Location of Pench: - Located on the undulating terrain of the Satpura ranges is the Pench tiger reserve. These are the central highlands of India which have been so talked about by the British Authors, the tiger reserve is divided in to two states the Madhya Pradesh and the Maharashtra. It is located at a distance of around 95 kilometers from the city of Nagpur.
By Road -Through the town of Seoni is the best way to reach the pench.
By Train- Seoni is the nearest railway station but the railway station at Nagpur having connectivity with all parts of India is also not very far. Jabalpur is another railway station you can use to reach the Pench national park.
By Flight- The Dr. Baba Saheb Ambedkar international airport at Nagpur is well connected with almost all parts and cities of India, Jabalpur airport can also be used to reach Pench national park.
The national park got its name from the “Pench” river which divides the the national park in to two. The central India highlands, the undulating terrain, the flow of river Pench is the stage set for the abode of Panthera tigris (Royal Bengal tiger) at pench Tiger reserve.
The jungle was accorded the status of a national park in year 1975 then in 1992 it was established as a project tiger reserve. In the southern districts of Madhya Pradesh bordering Maharashtra encompassing districts of Seoni and Chhindwara in Madhya Pradesh and Nagpur on the Maharashtra side Pench covers an area of 758 sq km in Madhya Pradesh and 257 km in Maharashtra, The national park is divided in to Priyadarshini national park and Mowguli pench sanctuary named after the famous fiction character of Rudyard Kipling. It is said Rudyard Kipling got impressed and motivated by the pench national park and in his famous work jungle book he is in fact describing the pench national park.
These are the teak forests of central India, teak is (tectona grandes) a very valuable wood and Indian teak is particular is known for its long life and quality. The forest are the dry tropical monsoon forests with a very defined monsoon period. Bamboo forests are also seen on the hills.
Pench is most known for its population of royal Bengal Tiger (Pathera tigris) there are some 50 tigers male and female today at pench, this high number gives an opportunity to sight the tiger at ease at the Pench national park. Indian leopard, wild dog, wolves, Indian civet, Jackals, Hyena, various deer varieties like chital, sambhar, Chow singha wild boar, bison, chinkara etc form the fauna of the Pench tiger reserve.
Prior booking are needed to do tiger safari at the Pench national park. The Turia gate is the famous part of the tiger reserve where the chances of sighting a tiger are maximum this falls near the border of Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra in the core forest zone. The safari are conducted by a 4x4 jeep all terrain vehicle this safari is lead and guided by a trained naturalist. Pench tiger reserve has a total of six entry gates three of them fall in the core zone ;- Turia Gate, Jantara Gate and the Karmajheri Gate. In the buffer zone too there are three gates - Teliya, Rukhad and Khawasa.
The television documentaries have made quite a few tigers very popular at pench. Big mother who gave birth to 29 cubs in a span of 17 years till she died in 2022 at a ripe age of 16 “Badi Mada” or the Big mother gave birth to “Collar Wali” who is perhaps the most famous tigress of pench, it also starred in a BBC wild life documentary some other tigers like Baghninnalawali a tigress who stayed near a rivulet (Nullah) she died due to poisoning in year 2016.
