Central India wildlife itinerary: 18 days in Satpura, Panna, Bandhavgarh, Kanha, Pench and Tadoba
18 days · 17 nights · 8 stays · sample itinerary
Eighteen days through six tiger reserves: Satpura by canoe and on foot, Bhimbetka’s rock shelters and Bhopal, the train to Khajuraho on the way to Panna, then Bandhavgarh, Kanha and Pench, a night in Nagpur, and Tadoba to finish.
It is a sample itinerary — a starting point, not a timetable. Each night has a place to stay, named where one is known; check that it is open and has room before you book. No flight or train is named, and the times in the plan are placeholders. Open it in the planner and it becomes a trip of your own, starting a month from today, with the places to see already on their days.
Day by day
Day 1
Delhi → Bhopal
Flight · 07:00–08:30
Or from Mumbai. Then about four hours by road to Satpura. Times approximate.
Stay: Reni Pani, Satpura
3 nights
Day 2
Satpura walking safari
Canoe on the Denwa River
Day 3
Satpura jeep safari
Day 4
Satpura → Bhopal
By road · 09:00–15:00
By road, stopping at the Bhimbetka rock shelters. Times approximate.
Stay: Jehan Numa Retreat, Bhopal
1 night
Day 5
Bhopal → Panna
Train · 06:00–18:00
The early express train to Khajuraho, the temples there, then about an hour by road to Panna. Times approximate.
Stay: Sarai at Toria, Panna
2 nights
Day 6
Panna jeep safari
Boat safari on the Ken River
Day 7
Panna → Bandhavgarh
By road · 08:00–13:00
About five hours by road. Times approximate.
Stay: Samode Safari Lodge, Bandhavgarh
3 nights
Day 8
Bandhavgarh jeep safari
Day 9
Nature walk at Bandhavgarh
Birding at Bandhavgarh
Day 10
Bandhavgarh → Kanha
By road · 09:00–13:00
About four hours by road. Times approximate.
Stay: Flame of the Forest, Kanha
3 nights
Day 11
Kanha jeep safari
Day 12
Kanha Museum of Life and Art
Day 13
Kanha → Pench
By road · 09:00–14:00
Four to five hours by road. Times approximate.
Stay: Jamtara Wilderness Camp, Pench
2 nights
Day 14
Pench jeep safari
Day 15
Pench → Nagpur
By road · 10:00–14:00
Three to four hours by road. Times approximate.
Stay: Place to stay in Nagpur (not named — choose one), Nagpur
1 night
Day 16
Nagpur → Tadoba
By road · 06:00–08:00
About two hours by road. Times approximate.
Stay: Svasara Jungle Lodge, Tadoba
2 nights
Day 17
Tadoba jeep safari
Day 18
Tadoba → Nagpur
By road · 08:00–10:00
Back to Nagpur airport. Times approximate.
Nagpur → Delhi
Flight · 13:00–14:45
Delhi, where the plan began, is filled in as where the flight goes; change it to wherever you go next. Times approximate.
How the route runs
Fly to Bhopal and drive to Satpura for three nights. Back towards Bhopal by way of the Bhimbetka rock shelters for a night, then the early train to Khajuraho for its temples and on to Panna. From there the forests run in a chain by road: Bandhavgarh, Kanha and Pench, three nights or two in each, then a night in Nagpur and two at Tadoba, before the drive back to Nagpur airport.
What is left for you to fill in
No flight or train is named, and every time in the plan is a placeholder, marked approximate: choose the services that suit, and set the drive times with whoever is driving. Where a journey says how is not stated, choose how. The places to see have no time of day; add one if it helps.
A stay that reads "not named" is a night with no place to stay yet: choose one. A stay whose note lists others has alternatives worth comparing. Check that each is open and has room for your dates before you book.