After the fabulous trip to Bandhavgarh, I was tempted to embark upon a tour of Kanha National Park, more because it is the very place which inspired Rudyard Kipling to come up with his magnum opus, The Jungle Book. Kanha is also well known for its scenic splendour.

The memories of Bandhavgarh was still fresh, just as a day born after hours of darkness, when I ventured out to explore Kanha. I reached Kanha via Jabalpur- from Jabalpur it is only 170 kms. The thick sal forests, tall bamboos, swaying grasslands and the rivers meandering between the bosky banks attracted me at the very first instance.

Early in the morning, after spending my night at the Krishna Jungle Resort just in front of the park entrance, I set out to seek the tiger in its coveted hideouts. Since I was there in the off-season, it was possible for me to have a jeep safari without prior booking. I was accompanied by a well informed guide, it took no time in locating the Tiger. Soon I found many of them- while the males were cooling off in the shades, the cubs were playing with the mother. I realized why it was chosen as the ideal location by the eminent zoologist George Schaller for undertaking the first ever scientific study on the Tiger. My guide informed that the “Project Tiger” was introduced here way back in1974 and since then the park is committed to the conservation as well as the regeneration of this highly endangered species.

It was not just the Tiger that left me spellbound- I was fascinated at the sight of the high ground barasingha, blue bull and deers grazing in the meadows with watchful eyes and jackals, leopards and wild cats on their prowl. On many occasions I saw flocks of birds flapping their wings across the sky to their respective destinations. The park is home to as many as 22 species of mammals and around 200 species of birds.