Bandhavgarh, a part of the Umaria district in Madhya Pradesh, is place of many myths. It is believed that the name comes from the word “Bandhav” meaning brother. There is a famous hill that was given by Lord Rama to his younger brother Lakshaman so that he may keep a watch on Lanka after the battle. The two features that make Bandhavgarh highly popular are myths and tigers found at this place. Tigers are found in huge numbers in this area and thus it is also called the “Country of Tigers”. This area is blessed by the gods with beautiful and dense forest and a variety of flora and fauna. The major animals apart from tigers that cone could see over here are the Indian boson, barking deer and sambar.
Bandhavgarh has good connectivity by airways and railways. The closest major airport to Bhandhavgarh happens to be the Jabalpur airport which is at a distance of 199 kilometres from Bhandhavgarh. The important railway station for reaching Bandhavgarh is Katni and Umaria. There are many popular tourist attractions in Bandhavgarh like the Bandhavgarh National Park, the Bandhavgarh Fort which dates back to there-historic age and the remains of Kalchuri period with high archaeological significance.
Bandhavgarh fort, built 2000 years ago and located in Bandhavgarh national park, is a place of high historical significance. There are many popular mythical stories about this place. The studies conducted by the archaeologists suggest that many dynasties and clans ruled Bandhavgarh and they built the fort to protect themselves from any foreign invasion. Another popular place among tourists is the Kalchuri Archaeological museum wherein one gets a glimpse of the glorious Indian heritage.
In the year of 1968 an area of 105 sq. kms was declared as Bandhavgarh national park. The Bandhavgarh national park is significant for two reasons. The first reason is that it was once the hunting ground of Maharaja of Rewa and the second factor that makes this place so prominent is that it was once the dwelling place of the famous white tiger called Mohan. The stuffed body of this tiger is put on display at the palace of the king of Rewa. This particular white tiger is so famous because the process of captive breeding had started from him only and today there are about 500 of these tigers all over the world. Of these 500 tigers only 40 are pure bred.
So a tour of Madhya Pradesh would be incomplete without exploring Bandhavgarh, a place of beautiful architecture and huge wildlife.