Kanha vs. Bandhavgarh - which is better?

mayamaya

Hi! I've read the other posts about Kanha and Bandhavgarh, but have some remaining questions.

My husband and I will be traveling through Madhya Pradesh in the first and second weeks of January and were hoping to spend 3 or 4 nights in one of MP's national parks. Any thoughts on whether Kanha or Bandhavgarh ranks better for the following:
1. Overall experience
2. Tiger sightings
3. Scenery
4. Expense
5. Convenience for getting/leaving there

Do you recommend the Jungle Package/Plans (all-inclusive) at the lodges in these parks?

Before the national park, we will likely be in Pachmarhi. After visiting the national park, we will likely be in Khajuraho. Some other areas we will be visiting are: Sanchi, Bhimbetka, and Orchha. Any advice or comments would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!
Maya

kiranlal

Hello Meera,
i was in bhandvagrah in november this year i was also in confusion about the both but i decided to go to Bhandvagra because it looks more logical to spot the tiger so eacy
the park is smaller and the no of tiger in the tourist zone is 20 and iti s only about100sqkm (tourist zone)
they make tracking every day and spoting tiger is a sport there for the cab drivers,
if you r going to bhandvagra try to be the no one in the que -it means you have to wake up at 5 and be in the que at 5-30 in the cold .

i never been in kahna it is described as a nice place wit its connections with Kipplings

bearable

Hi Maya,

I just returned from my trip to Kanha and Bandhavgarh and here is a summary:
I flew into Bombay early morning and took a night train to Jabalpur. The train arrived at Jabalpur at 2 pm, took an auto to Bedaghat and spent remainder of the day and night at Bedaghat.
Madhya Pradesh Tourism Development Corp (MPTDC) has an office just outside the train station and arranged a rental car to take me to Kanha the next day for Rs 1600. (Tata Indica hatchback).
The road from Bedaghat to Kanha is terrible and the journey takes about 5 hours.
MPTDC operates the only hotel and dormitory (Baghira log huts) between the inner and outer gate at Kisli. All the other hotels are outside the park. The location is excellent and the food and service great.
Kanha being far from any major city is a blessing in disguise since poaching and other human animal conflicts appear non-existent.
MPTDC arranges a Maruti jeep to go inside the park for Rs 1600 per day solo. This can be shared by at most 6 people.
Medicines and other supplies are not easily available inside the park. Bottled water is available but cannot know the quality.
After spending 4 days at Kanha, I rented a car for Rs 2500 to get to Bandhavgarh. The journey is rough and takes about 9 hours.
All the hotels at Bandhavgarh are located outside the Park gate at Tala. The jeep rental is Rs 1100 solo for the day.
The flora and fauna at both parks is almost the same. Bandhavgarh is small and has higher density of tigers. It is also convenient to visit (25 kms from Umaria, a rail head). It's mostly rolling hillsides and narrow valleys.
Kanha has wide valleys and meadows created by relocation of villages.This makes animals easy to spot. Kanha seems to be the better managed and funded of the two.
The park hours are shorter at Bandhavgarh. Bandhavgarh has a major road running thru it and villages outside the park boundary.
Both parks have a "tiger show" in the morning. The park elephants search for tigers every morning. When a tiger is located they radio it's location to a control room where the tourists are waiting.They then proceed to the location by jeep and are transferred to an elephant to see the tiger/s. The chances of seeing a tiger during the "tiger show" are virtually 100%. They are very hard to spot with a jeep and on our own. I saw two tigers at Kanha in two days during the tiger show and 2 more on the first evening. I saw tiger cubs at Bandhavgarh during the tiger show.
After spending 3 days at Bandhavgarh, a rental car took me to Katni for Rs 1200 and from there a train to Jabalpur.
The entrance fees and camera/camcorder charges are quite high. Foreigners are charged much higher fees to visit the park. The tiger show costs Rs 100.
Only STD facility is available at Kanha but Tala has both STD/ISD. Both do not have internet access. There are dirt roads inside the park and the dust flies thick. You may want to carry dust masks. Furthermore Kanha opens at 5.30/6 am and doing both morning and evening session is tiring. The European plan allows for time off. A few useful links:
http://www.wildlywise.com/rsvs_index.htm
http://mptourism.com/dest/main.html
MPTDC as a rule will not answer emails/phone calls (not even from God).
In summary, both parks are pretty and if you stay 3/4 days you will certainly see a tiger/s. Hope this helps. If you have any more questions, feel free to email me.

alan1111

Hi All,

I was planning to do bandhavgarh/kanha circuit this dec solo. Can anyone let me know what are the additional costs associated being a solo traveller. to be more specific..do i have to hire full jeeps for safaris or are there are safaris available on pay-per-seat basis as in ranthambhore. Any idea of cost would be welcome.
Also are there sufficient public transport to commute between the places.
i am planning this route (7 days approx)
khajuraho-varnasi-bandhavgarh-kanha
I am interested in knowing abt transport from varanasi to bandhavgarh and bandhavgarh to kanha as I wud be doing the rest by train.

Thanks in advance!
Alan

didindia7

It's very difficult to book only 1 seat in a jeep. Hotels ask you high price for single jungle plan, you share the jeep and you have to pay a lot.
Individual bookings are possible for the safaris : 2000 Rs (entry for the jeep) + 150 Rs (guide) + 30 Rs (tax) + 1000 Rs (gipsy rent at Bandhavgarh, a little bit more at Kanha)= 3180 Rs per safari. Expensive ...

aandey

Dear,
I again gone to Bandhavgarh National Park but it's a sad new that park administration has stoped "Tiger Show" at Tala Zone for tourists, so it's impossible to get a elephant ride in Tala Zone at Bandhavgarh. One more thing, adminstration is allowing fix route to enter in park and back by fix route, eighter you see a tiger or not. So seening a tiger in Bandhavgarh is purly depends upon your luck.
Park administration is not concerning with tourism they only concern with their forest rules and their won safty of service, so if you go to Bandhavgarh, must remember these thing, you can also contact to park administartion, may be they allow you as V.I.P. guest, because V.I.P. guest are always allwoed to visit any where by any means by any time.
Even then Bandhavgarh Is much more better than Kanha.

atravelynn

These changes mentioned by Aandey seem to be positive steps for the health of the park and the wildlife.

Is this change in rules for just one area of the park, just for Tala Zone?

Aandey, why do you think Bandhavgarh is still better than Kanha?

And how do you get to be a VIP? Is it who you know, who you are, or how much you pay?

Thank you.

upty123

Kanha offers more species to see. Kanha is easily accessible. For tiger watching both are good. Bandhavgarh is more picturesque.

atravelynn

What if I expand the question to:

Which is better Kanha vs. Bandhavgarh vs. Ranthambhore?

kartikp

Aandey, that is really great news. Stopping tiger shows and regulating the traffic to fixed routes will ease some pressure on the wildlife. One complain that everyone had with Bandhavgarh was that it was too crowded and unorganized. At least now it will have some reprieve from that. If the forest department start paying less attention to tourism and more to their forest rules, thats great news to me as well. At least they are going in the right direction. :-) But these are my own views.

Cheers,
Kartik

upty123

Learn to toss a coin man

__________________
tiger man

atravelynn

Ok. Flip me a rupee.

July

Hi,
It seems that they give different rates for hiring Jeep for Safari in Kanha.

Can anyone tell me what would how much should one give.
July