Bandhavgarh national park is located in the Vindhya hills of Umaria, Madhya Pradesh. I visited there recently at the end of June. Like other national parks of India, Bandhavgarh also closes its core zones after the 30th of June. Because after that, the monsoon starts and as the tracks are muddy and the probabilities of vehicular jamming in the slushy trails are high, it gives the forest time to rejuvenate itself, so the forest department has closed its core zones in the monsoon.
Bandhavgarh is a deciduous forest and the forest of Bandhavgarh also consists of a tropical moist deciduous forest with sal, mixed forest and grasslands.
this makes bandhavgarh a home to many species of birds and animals and of plants too.
As I visited on the onset of the monsoon, I was lucky to see many birds, which included some of the birds that indicate the monsoon, which are the Indian pitta, the Jacobin cuckoo, the European roller, and the Indian paradise flycatcher.
I also spotted birds like greater racket-tailed drongo and lesser adjutant, which was a lifer (seen for the first time) for me,crested hawk eagle, honey buzzard, black-naped monarch, and a variety of other birds
in the 2 nights i spend there i got to see many more things like firefly in night and sky full of stars and the mating calls of frogs and the loud sounds of cicada in the forest it all makes my body in peace and mind clear and fresh
I went on 3 safaris in Bandhavgarh core zones and got some awesome sightings of tigers and birds and enjoyed every second of it. The dense forest of Bandhavgarh and the fallen leaves on the ground just make the best frame for any wildlife photographer.
The morning safaris are usually longer than those of the evening safaris and it gives more time to roam around the forest. The evening safaris are short and crisp and always thrilling as the movement of tigers and other animals like leopards is high as the sun starts to set.
In all, the trip to Bandhavagarh has always been a mesmerising one to see and it always gives new experiences.
One conservation issue I see in most of the wildlife parks is that because of the boosting tourism, people have started making more hotels near the core areas of the forest, and this not only creates disturbance to many animals and birds but also increases human-animal conflict.
One of the forests that is having a bad impact on wildlife because of this is Ramthambore national park.
A glimpse of some of my shots in bandhavgarh