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Parks Index
Wildlife Index
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Alikatta:
The Alikatta area appears to be the hub around which the park is
planned. All tracks seem to wind their way in different directions
only to all end at Alikatta. It is a fascinating expanse of grassland
(when it isn't submerged under water!), where it is possible to
come across any of the animals found in the park. It is one of the
few places left in the country where every evening one gets to see
the amazing spectacle of grazing herds consisting of thousands of
spotted deer. Where there are deer, there will be predators. So
keep your eyes open here. It is also the location from where the
elephant rides commence. Alikatta is also home to Saraswati, a recently
born baby elephant (in June 2003), who one is sure will keep visitors
enthralled with her antics for a few years to come still.
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 Besides being an excellent location for wildlife viewing, Alikatta also has the added attraction of the tame elephants |
 Sitaghat is probably the prettiest spot in Pench |
Sitaghat:
This spot is arguably the prettiest location in all of Pench National
Park. As the winding track comes to a dead end, it brings you to
the bank of the river Pench dotted with rocks and artistic looking
trees. In the summer months, bushes with white flowers run all along
the bank. To see these flowers in full bloom, it is a must to visit
the spot in the morning hours, as they close by early evening. If
patient, it appears to be an excellent spot for wildlife viewing.
The only problem being you are totally exposed, and animals being
as vary of humans as they intellegently are, chances are they will
shy away before you even know they are around. The evening has a
charm of its own here with the light of the low sun painting an
amazing scenery with contrasting shadows and highlights. It is a
good spot for bird lovers. Make sure you have your binoculars with
you.
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Chhindimatta
Road: This road that branches off and leads to the huge Pench
reservoir is an absolutely must see while visiting the park. While
a majority of the rest of the park is quite flat, this section is
full of ups and downs over rocky hills and through excellent forest.
Although not very high, the rockly cliffs beside the track seem
like excellent places to come across a handsome leopard to make
it a perfect picture. It is also an excellent area for spotting
buzzards, eagles and hawks.
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 A white-eyed Buzzard on Chhindimatta Road |
 The reservoir near the park boundary on the Bodhanala road |
Bodhanala
range: This area is worth seeing for its variety of topography.
It goes from slopy hills, to bamboo forest, to a large pond close
to the edge of the park. Although Mohit didn't see too many animals
in this area, he was fascinated by the number of bird species he
saw here. Similar to the Chhindimatta Road, it is an excellent area
for raptors. Maybe even better. He also spotted a huge grass snake
darting across the track on his last visit to the area. The small
reservoir is an excellent location to spot water birds.
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Raiyakassa:
This is the location of a watchtower built by the park authorities.
The roof of this cement watchtower provides and excellent view of
the river pench. The park authorities also offer visitors the choice
of spending a night at this watchtower. The facilities are extremely
basic but any night spent on that roof will be embedded in the visitor's
memory forever for sure. It is quite common to spot Bison coming
down to the river here. On occasions, a tiger too has been spotted
from this spot.
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 The view of Raiyakassa from the newly constructed watchtower |
 Some of the largest herds of Sambar were seen at Doob Road by Mohit |
Doob
Road : This track running close to the edge of the water bodies
is an excellent area for spotting all varieties of animals. After
the monsoon season however, most of it is submerged until the water
levels once again recede. During the rest of the year, it is quite
common to come across huge herds of deer and bison, while driving
along this track. Leopards have also been seen in this area.
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Kalapahad:
The Kalapahad area comes up on the main track leading in from
the entrance at Turia. It is near this location that the track splits
into two branches, one leading to the Chhindimatta reservoir, still
some distance away, and the other obviously to Alikatta. This area
due to its hilly terrain and tree cover, besides being excellent
for langurs is also a favourite for leopards. Wild boar are also
often seen in this area. Among the not so commonly seen birds in
the park, Great Hornbills were also spotted in this area during
Mohit's visit. The only mongoose seen by him at the park was also
here. It goes without saying that like most of Pench National Park,
this too is an excellent area for bird watchers to keep a sharp
lookout. Quite often one gets to see, in this area, the fascinating
sight of a large male langur running alongside, changing direction
by deflecting himself off trees instead of turning on the ground.
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 Kalapahad has a good population of langurs |
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Tiger Sansar: Only
a little distance away from Alikatta, this area is one of the few
in the park that have succumbed to the unrelenting take-over bid
by the Lantana weed. This weed although a nuisance to wildlife staff
and to almost any other vegetation in the forest, is a favourite
with tigers due to the cover it provides. In fact Mohit feels it
is our best unused weapon against poaching. Due to an abundance
of lantana in the tiger sansar area, the biggest male of the park
has made it his residence(2003).
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 A deer's eye view of Tiger Sansar from which many an attack is launched by the resident tiger |
 The huge open expanses of Chhindimatta when the reservoir water level drops during the summer months |
Chhindimatta:
After
the monsoon season, this area becomes a huge reservoir measuring
over 50 sq km. It then becomes and excellent area for water birds.
During the time when the water level drops, most of it is a huge
grassland that extends almost as far as the eyes can see. In this
season massive herds of spotted deer can be seen here and often
hunting them are seen the most feared of predators, the wild dogs.
It is also the dividing factor between the states of Madhya Pradesh
and Maharashtra. A good way to observe the water birds at close
range here is to hire a boat for a few hours.
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| Pivarthadi: |
 The old Karmajhiri Forest Rest House |
Karmajhiri: This is the location of the other entrance to the park. It is also the location of the museum, which is at present not much to talk about, the Forest Rest House complex and the newly constructed and exhorbidantly priced Mowgli Huts. The area surrounding Karmajhiri is supposed to be excellent bison country. Stories of animals coming into the verandah of the old forest rest house here however, now seem like a thing of the past with almost too many buildings being constructed in the complex(2003). |