Bandhavgarh National Park

Why Bandhavgarh resonates specifically with the Aussie travel style

The “Anti-Zoo” Experience
Australians, coming from a culture that deeply values the “Outback” and raw, unmanicured wilderness, are drawn to Bandhavgarh’s high density of tigers. Unlike other parks where you might go days without a sighting, Bandhavgarh offers a high probability of seeing tigers behaving naturally—hunting, playing, or cooling off in waterholes. It feels like “proper” bushcraft rather than a curated tour.

A Different Kind of “Heritage”
While Australia has a rich indigenous history, it lacks the 2,000-year-old stone architecture found in Bandhavgarh. For an Aussie tourist, seeing a 10th-century Vishnu statue (Shesh Shaiya) or ancient caves tucked inside a jungle is a mind-bending contrast. It’s the “Indiana Jones” factor—wildlife safari meets Lara Croft-style exploration.

The David Attenborough Influence
Many international visitors, including Australians, were inspired by the BBC Earth series Dynasties, narrated by David Attenborough, which filmed a famous tigress (Raj Bhera) and her cubs in Bandhavgarh. For many, coming here is a pilgrimage to see the “stars” of that documentary.

Photographic Landscapes
The topography of Bandhavgarh—with its dramatic Vindhya hills, steep cliffs, and rocky plateaus—is very photogenic. It provides a “layered” landscape that photographers from the Southern Hemisphere find refreshing compared to the flat, open plains of African safaris or the Australian scrub.

Birding & Biodiversity
Australians are often keen birdwatchers. With over 250 species of birds, including the Malabar Pied Hornbill and various eagles, Bandhavgarh satisfies that “twitcher” itch that is common among Aussie nature lovers.

History & Culture

• No one is really sure who built the Bandhavgarh Fort, which was constructed on a virtually unassailable plateau at an elevation of 800 m., though scores of myths about its origins continue to do the rounds. It is clear, however, that the area now encompassed by the park has seen settlements and civilisations come and go for millennia. Historians suggest that sandstone caves to the north of the Bandhavgarh Fort harbour Brahmi inscriptions dating back to the 1st Century B.C. One of these caves, called Bagdhalak, is embellished with the stripe patterns and pugmarks of the tiger.
• The Chandela dynasty of Bundelkhand, most famous today for having built the Khajuraho temples (210 km. away) also ruled here for a while around the 12th century. Later, warrior clans fought and lost many battles for possession of the fort, until the Baghels made the Bandhavgarh Fort their capital in the 17th century. The house of Rewa, whose descendents still own the imposing fort, trace a direct lineage from the Baghel dynasty and the fort is still owned by the Rewa family. This is, in fact, the only private property legally recognised within the National Park area and tourists can visit it after obtaining permission.Today the fort is, however, run down and has been ever since the capital was shifted to Rewa 120 km. away.
• The white tigers of Rewa were taken from the wild and are justifiably famous worldwide. But no specimens have been seen in the wild in recent years. A well documented story reveals that Mohan, the first ever white tiger cub to be discovered, was accidentally found in the Bandhavgarh forest in 1951 and was kept as a pet by the then Maharaja. Vets confirmed that it was not an albino, but a rare recessive gene that had somehow surfaced. This one animal was the progenitor of all the cubs that now live in zoos in different parts of the globe and displayed to the public as a (very beautiful) freak of nature.