Pench National Park is a
part
of the Project Tiger network of special reserves. Pench
is one of the most accessible tiger reserves in the
country, just 90 kilometres (1 hour and 30 minutes)
north of Nagpur. The Reserve is located in the southern
reaches of the Satpura hill range in the Seoni and
Chhindwara districts in the Madhya Pradesh State of
India. The terrain is undulating, with most of the area
covered by small hills, steeply sloping on the sides.
The description of its natural beauty, richness in flora
and fauna has appeared in numerous wildlife books dating
back to the 17th century. Books written in the 19th and
early 20th century by famous naturalists like Captain J.
Forsyth and Rudyard Kipling's Jungle Book explicitly
present the detailed panorama of nature's abundance in
this tract
Season :
The Pench National Park is open to the visitors from
November 01st to June 30th each year and closed during
the rainy seasons (July- October)
Access :
By Air: Airport - Sonegaon Airport, Nagpur (93 km
from Pench National Park) Nagpur is the nearest airport
connected to Mumbai and other places by regular flights.
By Rail: Railway Station - Seoni Railway Station
(30 km from Pench National Park) Seoni is the nearest
railway station connected to Mumbai and other places in
the region by regular trains.
By Road: The nearest bus stand is at Seoni from
where one can take buses or jeeps to the Pench National
Park. Seoni is connected to almost all the places in
Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra by good road and rail
networks.
Temperature:
| October
to January |
2-16°
Celcius |
|
February to March |
16 - 26°
Celcius |
| April
to June |
26 - 42° C
|
| Average
Rainfall |
1177
millimetres |
Park Safari Timings
| Months |
Morning |
Afternoon |
| 01
November - 15 February |
0600-1220 |
1500-1830
hrs |
| 16
February - 30 April |
0600-1220 |
1600-1830
hrs |
| 01 May
- 30 June |
0600-1100 |
1700-1830
hrs |
Accommodation
Bagh
Van Lodge is just five minutes away from the entrance of
the Pench National Park. It is hidden away amongst the
thickly wooded banks of a seasonal stream, which, in the
dry season serves as a pathway for tiger, leopard and
other animals inhabiting the fringe of the forest. The
lodge has cottage-type accommodation, each with a
bedroom, bathroom and verandah. The lodge has a main
dining & lounge area with a mix of open and enclosed
spaces. Local bamboo furniture has been used in the
rooms. The rooms and bathrooms are provided with large
windows to allow sufficient natural light.
Guests staying at BaghVan can go for guided nature
walks, go for game drives to Pench, enjoy boat rides or
elephant rides. Also they can visit the local haat/Bazaar
in the nearby villages.
| Pench
Jungle Camp |
Upper-End |
Pench Jungle camp is
spread out over 11acres with 12 Deluxe Safari style
canvas tents, waterproof, pitched on a platform. Also 4
spacious A/C rooms with attached toilets are there for
the creature comfort lovers. All the rooms have attached
bathroom, tiled, running hot and cold water, with LPG
Geysers, anti skid bathroom tiles.
Other services and facilities include a 9 hole
putting green spread out in 2.5 acres of carpet grass,
400 feet water stream running through the camp with fish
and Lotus, Billiards room, Pool table, Badminton courts,
host of indoor games, swimming Pool ( to be ready by
April 2004), with a filtration plant, Wildlife research
center, Coffee maker in room and multi cuisine
Restaurant
Wildlife:
Flora: The forest type is southern tropical dry
deciduous teak and southern tropical mixed deciduous
forest with other species of shrubs, trees and climbers.
Pench is dotted with teak and its associates moyan,
mahua, mokha, skiras, tendu, bija, achar, garari, aonla,
bhaman, ghont, baranga, amaltas, kihamali, khair, bhirra,
palas. Bamboo occurs sparsely, restricted to some
valleys
Mammals: Tiger, leopard, jungle cat, leopard cat,
striped hyaena, wild dog, wolf, common mongoose, sloth
bear, pangolin, spotted deer, sambar, barking deer,
nilgai, wild pig and gaur apart from exciting small
mammals like flying squirrels, palm and small civet,
common and ruddy mongoose etc.
Reptiles: Freshwater crocodile, Indian chameleon,
Common Krait, Indian Rock Python, Cobra, Indian Flap
Shell Turtle, Peninsular Black Turtle etc.
Birds: Pench is haven for birds with more than
200 species recorded from here including the migratory
waders and the ducks. It is pretty easy to spot birds
like the Crested Serpant Eagle, Changeable Hawk Eagle,
Painted Francolin, Malabar Pied Hornbill, Collared Scops
Owl and many other species.
