Best National Parks of India

Home to the largest population of the one-horned rhino on earth, Kaziranga National Park is located in the state of Assam in North-Eastern India. Approximately around five hours by road from Guwahati, Kaziranga National Park was awarded the status of a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1985.

Best Time: October to June

Located in a central region of Madhya Pradesh, Kanha National Park is the largest National Park in central India and has been ranked as one of the best parks in Asia. Among the 22 species of large mammals, the royal Bengal tigers are one of the major attractions. This National Park came to be known the world over through Rudyard Kipling's book- The Jungle Book.

Best Time: October to June

Bandhavgarh National Park is world-renowned as a tiger reserve and it is known to have the highest density of Bengal tigers in the world. There are more than 22 species of mammals and 250 species of avifauna. The jeep safaris are amongst the most popular activities here.

Best Time: October to June

Known For : Jungle Safari in Corbett National Park Corbett Waterfall River Rafting in Corbett National Park

Jim Corbett National Park is the oldest national park in India known for housing the endangered Bengal tiger. Famous for its wildlife safaris, it is one of the few tiger reserves in India which allows overnight stays. It houses a variety of flora and fauna including rare ones such as tigers and is a treat for wildlife enthusiasts and photographers.

Best Time: Mid October to Mid June

19 Jim Corbett Attractions

Known For : Ranthambore Tiger Reserve Jeep Safari Ranthambore Ranthambhore Fort

Ranthambore is one of the best tiger reserves of the country, known to have "friendly" tigers and chances of sighting one here is reasonably better than many other tiger reserves of India. Along with this Ranthambore has one of the richest flora and fauna. The place is a boon for wildlife photographers and is perfect for excursions and sightseeing.

Best Time: October to Apr

20 Ranthambore Attractions

Spread across an area of 300 square miles, Periyar National Park is one of the most bio-diverse regions in the world and the best-protected reserve in India. It is covered by lush evergreen and deciduous forests serving as home to various animals such as deer, elephants, sambar, Nilgiri Langurs, etc.

Popularly known as Rajiv Gandhi National Park, Nagarhole National Park boasts of its rich wildlife including both flora and fauna. The place is a paradise for nature lovers and those seeking solitude. Located in Mysore district of Karnataka, the park is bounded by Kabini River on the north while Bandipur National park forms its southern boundaries.

Gir National Park and Wildlife Sanctuary is the only remaining home for the Asiatic Lions. It is closed from 16 June to 15 October every year and the best time for wildlife spotting is April and May.

Best Time: July to March

Known For : Gopalaswamy Hills Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve

Situated in Karnataka, Bandipur National Park was once the hunting grounds of the Maharaja of Mysore. It was later established as a reserve in 1974, and these deciduous forests rich in wildlife and flora have become a popular tourist attraction since then. Due to a lot of wildlife casualties due to tourist traffic, a ban on traffic between 9 PM to 6 AM has been established to ensure the safety of the animal population.

Best Time: October to May

2 Bandipur Attractions

Known For : Bharatpur National Park Lohagarh Fort Banke Bihari Temple

Keoladeo National Park, located in the Bharatpur region of Rajasthan, is home to over 370 species of animals and birds. It is recognised as one of the most popular birds feeding and breeding grounds. In 1982 the park was marked as a National Park, and later in 1985, it came on the list of World Heritage Sites by UNESCO.

Best Time: November to February

12 Bharatpur Attractions

Known For : Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve Moharli Khosla

Famous for its natural heritage, Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve is definitely one of India's most exciting and best protected Tiger Reserve, with most visible tiger sightings in the state of Maharashtra. This place is an ideal weekend gateway for wildlife and nature lovers.

Best Time: October to March

6 Tadoba Attractions

Known For : Marichjhanpi Ghoramara Island New Moore Island

Known for hosting the biggest mangrove forests in the world, Sundarban National Park is located in West Bengal, India. It is also a Tiger Reserve and a Biosphere reserve that provides a complete nature's circle to the tourist right from 'Royal Bengal tigers' to roaring rivers and beautiful estuaries.  It is a UNESCO world heritage site with a large variety of birds and reptiles including the salt-water crocodile.

Best Time: September to March

3 Sundarbans Attractions

Manas National Park is a UNESCO Natural World Heritage site, a Project Tiger Reserve, an Elephant Reserve and a Biosphere Reserve in Assam. The only tiger reserve in Assam and also famous for the rare golden langur and the red panda, Manas is one of the best-kept national parks in India.

Best Time: October to Apr

Sariska Tiger Reserve is well nestled in the Aravali Hills covering 800 sq km area divided into the grasslands, dry deciduous forests, sheer cliffs and rocky landscape. Whether one wants to have camel safaris, go out for shopping in the surrounding places, visit medieval palaces or wildlife watching Sariska Wildlife Sanctuary is the best place.

Great Himalayan National Park, situated in Himachal Pradesh has four valleys named Sainj Valley, Tirthan Valley, Jiwa Nal Valley and Parvati Valley. They are all popular for their natural and scenic beauty. The park has exotic species of flora and fauna. The park was established in 1984.

Housing the country's first butterfly park, this park has a huge variety of fauna, making it one of the most enjoyable tourist attractions in the city. Tourists can also opt for Safari rides through the park. One can spot Lions, Tigers, Crocodiles amongst numerous others in the park.

Located in the south-western coast of the Andaman Islands, Wandur National Park is a marine life conservation area situated at a distance of 25 km from the capital city of Port Blair.

Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary is the second largest wildlife sanctuary in Kerala and comprises of rare as well as endangered species of both flora and fauna. It is surrounded by the protected areas of Mudumalai in Tamil Nadu as well as Nagarhole and Bandipur in Karnataka.

Sanjay Gandhi National park is a habitat to an abundance of flora and fauna, in the midst of a busy Mumbai. Famed to be one the most liked national parks, one can also enjoy a train ride through this one. One can spot here Leopards, Macaques, Boars, Lions, Flying fox, Kingfisher, Sunbird and many more. A must visit attraction of the city, the park is also known for a huge population and variety of butterflies.

With the majestic Pench river flowing through the greens and a variety of wildlife to be spotted in the rocky terrains, Pench National Park served as an inspiration for the famous novel 'The Jungle Book'.

Best Time: October to June

Panna National Park, situated in Panna district of Madhya Pradesh in central India, is located on the banks of River Ken. This National Park has been awarded as the best maintained tourist friendly national park of the country by the Ministry of Tourism of India.

Encompassing the Shivalik mountain ranges, Rajaji National Park is abundantly rich in flora and fauna and proves a great holiday destination for nature lovers and wildlife enthusiasts alike.

Best Time: Mid November to Mid June

The Silent Valley National Park, with its lush green forests and beautiful views of the rich flora, is a popular destination for nature and wildlife lovers in Kerala. With its long, detailed history and the unique status of a Rain Forest, this national park is truly a sight to visit. The well-planned Safari and the beautiful stop-overs around the park only make a trip to this part of Kerala more worthwhile.

Nestled in the Lakhimpur-Kheri District of Uttar Pradesh on Indo-Nepal border, Dudhwa National Park is all about wildlife, nature and diversity and is a perfect getaway for nature buffs and wildlife lovers.

Best Time: December to Apr

Nameri national park is famous for its elephants and other animals including tigers, leopards, gaurs, wild pigs, sambars, etc. and also for being a bird watchers paradise.

Best Time: November to Apr

It was established way back in 1940 and was the first national park of Southern India. You can expect to see a variety of animals here including tigers, leopards, striped hyenas, dholes, sloth bears, Asian elephants, and Golden Jackals.

Located in Bhopal, Van Vihar is a National Park and a Zoological Space. The animals kept are almost in their real natural habitats. None of the animals are deliberately captured from the forest but are mostly adopted from various zoos. Van Vihar is unique as it allows easy access to the visitors through a road passing within the park.

Situated in the Eastern foothills of the Himalayas, the Jaldapara Wildlife Sanctuary along with Gorumara National Park is famous for one horned rhinoceros, elephants and Bengal Tigers, spotted deers, barking deers, sambhar deers, bison, wild pig, hog deer and bison.

Best Time: September to May

Located 45 min drive away from Munnar, the Eravikulam National Park houses a rich and diverse variety of flora and fauna and is a UNESCO world heritage site. Elephant, Nilgiri langur, Nilgiri marten, Atlas moth (largest in the world) are some of the main animal species that can be spotted here. An endangered species of mountain goats called the Nilgiri Thar can also be seen here.

Located amidst mountains, Kudremukh National Park is popular for its scenic beauty. The wildlife protected area is the second-largest belonging to a tropical wet evergreen forest in the zone of the Western Ghats. The area is the habitat of many endangered and endemic species of plants and animals, with mammals such as tigers, leopards and wild dogs.

The Satpura National Park is located in the beautiful and diverse suburbs of Madhya Pradesh and is one of the most diverse and stunning national parks in Central India. One of India's most beautiful tiger reserves, the sanctuary was the winner of the TOFT Wildlife Tourism Award for the most visitor-friendly wildlife destinations in the year 2010. Located in the Hoshangabad district of Madhya Pradesh in India, Satpura Tiger Reserve spreads over an area of 202 square miles and gets its name from the Satpura Hill ranges, or Mahadeo hills.

Set amidst semi-frozen rivers in the Pin Valley, this national park located in the Spiti and Lahaul Valley in the northern part of India is home to the rare species of famous Himalayan snow leopards and their prey, the Ibex.

The National Park issues entry passes in Lataguri itself. The beautiful scenery is best enjoyed if you hire a tour guide with a jeep to avoid the walking and the fatigue.

With one of the oldest game reserves of the state, The Orang National park located on the shores of river Brahmaputra, can be an exciting little bit of Assam with a huge variety of fauna finding its habitat here.

Best Time: November to Apr

Habitat of Tiger, Leopard, Python, Rusty cat, Giant squirrel, Four horned deer and many others. This Forest which belonged to Vansda is rich in greenery and covers twenty four kilometers square of area and has Vansda- Waghai state highway and Railway link connecting Ahwa and Bilmora running through it.

Dibru Saikhowa National Park is one of those places which boast of a rich collection of flora and fauna, many of them endangered. It is one of the few remaining protected sites in the Endemic Bird Area of the Assamese Plains.

Best Time: November to Apr

Just a few kilometers away from Baripada, is a gateway to heaven- Simlipal nature park which is spread across about 846 square kilometers of area. The name Simlipal suggest the abundance of "Semul" or red silk cotton trees in the vicinity.

Located in Jharkhand, the Hazaribagh wildlife sanctuary (earlier called Hazaribagh National Park) is one of the oldest wildlife sanctuaries in India. The landscape is full of steep hills, spectacular countryside, thick tropical forest and lowly meadows. A number of small rivers, lakes and dams complete the already perfect scenery.

Betla National Park is a beautiful national park which is spread over the hilly terrain of the attractive Palamau district, west of Ranchi. Betla stands as an acronym for Bison, Elephant, Tiger, Leopard and Axis. What makes this park stand out from the rest is the presence of two forts inside its premises.

Singalila National Park , located on the Singalila Ridge at a height of 7000 feet above sea level, is a national park of India in Darjeeling . The park is well known for the trekking and other adventure sports. The national park is similar to a paradise for the trekkers and adventure lovers.

Desert National park is one of the largest national parks, covering an area of 3162 km. It is an excellent example of the ecosystem of the Thar Desert and sand dunes form 20% of the entire park.

One of the chief natural reserves of Arunachal Pradesh, the Namdhapa National Park lies under the shadows of the snow capped peaks of the Himalayas. It plays home to numerous diversifies flora and fauna.

You have come here with one motive, and that is to explore and experience the sheer beauty that this splendid National Park beholds within itself. The lush green environs, beautiful flora and some of the rarest fauna species are to found here in this park.

Best Time: April to October

Covering an area of around 220 sq. km.? This National Park is at an altitude of 3,000 ft above sea level. Exotic species of herbs and plants, having medicinal value, are also found in this national park.

This wildlife sanctuary is regarded as one of its kind in Asia and is home to one of the rarest species of flora and fauna. Home to some of the rarest species in the world both flora and fauna, the sanctuary is mainly known for its species of reptiles especially crocodiles.

The Buxa Tiger Reserve is a 760-square-kilometre (290 sq mi) tiger reserve located inside the Buxa National Park in West Bengal, India, in the Buxa hills of the southern hilly area of Bhutan. Animals found in the park include, the tiger, civet, Elephant, Gaur (Indian bison), Pig and red jungle fowl.

At an altitude ranging from 3,300 m to 6,000 m above sea level, this sanctuary is known to be the highest in the world as well as the largest park of South Asia. It is also a habitat to the rare Snow Leopards. Hemis National Park is located in Ladakh region of North India

The only floating National Park in the world, this place is definitely a must see. It is home to various species of plants and animals, including the migratory visitors during the winters.

Located at an elevation of 1829 m to over 8,550 m spread across an area of 849.5 sq km, Kanchengjunga National Park is a Biosphere reserve located on the border between east Nepal and Sikkim.

Spread over an area of 400 sq.km the Kishtwar National Park contains 15 mammal species including the musk deer and Himalayan black and brown bear.

Spread over a sprawling area of 157 sq km in the district of Shivpuri, is the Madhav National Park. It is one of the major wildlife parks in the district.

Mount Abu Wildlife Sanctuary is a beautiful hill station endowed with variety of flora and fauna in the land of deserts. The mystifying and beautiful city is a sacred pilgrimage spot beside being a summer gateway.