Of the trio of tiger reserves located in India’s central Madhya Pradesh state, Pench National Park is the least-visited. Much of the park is swathed in dense teak forest, which naturally makes the wildlife here that much more difficult to spot. But those who do visit Pench get a far more relaxed and peaceful experience than in nearby parks such as Bandhavgarh or Kanha – indeed, at times it can almost feel as though you have the park to yourself. Just you, and the thousands of eyes watching you from the forest.
Pench most recently fell under the international spotlight in 2008’s
Spy in the Jungle, David Attenborough’s acclaimed nature documentary (tell us one he’s made that isn’t). Before that, the park was probably best-known as the inspiration for Rudyard Kipling’s
The Jungle Book, published in 1894. In 1992, the park became a tiger reserve under India’s successful Project Tiger scheme and across its 758km
² there are thought to be some 50 or so of the striped stalkers.