Kanha National Park is one of the finest national parks in Asia. Coming under the tiger project, it is a sanctuary of abundant wildlife in its most natural setting. If the natural splendour at Kanha is to be fully enjoyed, a visitor may have to stay there at least for four days.

The best time for visit is from Feb to Jun. The park is closed during the monsoon, from July to October. Light-coloured cottons and woollens are advised. Bright colours can scare away the animals. Bamni Dadar is the most beautiful area of the park. The forest is quite dense here. Adding to the delight of the thick wood is the sight of a sambar or the four-horned antelops crossing the landscape. Government jeeps are available on hire for touring the park.

Elephants are used for tiger-tracking. Jackal and sambar are frequently seen. Blackbucks, spotted deer, sambar and jackal are seen often in peripheral meadows. Four-horned antelopes, striped heyna, Indian fox, tiger and wolf are rarely sighted. There are 22 species of mammals in the park. Birds can be watched from the hills. There are 200 species of them, like white-breasted kingfisher, crested serpant, racket-tailed drongo and red-wattled lapwing.

Best time to visit Kanha
February to June, although the cool season is much more comfortable and still very good for wildlife. (The park is closed from July 1 to 31 because of the monsoon) For those planning a visit, a stay of at least three nights is recommended in order to have a good chance of seeing the more elusive animals - although, of course, a brief visit will also be very interesting.

Flora & Fauna
The terrain inside the park is varied, nonetheless enjoyable. Bamboo forests flow into Sal forests and meadows. There are herds of spotted deer to be seen with smaller herds of beautiful Antelope, the Black Buck. With a little luck, you could also spot the timorous Barking Deer. It's snapping warns other denizens of the forest that a predator is around. There is also a very strong possibility that you will see the Rare Barasingha, the Swamp Deer. Once there were only 66 of these in Kanha, but careful conservation and management raised their population to over 400.

Commonly seen species include
Cattle egret, pond heron, black ibis, common peafowl, crested serpent, racket tailed drongo,hawk eagle and red-wattled lapwing; various species of flycatcher, woodpecker , pigeon, dove, parakeet, babbler and mynah;Indian roller, white-breasted kingfisher and grey hornbill.

How to reach

• Air
  Nagpur at 266-kms is the nearest Airport to visit Kanha National Park and is connected by various domestic airline services with Mumbai.
• Rail
  Jabalpur at 169-kms is the convenient rail head to visit Kanha.
• Road
  Kanha National Park is connected by road with Jabalpur 175-kms, Khajuraho 445-kms, Nagpur 266-kms, Mukki 25-kms, Raipur 219-kms. Within the park: Koshi - Kanha (9-kms), Kishi - Katia (4-kms), Kishi - Mukki (32-kms). There are regular to and fro bus service available from Jabalpur to Kanha.