Welcome to another important park of India called Pench. Pench park is located in two states viz Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra. The park drives its name from river Pench which starts from Mahadeo hills of Satpura Ranges. For better understanding we should divide them as Madhya Pradesh’s Pench & Maharashtra’s Pench as there is some difference in ruling.

Although, for both parks mostly hotels are located in one area called Touria which is in Madhya Pradesh. Mostly important gates/ zones are easily feasible from this Gate.

Madhya Pradesh’s Pench, all together spans through 1179 sq. kms along southern slope of Satpura ranges. This has high level of mixing in Biodiversity. It has three type of forest as: –

1. Southern Tropical Wet Deciduous forest
2. Southern Tropical Dry Deciduous teak forest.
3. Southern Tropical Dry Deciduous mixed forest.

The last type of forest keeps hold on one third area of the park.!

This Pench holds 53 +tigers, 44+ leopards, 10-15 sloth bears & 325 species of birds.

Location & how to reach Pench

The main location called Touria Gate/ area for hotels can be reached from Nagpur 85 kms (02:30hrs), from Jabalpur is 215 kms (04 hrs), from kanha is 200 kms (03;30 hrs).

The nearest airports are Jabalpur, Nagpur.

The second gate Jamtara is 80 kms from Chindwara. One has to reach this places form Nagpur & other places.

The third gate is Karmajhiri which is 135kms (03:30 hrs) from Nagpur, 195 kms (04:30 hrs) from Jabalpur.

Safari Zones & Gates

From tourism point of view, the park is divided into 03 zones. Out of them Touria is core area & Telia , Rukkhad  are buffer area.

In this part of Pench you entre by any gate like Touria, Jamtara & Karmahjiri safari area remains same. You are entering same zone but with other directions only.

Night Stay facility inside Pench

Pench does not have staying facility in core areas. There are few guest houses located at the entrance gate itself. They can be booked by department office.

Private hotels: Hotels of every budget for tourists are scattered around Touria gate.

Night Safari: Night safari is officially allowed in Madhya Pradesh’s Pench.

Opening & closing date of Madhya Pradesh’s Pench & weekly off.

Pench opens from 01”st October to 30”th June every year.  This park does not open in monsoon season i.e. July, August & September.

Madhaya Pradesh”s Pench are closed for afternoon safari for every wednessday. Beside this the park is closed for whole day on Holi festival every year in month of March.

Types of Safaris

Broadly safari can be classified into 03 types Pench.

1. Normal Safaris: Mostly safaris are done by jeep (06-seater) in Pench. There are 02 shifts i.e. morning & afternoon. Morning shifts are longer here (till 11:00 am). Afternoon safaris are shorter here & a smaller number of jeeps are allowed.

Note: In Pench mostly jeeps are booked on exclusive basis. However, there are few jeeps which can be booked in single seat basis also. These jeeps do not go to hotel to pick up guests. One has to go to gate for safaris. If number of single passengers/ tourists are less than 06 then remaining cost is divided among present tourists to make payment complete. Single seat option is clearly seen on site at the time of booking.

• Tatkal Safaris: These safaris are done by jeeps mainly in premium zones of the park. There are no fix numbers of jeep in this category. Only those jeep appear in this quota which are previously booked but are cancelled due to some reason. This quota opens at 05:00 pm for next day morning & afternoon. The costing is slightly higher than normal/advance quota jeeps.

• Premium safaris: Only Full day safaris are allowed in Pench.There is no concept like Half day safaris as in Ranthambhore. These safaris are zone free safaris. You can see all zones in one single day. These safaris are quite expensive!

These Full day safaris are allotted by special permission of Field Director.

• Elephant Safaris: No Elephants safaris are operated in Pench.

Safari Booking Process, Quota & Requirement

1. Booking safaris.

All safaris except Full day safaris, can be booked by official site www.mponline.gov.in . One has to register on this site & after going to wild life section you need to fill details like name, age, gender, nationality, photo id proof numbers. For Indian nationals Aadhar card, passport, driving license, voter id etc are valid. For Non-Indians passport details & country is mandatory. By booking safari you only secure your seat for safaris. Rest formalities are done on the safari day itself.

In Pench only Entrance fee & vehicle entry fee is charged in tickets/ permit.

 Guide fee & vehicle fare are to be paid on the safari day.

You can select zones while you are making online booking. The zones once selected cannot be changed. You have to rebook the permit if you want to change the zone. Your previous amount will go waist.

All types of safaris are booked through this site only.

• Boarding pass:
  After booking safaris, one has to get boarding pass on the safari day. For getting boarding pass you have report to Central Booking office of the park 01:00 hrs before safari. You have to show original copy of safari voucher & Id proofs to get boarding pass. Boarding pass give you vehicle number & guide name allotted for your safari. After this you are ready for the safari. Boarding pass is must for every safari.

Same Id proof is mandatory (given at the time of booking) to carry during safaris as some times they check at the entry gate.

• Choice of guide & driver/jeep.
  For every safari booked, the department allots guides & vehicles by roaster system. Professional guides & drivers can be hired by paying extra fee to the department as per rules.

• Entrance Fee:
  The Entrance fee is different for Indians & Non-Indians in Pench. The fee structure remains same throughout the season. Weekends hike in fee is seen in Pench.

Booking Quota

There are 03 quotas for safari bookings.

1. Advance quota: In Pench, the safari booking opens 120 days prior to visit. Almost 90 % of tickets / permits are made available in this quota.

• Wait -listed quota: When in any zone all jeeps are full on website, then you are allowed to book few more tickets like in train.The system indicates the status of the tickets after payment is made.

The wait- listed tickets are likely get confirmed against other cancelled tickets. This is done 05 days prior to the visit. You will get sms from the department regarding confirmation. If your tickets are not confirmed then your amount comes back in your account.

• Current quota:  As 90% tickets/ permits are made available in advance quota through website only 10% tickets are left for current quota. This quota opens 01:00 hrs prior to each safari shift at the department’s booking centre. Guests has to stand in ques to get tickets.

Number of Jeeps/ canters for safaris in Madhya Pradesh’s Pench.

 Pench has below distribution of jeeps for direct tourists at various gates.

Touria: Morning shift 37 & afternoon 37

Karmajhiri: Morning shift 08 & afternoon 08

Jamtara: Morning shift 05 & afternoon 04

Maharashtra’s Pench.

As discussed earlier that mostly hotels are in Touria area but  zones of Maharashtra’s Pench are easily assessable from hotels in this area.

The main forest of this part is Southern Tropical Dry Deciduous forest with sub types of Dry Teak bearing & Southern Dry Deciduous forests. The undulating topography presents a lot of variations in vegetation from moist sheltered valleys to open Dry Deciduous forests. The main trees groups consist of Teak and its relative like Garari, Salai, Mowai, Tendu etc.

This Pench supports 65+ tigers, 80+ leopards, 70+ sloth bears & 225 species of birds.

Safari Zones & Gates in Maharashtra ’s Pench.

From tourism point of view, the park is divided into 06 zones. Out of them Khursapar, Sillari & Chorbhauli  are core area & Surewani , Kolitmara & Khubala  are buffer area.

Khursapar is 08 kms (15 minutes) from Touria/Hotel area.

Sillari is 20 kms (40 minutes) from Touria / Hotel area.

Chorbhauli is 30 kms (60 minutes) from Touria / Hotel area.

All above zones have different gates & areas. This is the difference between two Pench.

Night Stay facility inside Maharashtra’s Pench.

No Staying facility in cores areas of Maharashtra’s Pench.

Night Safari: Night safaris are not allowed in Maharasthra’s Pench.

Private hotels: Mainly hotels are located around Touria gate.

Opening & closing date of Maharashtra’s Pench & weekly off.

This Pench opens from 01”st October to 30”th June every year.  This park does not open in monsoon season i.e. July, August & September.

This Pench’s weekly closing system are different. Various zones are closed on different days.

Khursapar Gate: Closes on Tuesday for Both Safaris morning & afternoon.

Sillari Gate: Closes on Wednesday for Both Safaris morning & afternoon.

Chorbhauli Gate: Closes on Monday for Both Safaris morning & afternoon.

Types of safaris in Maharashtra ’s Pench.

Only Normal safaris are being permitted in Pench.

1. Normal Safaris: Mostly safaris are done by jeep (06-seater) in Pench. There are 02 shifts i.e. morning & afternoon. Morning shifts and Afternoon safaris are of same duration between 03 to 04 hrs.  Number of jeeps remain same in both shifts.

• Note: In Pench mostly jeeps are booked on exclusive basis.  Single seat concept is not present in Maharashtra’s Pench.

• Tatkal Safaris: This quota does not operate in Maharashtra’s Pench.

• Premium safaris:  No Full Day & Half Day safaris are allowed in this Pench.

• Elephant Safaris: Elephnats safaris are allowed in this part of Pench.

Safari Booking Process, Quota & requirement.

1. Booking safaris.

www.maharsthraecotouirsmonline.com is the official site for booking safaris. One has to register on this site & after going to wild life section you need to fill details like name, age, gender, nationality, photo id proof numbers. For Indian nationals Aadhar card, passport, driving license, voter id etc are valid. For Non-Indians passport details & country is mandatory. By booking safari you only secure your seat for safaris. Rest formalities are done on the safari day itself.

In Pench only Entrance fee & vehicle entry fee is charged in tickets/ permit.

 Guide fee & vehicle fare are to be paid on the safari day.

You can select zones while you are making online booking. The zones once selected cannot be changed. You have to rebook the permit if you want to change the zone. Your previous amount will go waist.

All types of safaris are booked through this site only.

• Boarding pass:

Here there is no concept like issuing Boarding pass before safari. Here jeeps are provided by Taxi Unions by roaster system. You just need valid ticket/ permit & inform the taxi union through hotel management or yourself. The jeep will report at you place.

Same Id proof is mandatory (given at the time of booking) to carry during safaris as there is strict checking at entrance gates. Original Id Proofs are required.

• Choice of guide & driver/jeep.

For every safari booked, the department allots guides & vehicles by roaster system. Professional guides & drivers can be hired by paying extra fee to the department as per rules.

• Entrance Fee:

The Entrance fees are same for Indians & Non-Indians in Maharasthra’Pench. The fee structure remains same throughout the season. Weekends hike in fee is not seen in Maharashtra’ Pench.

Booking Quota.

                        There are 02 quotas for safari bookings.

1. Advance quota: In Pench, the safari booking opens 90 days prior to visit. Almost 90 % of tickets / permits are made available in this quota.

• Wait -listed quota: No found this is park.

• Current quota:  As 90% tickets/ permits are made available in advance quota through website only 10% tickets are left for current quota. This quota opens 01:00 hrs prior to each safari shift at the department’s booking centre. Guests has to stand in ques to get tickets.

Number of Jeeps/ canters for safaris in Maharashtra’s Pench.

 Pench has a below the distribution of jeeps for direct tourists at various gates.

Khursapar: Morning shift 19 & afternoon 19
Sillari: Morning shift 24 & afternoon 24
Chorbhauli: Morning shift 07 & afternoon 07

Pench Wildlife Safari Packages

Experience the beauty of nature and capture stunning wildlife moments with our curated Pench Wildlife Sanctuary safari packages. We offer 2 Pax or 4 Pax group options, as well as an exclusive private safari experience for photography enthusiasts. Our Ranthambore tour package is perfect for those looking to explore the area in depth. Book your adventure today!

2 Pax Private Jeep Safari

4 Pax Private Jeep Safari

Pench Photography Tour