5 Days – Panna National Park & Khajuraho Temples

1. The land of the Ken River,
2. From 0 to 84-86 Tiger population in Panna national park
3. Tiger habitat is located in Vindhya Hill in northern Madhya Pradesh and is fragile through dynamic dry deciduous forest.
4. Explore the extensive plateaus and gorges.
5. It is a land of mesmerizing waterfalls, natural, and archaeological splendors, legends & cultural richness.
6. Khajuraho – The UNESCO World heritage site.
7. The Khajuraho Group of Monuments is a group of Hindu and Jain temples
8. The temples are famous for their Nagara-style architectural symbolism and a few erotic sculptures.

1. Panna National Park 
2. Khajuraho 

Day 1 -Panna National Park:

Depending on your flight/train, Taxi will pick you up and drive to Panna National Park. On reaching the resort, After check-in, have some lunch and take some rest before your evening activity. In the evening we go for an evening safari or night safari in the buffer forest of Panna National Park. Seeing the jungle and wildlife animals at night is an amazing experience. Animals that can be seen during night safari in Panna National Park are Hyenas, Rusty-spotted cats, Jungle cats, Porcupines, Honey badgers, Desert cats, fishing cats, Sloth Bears, Tiger, Leopard, Civet cats, and lots of other nocturnal animals. Here in Panna, national park, night safaris are more fruitful than in other popular tiger reserves.

Meals: Lunch & dinner
Activity: Evening safari or night safari.

Day 2- Panna National Park: 

Panna National Park is a national park located in Panna and Chhatarpur districts of Madhya Pradesh in India. It has an area of 542.67 km2 (209.53 sq mi). It was declared in 1994 as the twenty-second Tiger Reserve of India and the fifth in Madhya Pradesh, Panna was given the Award of Excellence in 2007 as the best-maintained national park of India by the Ministry of Tourism of India. It is notable that by 2009, the entire tiger population had been eliminated by poaching with the collusion of forest department officials.

The forests of Panna National Park along with Ken Gharial Sanctuary and adjoining territorial divisions form a significant part of the catchment area of the 406 km Ken River, which runs northeast for about 72 km through the park. Panna National Park and the surrounding forest area of North and South Panna forest division is the only large chunk of wildlife habitat remaining in northern Madhya Pradesh.

Reintroduction of Tigers in Panna National Park
(From 0 to 84-86 Tigers in 14 years)

Panna National Park was declared as one of the Tiger reserves of India in 1994/95 and placed under the protection of Project Tiger. The decline of the Tiger population in Panna has been reported several times. Two female tigers were relocated there from Bandhavgarh National Park and Kanha National Park in March 2009. However, the last male tiger from this landscape had already disappeared.  A committee to look into the disappearance of the tigers was formed.

In June 2009, it was officially announced that the Reserve, which had over 40 tigers six years earlier, had no tigers left and only two tigresses, which were brought in a little earlier. In February 2012, only three years later, the entire tiger population of the reserve was considered eliminated. The Madhya Pradesh government did not determine responsibility for the debacle, nor did it pass the inquiry to the Central Bureau of Investigation despite requests from the Ministry of Environment and Forests and the Prime Minister’s Office.

The Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) approved a proposal to translocate two tigers and two tigresses to the reserve. One female each from Bandhavgarh National Park (coded T1) and Kanha National Park (T2) were translocated to Panna Tiger Reserve. A tiger male, coded T3, was brought from Pench Tiger Reserve but strayed out of the park shortly thereafter, in November 2009. The tiger started walking toward its home in Pench National Park, indicating homing instinct. It moved steadily through the human-dominated landscape without causing any conflict. Forest department staff tracked it continuously for over a month and finally brought it back to the Panna Tiger Reserve. It then settled well, established territory, and started mating. The tigress, T1, translocated from Bandhavgarh National Park, gave birth to four cubs in April 2010 of which 2 survive to date.  The second tigress, T2, translocated from Kanha National Park gave birth to four cubs several months later and all four survive to date. A third tigress, coded T4, an orphaned cub was reintroduced to Panna in March 2011. She learned hunting skills with the help of the male and mated with him. She was found dead on 19 September 2014 of an infection caused by its radio collar. Her sister T5 was released in Panna in November 2011.

Today the population of Tigers in Panna National Park is from 0 to 84-86 in 14 years.

We start our day early with the morning safari. Early morning is the best time to look for the big cats and other predators. The birdlife is also very active during this time of the day. Tiger the king of the jungle, roams freely in this secure, though a bit small habitat along with his fellow beings leopard, wild dog, wolf, hyaena, and smaller cats. Sloth Bear has his favorite home in the rock escarpments and undisturbed vales. The wooded areas are dotted with sambar the largest of Indian deers, chital, and chowsingha . One can easily see Blue Bull and Chinkara in most open areas in the grasslands, especially on the periphery. The avifauna comprises more than 200 species including a host of migratory birds. One can see White necked storks, Bar-headed geese, Honey Buzzard, Blossom-headed Parakeet, Paradise flycatchers, Slaty headed Scimitar babblers including 5 species of Vultures. A dry and hot climate, in union with shallow Vindhyan soils, has given rise to dry Teak and dry mixed forest. The dominating vegetation type is Miscellaneous Dry Deciduous forest interspread with grassland areas. Other major forest types are riverine, open grasslands, open woodlands with tall grasses, and thorny woodlands. Post lunch we go for our afternoon safari. Overnight stay in Panna.

Activity: Morning & evening jungle safari 
Meals: Breakfast, lunch & dinner

Day 3- Panna National Park:

same as day 2

Activity: Morning & evening jungle safari 
Meals: Breakfast, lunch & dinner

Day 4- Khajuraho: 

Today we will have an early breakfast at our lodge and drive to Khajuraho, a Unesco world heritage site. Khajuraho temples are primarily noted for their erotic sculptures. The land of beautiful temples, Khajuraho in Madhya Pradesh draws travelers from across the globe. Being an important part of Madhya Pradesh tourism, the place speaks volumes about the history and culture of the bygone era. But these temples are so much more than their erotic sculptures!

These world-famous Indian temples were built during the Chandela dynasty and most temples were constructed between 950 and 1050 AD during the reigns of Hindu Kings Yasovarman and Dhanga.

Khajuraho has a beautiful market where you can roam around and buy beautiful stuff made by locals and souvenirs, and lots of multicuisine cafes and restaurants where you can taste different food. Overnight stay in Khajuraho. 

Activity: Khajuraho temple tour  
Meals: Breakfast

Day 5 – Khajuraho: 

Today according to your flight/ train timing we will drop you. The trip ends here.

Activity: None 

Meals: None 

Includes

1. Airport transfers (Pick up & drop)
2. Accommodation on a sharing basis
3. Accommodation on Single sharing ( at an extra cost)
4. Domestic flight/train if required
5. All Meals as mentioned in the itinerary
6. All activities as mentioned in the itinerary
7. National park entries, forts/monuments/heritage building entries, city tours, adventure activities as mentioned in the itinerary (Charges may vary if the govt. changes the prices at the time of the booking)
8. All ground transportation in Air conditioned Taxi
9. Services of 1 tour leader + local guides/trackers (if applicable)
10. Service of potters
11. Gratuity to safari drivers, guides, resorts, and taxi drivers. 

Excludes

1. Camera charges
2. Visas
3. Flights (All international) 
4. Travel Insurance
5. Optional Activities
6. Drinks, Tips, phone calls, laundry & items of a personal nature
7. Gratuity to expedition leader or tour leader
8. Anything that is not mentioned in “the Included section”