kanha National
Park

The Illustrious, ethereal and magical world of fairy tales enters the mind of the many when they embrace the thought of Kanha National Park. It was close to the year 1860 that Kanha National Park came to be recognized as a biodiverse sanctum. Captain James Forsyth, an officer in the Bengal Staff Corps at the time, discovered the awe inspiring beauty that the land offered. He penned his thoughts on the park in his book called the “Highlands of Central India”. A readable combination of forest surveys, ethnography of the people that resided here and a personal memoir of his excursions.

Kanha National Park is known for its exceptional park management as it campaigned to relocate villages within the core area of the national park like Sonf, Bishanpura and Gorhela, on a voluntary basis. This played a major factor in the success of their conservation efforts as it reduced man animal conflict by a considerable margin while subsequently aiding the local community by providing better healthcare facilities, education and livelihoods.

Even the Hard Ground Barasingha, “Jewel of Kanha” was placed in special enclosures to encourage its breeding and as a result brought it back from the brink of extinction. The outcome was quite palpable as the number of this iconic species of deer sky rocketed. From merely 66 Barasinghas that were left in the park, Kanha National Park is now home to over a 1000 of these Swamp Deer. This was by no means a trivial feat, and the department were rightly awarded as awarded as the best tourist friendly national parks, by the Government of India.

Only 20% of the Core area of the national park is open to tourists. This is more than enough as it gives us plenty to view and explore.