Kanha itinerary

Plan 01

1 day in Kanha

1. 01

   Day 1: One morning safari and a museum

   If you are only passing through, book a morning safari in one core zone and arrive at your gate before it opens. Spend about four to five hours in the jeep with a break at the designated rest point, then return to your lodge for lunch. In the afternoon, visit the Kanha Museum near Khatia, or the Tribal Museum at Baherakhar if you are staying near Mukki. One safari rarely guarantees a tiger, so go for the landscape, the barasingha and the birds, and treat any big cat as a bonus.

   Stop	Time needed	Walking	Best time
   Kanha Museum	About 45 to 60 minutes	Easy	Afternoon, between safaris

   Pace: All the stops today are easy on the legs.

Plan 02

2 days in Kanha

1. 01

   Day 1: Arrive and settle

   Drive in from Jabalpur or Nagpur in daylight, check into a lodge close to your chosen gate and take the afternoon off. If time allows, join the evening safari in a buffer zone such as Khapa, or simply sit on the lodge grounds at dusk. Confirm gate timings, the pick-up time and your permit details with the lodge, because gate times shift with the season.

2. 02

   Day 2: Morning safari, museum, evening safari

   Take the morning drive in a core zone, return for a late breakfast and rest through the heat. In the afternoon visit the Kanha Museum or the Tribal Museum. Go out again for the evening round, ideally in a second zone, and finish at your lodge with an early dinner. Remember that core-zone drives are not run on every afternoon of the week.

   Stop	Time needed	Walking	Best time
   Kanha Museum	About 45 to 60 minutes	Easy	Afternoon, between safaris

   Pace: All the stops today are easy on the legs.

Plan 03

3 days in Kanha

1. 01

   Day 1: Arrival and a first zone

   Arrive by lunch and settle in. Take an evening safari in the Kanha or Kisli zone, both of which have meadows and bamboo and give a good first look at deer, gaur and langurs. Keep dinner early; tomorrow starts before sunrise.

   Stop	Time needed	Walking	Best time
   Kisli Zone	One round of about 4 to 5 hours in the morning, or about 3 hours in the evening	Easy	Morning rounds November to March for comfort; March to June for tigers near water

   Pace: All the stops today are easy on the legs.

2. 02

   Day 2: Two zones, one long rest

   Take the morning drive in Mukki or Sarhi and return for breakfast and a rest. After lunch, visit the Tribal Museum at Baherakhar and its craft shop, then go out again in the late afternoon, perhaps to the Bamni Dadar viewpoint if your zone allows it, for sunset over the park.

   Stop	Time needed	Walking	Best time
   Bamni Dadar (Sunset Point)	About 30 to 60 minutes as part of an evening safari	Easy	Evening rounds, from November to March for clear light

   Pace: All the stops today are easy on the legs.

3. 03

   Day 3: A quieter buffer zone and the road out

   Take a last morning safari in a buffer zone such as Khapa or Sijhora, which are usually less crowded and good for birds. Return for breakfast and begin the drive to Jabalpur, Nagpur or Raipur, leaving enough margin for the road and your onward flight or train. If you have an extra half day, the Gond monuments of Ramnagar near Mandla are an interesting detour on the way to Jabalpur.

Read before you go

Guides for the stops on these routes

Pacing

Pacing a Kanha trip for parents and children

• Choose a lodge with a vehicle that can take you to the gate and back, and ask about the jeep seats, because the open vehicles are bumpy and step up high. Ask whether a cushion or a seat near the front can be arranged.
• Winter mornings are cold in an open jeep, often in single digits Celsius at dawn in December and January. Bring a warm jacket, a woollen cap, gloves and a blanket, even if the afternoon is pleasant.
• Plan only one safari a day if energy is limited. A morning drive is four to five hours; combining it with an evening round in the same day is tiring, especially in summer.
• The long road from Jabalpur, Nagpur or Raipur is the hardest part of the trip. Break it with an overnight stop, or schedule a rest day on arrival, and carry any regular medication in hand luggage.
• Ask your lodge where the nearest hospital is before you arrive, carry a basic first-aid kit and make sure your travel insurance covers remote areas.
• Walking is minimal, but toilet stops are limited inside the reserve. Use facilities at the gate and at the designated rest point, and wear shoes you can walk on uneven ground.

Kanha with elderly parents: the full guide →