Wednesday, February 10, 2016

PENCH NATIONAL PARK - Origin of the 'The Jungle Book' - 13th May to 15th May, 2016


Another long awaited trip from Nature India...This time its in the abode of "Mowgli" .... the place that inspired Rudyard Kipling to write his famous book - The Jungle Book ........

Dates: 13th May to 15th May 2016 (Travel days excluded) The bookings for Pench National Park, Madhya Pradesh Wildlife trip is on…..book your seats NOW to get the desired train bookings (see the details at the end) ..... If you want the thrill of exploring the Indian Wildlife in the most beautiful setting, it is here…

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PENCH NATIONAL PARK - The origin of the "Jungle Book"

Pench National park, nestling in the lower southern reaches of the satpuda hills is named after Pench river, meandering through the park from north to south. It is located on the southern boundary of Madhya Pradesh, bordering Maharashtra, in the districts of Seoni and Chhindwara.Pench National Park, comprising of 758 SQ Kms, out of which a core area of 299 sq km of Indira Priyadarshini Pench National Park and the Mowgli Pench Sanctuary and remaining 464 sq km of pench national park is the buffer area.
















The area of the present tiger reserve has a glorious history. A description of its natural wealth and richness occurs in Ain-i-Akbari. Several natural history books like R. A. Strendale's 'Seonee - Camp life in Satpura Hills,' Forsyth's 'Highlands of Central India' and Dunbar Brander's 'Wild Animals of Central India' explicitly present the detailed panorama of nature's abundance in this tract. Strendale's semi-autobiographical 'Seonee' was the inspiration behind Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book.














Land of the "The Jungle Book" : The Pench Tiger Reserve and its neighbourhood is the original setting of Rudyard Kipling's most famous work, The Jungle Book. Kipling borrowed heavily from Robert Armitage Strendale's books 'Seonee', 'Mammalia of India and Ceylon' and 'Denizens of the Jungle' for the topography, wildlife, and its ways. Mowgli was inspired by Sir William Henry Sleeman's pamphlet, 'An Account of Wolves Nurturing Children in Their Dens' which describes a wolf-boy captured in Seoni district near the village of Sant Baori in 1831. Many of The Jungle Book's locations are actual locations in Seoni District, like the Waingunga river with its gorge where Sherkhan was killed, Kanhiwara villlage and the 'Seeonee hills'. Local tribals, mostly Gonds, revere Mansingh Deo, a legendary figure who was believed to be a magician who had supernatural healing powers. He would ride into the local bazaar on his tiger. There are two temples dedicated to him, the Chhota Mansingh and Bada Mansingh temples.


Topography: The terrain of the park is undulating with mainly gentle slopes criss-crossed by streams and nullahs. Most of these water courses are seasonal. Many of the hills are flat-topped and allow fine vistas of the forests around. The best known of these is 'Kalapahar' with an altitude of 650 mts. The Pench river flowing through the centre of the Reserve is dry by April but a number of water pools locally known as 'dohs' are found, which serve as waterholes for wild animals. A few perennial springs also exist. Recently a number of earthen ponds and shallow wells have been developed leading to well distributed sources of water all around the reserve. 

Conservation History: In the year 1977 an area of 449.39 sq km was declared Pench Sanctuary. Out of this, an area of 292.85 sq km was declared Pench National Park in the year 1983 and 118.31 sq km remained as Pench Sanctuary. In 1992 Government of India declared 757.89 sq km area including the National Park and the sanctuary as the 19th Tiger Reserve of the country. The name of Pench National Park was changed to "Indira Priyadarshini Pench National Park" in November 2002 Similarly the name of Pench Sanctuary has been changed to "Mowgli Pench Sanctuary". 

The Pench hydroelectric dam straddles the Maharashtra - Madhya Pradesh boundary. The dam, constructed between 1973 and 1988 has resulted in the submergence of about 74 sq km area out of which 54 km is in the Park, the rest being in Maharashtra.




Wildlife: Tiger is the main cat species of the park present in good numbers. Commonly seen wildlife is chital, sambhar, nilgai, wild boar, and jackal. Other wild animals found are leopard, sloth bear, wild dog, porcupine, jungle cat, fox, striped hyena, gaur, chowsingha and barking deer. There are more than 200 species of birds including several migratory ones. Some of them are peafowl, junglefowl, crow pheasant, crimson-breasted barbet, red-vented bulbul, racket-tailed drongo, magpie robin, lesser whistling teal, pintail, shoveler, egret and herons. This national park is rich with chitals i.e. axis axis or more commonly spotted deer.
There are 10 villages in the national park - 1 inside the park (Fulzari) and 9 on the periphery.

As per 2011 Tiger Census ; There are 25 tigers under this umbrella of the Park. 39 species of mammals, 13 species of reptiles, 3 species of amphibians. Apart from mammals and other land-based wildlife, the park is also rich in bird life. According to an estimation of the wildlife authorities, the bird population in the park counts to be over 210 species like barbets, bulbul, minivets orioles, wagtails, munias, mynas, waterfowls, kingfishers etc.


Vegetation: The high habitat heterogeneity favours high population of Chital and Sambar. Pench tiger reserve has highest density of herbivores in India (90.3 animals per sq km).The forests are mainly Southern tropical dry deciduous and dry mixed deciduous forests.Teak Tectona grandis dominates, comprising 25-50 per cent of the species. Moyan, Mahua, Mokha, Skiras, Tendu, Bijra, Garari etc. are associates of teak. Dhaora Anogeissus latifolia, lendia/seja Lageostroemia parviflora, saja Terminalia tomentosa, salai Boswellia serrata, bija Pterocarpus marsupium, bhirra Chloroxylon swietenia and sirus Albizzia lebbeck are other trees. Bamboo occurs sparsely, restricted to some valleys. Chiltai, mahulbel and palas bhel are common climbers in areas along the river and large water sources.

In Chhindwara, you would see weeds like chirota Cassia tora and gokharu Xanthium strumatium while in areas around Chedia, Alikatta, Tikari and Ambar village, Lantana camara predominates. Parthenium is found in submergence areas along the Pench river. Heteropogon contortus, Digitaria cilliaris and Eulaliopsis binata are common grasses.





Nature India has organized an exclusive trip to Pench National Park, from 13th May to 15th May, 2016 the details are given below.

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Tour Itinerary & Other Details: (Nagpur to Nagpur)

Day 1 (Thursday 12th May'2016) : Departure from Mumbai by 12289 Nagpur Duranto Express from CST @ 20:15 Hrs

Day 2 (Friday 13th May'2016) :Arrival at 07:20 hours to Nagpur - Breakfast - Proceed to Pench - Check-in the Mahua Vann Resort at the edge of the Park - Relax - Lunch - Evening Park Safari in Touria range in Open Gypsies - return to Hotel - Discussion of Days sightings - Dinner and Night stay at Mahua Vann Resort

Day 3 (Saturday 14th May'2016) :  Early Morning Park Safari @ 5.30 am in Touria Range - Return to the resort - Lunch - Proceed for the Evening Park Safari in Touria/Karmazari range - Return back - Dinner - Night stay at Mahua Vann Resort

Day 4 (Sunday 15th May'2016): Early Morning Park Safari in Touria range @ 5.30 am - Return to the resort - Packup - Proceed to Nagpur - Bird-watching on the way - Lunch - Concluding discussion - to Board 12290 Mumbai Duranto Express @ 20:40 hrs

Day 5 (Monday 16th May'2016) : Arrive at Mumbai by 07:55 Hrs

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Trip charges (Nagpur to Nagpur) : Rs. 17400/- only

(Includes A/C room stay in the wonderful, palatial & comfortable 
Mahua Vann Resort, on twin sharing basis, Travel charges from Nagpur to Pench to Nagpur , 4 Local safari travel by 4x4 Gypsies, Park entry charges, veg/non-veg food , Still photography charges, Guide charges, Information articles & on board snacks and mineral water)

This does not include travel charges from Mumbai to Nagpur to Mumbai station or any charges other than the above.

Registration: You can register by sending a confirmation mail to natureindiatours@gmail.com and by paying a non refundable Advance of Rs.9000/-after our registration confirmation by email…..The remaining amount will be collected on the day of travel.

Kindly register soon as the train bookings are not easily available on this sector.

Stay Arrangement: Stay arrangement is on twin sharing basis in AC rooms in the famous Mahua Vann resort, Tauria which is renowned for its ambiance and service. visit their web site
http://www.mahuaresorts.com/mahua_jungle_van_wildlife_safari.htm 

Resource Person: Mr. Adesh Shivkar / Mr. Mandar Khadilkar

Mode of Payment: You can either
1) Transfer the advance money directly to HDFC Bank A/c (Please call Mandar @ 9930318665 for A/c No.).. please mention your name, date and other details….OR

2) Courier a cheque of Rs.9000/- as advance amount to the following address
Mr. Mandar Khadilkar
Address: B/702, Neha Apartments, Ashish Complex, Dahisar-East, Mumbai-400068.

Please Note:
1) Once registered, the advance amount of Rs. 9000/- is strictly non-refundable
2) Alcohol & Smoking is strictly prohibited on Nature India Tours
3) Nesting photography is prohibited.
4) Kindly register on this trip only if you agree with  Nature India's rules and policies
http://natureindiapolicies.blogspot.in/2012/08/nature-india-policies.html


Please revert on natureindiatours@gmail.com ID, in case you need any clarification …..

For any other queries we are available on 9869071091 or 9820455713 (Adesh) and 9930318665 or 9967518665 (Mandar)


Thanks for your patience..... we value your time and faith on us.

Looking forward for a very rewarding trip with you all !!

Warm Regards,

Adesh Shivkar & Mandar Khadilkar
Nature India
Appreciate, Respect & Conserve





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Appreciate, Respect & Care for Nature