Pench Tiger Reserve: A Comprehensive Guide to Safari Adventures -

In the jungle….the mighty jungle…..

Until last year, I had always wondered why people were so intrigued by visiting wildlife in person rather than the zoos and likes of the television documentaries. What gave them the adrenaline rush? Now, I find it silly that I thought so after visiting Ranthambore last year and Pench this year.

The unpredictability of the mighty jungle……the wild chase to track the animals……detailing out the different animal calls………observing the pugmarks[ and whether they are fresh ones] ……….rushing to the spot of the probable sight in a bizarre roller-coaster gypsy drive……..the mood and state of the animals[depending on season and time of the day]………. these are some of the experiences which you must make for yourself 😀

After our Winter safaris in Ramthambore[2 tiger cubs sighting], we learnt that Summer gives better chances of tiger spotting and so we decided to make most of the chance. But we wanted to avoid the super-crowded and commercial Tadoba and chose Pench instead.

Pench is the only tiger reserve to straddle across two states : Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra. It derives its name from the river that runs across it: River Pench. Much like the system of wildlife tourism in most of India, the tourism activity in Pench Tiger Reserve is restricted to 20% of the core area and is carried out through safari drives done each day in the early morning and evening. The jungle comprises of a majority of teak trees and is dry and deciduous.

Madhya Pradesh Side Safari Gates

Touria gate
Karmajhiri gate
Jamtara gate

Maharashtra Side Safari Gates

Sillari
Khursapar
Saleghat
Kolitmaara
Chorbahuli
Surewani

Pench National Park and Gate layout

[googlemaps https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/embed?mid=1VH6QJ5tLvdk5YMeUBFJYCUAgdWYvDdGj&w=640&h=480]

As per the gate you want to go for the safari, we need to book on either MP [for MP gates] and Maharashtra [For MH gates] online for entry ticket and then book the gypsies and co-ordinate them related tot he timings.

TIP: It is always good to do multiple safaris to increase the probability of sighting the tiger.

Early morning Gypsy Safaris

We choose to go with Footloose Journeys and we did a package of 4days- 3nights with 7 safaris [including the night safari]

The camp leaders Pooja and Paresh gave us insightful information regarding the importance of jungle corridors and wildlife and their conservation activities. We also got a chance to visit the house of our gypsy driver\guide, Dinesh bhai, who gave us valuable information about the co-existence of people along with the wild animals.

Safari	Gate	Sightings
Day 1 Evening Safari	Turia	4 cubs of Langdi tigress
Day 2 Morning Safari	Khursapar	Wild dogs, jackals and other birds and animals
Day 2 Evening Safari	Khursapar	Tigress Baras and Tigress Bindu
Day 3 Morning Safari	Turia	Wild dogs, jackals and other birds and animals
Day 3 Evening Safari + Night Safari	Telia buffer	Tigress Sharmilee with her 4 cubs[sub-adult]
Day 4 Morning Safari	Turia	Tigress Collerwali with her cubs

Not just the tigers but keep an eye for all the wildlife that you can catch in their natural habitats. Jungles and the wild give us many a life lessons and its an enriching experience to be a part of the wild for a while.

Female Jackal

This was our first ever night safari and the experience gave us goosebumps. In pitch darkness with just the headlights of the gypsy we maneuvered through the Telia buffer forest. The call of the mother tigress to collect her cubs and the cubs responding to their mothers call was an out of the world experience. The sight of 5 tigers together, going to the waterhole will be our cherished memory.

Night Safari – Tigress Sharmilee with her 4 cubs

Tigress Bindu

Cub of Tigress Langdi

In the scorching heat of Summer, undoubtedly all the activity was around the waterhole. We could just park around a water hole and wait for hours to watch numerous animals arriving there to quench their thirst in multiples. Monkeys, Nilgai, Indian gaur, wild boars, peacocks, wild dogs, jackals we could find all of these near the waterholes. We also saw numerous birds like kingfisher, crested serpent eagle, Indian roller, racket tailed drongo, owls , to name a few.