About TATR and Tadoba
About TATR
Welcome to TATR, The Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve, home to over 115 tigers (according to census 2020, actually could be more), in its 1727 square kilometre of wilderness. The area is also home to over.
- 150 leopards,
- healthy population of sloth bears
- "dhole" wild dog / foxes
- Herbivores - like the Gaur, bison, sambar, barking deer, chital and the nilgai.
- Primates like the Langur are also in abundance.
- 195 varieties of birds (some migratory).
- Undoubtedly, TATR is the most sought after wildlife sanctuary in the state of Maharashtra and India. The forest sees an annual tourist footfall of over 100,000 every year. It has one of the most diverse landscape forest, where water bodies, lakes, rivers, hillocks and the wide variety of flora can be seen. With 195 species of birds, it is a heaven for ornithologists as well, along with a very healthy population of butterflies.
About Tadoba
Tadoba is in Maharashtra, India, and it’s here that we have the Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR), which is one of the 47 tiger reserves in India, spread over 1727 Sq Km area. The Dist is Chandrapur and the closest air connectivity is Nagpur, approx. 120 kms away. Tadoba National Park was created in 1955 post which Andhari Wildlife was created in 1986 and then the two were amalgamated into one in 1995, which birth to Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve.
It is interesting to know as to how the name came into being and one is always intrigued about it. The word Tadoba Andhari comes from the name of a God "Taru" or "Tadoba" and the word Andhari comes from the river which flows in the region.
Taru was a village chief who succumbed to death in a mythological encounter with a tiger, and he has his temple on the banks of the Tadoba Lake, which is visited by Adivasis between Dec-January.
The Tadoba National Park is divided into three separate forest ranges, Tadoba North, Kolsa South and Mohurli Range, the latter sandwiched between the first two. There are two lakes and one river in the park, which gets filled every year in monsoon, Tadoba Lake, Kolsa Lake and Tadoba River.
Hidden areas of TADOBA and many more:
- Buddhist temple inside forest
- Temple of bygone era
Surroundings
- Nearby waterfall
- 9km uphill trek
- Seasonal boating
| Access Information | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nearest Airport - Nagpur (120 kms), Raipur (375 kms), Jabalpur (425 kms) | |||||
| Nearest Railway Station - Chandrapur (50 kms), Nagpur (120 kms), Badnera (237 kms) | |||||
| Tadoba is an Ex-Nagpur / Ex-Raipur / Ex-Jabalpur / Ex-Hyderabad / Ex-Bhopal Getaway | |||||
| Average Day / Night Temperature of Chandrapur, Maharashtra, India | |||||
| January | February | March | April | May | June |
| 31°C / 18°C | 33°C / 21°C | 38°C / 25°C | 41°C / 29°C | 45°C / 33°C | 35°C / 28°C |
| July | August | September | October | November | December |
| 30°C / 25°C | 30°C / 24°C | 33°C / 24°C | 33°C / 20°C | 31°C / 18°C | 31°C / 17°C |
Some Key Information for the Reserve:
- The park is open from Oct to June, July to Sept end is closed BUT the good thing is that only the core area is closed and the buffer gates approx. 8, are opened and the forest shows its true colours then. The forest has a weekly off, which is Tuesday for Core and Wednesday for Buffer.
- Vegetation is Southern Dry deciduous, with dense woodland covering about 80% of the protected area.
- Teak is the prominent tree and there are few lakes, which makes the park rich in water reserves.
- Major forest lies in the hilly area, thus a good habitat for wild animals.
- It has dense forest, smooth meadows, deep valleys and a great atmosphere to stabilise more number of tigers and provide different landscapes in which the others survive.
- The jungle safari is the main attraction, and is well managed by the GOI, with online facilities, in an open top gypsy (taking 6 people) which aids easy sightings or also has canters (taking 20 people).
- Mobile phones are not allowed inside the Tadoba Forest.
- Plastic water bottles are not allowed, and if you need once can get steel bottles (returnable) at the gate, for a minimal charge.
- One can find some of Central India's best Native woodland bird species in this forest.
The forests hosts:
Teak is the predominant tree along with Bamboo and the other deciduous trees like Ain (crocodile bark), Bija, Hald, Tendu etc. most have them having high medicinal value, ayurvedic or allopathy, like KachKujali (used to treat Parkinson), Neem, Bheria, Bija and Beheda, makes the area so rich. TATR has 141 species of trees and plants belonging to 58 botanical families.
Royal Bengal Tigers/Leopards/Gaurs/Sloth Bears/Striped Hyenas (though not much now)/Nilgai/Small Indian Civet/Sambar/Barking Deer/Dhole(wild dogs)/Jungle cats/Honey badger and chausingha, are the key wildlife found here.
It has marsh crocodiles too, with reptiles like Indian Python/Indian monitor lizard/Russell Viper/Cobra and many others. While the population of crocodiles has depleted drastically, but at one point in time it had a crocodile fertilisation centre.
There are 95 varieties of birds and raptors, and if you are an Ornithologists or even if you like them, you can check if the walking trails are on with the forest lady guides (another feather in the cap for TATR), and you would certainly see Crested serpent eagles/Grey Headed Fish Eagle/Changeable hawk eagle, with the smaller species of India Pitta/Stone curlew/Paradise flycatcher/Orange headed Thrush/Black Drongo/Hoopoe/Woodpecker/Crested Honey Buzzard/India Roller and many many more.
The other excitement are the butterflies, there are at least 74 species and you can spot Monarch/Swordtails/Mormons and Pansies.
If Insects excite you there are a whole lot of them and the rare ones are Danaid Eggfly/Great Eggfly/Praying Mantis/Jewel Beetles/Dragonflies and in monsoon you can sight three spiders - Giant wood spiders/Signature Spiders and Red Wood Spiders. Apart from them hunting spiders are Crab Spider/Lynx Spider and Wolf Spider.
The forest folks and avid photographers keep bumping into one or the other new species which pop up, like the recent "birds" or "thick knee" or "stone curlew" or "dikkop" genus name "Burhinus" which has been recently found. Who knows with your eyes wide opened you might help TATR find another jewel.
EXCITED OR NOT !!