Welcome to another famous national park in Maharashtra beside Pench, called Tadoba National Park. After adding Andhari Wild life sanctuary it became Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve. It is the oldest & largest national park of Maharashtra. Recently this park came up in sightings tally due to High Density of Tigers. All together it covers an area of 1600 sq. kms. The park is located in Chandrapur district of Maharashtra.

The vegetation is Southern Tropical Dry Deciduous with Teak & Bamboo dominating. Due to hilly terrain the topography changes instantly. Natural lakes & rivers add scenic beauty to the park.

There are 115 + tigers, 151+ leopards, 200+sloth bears, 250 different species of birds & wild dogs.

Location & how to reach Tadoba National Park

Tadoba National Park is 140 kms (03:30hrs) far from Nagpur. It is 40 kms from Chandrapur district head quarter. This is distance of main gate called Mohurli. The distance for other gates may vary.

The nearest airport is Nagpur.

Safari Zones & Gates in Tadoba – Andhari Tiger Reserve.

Tadoba has division of Core & Buffer with so many entry gates. To understand better we first take Core area.

Tadoba has 03 core zones/ranges as Moharli, Tadoba & Kolsa. These three zones/ ranges have 06 gates to enter. Moharli & Tadoba are interlinked by road. Moharli gate is considered main gate. Mostly hotels are there.

Tadoba zone can be accessed by Kolara, Navegaon & Khutwanda Gates. The Taobao lake is life line of this zone. Kolara gate is second important gate with good hotels around. Navegaon gate is lacking hotels. All these gates can be accessed From Nagpur. Khutwanda is closer to Moharli gate.

Kolsa Zone has two gates Pangdi & Zari. This zone is at extreme far east side of the park.

Beside this the park has 12 entry gates for Buffer areas. Agarzari, Devada & Junona are buffer gates close to Moharli Core gate.

Kolara, Alizanjha & Madnapur are other Buffer entry gate near Kolara Core gate.

Rest Buffer gates are Navegaon-Ramdegi, Mamla Sikarda,Pangdi,Zari/Peth & Kesalghat.

Night Stay Facility in Tadoba

Tadoba does not have guest houses in core area.

Private Hotels: There are many private hotels on Moharli & Kolara gates.

Night safari: Night safari is officially allowed in Tadoba.

Opening & closing date of Tadoba & weekly off.

Tadoba’s core zones open for tourists from 15 October to 30 June every year. For monsoon period the park is closed.   The core gates of the parks are closed on every Tuesday fully.

Only few buffer gates/ zones open in Monsoon period i.e. July ,August & September.

Types of safaris in Tadoba

Broadly safari can be classified into 03 types Tadoba

Normal Safaris: Mostly safaris are done by jeep (06-seater) in Tadoba. There are 02 shifts i.e. morning & afternoon. The duration of safari is between 03:00 to 04:00 hrs long.

There are few canters (20-seater open bus) which are booked manually. However, number of canters are same for morning & evening shifts.

Tatkal Safaris: These safaris are done by jeeps mainly in premium zones of the park. Few jeeps in for last comers’ tourists are kept in this quota. This quota opens at 08:00 am every day. This quota opens three days prior to the visit. For e.g. Tatkal quota for 01”st October will open on 28”th September. The costing is higher (three times) than normal/advance quota jeeps.

Premium safaris: Only Full day safaris are allowed in Tadoba. 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. There are only 03 jeeps allowed in this category. Advance normal safari booking permit is required before applying permission for Full day photography tours. The time & entry gate is decided by the Forest Department. Only 03 persons in one jeep are allowed in this category. Driver & guide are extra.

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

Safari Booking Process, Quota & Requirement

1. Booking safaris.

The official website for booking safaris is www.mahaecotourism.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 Tadoba 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.

• 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 fees are same for Indians & Non-Indians in Tadoba. The fee structure remains same throughout the season. Weekends hike in fee is seen in Tadoba.

Booking Quota.

                        There are 03 quotas for safari bookings.

1. Advance quota: In Tadoba, the safari booking opens 120 days prior to visit. Almost 90 % of tickets / permits are made available in this quota. The quota is divided into two slabs of time frame. 120-60 days & less than 60  days. The cost for permit for week days are 4000/-INR per jeep & for Saturday & Sunday is 8000/- INR. These permits are non-refundable once booked in case of cancellation of visit.

The cost for less then 60 days week days is 1000/- INR & for Saturday & Sunday is 2000/- INR. These permits are refundable in case of cancellation of visit as per departments rules.

This quota closes 04 days prior to the visit date.

• 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 03 days prior to visit day at 08:00 am on official website in tatkal category.

There is not Counter ticket option in Tadoba for core zones.

Number of Jeeps/ canters for safaris in Tadoba.

Tadoba has below distribution of jeeps for direct tourists in various zones/ gates.

Moharli: Advance quota- Morning shift 19 & afternoon 19.
Tatkal quota – Morning shift 04 & afternoon 04.

Navegaon: Advance quota- Morning shift 04 & afternoon 04.
Tatkal quota – Morning shift 01 & afternoon 01.

Kolara: Advance quota- Morning shift 09 & afternoon 09.
Tatkal quota – Morning shift 03 & afternoon 03.

Khutwanda Gate: Advance quota- Morning shift 03 & afternoon 03.
Tatkal quota- 01 morning shift & afternoon 01.

We provide all services from booking safaris to get with boarding pass & jeeps, guides to your hotel as per department’s rules and assistance during your stay in Tadoba. We help you to select good zones from sighting point of view. Good guides & professional drivers can be hired by paying extra fee as per department rules. Transport is also provided from  Nagpur, Chandrapur , Nagzira National park & other places as per your itinerary.