Considered as one of the better managed national parks and tiger reserves in India, Kanha National Park in Madhya Pradesh is a great forest. The core area as well as the buffer area are large and reasonably well managed. What I loved about Kanha is the vast expanse of land with no civilisation and natural habitat. The forest officials were quite strict in enforcing the rules and this was a welcome change to see in India where all rules can be bent for a consideration.
Thick forest at Kanha
Vast expanse of Kanha National Park
Beautiful landscapes at Kanha National Park
Having said this, the not so good thing about Kanha is that almost everyone who visits Kanha does not want to go back without the sighting of a tiger. So, the tiger sigthing is stage managed whereby forest guards report the area where a tiger or two are resting and then the visitors are driven in Maruti Gypsys to that area. Then you get on to an elephant back and with several such elephants closing in on the area where the tiger has been pinpointed, you are blessed with the sighting of this majestic animal.
River at Kanha National Park
If the visitor is a senior bureaucrat or a police officer and not to forget the all powerful Indian politician, the tigers at Kanha are left with no choice but to been seen and appreciated by the eyes of the rich and powerful in India. This is the new version of the circus in the jungle.
We did sight a couple of tigers this way and I guess that was supposed to be the achievement of the year.
Banyan Tree at Kanha
