Safari Zones in Kanha National Park

In the largest forest area of the central state of India - Madhya Pradesh, Kanha National Park is the ideal place to witness the extensive, diverse, and exclusive wildlife of India, including the Royal Bengal Tigers. Not only the elusive tigers but many other rare species, including Indian leopards, the sloth bear, barasingha, Indian wild dogs, wild cats, foxes, jackals and many others, could become the memorable part of your thrilling safari in Kanha National Park. The park is divided into various zones, allowing jeep safaris for tourists keen on wildlife exploration. The versatility of the park, with its landscapes encompassing dense sal forests, open meadows, and riverside biodiversity, ensures that your safari in Kanha National Park is a memorable experience. The park comprises four core zones and four buffer zones, giving visitors the option to choose the area for their journey.

The core zones represent the central area of the national park, offering increased chances of wildlife encounters. These zones are restricted from any human settlements, making them the best areas for an immersive wildlife experience.

The buffer zones surround the core zones, providing a secure environment for animals to stay away from human settlements. These areas also offer safari tours and are ideal for walking tours, providing close encounters with animals and birds.

Core Safari Zones in Kanha Tiger Reserve

• Mukki
• Kisli
• Kanha
• Sarhi

Mukki Zone

This is the most popular zone in Kanha National Park for many good reasons. The first, the Mukki zone, has the highest density of tigers in the park and also has reported a maximum number of sightings. Furthermore, the zone is filled with natural bliss covered with lush green vegetation and dense forest areas while lots of water bodies and rivers complement the scenery. Also, the natural surroundings in Mukki is the most suitable for fauna to thrive and the ecosystem to flourish.

Accompanying the Royal Bengal tigers, you can see various other rare species in the Mukki zone, including Leopards, sloth bears, Sambar deer, spotted deer, barking deer, four-horned antelope, Indian hare, and many more. Some other intriguing fauna and avifauna that to sight here are Red-tailed pit viper, Indian flying squirrel, Spot bellied eagle owl, Crested hawk eagle, horseshoe bat, etc.

Mukki zone is also a heaven to bird watchers as 300 bird species sightings have been reported in this zone up to now. Waterfalls are another tourist attraction in the Mukki zone, as there are plenty of them all over Kanha National Park due to its river system. Mukki Waterfall is the most popular tourist attraction in this zone.

Mukki zone is the southern part of the Kanha Tiger Reserve and has its entry from the Mukki Gate, which can be easily approached from the southern side of the park.

Kisli Zone

The western part of the Kanha Tiger Reserve is named Kisli Zone and has its entry from the adjoining buffer zone's entry named Khatia Gate. Kisli is best known for its amazing views of Towering Sal forest, along which the safari route is designed to pass, giving awe-inspiring sights in the morning. The zone has various hotspots for wildlife encounters, including an artificial water body named Nakti Ghati Anicut. The various water bodies are popular for birding and viewing wildlife. The Bhamni dadar viewpoint is also a popular stop in the Kisli zone that gives an amazing panoramic 360° view of the surrounding countryside.

Amidst the stunning sceneries of towering sal forest and sparkling water, you can witness the presence of rare bird species in the Kisli zone, including the Alexandrine parakeet, red-napped Ibis, Brown-headed barbet, etc. If you are visiting the diverse and dense wildlife of Kisli Zone, you won't be disappointed!

Kanha Zone

The very central area of the core zone of Kanha National Park is recognised as Kanha Zone. After Kisli, kanha is the most preferred zone in kanha national Park. This is because lot of tigers keeps shifting from kisli to kanha zone and vice versa throughout the year. Kanha zone have much greater chances of spotting rare animal species like Bengal Tigers, Hard ground barasingha, Chausingha, Black buck, Chitals, etc.

However, the zone is more dominated by more tigresses than tigers. The open meadows and grasslands of Kanha Zone make it an ideal place to hunt for the food and thus you get more clear view of tigers in Kanha Zone.

Kanha Zone is in the middle thus it has entry from all three gates of the tiger reserve including Mukki gate, Sarahi gate, and Khatia gate

Sarahi Zone

Engulfed with dry deciduous forest and large meadows, you will cross towering sal forest when approaching the centre of Sarahi zone, either from Kisli gate or Sarahi gate. From all meadows, sanuf meadow is most popular in this zone. Sarahi is the northern part of the Kanha Tiger reserve and should ideally be accessed from the northern gate named Sarahi gate.

Along with the elusive royal bengal tigers you can witness many other animals including Gaur, Barking deer, Northern plain langur, Chital and exotic bird species like painted francolin, Indian paradise flycatcher, and oracles.

Buffer Safari Zones in Kanha National Park

• Khatia
• Sijhora
• Phen
• Khapa

There are four buffer zones in Kanha National Park, including Khatia, Sijhora, Khapa, and Phen. Buffer zones surround the Kanha Tiger reserve's core zone from all sides, ensuring the protection of the core wildlife and a safe passage for fauna to migrate.

Khatia is the largest buffer zone in Kanha National Park, covering an area of 357 square kilometres. It is filled with varied landscapes and many migratory bird species to witness, while the Khapa zone is the smallest buffer zone of Kanha National Park, with only a 20 sq. km area. Sijhora is the most remote buffer zone located on the north side of the park and has many unexplored sites to see. Sijhora beholds the scenic beauty of nature, miles away from human disturbance. And Phen is the most recent addition to the Kanha National Park in 2018. It is a wildlife reserve that has its own wildlife and a meandering river system. Safaris in these buffer areas provide more movement in the natural habitat of animals and provide you with a close encounter with many bird and animal species that you would not get in the core zones of Kanha National Park.