Pench National Park
DirectionPench National park, nestling in the lower southern reaches of the satpuda hills is named after Pench river, meandering through the park from north to south. It is located on the southern boundary of Madhya Pradesh, bordering Maharashtra, in the districts of Seoni and Chhindwara.Pench National Park, comprising of 758 SQ Kms, out of which a core area of 299 sq km of Indira Priyadarshini Pench National Park and the Mowgli Pench Sanctuary and remaining 464 sq km of pench national park is the buffer area.
The area of the present tiger reserve has a glorious history. A description of its natural wealth and richness occurs in Ain-i-Akbari. Pench Tiger Reserve and its neighbourhood is the original setting of Rudyard Kipling’s most famous work, The Jungle Book.
Forests and Wildlife
The undulating topography supports a mosaic of vegetation ranging from moist, sheltered valleys to open, dry deciduous forest. Over 1200 species of plants have been recorded from the area including several rare and endangered plants as well as plants of ethno-botanical importance.
The area has always been rich in wildlife. It is dominated by fairly open canopy, mixed forests with considerable shrub cover and open grassy patches. The high habitat heterogeneity favours high population of Chital and Sambar. Pench tiger reserve has highest density of herbivores in India (90.3 animals per sq km).
Area:
Core : 292.85 sq. km.
Buffer : 465.00 sq. km.
Total : 757.85 sq. km.
Longitude : 79007’45” E to 79022’30”
Latitude: 21037’N to 21050’30” E
Altitude : 580-675 Mt. Above MSL
Rainfall : 1397 mm
Seasons :
Winter : November to February
Summer : March to mid-June
Monsoon : mid-June to September
Temperature:
Minimum : 3.1°F
Maximum : 47°F.
Photo Gallery
How to Reach:
By Air
The nearest airports to reach Pench National Park is at Nagpur & Jabalpur. Nagpur airport is about 110kms and Jabalpur Airport is about 215 kms from Pench Tiger Reserve. Pench to Nagpur & Pench to Jabalpur can be reached easily by using taxi service that operates frequently between them. In compare to both of them, connectivity of Nagpur airport is better than Jabalpur. Nagpur Airport is a International Airport with more flight connectivity to other destinations like Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Raipur, Dubai etc. Jabalpur airport is a small airport with connectivity from Delhi only.
By Train
Nearest railway station for reaching Pench by train is at Nagpur city (105kms). Second option could be Jabalpur railway station (200kms) having connectivity with most of the major tourist destinations & cities of India like Mumbai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Jaipur, Agra, Bangalore, Delhi, Varanasi, Lucknow, Sawai Madhopur etc. Some of the limited number of trains available for Chhindwara district as well which runs from Delhi to Chhindwara and Indore to Chhindwara.
By Road
There are state owned transport buses from Nagpur through which you can reach Khawasa Border (Madhya Pradesh-Maharashtra Border) on NH-8. From here, you need to take some vehicle for reach Turai entrance gate where all major resorts & lodges are located. Turia entrance gate is the popular & most frequently used entrance gate for Pench Jungle Safari.