Bandhavgarh National Park is located Sahdol district amongst the outlying
hills of the Vindhyan Range in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh.
It is best known as the 'Tiger Land' of India, because the tiger
population at Bandhavgarh is the densest in India.
Bandhavgarh National Park was the hunting reserve of
the Maharajas of Rewa before becoming an area of 105 sq. km as a National
Park in 1968. In 1982, the area of the park was increased to 448.84 sq.
km and it became a tiger reserve under Project Tiger in 1993.
The park consists of a core area of 105 sq km and a buffer
area of approximately 400 sq km. It got its name from the Bandhavgarh
Fort situated on the Bandhavgarh hill. It is the oldest fort in India.
No records remain to show when this fort was constructed. Along the foot
path of the fort and within its wall are ruins of medieval temples and
massive stone sculptures. Some cave with inscriptions confirm that this
was inhabited 2,000 years ago. There is an interesting story behind this
Fort. In the Epic Ramayana, Bandhavgarh Fort was given to brother Laxmana
by Lord Rama to keep a watch on Lanka and hence, the name Bandhavgarh
(Bandhav means brother and Garh means fort).
There are also interesting cave shrines scattered around
the park, with Brahmi inscriptions dating from the 1st century BC.
Flora
The park has a vast grasslands rugged with deep
ravines, sharp crested hills, narrow valleys and some plain areas
with few scattered undulating green hillocks. The Park mainly consists
of moist deciduous type which is dominated by Sal trees and bamboo. Plantations
of Lofty Saja and Terminalia spp., Lagerstroemia spp., Syzygium
cumini, Boswelia spp., Pterocarpus spp., Madhuca spp. Madhuca indica,
Drossera indica, Dendrocalamus strictus, Butea monosperma, Woody climbers
such as Butea superba and Bauhinia vahlii and Lianas such as Spatholobus
roxburghii etc cover most of the park area. The park has open marshy grass
lands dominated with many species of grasses. |
Wildlife 
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