey from Raipur in a rented Tata Indica (a bad choice for this trip!) and the driver informed we would be covering the distance form Raipur to Kanha (225 kms approx) in about 5-6 hours. We had chosen this driver as he had been to Kanha earlier also (as claimed). The journey took almost 9 hours and the ‘road’ to this famed National park can only be called a ‘road’ if Rakhi Sawant or Paris Hilton can be called ‘an actress’. How can you talk about promoting tourism and attracting international visitors if you do not have basic things setup first?
There were no signboards to indicate where you are heading once you are inside Kanha and if luckily you find some signboards, they only indicate the destination and do not provide any information on how far that place is. We spotted a signboard for a Resort 25 kms away from the resort and without any indication of distance. There are no milestones to tell you whether you are moving in right direction or not. And the roads in side Kanha are so bad that it will take an expert driver and lots of courage to move ahead. 
We had listed out a couple of resorts for our stay there, but did the grave mistake of not doing advance booking. Then it became really task to find a resort (a good one) and start for safari.
Based upon my experience I am listing out a few precautions and preparations you need to do, in order to enjoy the Kanha.
- It is not advisable to travel in small vehicles, prefer SUVs like Safari, Sumo, Bolero etc. Small cars are not suited, especially if you are traveling from Raipur to Kanha, the roads from Jabalpur to Kanha are in somewhat better position, but even then I would advise to go for big wheeled vehicles.
- Take a route map and look for a drive who has been there recently.
- Take a lot cash with you. Kanha is a very small place (you will not find any ATM in 50 kms radius) and most of the resorts, restaurants do not accepts credit/debit cards.
- Make an advance booking in the resorts if you are planning to stay there and I think you must plan to stay there at least for a night so that you can have two trips of Safari. There are two safari trips one in morning from 5.30 am to 12 noon and second from 3 pm to 6.30 pm.
- You have a number or resorts available at village Mocha, but the road to that place (via Raipur) is really pathetic. Try to bargain at the resorts and you will make a good deal. 20-30% is the normal discount you can easily ask for.
- Take a pair of good binoculars (we missed ) and a good camera, even if you do not spot the tiger, there is enough worth clicking.
- Once you are on Safari, make sure that your vehicle is the first one on the trail, or you are just behind the first vehicle, otherwise the first vehicle is bound to devoid you of any sighting.
singh ko dekh kar tiger bhagega nahin to kya karega,kiske saat kanha gaye the guru.
Alok ko jawab de hi do..kiske saath gaye the?
🙂
Santosh..I experienced this early in the year when I visited the Taj..the sad state of affairs with the tourism making an experience I had been waiting all my life for, a rather bitter one. Correct me if I am wrong but I find Rajasthan and Kerala handling tourism very well..but the rest need to go a long way.
Manju
boohoo….i have missed the trip…..nice write up…could be included in an ecotourism journal as well…
nice write up bhaisahab……… really good. seems u r having a really good time out there…… acchha hai….. in fact bahut acchha hai. waise alok sir ka question interesting hai…….
P.S: blog pe comment karne walon ko marna ya phone kar ke gaaliyan dena sakht mana hai [;)]
alok, it was a female, therefore ran away,
Nitin, aisa kya jaante ho, sabko batao!!
santy, still same pugmark luck, kab dikhega Tiger!!
Great and thrilling to hear the great wild trip there and the useful tips for the adventurous tourists who dare to go there despite of the bad roads and shabby wild fractured facilities and infrastructure there.
MERA DESH MAHAAN. We are like that, phir bhi mera BHARAT chal raha hai HIMMAT se, MASTI se! KHUSHI MEI PHANSO, VAHI JINDAGI HAI!
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Hi santosh, this is tapan from orissa. i am planning to go kanha national park in this December 2009. I want to go by my own bike. Please tell me is it ok to go by bike? and please give me the route plan to go kanha from raipur. How is the winter season in kanha ? is it very cold? please give me all necessary details of kanha. Your advice will be very helpful for me. thank q.
Nice post. Kanha National Park located in the state of Madhya Pradesh in the central part of India. In Kanha National Park vergreen trees alike Mango and Jamun, Underground species like Lantana and Glerodendron. Kanha mainly experiences a tropical climate. Many animals you can find in Kanha National Park. 200 species of birds are spotted in Kanha, sankes, Butterflies, Spiders. Attractions are Bammi Dadar, Kanha Museum, Kawardha Palace, Bandhabgarh National Park. Hotels are also available near Kanha. For more details refer http://www.theearthtraveler.com/the-real-jungle-book-at-kanha.html
Sir ji kanha me loaj ya reasort booking me kapde bik jate hai apana bajat nikal kar dekho nahi to raipur se yaha ke agent bahut kam bajat me bhoram dev and saroda dader me nasta uske bad kanha me double treep me pura 2 din ki treep ka sistem rahta hai agent ka mbl no 08889555075