One of the oldest and largest National Parks of Maharashtra is Tadoba National Park! Located in the Chandrapur district of Maharashtra, it is among India's top 43 Wildlife reserves. It is situated in the core of reserved forest and stretched about 1727 square kilometers. Tadoba National Park gained its acknowledgment as National Park in 1955.It is an endless variety of plants, animals, birds, and many others! Covered in a magical topography, covered in flora and fauna, it is one of the soothing places on the earth.
Earlier, this place was earlier in the hands of Shikaris (Hunters). Wondering, what des Tadoba mean? Well, there's a great history behind it! Tadoba or Taru was the God of the tribal people in the Tadoba forest. He, being the chief of the village, had a legendary encounter with a tiger. Then, a dedication was made to the chief under a huge tree and near Tadoba Lake.The dedicated shrine is now a temple and visited by Adivasis during the months of Pausha. The Gond kings were once the ruler of this forest in the vicinage of the Chimur Hills. Yeah, rulers and their rules
The flora is widely spread all over the forest. It is southern tropical deciduous forest, comprising more than 87% protected areas. The most dominant tree species is Teak while others include bija, dhauda, hald, salai, semal, tendu, etc. The forest witnesses a good growth of tropical trees too like plum and arjun.As the vegetation is diverse, there are grass patches all across the Wildlife Reserve. Apart from Teak, Bamboos are too found in abundant. The forest also has few medicinal trees which cure several diseases such as Parkinson's disease.In addition to the entire flora, there are other fire-resistant plant species like Axlewood Anogeissus Latifolia. Butea Monosperma is another species of which adds vibrant colors to the forest!
Tadoba National Park is popularly known as “The Land of Tigers” due to the abundance of tigers found in here. This park is also home to other mammals like Leopards, Sloth Bears, Gaur, Deers, etc. and small animals like squirrels, hares, etc.The Tadoba sustains the once common mammal in Maharashtra, Marsh Crocodile. There are varieties of water bodies surrounding and in the National Park providing water to wildlife.There are over 200 species of birds recorded in the National Park with the inclusion of three endangered ones. Orange-headed thrush, lesser golden-backed woodpecker, paradise flycatcher, and others are the birds found in Tadoba. There were others too but I seem to forget the name as mentioned by my tourist guide.Let's talk about insects! I see daily 3 or 4 types of them! In this Park, you shall find more than 75 species of insects. Can you believe it? All the existing and endangered ones are discovered here. Insects like danaid egg-fly and great egg fly are part of the habitat of the Tadoba National Park. If you plan a visit to the park during the monsoon months, also plan to meet species of spiders. Hell Yeah! This time of the year you'll be welcomed with spiders like signature spiders, giant wood spiders, redwood spiders and others.It is said that in 2018, there was one Black Panther spotted. As exclaimed by the officials, the sight of a panther is very rare as their habitat is evergreen forest and not the dry forest like Tadoba! Scary isn't it? No, it's all fun and adrenaline-pumping trip!
The main attraction of Tadoba National Park is the Jungle Safari. Unlike other reserves, this park also offers Gypsy for a ride into the jungle.Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve has several zones for Safari where you find a wide range of wildlife. Mohurli Zone is best for tiger spotting and bestows great accommodations to the visitors. The gate to this zone is very easily accessible.The second zone, I'd like to talk about is the Tadoba zone. It is well-known for its pictorial and scenic beauty along-with the wildlife it inhabits within itself. The last frequented zone is Kolsa- it is only visited to enjoy the landscape it has to offer as chances of sighting wildlife is very low. Still, who wouldn't say no to a beautiful scenic beauty?Each zone has its own individual gates of entry like Moharli, Kuswanda, Kolara, Navegaon, Pangdi, and Zari Gates. Enter the gates of heaven and have a never-experienced-before journey of life.The Open Jeep Safari is the most enthralling part of visiting the place. It takes a few hours to completely traverse around the forest as it is quite dense. The Safari timings are already fixed by the administrative officers of the Tadoba National Park. There are separate timings during the morning day for the excursion to the Park.Around 36 Jeeps are allowed in morning and evening times respectively. There is one guard allotted in every ride for safety and security purposes. One is not allowed to get down of the jeep due to the wildlife threats and eliminate the risk to life.
You sure, to only visit what's inside the park? I'd recommend you to roam around the surrounding areas which are equally eye-appealing places.Tadoba Lake, Museum, Panchdhara Waterhole, Vasant Bhandara Waterhole, and Urjanagar Lake are some of the nearby beautiful areas to visit.Religious people have a distinct gift of temples in this area. Sankatmochan Hanuman Mandir, Shiv Mandir, St. Michael Church, Durga Maa Temple, Ayyappa Temple, Ramdegi Temple, Mahakali Temple, and Jain Temples are the ones you can visit. Pray for your prosperity and peace in your life or put your desire forward to the Almighty! I did mine and yeah….. I am happy where I am right now!Also, there's a better provision for a stay in nearby resorts which over top-class facilities! You get options for staying in a lavish hotel room or share a room in a dormitory! The choice is all yours! But in the end, what matters is how well you spent your time in the National Park around the creations of Mother Nature.Explore the wildlife of Tadoba Reserve filled with serenity and pleasantness! Getting close to nature is the perfect get-away from the daily routine! So make some time with your family or your loved one and plan a trip to Tadoba National Park.
