Nagpur is also popularly known as the ‘Tiger Capital of India’ because of its proximity to many Tiger reserves, the 2 most famous of them being Pench Tiger Reserve and Tadoba Tiger Reserve located at a distance of around 75 KM and 130 KM from Nagpur respectively. During my tenure as Assistant Personnel Officer in Nagpur Division I visited Pench National park three times in 2020 and 2021 respectively. Each time the visit was a thrilling experience.
Pench Tiger Reserve is spread over two states viz. Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh. There are two different gates to enter into Pench Tiger Reserve viz. Sillari gate which is located in Maharashtra and Turia Gate which is located in Madhya Pradesh. Although both the entries offer their unique safari experience I would personally suggest for Turia Gate as there are three different routes to travel through this gate and the safari facilities are also much more developed in this part of the tiger Reserve. However if someone wants to see the dense forests then he/she should prefer Sillari Gate. The forest in this part of the reserve of much more dense and one can see the bamboo forest also in a considerable area.
How To Reach Pench Tiger Reserve?
Nagpur is the nearest city from where Sillari Gate is around 70 KM and Turia Gate is around 105 KM. The route falls on National Highway 44 hence it is very easy to travel from Nagpur to Pench. It takes around 2 hrs to negotiate the entire distance. I would personally suggest that one should go in the evening itself and stay in one of the resorts for a better experience. The tickets are available online and should preferably be bought in advance.
Major Attractions Near Pench Tiger Reserve
Pench Tiger reserve is called the land of Mowgli because the famous character of Rudyard Kipling’s “The Jungle Book” known as Mowgli used to live in this part of the jungle. If one enters into the tiger reserve from Turia gate side, Forest department has installed statue of Mowgli at one place which is a must see place in the jungle safari. If you are lucky enough you may end up sighting the Tiger which is a moment to rejoice. At one of our visits we spotted a tigress with two cubs which was fascinating although we could not take a picture of it. Apart from the above one can also do a night safari which is a great experience. There is also a potters village located at Panchdhar which one should try to visit.
Pench Tiger Reserve is one of the few Tiger Reserves in the country where the pristine forest can still be seen. The forest is dense and the landscape is mostly plain. The visit to Pench is also a reminder to all of us for conserving our forest and wildlife resources which is dwindling day by day.
Leave a Reply