Wildlife Tourism

Madhya Pradesh is one of the most important states of the country as for conservation of wildlife and biodiversity is concerned. The state has had a long history of conservation. Parts of the present Kanha National Park were declared a wildlife sanctuary way back in 1935 while the State enacted its very own MP National Parks Act in 1955. The Kanha National Park, Madhav National Park and Bandhavgarh National Park were originally constituted under this Act in 1955, 1956 and 1969, respectively, and were enlarged later to bring them to their current size. In tune with the awakened national consciousness towards conservation of flora and fauna, since the 1970s, the state government began setting up a network of protected areas (national parks and wildlife sanctuaries) under the provisions of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. There are now 9 National Parks and 25 Sanctuaries spread over an area of 10,900 sq. km constituting approximately 11.40% of the total forest area and 3.52% of the geographical area of the state.

Wildlife Tourism is the most visible management activity in the well known protected areas. People visit protected areas to see wild animals and to enjoy the natural beauty of the forests, rivers and mountains. Tourism in the protected areas in MP has been growing almost at the rate of 10% per year. More tourism is not really better for conservation. Wildlife tourism has advantages as well as disadvantages. While tourism can generate jobs and business opportunities for the local people who suffer serious restrictions on their livelihoods due to denial of access to the natural resources, tourists also act as extra ears and eyes for the forest management to detect illegal activities or animals in distress. However, tourism also inconveniences wild animals, tourism infrastructure destroys wildlife habitats and corridors. Too many tourists spoil the serenity of the forests and may generate a lot of garbage that, sometimes, can be dangerous to animals. At least two tigers have been killed in accidents with tourist vehicles in Bandhavgarh national park in the recent past.

Kanha, Bandhavgarh, Pench, Satpura, Panna  and Van Vihar national parks are the main centres of wildlife tourism in the State. The protected areas of the state received nearly eight lac tourist visits between July 07 and June 08, although nearly half of them pertain to Van Vihar and Pachmarhi (in Satpura Tiger Reserve). The state earned nearly 10 crore rupees from these operations. All the revenue earned by the protected areas of MP, from tourism goes into a local fund called the Vikas Nidhi and is used for the management of the parks only. It does not go to the government treasury.

Madhya Pradesh Tourism Rules provide for a diversified wildlife experience, consisting of safari (game drives), elephant rides (including tiger show) nature walks, bird watching, cycling, camping, hides/machans etc. in the protected areas, but game drives, and tiger show from elephant back, are the main tourism activity in most parks. Walking and boating are becoming popular in Satpura national park of late. In view of the high impact of vehicle borne tourism, the maximum number of tourism vehicles (carrying capacity) that can enter Kanha, Bandhavgarh, Pench and Panna national parks has been fixed, support by online booking of park excursions through internet. Visitors are advised to book entry tickets in advance as there a cap on the number of vehicles allowed to enter into the parks.

Kanha, Bandhavgarh and Pench tiger reserves are famous for their tiger tourism. People come here expecting to see wild tigers. Tigers can be seen on game drives as well as from elephant back. Departmental elephants track the tigers early morning in the nearby forests and show them to tourists. This arrangement is called the tiger show. Although the tiger show (sher darshan in Hindi) helps a lot of people see tigers, the tiger show also faces criticism from the purists as being too invasive for tigers. However, the management strives to make the tiger show  as benign as possible both for the tigers as well as for the tourists.

National Parks of Madhya Pradesh

If you are visiting Kanha, Bandhavgarh, Pench and Panna Tiger reserves, then please book your entry ticket online to avoid disappointment.

Sanctuaries in MP

Bagdara, Sidhi district 

Bori, Hoshangabad district

Gandhisagar 

Ghatigaon, Gwalior district 

Karera, Shivpuri district 

Ken Ghariyal, Chhatarpur district

Kheoni, Dewas district 

Kuno-Palpur, Sheopur district

Narsinghgarh, Rajgarh district 

National Chambal, Morena district 

Nauradehi, Sagar Damoh & Narsinghpur District 

Orchha, Tikamgarh district 

Panpatha, Umaria & Shahdol

Phen, Mandla district 

Ralamandal, 22 kms from Indore

Ratapani, Raisen district

Sailana, Ratlam district 

Sardarpur, Dhar district 

Singhori, Raisen district

Son Ghariyal, Rewa district

Veerangana, Damoh district  

Source: MP Forest Dept.