A Remarkable Week In Kanha and Pench

In April 2023, my wife Kamalini, our 8 year old son Rehaan, and I embarked on a trip to Kanha National Park and Pench National Park. We went with our friends - Akanksha, Amish, Akanksha's 9 year old son Kaveer, Shweta, and Shweta's 8 year old son Vihaan. Akanksha owns resorts in wildlife parks in Sundarbans, Doars, Kanha and Pench, and the trip was triggered with her kind invitation to have us stay at her resorts in Kanha and Pench.

Spotted Deer Stag,
Kanha National Park

Day 1 - 

We took an early morning flight from Delhi to Raipur. In Raipur, we were met by our friends Mohit and Gayatri, and their 8 year old son Neil.  This family used to live in the same condo as Akanksha and us in Gurgaon several years earlier, but had subsequently moved to Bangalore. It was a great occasion to bring the kids together, as they were meeting after quite a gap. Vihaan was a new entrant to this group of friends, because he had moved to our condo after Neil had moved out.

Akanksha had arranged for transport, which took us from Raipur to Kanha National Park. We stopped for lunch on the way at a nice place called Natraj Hotel. By early afternoon, we reached Kanha, and we went straight to Akanksha's resort, The Riverwood Forest Retreat, Kanha. It was a brand new property, done up beautifully. It had 18 cottages, white in colour, with green roofs. The colour scheme and the overall look of the place made it merge nicely with the natural surroundings. Akanksha took us for a walk around the property, and we saw the lobby area, the bar, the outdoor pool, the spa, the small artificial lake, the table tennis room and the dining area.

Outdoor Pool, The Riverside Forest Retreat,
Kanha National Park

We went to our respective cottages. The rooms were very large and well furnished. They had air conditioning, a mini bar, and large windows to take in the beautiful surroundings. We had an enjoyable evening. The kids swam, we had high-tea facing the lake, we generally hung around and chatted, and Mohit entertained us by singing old Hindi songs to karaoke.

Cottages, The Riverside Forest Retreat,
Kanha National Park

Akanksha heard the calls of a deer, and was sure there was a tiger around. We got into jeeps, armed with torches, and we went on a mini safari in the dark. We got to see spotted deer, sambar and a sloth bear, but no tiger was to be seen anywhere! We returned to the resort. Dinner was at the side of a big banyan tree inside the resort. The place had been lit up beautifully with lanterns. We had drinks and dinner, and then called it a day.

Amish, Akanksha, Gayatri, Mohit and Kamalini,
The Riverside Forest Retreat,
Kanha National Park

Kaveer, Neil, Vihaan and Rehaan,
The Riverside Forest Retreat,
Kanha National Park

Me and Kamalini,
The Riverside Forest Retreat,
Kanha National Park

Day 2 - 

In the morning, the group went off to have breakfast at the side of a nearby waterfall. I went to the bar, plugged in my laptop, got connected, and conducted a couple of my Chess coaching sessions online. The group returned from the breakfast, and I joined them. The kids swam, and we adults hung out in the bar. Kamalini and Mohit sang songs on karaoke, people chatted, others played pool. We all ate lunch and then a few of us went on an afternoon safari. I didn't go because I had more Chess coaching commitments.

Kamalini and I spent time in our cottage, and Shweta came and chatted with us. The three of us went for a walk along with the property manager, Vaibhav, who showed us around. Much to Kamalini's delight, there was also a labrador living on the property. We saw the banyan tree, the vegetable garden and the beautiful sunflowers in the lawn. The evening was spent in the bar, and later, we had our dinner. I again excused myself from the group to conduct my classes. Wi-fi connectivity was less than ideal, but then again, on a trip like this, it's quite alright to just shut out the world for a few days!

Me, Kamalini and Shweta,
The Riverside Forest Retreat,
Kanha National Park

Vegetable Garden,
The Riverside Forest Retreat,
Kanha National Park

Sunflowers,
The Riverside Forest Retreat,
Kanha National Park

Banyan Tree,
The Riverside Forest Retreat,
Kanha National Park

Day 3 - 

We woke up bright and early. After taking baths and having tea and breakfast, we set out on a safari by 5 am. We drove for 45 minutes in a Tempo Traveler, after which we got into a couple of Gypsy jeeps and embarked on our safari at Kanha National Park. The park lies within the state of Madhya Pradesh. It was created in 1955, and was designated a tiger reserve in 1973. It covers an area of 940 sq km, but has an additional buffer zone of 1,067 sq km. It is one of the largest national parks in central India.

It was a 5 hour safari. We were in the Kali Gate Zone. We got to see numerous spotted deer and langoors. We also got to see some majestic gaurs, sambar deer, vultures, jackals and mongooses. The park boasts of about 105 tigers, but we had no luck spotting any! We didn't get to see leopards either! We went to Centre Point, and ate breakfast that had been packed for us. We got back to the resort, quite happy with our morning, despite having missed seeing tigers.

Safari Jeep,
Kanha National Park

The Road,
Kanha National Park

Gaur,
Kanha National Park

Langoors,
Kanha National Park

Female Spotted Deer, 
Kanha National Park

We ate lunch, then we retired to our respective cottages and rested in the afternoon. We all went to the bar for tea and cookies, after which the adults joined the kids in the swimming pool. I again did some of my online Chess coaching, after which we hung around in the bar and then ate dinner before calling it a day.

Day 4 - 

After a leisurely breakfast, we left by mid-morning from the resort and made our way to Bisapur, a journey that took over 3 hours. On the way, we ate lunch that had been packed for us at the resort. In Bisapur, we went to Akanksha's family large house, in the middle of the jungle. We sat around outside in the garden and had tea and snacks. The staff was very well trained, and Akanksha's warm hospitality knew no bounds! The house had a few dogs, including a Great Dane that had just delivered pups. Kamalini and Rehaan are dog-lovers, and that made their day! 

What followed was a nice little drive in the jungle, though we didn't really spot any animals in the dark. We made our way to the family's campsite, which was going to be opened commercially to the public shortly. A great place for people wanting to camp in the jungle! We went back home and had drinks and dinner before retiring for the day.

The House in Bisapur

Bougainvillea in the Garden, Bisapur

Day 5 - 

It was a leisurely morning. We went for a walk in the vicinity of the house. The bougainvillea plants were a real treat to the senses! The four boys played football in the garden. We had a nice breakfast, and hung around and chatted for some time. Post noon, we left for Pench, which was just over an hour away.

We went straight to  Akanksha's resort, The Riverside Forest Retreat, Pench. The beautiful property has 21 rooms. We checked into our rooms. The rooms were nice and comfortable. I walked around the property and saw the lobby, the gift shop, the library, the Tree House, the lawn, the dining room, the bar, the vegetable garden, the bridge and the watch tower. A lovely property indeed! 

We had lunch, the kids swam, and Kamalini and I walked around the property, after which we played some table tennis and then retired to our room to rest for a while. The property had 3 labradors, and Kamalini was absolutely delighted with that! We went to the dining hall for tea and pakodas. We chatted with the property manager, Uma Shankar, who spoke at length about the resort and the national park. We went to the library. A few of members of the group, including all the kids, went on a night safari, but Kamalini and I chose not to. In the evening, Shweta's husband Rahul, and their elder son Shaurya, also arrived from Gurgaon. The safari gang returned, and all of us ate dinner before calling it a day.

Lawn, 
The Riverside Forest Retreat,
Pench National Park

Watch Tower, 
The Riverside Forest Retreat,
Pench National Park

Room, 
The Riverside Forest Retreat,
Pench National Park

Room Interior, 
The Riverside Forest Retreat,
Pench National Park

Tree House,
The Riverside Forest Retreat,
Pench National Park

Day 6 - 

A few people went on an early morning safari, but Kamalini, Rehaan and I had a relaxed morning at the resort. We had breakfast and played some table tennis. By mid-morning, our XLRI friends joined us from Gurgaon - Sandeep and his wife Seema; Tarun and his wife Shalini; Deepak and his wife Deepali; Nishit and his wife Deepali; and Namita and her daughter Vrinda. They arrived from Nagpur, and did a bit of sightseeing on the way from the airport before joining us at the resort. It was great having more friends joining us towards the end of our trip! We hung around with the XL gang. Lunch followed, and we were joined by the morning safari group. It was a lovely afternoon, with food, music, dancing and lots of chatting. We got friendly with a kitty-party group of women who were staying at the resort, and were playing music and dancing. We joined them, and suddenly, one had a really large group of people on the make-shift dance floor in the dining area! 

The afternoon safari plan was called off because of rain. We hung out in the library - I played Scrabble with Shalini, and I played Chess with Shaurya. We had tea and moong dal pakodas in the evening, and at night, we all ate dinner together before retiring.

Kamalini and Me,
The Riverside Forest Retreat,
Pench National Park

Deepali, Deepali, Shalini, Namita, Vrinda and Seema,
The Riverside Forest Retreat,
Pench National Park

Sandeep, Deepak, Tarun, Me and Nishit,
The Riverside Forest Retreat,
Pench National Park

Day 7 - 

I woke up at 3:30. It was an early start to the day. By 5:45 am, the group set out for an early morning safari in Pench National Park. Pench National Park is situated in Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra, and it covers an area of about 257 sq km. It was established as a national park in 1975. The park boasts of about 120 tigers. We went in a total of 5 jeeps, and we entered the national park from Khasrapur Gate. It was a 4 hour long safari, during which we saw langoors, spotted deer, gaurs, peacocks and egrets. It started raining, so the jeeps had to be covered by tarpaulin. That was a bit of a dampener. We ate our packed food, and by mid morning, we returned to the resort. I played table tennis with Nishit, and then with Kamalini. In the afternoon, there was another safari. This time, we entered through the Turia Gate. The weather gods helped, as the rain stopped, and we were able to have a great safari. Not everyone went on the safari, and I had a jeep to myself. There was of course the driver and guide. I saw spotted deer, langoors, jackals, red faced monkeys, wild boars, sambar deer, nilgai and eagles. No luck with tigers or leopards, but the other spottings were very satisfying nevertheless, as many of them were from really up close! After the safari, I briefly saw the museum at Turia Gate - it had a collection of stuffed animals. Returned to the resort for dinner with the group.

Safari Jeep,
Pench National Park

Langoor, 
Pench National Park

Sambar Deer,
Pench National Park

Spotted Deer,
Pench National Park

Leopard with its Kill,
Museum,
Pench National Park

Day 8 - 

After breakfast, we checked out of The Riverside Forest Retreat, Pench. It was a one and a half hour drive to Nagpur Airport. The highway was impressive indeed, comparable to highways in the West. We caught our flight back to Delhi, and got back home to Gurgaon, after a wonderful week of animal spottings, quality time with friends, and a whole lot of pampering by Akanksha and her wonderful team!!