The thick forest of Bandhavgarh National Park sits in a bowl encircled by cliffs and wooded Vindhyan mountains, and its plains have a number of grass and reed covered wetlands where Kingfishers dive and Egrets sit poised, hunch-backed, in the shallows. Up above, vultures nestle in holes in the sheer cliffs.

The Bandhavgarh jungle, when it is large enough, becomes a living self-sustaining organism providing its own climate, atmosphere, water and nutrition through its recycling systems. It even has a sleep wake cycle. As more light fills the sky, Bandhavgarh begins to awaken.

The Flora in Bandhavgarh National Park Bandhavgarh has a large variety of tree cover. Bandhavgarh has an excellent tree and foliage concentration. About half the Bandhavgarh park is covered with fine trees of Sal, while mixed forests are found in the higher reaches of the hills. It is only in the slightly higher lands that it changes to a more mixed vegetation of sali, saj, saja, dhobin etc. Stretches of bamboo and grasslands extend to the north. The main wildlife viewing is still done in the core of the park with its 32 picturesque, wooded hills.

The Fauna in the Bandhavgarh National Park The density of it's big cat population has made Bandhavgarh famous across the globe. Bandhavgarh is blessed with a large variety of natives in terms of animals. It is possible to sight tigers, leopards, gaur (Indian Bison-although some say this is no longer seen), chital (spotted deer), Sambar deer, Dholes, nilgais, wild boars, chinkaras, sloth bears, rhesus macaques, black faced langurs, jungle cats, hyenas, porcupines, jackals, foxes, wild dogs, chausinghas and ratels, among others.

The Avi-fauna in the Bandhavgarh National Park Despite being famous for it's four legged inhabitants, Bandhavgarh National Park is also a bird lover's paradise. Keep a look out for white browed fantails, steppe eagles, green pigeons, grey malabar hornbills, black and white malabar hornbills (quite a rare sighting), blossom headed parakeets, parakeets, blue bearded bee eaters, green bee eaters, white bellied drongos, owls, Jerdon's and gold fronted leaf birds, minivets, woodshrikes and the lovely paradise flycatchers.

Jeep & Elephant Safari One can enjoy exploring the wildlife in Bandhavgarh by two ways - Jeep Safari and Elephant Safari. Jeep safaris are undertaken during the early morning hours till evening. A forest department guide is always their with the visitors on these jeep trips taken inside the park. Elephant safari trips are organised for tiger tracking early in the morning.

How To Get There??
Air : Khajurao at 230-kms is the most convenient airport connected by various domestic airline services with Agra, Delhi, Varanasi.
Rail : The nearest railhead Umaria at 30-kms is on the Katni-Bilaspur section of South-Eastern Railway. Another convenient railhead Satna (117-kms) is on the Bombay-Howrah main line of the Central Railway.
Road :Bandhavgarh National Park is situated on the Satna-Umaria & Rewa-Umaria highway. Some of the important road distances are: Khajuraho (via Satna)230-kms, Varanasi (via Rewa) 340-kms, Katni 75-kms, Rewa 115-kms, Umaria 30-kms, Kanha 250-kms. Madhya Pradesh State Transport Bus Services are also available from Rewa, Satna, Katni and Umaria.