Kanha National Park Holidays

Famously the inspiration for Rudyard Kipling’s novel The Jungle Book, Kanha is another Indian park where tiger sightings are quite likely.

Draped across the verdant Maikal hills of central India, Kanha feels as gloriously remote as it did when 19th-century British travellers – long before it became a national park – sang its praises in print. Their breathless descriptions, which inspired Rudyard Kipling to set The Jungle Book amid its dramatic landscapes, still ring true today. There are dense forests of sal and bamboo, rocky plateaux, and grasslands stretching to the horizon, providing habitats for a dizzying range of flora and fauna. Of course, what draws people to this out-of-the-way reserve is the thought of spotting a real-life Shere Khan.

With a population of around 100 adult Bengal tigers and counting, chances of sightings are good, though never guaranteed. But there are other adventures to be had on jeep rides along far-flung tracks, from encounters with leopards, sloth bears and swamp deer – whose continued existence is something of a conservation coup – to serene moments where the only sound is a symphony of birdsong.

Embrace your inner Mowgli in Kanha’s wilderness with the advice of our nature-loving experts who know the camps and lodges with the savviest local trackers.

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Kanha National Park Hotels

Our recommendations for the best places to stay in Kanha National Park

Banjaar Tola - A Taj Safari, Kanha Tiger Reserve

A rustic-chic safari lodge at the edge of the Kahna National Park, the inspiration for The Jungle...

Singinawa Jungle Lodge

Located close to Kanha National Park, Singinawa Jungle Lodge has a wonderful natural setting.

Eco-Restoration Walk (from Singinawa Wildlife Camp)

This one-hour guided walk follows part of a nature trail covering around 58 acres of land in the forested buffer areas of the Kanha reserve and gives you a different perspective of the jungle. An expert knowledge of the forest is imperative to these walks. The guides will explain and introduce you to the many practices designed to help conserve the land.

This one-hour guided walk follows part of a nature trail covering around 58 acres of land in the forested buffer areas of the Kanha reserve and gives you a different perspective of the jungle. An expert knowledge of the forest is imperative to these walks. The guides will explain and introduce you to the many practices designed to help conserve the land. There are huge sal trees, prevalent to the area, that make up this moist deciduous forest. Then there’s the vast grasslands for which Kanha is famous where you may see barasingha deer grazing in the golden light. Treading through the jungle you might also spot chital deer, muntjac, foxes and some of the 150 species of birds whose natural habitat has been rigorously preserved. The excursions are created by trained forest guides, many of whom have been born and bred in the region. They understand every type of residential creature whether that’s tigers, sloth bears or sambar deer, as well as all the different parts of the park from the forested core to the wild outer perimeters.

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