An Introduction to Pench National Park

Madhya Pradesh is regarded as the heart of India, and the Pench National Park is situated in the foothills of Satpura hills. Pench is among the most visited national parks of India. This park derives its name from the Pench River that divides the place in almost two equal halves.

Wildlife at the Pench National Park
Owing to its rich fauna and flora, the park fetches attention of wildlife enthusiasts from different corners of the world. The main terrestrial fauna inhabitants of the park include Tiger, Chital, Leopard, Sambar, Nilgai, Wild Boar, Gaur, Barking Deer, Jackal and many more. In addition to these land animals, the park is blessed with various splendid avifauna species like Racket-tailed Drongo, Crimson-breasted Barbet, Crow Pheasant, Red-vented Bulbul and Lesser Whistling Teal.
Coming to the forest cover of the park, most of the area is occupied with Teak. However, Teak is not the only species flourishing in Pench; a few others are Saja, Haldu, Amaltas and Bija.

Important milestones in the history of Pench
Since its establishment, the Pench National Park has set various benchmarks, and some of them are mentioned below:
• 1929 –Pench was declared as a forest reserve
• 1977 – It was stated as a wildlife sanctuary
• 1983 – It was announced as a national park
• 1992 – It was established as Pench Tiger Reserve under Project Tiger
• 2011 – It won the Best Management Award for being the finest administered park in India

Pench as an Inspiration
The setting of the Pench National Park was an inspiration for Rudyard Kipling’s best ever work - ‘The Jungle Book’. The entire background and the characters of the story were sketched upon the real time inhabitants of the park. Therefore, Pench is also famous as the Mogli Land.

In addition to the work of Kipling, Pench also became the ground of a documentary, filmed by BBC. The documentary was named as ‘Tiger: Spy in the Jungle’, and hidden cameras were used for filming. This series was basically focused on the behavior of the big cats. It was April 2008, when this documentary was aired for the very first time.

The Tourists Zone
Being a home to various fascinating fauna and flora, the Pench National Park is a hub for wildlife enthusiasts worldwide. Considering the interest of wildlife lovers in the park, the respective authorities have made significant efforts for supporting and boosting tourism in Pench.

The best support is provided in the form of wildlife safaris – Elephant and Jeep Safari. These safaris allow the visitors to utterly explore the wilderness of Pench.

Furthermore, there are various resorts in Pench and around the park that offer a comfortable stay to the visitors. The Pench resorts are acknowledged for their best in class services and warm hospitality; thus, contribute a lot to the tourism of the park.

Best Time to Visit
The Pench National Park remains open from October to June, but the ideal time and season for visiting the park is November to mid March.

Bottom Line
The journey of Pench from forest reserve to tiger reserve has been beautifully mentioned in the books of wildlife conservation. The above content is just an introduction about the Pench National Park, as when it comes to describing it in details, even a book can fall short of pages.

Author Bio:- Jessica is a wildlife enthusiast and a travelogue; she likes to travel different national parks and wildlife sanctuaries over the globe. Recently she has been to the famous Pench Tiger Reserve and in the above article she briefs you about the same.