Best Safari Gates (Safari Zones) at Pench National Park
Planning to visit a national park is an exciting feeling for everyone. Pench is the only national park in India which occupies the area of two states, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh. Though this park covers a wide area, it is must for every visitor to plan well in advance before visiting this national park. Selecting the Best Gates in Pench for Safari is one of the very important task before planning the Trip.
Choose the Right Safari Gate in Pench National Park
For every jungle safari trip, it is quite necessary to book the permits well in advance and for the right entry gates. As there are so many gates, one must plan properly before booking the forest permits. A tourist must research in detail about the park and its different entry gates. Generally, tourist books multiple safaris from different gates in an excitement to sight a Tiger. However, it may not be always possible to reach out to different entry gates due to its distance from your accommodation.
It takes lot of time to travel between different gates. Also, these are the different entry gates but you have excess to the same forest. Generally, at Pench when you book a permit for any of the Core Zones you have access to the same core forest. It is only that the entry points are different. Buffer zones are independent and have no connections with the Core Zones.
In order to avoid this problem, we must always check the different gates and their distances. It is always favourable for the tourists to book the gate for safari ride near to your tour accommodation (Resorts).
About the Forest
Pench National Park or Pench Tiger Reserve is located on the border of Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra, which is at 70 kms. from Nagpur. Pench National Park is located on the boundary of Seoni and Chhindwara districts of Madhya Pradesh, close to Maharashtra’s northern border. The park is named after the Pench river.
Best Gates (Zones) in Pench National Park
The Madhya Pradesh side of the Forest is divided into Core Zones and Buffer Zones. The entire Pench forest has six different entry gates. Out of 6 entry gates, 3 gates are in the Cores Zones and 3 in the Buffer. The 3 Gates in the core zones are Turia gate, Karmajheri gate, and Jamtara gate. And the other 3 gates in the buffer zones are Rukhhad, Khawasa and Teliya.
Turia Gate
The most famous gate of all the gates, is the Turia Gate, in the Core Zone. Maximum Tiger Sighting happens in this zone. Turia gate lies almost on the border of Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra close to the NH7. Most of the resorts are located towards this zone which is in the southern part of the forest.
Karmajheri Gate
This gate is less busy and with limited accommodation, Forest rest houses are also located at this gate. This part of the forest is majorly covered with Teak Trees.
Jamtara Gate
This is the third gate of the park and offers a limited area of the park to explore. One has the option of crossing over to other zones from Chendia ghat.
Our Upcoming Trips
Rukhad Buffer
As this area is in the hilly region. Rukhad is also a crucial Tiger corridor for Pench and Kanha. Guests have the option to do a jeep safari in this buffer. This is better suited when one is staying near the Karmajhiri gate.
Khawasa Buffer
This buffer is also known as the Wolf Sanctuary and one can experience night safari in this area. The area is mostly open wooded forest which is preferred by animals like wolves, foxes, porcupines, Owls. This has a better approach when one is staying towards the Turia gate.
Teliya Buffer
Known For its wolf sighting, this new Buffer zone is hailing with its Black Panther/ Melanistic Leopard sightings. Besides Leopard, teliya buffer offers wonderful sightings of Barking Deer, Chowsingha and Blue-Bull Antelope.
The Maharashtra side of the Penh Forest has 2 Core Zones. Khursapar Zone which is very close to the Turia Gate and the other core zone is Sillari Gate.
Khursapar Gate:
At a distance of 12 km from Khawasa and 30 km from Turia, Khursapar is another most popular safari zone of Pench National Park on Maharashtra Side. The entry gate of the zone is situated at Khursapar village. It is the most famous zone among day tourists as the chances of spotting the wild predators in their natural habitats is high in this zone.
Sillari gate:
This gate is 30kms away from Turia gate. The whole jungle is very beautiful with a mix of many type of habitat. There are open grassy patch, dense wooded patch, rocky and bushy patch, thick bamboo patch, dry open hilly area and freshwater streams. There are very few basic options for accommodation at this gate.
Jeep Safaris at Pench National Park:
The best way to explore the forest is through the open Jeepsy. Only registered jeeps are allowed inside the park for safaris. There are two safaris in a day. One in the morning and other in the afternoon. Morning Safaris are for around 4 to 5 hours whereas Afternoon Safaris are for around 3 hours.
Safari permits are to be booked online on through the forest portal. It is always advisable to book the permits 2 months in advance, especially for the core zone Turia. Permits once booked can not be altered.
Each trail can be customized as desired. So Let’s embark on this journey to discover the vast variety of beauty that nature has to offer.
