Melghat Sightseeing, Quick Facts, History, Packages, Tours & Excursions

Sightseeing Highlights

This tiger reserve is a dream-come-true for every wildlife buff. Nestled amidst the green and rough terrain of the Satpuras on the Gavilgarh Hill, Melghat Tiger Reserve attracts wildlife lovers from all over. The Melghat Wildlife Sanctuary remains open from October to June but safaris are only allowed from December to June and there are greater chances of sighting the tigers during the summer season. Although tiger and leopard spotting is the highlight of the safaris, you are also likely to catch a glimpse of other animals like sambar, chital, barking dear, chinkara, wild boar and gaur.

Other Activities

Melghat located in the Amaravati district of Maharastra, is a Tiger Reserve wildlife sanctuary. Melghat Tiger Reserve is located on the southern offshoot of the Satpura Hill Range in Central India, called Gavilgarh hill. It is 225 km west of Nagpur. It was established as wildlife sanctuary in 1967 and was declared a Tiger Reserve in 1974. It was among the first nine Tiger Reserves notified in 1973-74 under the 'Project Tiger', a wildlife conservation project initiated in India in 1972 to protect the Bengal Tigers.

Melghat means 'meeting of the ghats' which is just what the area is, a large tract of unending hills and ravines scarred by jagged cliffs and steep climbs. The forest is tropical dry deciduous in nature, dominated by teak (Tectona grandis). The Reserve is a catchment area for five major rivers viz. Khandu, Khapra, Sipna, Gadga and Dolar, all of which are tributaries of the river Tapti. The main fauna found here is tiger, leopard, sloth bear, wild dog, jackal, sambar, gaur, barking deer, nilgai, chital, chausingha, ratel, flying squirrel, wild boar, langur, Rhesus monkey, porcupine, pangolin, mouse deer, python, otter and blacknaped hare.