Lot of people want to experience the wilderness first hand. They want to be close to nature savor its beauty without worrying about the crowd. Nature lovers are always on the lookout for such places that are least visited, are full of massive variety of flora and fauna and to top it all the landscape is mesmerizing. Indravati National Park, a secluded forest in southern Chhattisgarh offers just that. It is a national park located in Bijapur district of Chhattisgarh state of India. It derives its name from the nearby Indravati River. It is home to one of the last populations of rare wild buffalo.
Indravati National Park, spread over a total area of approximately 2799 sq. km, is the finest and most famous wildlife parks of Chhattisgarh. It is one among the three project tiger sites in Chhattisgarh having been approved since 1981. The topography of the park mainly comprises undulating hilly terrain and grasslands, trees like sal, teak and bamboo and waterfalls. There are several waterfalls both big and small in the park. The park is known for being home to ide huge number of animals such as wild water buffalos, nilgai, blackbuck, chausingha, sambar, chital, Indian muntjac, Indian spotted chevrotain wild boar, chital, barking deer, nilgai, and gaurs, that are animals of prey for carnivorous animals like tigers, leopards, sloth bears, dholes (wild dog) and striped hyenas.
Other types of animals available in the park are smaller mammals include flying squirrel, porcupine, pangolins, rhesus monkeys and langurs among many others. The park also serves as a refuge to a number of bird species. The park is home to variety of bird species like gulls, terns, serpent crested eagles, ospreys, hill myna, spotted owlet, red jungle fowls, racket-tailed drongos, wood pigeons etc. The park is home to numerous variety of reptiles like crocodile, monitor lizard, indian chameleon, common krait, indian rock python, cobra, russell’s viper and more. The park is easily approachable from Jagdalpur, the district headquarters of Bastar, district.
The best time to visit the park is from December to July. Well connected by road, the park is accessible by rail from Jagdalpur and air from Raipur. Frequented quite often by travellers and wildlife enthusiasts there are few good places to stay in and around the park, including Forest Rest house are available at Pharsegarh, Sendra, Pengunda, Karkeli and Kutru thewise visitors can stay at Jagdalpur and plan a visit to the park. There are very few restaurants and eateries near the park, as such tourist are advised to carry enough food and water with themselves on a visit. The tourist can go on jeep safari or go on a boat safari as well. Besides visiting the park there are a few other activities that tourist can indulge in. tourist can visit the Bhadrakali Temple in Bijapur district, visit Malangir Waterfall in Dantewada, go to Gumbaz Museum in Bijapur district and visit ancient caves like the Tular Caves and Sakal Narayan Cave. Overall a visit to Indravati National Park is an enchanting experience for all.
