Pench National Park
Ever since the blockbuster movie Jungle book released in Hollywood in 1967, feral child “mowgli” has been the star of the Jungle since then along with great fame attached to The Beautiful Pench Jungles – on which mowgli fiction was based.
Pench Jungle or Pench National Park is located in Southern reaches of Satpura Ranges and got its name by the river Pench, which flows through the national Park.
The film as well as the book depicts the different characters aka wild animals and reptiles which represents variety of all types of wildlife present in this national Park be it flora or fauna.
Pench National Park is located close to the prime Nagpur Airport (approx. 2.5 hrs drive) and is easily connected by good road. In turn there are regular flights to Nagpur from prime cities like Mumbai or Delhi as well as other parts of country .
This national Park covers a massive area of 758 sqkm including the core area and hosts numerous fauna which includes Royal Bengal Tiger, Jackal, Peafowl, Wild dog, Wild boar, Sloth bear, Indian leopard, Fox, Striped hyena, Monkey, Gaur, Barking Deer, Four-Horned antelope, Indian wolf, and more.
Prime Flora in the park area includes Teak mixed with other species like Saja, Bijiayasal, Lendia, Haldu, Dhaora, Salai, Aonla, and Amaltas Trees to name a few. The ground is covered with maze of grasses, plants, bushes and saplings. Bamboo is also found at some places of park.
Earlier recognized as a sanctuary However, later in the year on 1992, the sanctuary got the recognition of National park and Tiger reserve providing 02 Jeep Safaris per day to wildlife enthusiasts to get a glimpse.
This park has been a prime destination for Wildlife viewing and in 2011 the park also got the best management award from Government.
One should not give a miss to Pench National Park if would like to relive and find themselves in habitat of Mowgli from famous Movie “The Jungle Book”