The top six national parks in India for wildlife safaris

Ranthambore: Best national park to include on a cultural tour of Rajasthan

With its accessible location in Rajasthan, Ranthambore is an easy national park to include on a tour of the state’s iconic sites and cities. But it’s not just easy access that appeals here, Ranthambore is tiger territory.

Once a private hunting estate for the royal family of Jaipur, local naturalist Fateh Singh Rathore worked tirelessly to transform Ranthambore into one of India’s most successful tiger conservation reserves. The ramshackle grandeur of the royal heritage adds a wonderfully atmospheric backdrop to the park. Safari jeeps weave past the remains of ornate hunting lodges adorned with crawling vines and tigers stroll nonchalantly through the stone paths of the crumbling Ranthambore Fort.

Set in the Aravalli hills, the park’s dry forests, serene lakes and rocky outcrops provide a mix of habitats for its thriving wildlife, including leopards, wild boar, sloth bears, sambar deer, chital and crocodiles.

Satpura: Best national park in India for walking safaris

Often referred to as one of the hidden gems of Indian wildlife tourism, Satpura National Park in Madhya Pradesh offers a tranquil, less crowded option for those seeking a more intimate experience with nature.

The wildlife here is less habituated to human presence than at other busier parks, so whilst it is harder to spot the resident tiger, leopard, sloth bear or wild dog population, the density and diversity of other wildlife and the peace of the park itself are major draws. Uniquely among the national parks, you can choose to explore by jeep, boat or on foot.

Guided by expert naturalists the walking safaris offer the chance to quietly surround yourself with the sounds and sights of the forest including over 300 bird species, porcupine, sambhar deer, otters, four-horned antelope and white bison. Whilst the boat safaris drift around the Tawa Dam Reservoir and its backwaters, giving a unique perspective of the forest.

Pench: Best national park in India for Jungle Book scenery

Often referred to as the prettiest of India’s national parks, Pench straddles the border between Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra and extends in a deep, verdant jungle of teak, sal and bamboo along the meandering banks of the Pench River. Surrounded by the Satpura Range of hills, the park is punctuated with open grasslands and rocky outposts, providing plenty of panoramic viewpoints.

Pench is widely believed to be the inspiration behind Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book and certainly, the cacophony of sound from its wildlife and the dense jungle canopy overhead wonderfully evoke the atmosphere of the story’s setting. The chances of spotting Shere Khan (the tiger) yourself are high but the park is also home to over 40 other species of mammals and 285 species of birds alongside multitudes of reptiles and amphibians.

Pench is best experienced as part of a central Indian parks itinerary, also visiting Bandhavgarh and Kanha, to provide a diverse wildlife-spotting safari tour.

Bandhavgarh: Best national park in India for tiger spotting

Bandhavgarh, in Madyha Pradesh, has played a crucial role in Indian tiger conservation. Now one of the country’s top tiger reserves, it boasts the highest known Royal Bengal tiger density in the country with sightings here the most frequent of all the national parks.

Stretching out across the Vindhya Hills’ dense forests, the park is protected by the soaring peaks of the Bandhavgargh Hills and offers tigers the perfect habitat and diversity of prey. Chital and sambar deer flourish here, despite the robust populations of predatory tigers, leopards, Indian wolves and jackals. Sloth bears, antelope and bison abound, and the park is home to over 250 species of bird, including shikra hawks, Indian eagle owls, vultures and hornbills.

Jeep safaris criss-cross the various ecosystems of the park, with the omnipresent backdrop of the 2,000-year-old Bandhavgargh Fort. The park is peppered with ancient temples and its plethora of deep caves adds an intrepid quality to every safari drive.

Jawai: Best place in India to spot leopards

Jawai is not an official national park but absolutely earns its place here for its breathtaking wilderness and the opportunity it provides to spot leopards in their natural habitat. Known locally as ‘Leopard Hills’, this rocky, sparsely wooded landscape in the Pali area of Rajasthan is a raw backcountry full of caves, ravines and high outcrops, providing the ideal habitat for these elusive predators to raise their young.

One of the greatest appeals of a visit to this wild outpost, is learning about the remarkable relationship that the local tribespeople have with the leopards. Rabari and Mali communities are traditional nomadic herders, who have raised their cattle and goats here for generations, working alongside the leopards rather than hunting them. The herders benefit from the predators feeding on the region’s small herbivores, who otherwise can overgraze their pastures. The resultant flourishing co-existence exemplifies sustainable conservation built on deeply held rural traditions.

Kanha: The largest national park in India

Kanha is a vast national park, spanning 1,945 square kilometres (751 square miles), it is one of the largest in India, and has a tiger population to match. Due to the significant conservation work, the Bengal tiger population here is thriving and it is often cited as one of the top three parks for the frequency of sightings.

Set in Madhya Pradesh, Kanha offers different sightings and landscapes to both Pench and Bandhavgarh, so works well as part of a central India, three-park itinerary. Known for its meadows and bamboo forests that break up the dense sal forests and river valleys, the park is a firm favourite among photographers.

Its medley of wildlife and the important role that the park plays in the conservation of Barasingha deer are huge draws. Once on the brink of extinction, these native swamp deer are now thriving in Kanha and, with the largest population in India, this is a fabulous place to watch them.

Panna: Best national park to include on a cultural tour of Madhya Pradesh

Sitting deep within the central northern highlands of India, Panna National Park straddles the banks of the Ken River and soars up to the peaks of the Vindhyan Ranges. Its central location makes it an easy addition to an itinerary exploring the cultural highlights of Madhya Pradesh.

Revered as a jungle-clad landscape of steep gorges, thunderous waterfalls, serene lakes and varied habitat, Panna is home to more than 200 species of birdlife, including white necked storks, honey buzzards, king vultures and paradise flycatchers. It also attracts thousands of additional migratory species through the year, making it a birdwatcher’s paradise.

Panna boasts one of the most successful tiger restoration projects in India, following reintroduction from neighbouring parks in 2009, and it’s now a prime territory for Bengal tigers, with a healthy and growing population. Hyaenas, wolves, wild cats and dholes (native wild dogs) all flourish here, alongside numerous species of deer, boar and bison.