"Madhya Pradesh - ..." a State of Madhya Pradesh Travel Page by HarShe

The Bandhavgarh National Park is located within the district of Sahdol in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. This forest nestled among the Vindhya hills came into existence in 1968 when the Maharaja of Rewa handed over the area to the government for it's formation. At the time when it was handed over to the government, the fauna was not faring too well due to the difficulty in the control of poaching. Once this became a protected area, the animal population took a drastic turn and began to flourish. At this time, the entire park covered an area of 106 square kilometers whereas it presently consists of an area of 448 square kilometers. These much required extensions, to the northern and southern areas, of the park were done in 1982. These areas consisted primarily of Sal forests, which is the main tree-cover found in the entire park along with Bamboo. It was finally declared a tiger reserve under Project Tiger in 1993.
Reaching Bandhavgarh may be bit more difficult than it is for some of the other parks in the country but once you are there, you always feel it was worth the effort.
This is a small National Park; compact, yet full of game. The density of the Tiger population at Bandhavgarh is the highest known in India.

This is also White Tiger country. These have been found in the old state of Rewa for many years. The last known was captured by Maharajah Martand Singh in 1951. This White Tiger, Mohan, is now stuffed and on display in the palace of the Maharajahs of Rewa.

More details at: http://www.mptourism.com/dest/bandhavgarh.html and http://www.wildlywise.com/bnp_index.htm

You are taken into the jungle on elephant back or a 4 wheel drive vehicle. The elephant goes very close (about 5 -7 meters) to a resting tiger without any danger.

Bandhavgarh is blessed with a large variety of residents - both in terms of animals and birds. In the category of animals, it is possible to sight tigers, leopards, gaur (Indian Bison-although some say this is no longer seen), chital (spotted deer), Sambar deer, Dholes, nilgais, wild boars, chinkaras, sloth bears, rhesus macaques, black faced langurs, jungle cats, hyenas, porcupines, jackals, foxes, wild dogs, chausinghas and ratels, among others.