YouSeeIndia.Com - a unique VIDEO Travel Guide of incredible India!: Bandhavgarh National Park

Famous for:
Gateway to Kanha and Bandhavgarh National Parks, Jabalpur is also famous for the marble rock cliffs and finding of a full skeleton of dinosaur in 1930.

Video: Jabalpur

Background:
The name is derived from Jabal, meaning rocks in Arabic. Almost all types of rocks can be found in or around Jabalpur and a full skeleton of a dinosaur was found here in 1930.
Situated on the Deccan plateau on the bank of the Narmada River, Jabalpur was the pleasure resort and capital of the Gond Kings during the 12th century.
Its history dates back to the times of Mahabharata and was ruled by the Mauryans, the Guptas, the Kalchuri rulers, the Gonds, the Marathas and finally the British.
Today it is an important administrative centre and a hub of commercial activity of the region.

Video: Marble rocks and waterfalls at Bheraghat

What to see:
Rani Durgavati Museum
Built in the memory of the queen Durgavati it is has a fine collection of inscriptions, sculptures and prehistoric relics.

Madan Mahal Fort
Location: On a rocky hill, on the route to the marble rocks
Built by the Gond Rulers in 1116 AD, the fort has a panoramic view of the city and its surrounding.

The Marble Rocks
Location: 22 km from Jabalpur
Amazing place with Marble cliffs by the Narmada river. Boating near the cliffs in the moonlit night is an experience to have. The Bheraghat/ Dhuandhar waterfall near the gorge is also a beautiful site.

Kanha National Park (click here)
Location: 164 km from Jabalpur
Kanha is one of the largest national parks in Asia, has a tiger reserve under Project tiger and was the inspiration behind Rudyard Kipling's 'Jungle Book'.

Bandhavgarh National park (click here)
Location: 170 km from Jabalpur
A well known National Park having the highest density of tiger population in India.

Video: Boat ride near marble rock cliffs

Reaching there:
Air:
Jabalpur has a domestic Airport but Bhopal Airport (297 km) is a better connected with other cities.

Rail:
Jabalpur is on mainline and all major trains halt here. It also falls on the Mumbai - Howrah (via Allhabad) line.

Road:
NH 7 (Varanasi - Mangawan - Rewa - Jabalpur - Lakhnadon - Nagpur - Hyderabad - Kurnool - Bangalore - Krishnagiri - Salem - Dindigul - Madurai - Cape Commorin (Kanyakumari)), NH 12 (Jabalpur - Bhopal - Khilchipur - Aklera - Jhalawar - Kota - Bundi - Devli - Tonk - Jaipur) and NH 12A (Jabalpur - Mandla - Chilpi - Simga) connects Jabalpur to major centres within the region and other cities.
It is well connected by taxis and bus with Bhopal, Indore, Raipur, Satna and Nagpur.

Video: Arriving at Jabalpur by train

Famous for:
Bandhavgarh National Park has the highest density of Tigers in India

Video: Tiger crossing at Bandhavgarh

Background:
Declared a National Park in 1968, Bandhavgarh has the highest density of Tigers in India.
It was the Shikargah or the hunting ground of the Maharajas of Rewa and their guests and his highness, Maharajah Venkat Raman Singh shot 111 Tigers by 1914!
Spread across 448 sq km, the park has many hills and the highest point is on the Bandhavgarh hill (811 m).
The animals found here includes Tigers, Indian Bison, Sambar, Barking deer etc.
The park timings are:
Morning trip : 0630 to 1000 hours.
Afternoon trip : 1430 to 1800 hours.

Video: Tiger from Elephant back - Bandhavgarh

What to see:
Wildlife
The moist deciduous forest of the park has 22 species of mammals which include Tigers, Indian Bison, Sambar, Barking deer, Jackal, Sloth bear, Mongoose, etc.
It has around 250 species of birds and Kite, Eagle, Vulture, Kingfisher, etc can be easily seen.
Reptiles includes Cobra, Russell's Viper, common Krait, Python, etc

Fort
Not much is known about the origin of the fort but it is believed to have been built some 2000 years ago. It was ruled by many dynasties since the 1st century AD and it was last inhabited till 1935.

Video: View from the top of the Bandhavgarh Fort hill

Sites nearby
Jabalpur
Location: 170 km from Bandhavgarh
Situated on the bank of Narmada River, Jabalpur is surrounded by rocky and barren hillocks and is famous for the hills of Marble rocks located by the river, 22 km from Jabalpur.

Video: Bandhavgarh National Park - Elephant Ride

Reaching there:
Air: Khajuraho (225 km) has the nearest and convenient airport. It takes about 5 hour to drive from Khajuraho to Bandhavgarh passing from near a crocodile sanctuary at river Ken and the diamond mines of the Panna town.

Rail: Umaria (30 km) on SE Railway is the nearest Railway station. However Jabalpur (170 km), Katni (102 km) and Satna (120 km) are more convenient railheads.

Road: NH 7 (Varanasi - Mangawan - Rewa - Jabalpur - Lakhnadon - Nagpur - Hyderabad - Kurnool - Bangalore - Krishnagiri - Salem - Dindigul - Madurai - Cape Commorin (Kanyakumari)) is the nearest National Highway.

Taxis and buses ply from Jabalpur, Katni and Satna to Bandhavgarh.