Untamed Chhattisgarh - Kanger Ghati National Park

The pristine land of this beautiful state lies embedded deep in the confines of ignorance. The tourism is much less than the potential particularly due to lack of propaganda and exposure. The newly carved state of Chhattisgarh from erstwhile Madhya Pradesh  is hidden in the shadow of its larger neighbor. Besides ample of mineral wealth  the enchanting state is a tourism hot spot.

The verdant greenery of the dense forests and rolling hills and meandering rivers make it the most beautiful state of India. Most of the natural wonders are preserved and offer exciting sightseeing, wildlife safari and holiday experience to the tourists. There are many protected areas in the state one of them is Kanger Ghati National Park. 

Kanger Ghati National Park 

The NP not only offers wildlife safari and birding it is an amazing conglomeration of water falls, natural caves, deep valleys and mountains. The most popularly visited caves are Danadak, Kailash and Kotumsar caves. The Kotamsar Cave is home to a species of blind fish that live among streams in the caves surrounded by stalagmites and stalactites. The Tirathgarh Falls is an awe inspiring spectacle and so is the wild stretch of Kolab River which gives rise to it. The National Park has many water falls, pristine pools and streams that criss cross the forest and provide enchanting spectacles to see while on wildlife safari.   It is home to some very rare animals like the mouse deer and striped Hyena.   

The park lies about twenty five km from Jagdalpur town in the district of Bastar. It is named after the Kanger River which intersects the biodiversity rich region. Many Central Indian wildlife species are found here.

Indian Bison or Gaur

Tiger

Wolf

Wild Dog

Samabar, 

Barking Deer

Spotted Deer

Sloth Bear,

Leopard

Mouse Deer 

Striped Hyena

Indian Fox

Jackal

Many nocturnal animals make Kanger Valley their home. You can see many reptiles like Cobra, Krait, Python, Rat Snake, grass snakes, Viper and more. The rivers support the marsh crocodile which is one of the prime attractions. The talking Myna or Bastar Hill Myna is occasionally seen here apart from many exciting bird species. 

Wild Water Buffalo in Indravati

Smaller than the bison wild water buffalo is severely endangered. Less the four thousand heads survive in South East Asia.  The animal is not related to Wild Cape Buffalo found in Africa. Smaller in size and weight to Gaur it is the second largest buffalo. 

It is an ancestor domestic buffalo in South East Asia. By nature it inhabits marshy grasslands as in Indravati National Park in the Chattisgarh State of India The animal lives in herds as it is gregarious by habit. Much more ferocious by nature it has lost ground due habitat loss and hunting. Besides Indravati it is found in Udanti Wild Buffalo Sanctuary in Chattisgarh. It is found in larger numbers in Assam and Bhutan. An isolated population lives in Nepal. These animals are also found in Thailand, Cambodia and Myanmar.     

In some pockets interbreeding has taken place with domestic and feral stock. Its scientific name is Bubalus amee. The animal find place of pride in wildilfe on Chattisgarh in India.

Located in Dantewada District Indravati is a two thousand seven hundred plus sq km tiger reserve and home to this rare buffalo.  The reserve is named after Indravati River that flows through it.The reserve is home to Central Indian Mammalian species including the swamp deer or Barasingha. It was a biodiversity rich region spreading across 40, 000 sq km but is badly fragmented now.

The flora constitute teak as dominent species besides dhawa, saja, moyan, salai, char, mahua, tendu, harra, bija, kullu, bel, semal, baherra, kosum, lyndia, shisham, haldu, arjun.Though tourism is limited there is good scope for wildlife watching birding around the preserve.