Indravati National Park is a

national park A national park is a nature park designated for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes because of unparalleled national natural, historic, or cultural significance. It is an area of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that is protecte ...

located in Bijapur district of

Chhattisgarh Chhattisgarh (; ) is a landlocked States and union territories of India, state in Central India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, ninth largest state by area, and with a population of roughly 30 million, the List ...

state in

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. The park derives its name from the

Indravati River Indravati River is a tributary of the Godavari River, in central India. The Indravati River's starting point, found to be the Ghats of Dandakaranya, ranges from a hilltop village Mardiguda of Thuamula Rampur Block in the Kalahandi distric ...

, which flows from east to west and forms the northern boundary of the reserve with the Indian state of

Maharashtra Maharashtra () is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. It is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, the Indian states of Karnataka and Goa to the south, Telangana to th ...

. Indravati National Park is among the most famous wildlife parks of Chhattisgarh. It is one of four

Project Tiger Project Tiger is a wildlife conservation movement initiated in India to protect the endangered tiger. The project was initiated in 1973 by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change of the Government of India. As of March 2025, there ...

sites in Chhattisgarh, along with Udanti-sitanadi, and is home to one of the last remaining populations of the endangered

wild water buffalo The wild water buffalo (''Bubalus arnee''), also called Asian buffalo, Asiatic buffalo and wild buffalo, is a large bovine native to the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. It has been listed as ''Endangered'' in the IUCN Red List since 198 ...

. With a total area of approximately 2799.08 km², Indravati attained the status of a national park in 1981 and a tiger reserve in 1983, becoming one of the most famous tiger reserves in India. As of 2022, the park is reported to be largely under Naxal control.

Topography

The topography of the park mainly comprises undulating hilly terrain with altitude ranging between 177 and 599 metres above the sea level.

Flora

The vegetation of the Indravati National Park is mainly of the tropical moist and dry deciduous type with predominance of bamboo, Sarai and

teak Teak (''Tectona grandis'') is a tropical hardwood tree species in the family Lamiaceae. It is a large, deciduous tree that occurs in mixed hardwood forests. ''Tectona grandis'' has small, fragrant white flowers arranged in dense clusters (panic ...

. There are also patches of grassland providing food to large herbivores such as

chital The chital or cheetal (''Axis axis''; ), also called spotted deer, chital deer and axis deer, is a deer species native to the Indian subcontinent. It was first described by Johann Christian Polycarp Erxleben in 1777. A moderate-sized deer, mal ...

barking deer Muntjacs ( ), also known as the barking deer or rib-faced deer, (URL is Google Books) are small deer of the genus ''Muntiacus'' native to South Asia and Southeast Asia. Muntjacs are thought to have begun appearing 15–35 million years ago, ...

nilgai The nilgai (''Boselaphus tragocamelus'') (, literally meaning "blue cow") is the largest antelope of Asia, and is ubiquitous across the northern Indian subcontinent. It is the sole member of the genus (biology), genus ''Boselaphus'', which was ...

, and

gaur The gaur (''Bos gaurus''; ) is a large bovine native to the Indian Subcontinent and Southeast Asia, and has been listed as Vulnerable species, Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List since 1986. The global population was estimated at a maximum of 21,000 ...

s. The most common tree in the park are teak, lendia, salai,

mahua Mahua or Mahuaa may refer to: Botany * '' Madhuca longifolia'' or mahua, a tree in the family Sapotaceae * ''Mahua'' (moss), a genus of mosses in family Hypnaceae Culture and entertainment * Mahua (snack), a Chinese fried dough twist * Mahuli ...

, tendu, semal, haldu, Boir and

Jam Fruit preserves are preparations of fruits whose main preserving agent is sugar and sometimes acid, often stored in glass jars and used as a condiment or spread. There are many varieties of fruit preserves globally, distinguished by the meth ...

Wildlife

Indravati National Park has one of the last populations of the endangered wild Asian buffalo. The national park is also home to a variety of other ungulate species. Reported from the area are

Asian elephant The Asian elephant (''Elephas maximus''), also known as the Asiatic elephant, is the only living ''Elephas'' species. It is the largest living land animal in Asia and the second largest living Elephantidae, elephantid in the world. It is char ...

(Indian bison),

blackbuck The blackbuck (''Antilope cervicapra''), also known as the Indian antelope, is a medium-sized antelope native to India and Nepal. It inhabits grassy plains and lightly forested areas with perennial water sources. It stands up to high at the sh ...

, chausingha (four-horned antelope), sambar,

Indian muntjac The Northern red muntjac (''Muntiacus vaginalis'') is a species of muntjac. It is found in numerous countries of south-central and southeast Asia. The northern red muntjac inhabits various forest types, from tropical rainforests to deciduous an ...

Indian spotted chevrotain The Indian spotted chevrotain (''Moschiola indica'') is a species of even-toed ungulate in the family Tragulidae. It is native to India and possibly Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked countr ...

and wild boar. Large predators are represented by

tiger The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is a large Felidae, cat and a member of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Asia. It has a powerful, muscular body with a large head and paws, a long tail and orange fur with black, mostly vertical stripes. It is ...

leopard The leopard (''Panthera pardus'') is one of the five extant cat species in the genus ''Panthera''. It has a pale yellowish to dark golden fur with dark spots grouped in rosettes. Its body is slender and muscular reaching a length of with a ...

sloth bear The sloth bear (''Melursus ursinus''), also known as the Indian bear, is a myrmecophagous bear species native to the Indian subcontinent. It feeds on fruits, ants and termites. It is listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, mainly because of ...

s, and

dhole The dhole ( ; ''Cuon alpinus'') is a canid native to South, East and Southeast Asia. It is anatomically distinguished from members of the genus ''Canis'' in several aspects: its skull is convex rather than concave in profile, it lacks a third ...

s (wild dogs). Smaller mammals include flying squirrel,

porcupine Porcupines are large rodents with coats of sharp Spine (zoology), spines, or quills, that protect them against predation. The term covers two Family (biology), families of animals: the Old World porcupines of the family Hystricidae, and the New ...

, pangolins, rhesus monkeys and langurs among many others.D. K. Harshey & Kailash Chandra (2001). ''Mammals of Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.'' Zoos´ Print Journal 16(12): 659-66
online
The commonly found reptiles in the park are freshwater crocodile,

monitor lizard Monitor lizards are lizards in the genus ''Varanus,'' the only extant genus in the family Varanidae. They are native to Africa, Asia, and Oceania, and West African Nile monitor, one species is also found in south America as an invasive species. A ...

, Indian chameleon, common krait, Indian rock python, cobra and Russell's viper to name a few. The park also gives shelter to the large variety of birds of which the hill myna is the most important species.

Transport

Indravati National Park is easily approachable from

Jagdalpur Jagdalpur is a city located in the southern part of Chhattisgarh state in India. It is the administrative headquarters of the Bastar district and Bastar division. Before the independence of India, it also served as the capital of the erstw ...

. The village Kutrue, the main entry point of the park, is situated at the distance of 22.4 km north of Jagdalpur-Bhopalpattanam road. The Kutrue link road is at the distance of 145.6 km from Jagdalpur. Raipur (486 km) has the nearest airport and

(168 km) is the nearest railhead from the Indravati National Park.

Visiting

The recommended season to visit the park is from 15 December to 15 June.

References

External links

{{Authority control Eastern Highlands moist deciduous forests Protected areas of Chhattisgarh National parks in Chhattisgarh Protected areas established in 1975 1975 establishments in Madhya Pradesh