Tadoba

Taboda – tiger, tiger burning bright…..

Tables are turned - we the so-called superior human species find ourselves in the mercy of all-powerful Nature. Unknown territory, suspense at every corner, mere existence is on luck is what is in store for us when we visit the forest - Forest in real terms not the one which we live in - urban jungle.


Tadoba-Andhari Tiger reserve has an area of 625.40 sq. km. This includes Tadoba National Park, created in 1955 with an area of 116.55 sq. km. and Andhari Wildlife Sanctuary created in 1986 with an area of 508.85 sq. km. Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve is the pristine and unique eco-system situated in the Chandrapur district of the Maharashtra State of India. The reserve contains some of the best of forest tracks and endowed with rich biodiversity.

7hrs drive 450 kms from Hyderabad. We a gang of eight equipped with our jungle gears started for an adventure-filled vacation at 2.30 in the morning by road and made our way to Tadoba through the NH 7 highway.

The name it seems originated from a local tribesman named Tadoba who as the story goes had fought bravely with a tiger and hence the name to the forest reserve. With uniqueness of the fable in mind, we entered the forest with the main gate housing the Maharashtra tourism lodges.
We had arranged for the MLA bungalow at the core area of the forest (not available anymore). The drive from the main gate of the reserve until the core area, which is ideally termed as buffer zone, is through a dense vegetation of evergreen trees and shrubs making it impossible to gage more than 20 feet inside on both sides of the road.

The forest tourism is not as well organized as the other parks with very minimalist lodging arrangements but the beauty lies in the diverse options from lake to dense shrubs which houses tigers, Leopard, Sloth Bear, Gaur or Indian Bison, Rusty Spotted Cat, Ratel, Indian mouse deer, Spotted deer, Sambar, Wild Boar, Four horned antelope, Wild dog, Flying Squirrel and crocodiles to name few.

Tadoba-Andhari Tiger reserve was created in 1995 and declared a national park as part of the project tiger campaign. Protection is most important management input in the Reserve. A novel method of protecting the forest with the help of tribal youth from the six villages within the Andhari Sanctuary has been initiated. The success lies in the figures of 43 tigers as counted in 1998 from the 37 that were there at its beginning.

After the initial settling down we straight headed to the forest in our own cars (one open safari jeep is available too) for a safari to feel the almighty forest engulfing us in its pure embrace.

The density, unknown sounds punctuated with numbness overpowers the mind and soul and for the first time you bow down to the enormous power of Mother Nature engulfing you to the last drop of your blood.

Every minute builds up to a suspense thriller when nature tries out your patience and luck with sudden glimpses of the beauties in the form of birds, deer, bison, sambhar, sloth bear until you come across the mighty power of nature embodied in one form - the Tiger. The eyes stare at you taking in all the candid shots much before you take out your camera for one click.

Tadoba-Andhari Tiger reserve is part of the sustained efforts to save the pride of India – Tiger. It seems as experts’ comment, one of the success factors for project tiger is increased tourism, which brings in fame and money for conservation work. This also helps in creating the right kind of awareness about wildlife in India especially for children – they are integral part of saving this beautiful animal from extinction.

By road: 450 kms drive from Hyderabad on the HN7\Karimnagar or Asifabad. Reach Chandrapur and then about 40 kms drive to the park
By Train: Nagpur bound train. Station Hinganghat and cab to the reserve
Lodging: Maharashtra Tourism resort