Tiger Reserves in India – Wildlife Destinations India

Tiger Reserves in India : Project Tiger is a wildlife conservation project initiated in India in 1972 to protect the Bengal Tigers. It was launched on April 1, 1973 and has become one of the most successful wildlife conservation ventures. The project aims at tiger conservation in specially constituted tiger reserves representative of various bio-geographical regions throughout India. It strives to maintain a viable tiger population in their natural environment.

In 2007, there were more than 40 Project Tiger wildlife reserves covering an area of 37,761 km². Project Tiger helped increase the population of these tigers from 1,200 in the 1970s to 3,500 in 1990s. Now the count has dropped again to 1411 as per 2009 official census.

Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve, Madhya Pradesh:Bandhavgarh National Park is one of the wild life sanctuariesin the Indian state Madhya Pradesh. The national park is situated at 197 km away north-east of Jabalpur. This wild life park derived its very name from an ancient fort in the area. Bandhawgarh National Park belongs to the Vindhyan mountain ranges of central India and it boasts to have the highest density of tiger population in the country. Now there are about 46 to 52 tigers one can spot here.

Best time to visit : March to June

Bandipur Tiger Reserve, Karnataka: The Bandipur Wildlife Sanctuary located at the juncture of the Deccan plateau and the Western Ghats in Karnataka is one of the finest wildlife reserves in India. A moderate Climate, a variety of geographical features, a wide array of flora and fauna all makes the Bandipur Wildlife Sanctuary a paradise for the wildlife and the wildlife enthusiasts.

Best time to visit: March to August

Corbett Tiger Reserve, Uttaranchal:Jim Corbett National Park — named after the hunter and naturalist Jim Coebett who played a key role in its establishment—is the oldest national park in India. The park was established in 1936 as Hailey National Park. Situated in Nainital district of Uttarakhand, the park acts as a protected area for the critically endangered Bengal tiger of India, the secure survival of which is the main objective of Project Tiger, an Indian wildlife protection initiative.

Best time to visit: October to March

Kanha Tiger Reserve, Madhya Pradesh:Bandhavgarh National Park is located around 195 km off Jabalpur and 210 km off Khajuraho in Madhya Pradesh. Considered as the crown in the wildlife heritage of Madhya Pradesh, Bandhavgarh is known for the Royal Bengal Tigers, cheetals, leopar, gaur, sambhar, and many more faunal species.

Best time to visit: February to June

Periyar Tiger Reserve, Kerala:Periyar National Park is situated in the hills of the Western Ghats in the state of Kerala in SW India. The centre piece of Periyar National park is the 5,500-hectare Periyar lake formed by the construction of a dam on the Periyar river in 1895.The dam submerged low-lying forest whose dead tree trunks still jut out of the waters. Along the fringes of the lake are marshy areas with tall grasslands.

Best time to visit: December to May

Ranthambore Tiger Reserve, Rajasthan:Ranthambore is a national park and tiger reserve in Rajasthan state of western India. It is located in Sawai Madhopur district of southeastern Rajasthan, about 130 km from Jaipur, which is also the nearest airport. The nearest town and railway station is at Sawai Madhopur, 11 km away.
Best time to visit: October to June. South India Travel