If wildlife amazes you and you are really
looking for some wonderful wildlife spotting experience, then India is a
perfect destination for you. A God gifted land, India is excellent at
preserving things, her thousand years old history proves her track record
for holding inviolate her natural jewels. With the sincere efforts of
government, wildlife lovers and common people, India has earmarked numerous
sanctuaries to protect her unique flora and fauna.
Presently India is home to around 80 Wildlife Parks and 441 Wildlife
Sanctuaries. Of these Wildlife Parks and Sanctuaries, many were established
during the British Raj. After India’s independence in 1947, several
regions across India were designated as wildlife protected areas that not
only saved the wildlife but also increased their population. Further,
Project Tiger was launched in 1972 as a conservation programme for saving
the Indian Tigers which became successful in the national parks located in
the Great Himalayan ranges, in the mangrove forests of the Sunderbans to the
thorny scrubs of desert land of Rajasthan.
Wildlife Parks and Sanctuaries in India are popular all over the world for
rich variety of floral and faunal species. Of course, tigers have always
remained prime attraction for wildlife lovers visiting India, but you can
also see other interesting wildanimals like elephants, leopards, rhinoceros,
deers, wild boar, jungle cat, leopard cat, sloth bear and much more.
Sundarbans
Tiger Reserve
Zone : North – East (East Coast)
State : West Bengal
Location : 112 kms from Kolkata, 24 kms from Basanti
Best Time For Sightings : October to February
Go There For : Royal Bengal Tigers, Irrawaddy Dolphins,
Mangroves
Kaziranga
National Park
Zone : North – East (Brahmaputra Basin)
State : Assam
Location : 250 kms east of Guwahati, 97 kms west of Jorhat
Best Time for Sightings : End of March to early April
Go There For : Great Indian Rhinos, Elephants, Hoolock
Gibbons
Manas
National Park
Zone : North – East (Brahmaputra Basin)
State : Assam
Location : 176 kms North – West of Guwahati, 32 kms
North of Barpeta Road.
Best Time For Sightings: November to April
Go There For : Tigers, Elephants, Red Pandas
Periyar
Wildlife Sanctuary
Zone : South (Southern Ghats)
State : Kerala
Location : 186 kms South – East of Kochi, 119 kms
South - East of Kottayam
Best Time For Sightings: September to March
Go There For : Elephants, Tigers, Gaur
Kumarakom
Bird Sanctuary
Zone : South (Southern Ghats)
State : Kerala
Location : 12 kms from Kottayam
Best Time For Sightings: June to August, November to
February
Go There For : Bird Watching, Boating, House Boats,
Fishing
Wayanad
Wildlife Sanctuary
Zone : South (Nilgiri Biosphere)
State : Kerala
Location : 129 kms North – East of Kozhikode, 115 kms
South – West of Mysore.
Best Time For Sightings : December to February
Go There For : Elephants, Bison, Tigers, Gaur
Sariska
Wildlife Sanctuary
Zone : North – West (Chambal – Aravalli)
State : Rajasthan
Location : 249 kms South – West of Delhi, 110 kms
North – East of Jaipur.
Best Time For Sightings: March to June
Go There For : Tigers, White – Breasted Kingfisher
Ranthambore
National Park
Zone : North – West (Chambal – Aravalli)
State : Rajasthan
Location : 434 kms South – West of Delhi, 176 kms
South – East of Jaipur.
Best Time For Sightings: March to June
Go There For : Tigers, Avian Species like Patridge
Keoladeo
Ghana National Park
Zone : North – West (Chambal – Aravalli)
State : Rajasthan
Location : 179 kms South – East of Delhi, 56 kms West
of Agra, 43 kms South – West of Mathura
Best Time For Sightings: October to late February
Go There For : Numerous Variety of Birds
Corbett
National Park
Zone : North (Terai Region)
State : Uttaranchal
Location : 263 kms North – East of Delhi, 19 kms
North – East of Ramnagar
Best Time For Sightings: Mid – November to April
Go There For : Tigers, Angling
Rajaji
National Park
Zone : North (Terai Region)
State : Uttaranchal
Location : 208 kms North – East of Delhi, 9 kms North
– East of Haridwar
Best Time For Sightings : High Summer
Go There For : Wild Elephants
Nanda
Devi National Park
Zone : North (Western Himalaya)
State : Uttaranchal
Location : 300 kms from Haridwar, 270 kms from Dehradun.
Best Time For Sightings : October to November
Go There For : Snow Leopard, Trekking, Birdwatching
Binsar
Wildlife Sanctuary
Zone : North (Western Himalaya)
State : Uttaranchal
Location : 208 kms North – East of Delhi, 9 kms North
– East of Haridwar
Best Time For Sightings : February, March, April and
October to November
Go There For : Himalayan Birds and Flora
Valley
of Flowers
Zone : North (Terai Region)
State : Uttaranchal
Location : 306 kms from Dehradun, 298 kms from Rishikesh.
Best Time For Sightings : July to mid August
Go There For : Himalayan Tahr, Musk Deer, Himalayan Bear,
Snow Leopard
Bandhavgarh
National Park
Zone : Central India
State : Madhya Pradesh
Location : 978 kms South – East of Delhi, 565 kms
South – East of Gwalior, 32 kms North – East of Umaria.
Best Time For Sightings : May to June
Go There For : Tigers
Kanha
National Park
Zone : Central India
State : Madhya Pradesh
Location : 980 kms South – East of Delhi, 480 kms
South – East of Bhopal, 270 kms North – East of Nagpur.
Best Time For Sightings : March, December to January
Go There For : Tigers, Barasinghas, Birds
Gir
Wildlife Sanctuary
Zone : West Coast
State : Gujarat
Location : 415 kms South – West of Ahmedabad, 65 kms
South – East of Junagadh.
Best Time For Sightings : November to early March
Go There For : Asiatic Lions
Great
Himalayan National Park
Zone : Western Himalaya
State : Himachal Pradesh
Location : 500 kms North of Delhi, 270 kms North of
Chandigarh.
Best Time For Sightings : April to May, September to mid -
November
Go There For : Tragopan, Tahr, Snow Leopard
Dudhwa
National Park
Zone : Terai region
State : Uttar Pradesh
Location : 430 kms East of Delhi, 201 kms North –
West of Lucknow
Best Time For Sightings : November to February
Go There For : Tigers, Barasinghas
Bhagwan
Mahavir Wildlife Sanctuary
Zone : Western Ghats
State : Goa
Location : 58 kms South – East of Panaji
Best Time For Sightings :November to January
Go There For : Birdwatching
