The state of Madhya Pradesh is located in central India. The geographical terrain of this state is characterized by a plateau streaked with the hill ranges of the Vindhyas and the Satpuras, rivers, lakes and dense forests. The natural beauty of Madhya Pradesh, along with world heritage sites, several cities, hill stations, etc draw tourists to this state. National Parks of Madhya Pradesh are no exception in this regard. Some of these national parks are described below.
Sanjay National Park
Sanjay National Park is located in Sidhi district and Singrauli district. It was established in 1981 and occupies an area of about 466.657 square kilometers. This park is occupied by sal forests, tiger, leopard, spotted deer, sambar deer, wild boar, monitor lizard, golden hooded oriole, racket-tailed drongos, etc.
Satpura National Park
Satpura National Park is housed in Hoshangabad. It was established in 1981 and occupies an area of about 524 square kilometers. Sal, teak, tendu, mahua, bel, bamboo, etc comprise the flora of Satpura National Park. Leopard, sambar, chital, nilgai, four-horned antelope, black buck, etc comprise the fauna of this park. Birds like hornbill and peafowl have been spotted in the park.
Bandhavgarh National Park
Bandhavgarh National Park is located in Umaria district. It was declared a national park in 1968 and is spread over an area of about 1,536 square kilometers. Bandhavgarh National Park supports high density of tiger population. Other occupants of the park are sambar, barking deer, nilgai, butterflies, reptiles, sarus crane, etc.
Madhav National Park
Madhav National Park is situated in Shivpuri district of Gwalior region in northwest Madhya Pradesh. It was established in 1959 and is spread over an area of about 354 square kilometers. Some of the inmates of the park are deer, sambar, chausingha, black buck, sloth bear and leopard.
Van Vihar National Park
Van Vihar National Park is located in Bhopal. It was declared a national park on 18th of February 1983 and occupies an area of about 4.48 square kilometers. This park serves as a home to cheetal, sambhar, black buck, blue bull, nilgai, chausingha, wild boar, porcupine, butterflies, insects, etc.
Ghughua Fossil Park
Ghughua Fossil Park is located near Shahpura. It was declared a national park in 1983. It houses plants, leafs, fruits, seeds, palm fossils, etc. This park contains plant fossils belonging to 31 genera of about 18 families.
Other National Parks in Madhya Pradesh
Kanha National Park, Pench National Park and Mandla Plant Fossils National Park are the other National Parks in Madhya Pradesh.