Kanha National Park Travel Guide

Kanha, in Madhya Pradesh, is one of India's largest and best-managed tiger reserves, a landscape of sal forest and open meadows that is said to have inspired Rudyard Kipling's Jungle Book. Alongside tigers, it holds a healthy population of barasingha, a swamp deer once close to extinction and now a conservation success story specific to the park.

Safaris run by jeep across several zones at set morning and afternoon slots. Kanha's mix of dense sal forest and open meadow makes for varied wildlife viewing beyond tigers alone, including deer, langurs and a wide range of birdlife, even on drives without a tiger sighting.

The park is typically open October to June and closes through the monsoon. Two to three days across multiple safaris and zones gives a considerably better chance of a good sighting than a single rushed visit, and lets you appreciate the park's other wildlife along the way.