The different safari gates in Tadoba Reserve forest
Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR), one of India’s premier tiger habitats, is a beautiful and biodiverse wildlife reserve located about 110 km from the well-connected city of Nagpur in Chandrapur district, Maharashtra, India. The reserve is home to a wide variety of flora and fauna, including the Royal Bengal Tiger, once considered among the most endangered species in the world. India’s strong conservation efforts, supported in part by responsible tourism, have helped TATR show healthy wildlife growth over the years and continue to thrive.
TATR offers multiple safari entry gates, each with its own unique terrain and wildlife opportunities. Understanding the characteristics of these gates can help you plan a more rewarding safari experience for 2026 and beyond.
In order to protect the wildlife and preserve the natural ecosystem of the reserve, there are several entry gates that visitors can use to enter the reserve. Each gate has its own unique advantages, disadvantages and significance, which we will explore in this TATR article.
TATR is a huge area and has two Major entry points, though inside they have some common terrains and some unique. Its divided into two parts Moharli (Chandrapur) and Kolara (Chimur),both of course in Chandrapur district, with total of 4 zones.
While Moharli, is in Chandrapur, and Kolara in Chimur, the latter is closer from Nagpur, the nearest airport.
The forest are marked as Core and Buffer, the former being a no human habitation area, and the latter cohabitated.
Overview of Tadoba's Safari Gate Zones
Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve spans a vast, biodiverse landscape in Maharashtra. For 2026, it offers four primary safari gate zones—each with its own terrain, wildlife chance, and convenience factors. This guide helps you choose the best entry point for an unforgettable tiger expedition.
There are four zone with distribution of Core and buffer is as below (we can add a map too):
Moharli Zone
* Core Gate: Moharli & Khutwanda
* Buffer Gate: Devada, Adegaon, Agarzari, Junona & Mamla
Moharli is one of the oldest and most immersive entry gates for Tadoba. This core zone features two main core points—Moharli & Khutwanda—and multiple buffer gates. It is rich in wildlife and cultural forest experiences, including butterfly farms and walking trails.
Devada & Adegaon Zone (Buffer)
The buffer region around Moharli includes gates such as Devada, Adegaon, Agarzari, Junona & Mamla, which offer access to scenic trails and additional wildlife areas.
Kolara Zone
* Core Gate: Kolara
* Buffer Gate: Alizanza, Madnapur, Sirkheda, Kolara Chauradeo, Palasgaon & Belara
Kolara is another pivotal entry point located closer to Nagpur (≈100km) and known for dense tiger populations and aggressive wildlife sighting opportunities. Kolara features one core and six buffer gates. It's known for dense tiger populations across multiple terrains. While lacking Moharli's cultural extras, Kolara offers easier connectivity through its network of gates and shared buffer zones.
Navegaon Zone
* Core Gate: Navegaon
* Buffer Gate: Navegaon Ramdegi & Nimdela
Navegaon is quieter and less crowded than other gates, offering a peaceful safari experience with excellent opportunities to see tigers and birdlife. It lies adjacent to Kolara, effectively sharing its core territory. Navegaon is positioned about 130km from Nagpur. Terrain here includes hillocks, waterholes, and diverse dry-deciduous forest.
Pangadi & Zari Zone
* Core Gate: Pangdi and Zari
* Buffer Gate: Pangdi Aswal Chuha, Keslaghat & Zari Peth
Farthest from Nagpur, the Pangadi and Zari core gates provide a pristine safari area characterized by birding hotspots and peaceful forest zones. With two core and three buffer gates, it's newer and less frequented. Most stays are homestays or small lodges; Kolara remains the nearest main hub.
Pros and Cons of each Zone:
Moharli
While is the oldest entry to TATR, others being comparatively new, is a well crafted and designed forest area. The entry to the forest through the Padmapur gate itself gives one the feel of the jungle. This zone, has the maximum number of activities along with the safari, like the agarbatti (incense stick) factory, artefacts in bamboo, several walking trails, butterfly garden, training for upcoming villagers. Access to Moharli - Air - Nagpur 160 kms away, Railway - chandrapur has its own station.This gate has the advantage of its ambience and also diverse flora and fauna, but being a bit distance from the nearest airport takes a bit of toll. The other advantage of this zone is the presence of Two Core gates but only 5 buffer gates (which is opened 12 months).There are good very good accommodation around Moharli, and that's a plus too.
Kolara
This area, as mentioned is comparatively new to Moharli, but has been bubbling with tiger population. The core area of Kolara and Moharli is almost the same, and so not much difference there. This Zone has its entry from a Village called Chimur, and is closure to Nagpur, the nearest airport, 100 kms, and also has a less well defined railway station. Advantages of this being thick population of tigers, variety of different terrains from different gates, and of course more accessibility to the number of gates. While Kolara by itself has one core and six buffer gates, BUT as the ZONE 3 is very close to this Zone, it enjoys the luxury of 2 core gates and 8 buffer gates (which is opened for 12 months). The places of stay are varied from home stays to good to very good to choose from.The major disadvantage is lack of extra activities like local manufacturing units, not well defines walking trail, no butterfly garden.
Navegaon
It's more or less the same as KOLARA as its close and they can ideally be clubbed together to be one zone. The accommodation is mostly at Kolara side, though Navegaon itself also has a couple of good resorts or home stays.
Pangdi and Zari
It's the farthest from connectivity point of view and it has 2 core gates and 3 buffer, which is comparatively new and even the number of safaris are less. But the big advantage is the forest's beauty is amazing, and as the number of safari vehicles permitted are lesser the animals are more at ease and the sighting is better. The birds species are also good, as its less disturbed its more peace. The places of stay are more home stay and a couple of resorts, but mostly people park at Kolara, inspire of it being a 2/3 hours drive, as the other safaris become easy for them.
Choosing the Best Gate
- Moharli: Cultural richness, diverse flora/fauna, good lodging, slightly farther.
- Kolara: Accessibility, tiger density, multiple buffer gates.
- Navegaon: Quiet core overlap, varied terrain, strong tiger chances.
- Pangadi & Zari: Serenity, birding, fewer vehicles.
Staying at 98 Stripes places you close (2–10km) to Kolara and Navegaon—giving you access to two core and eight buffer gates, significantly increasing your chances of safari success in 2026.
Why 98Stripes
Nagpur by road is 110 kms from 98S and enters Kolara through Chimur, and Nagpur is the first big city well connected with Air, Road and Railways, while Chandrapur is approx 160kms from Nagpur.
Kolara Zone (zone 2) is the closest to 98 Stripes (2.5kms) and Navegaon, Zone 3, would be approx 7 to 10kms.
Kolara which is Zone 2, also is so close to zone 3, Navegaon that its kind of considered as one zone. Which means 98S has 2 Core and 8 Buffer and the place is bubbling tigers, and more to it two more gates are on the verge of opening up.
The reason why the number of gates are important for a visit are:
- the number of safari vehicles in each gate is restricted and so the number of guests. So the more the number of gates the better the chance of getting a ride and having fun.
- the more the number of gates the more the chance of sighting the Big Boy, as they have their own territory and each gate would have at least 3 to 4 tigers/ tigress and hence more the number of gates the more the population in that zone, and hence better chances of having a glimpse.