Safari Timings & Bookings: Plan Your Wildlife Adventure

Kanha Jeep Safari is the most common type of Kanha National Park safari. It is the four-wheel-drive vehicle usually Maruti Suzuki Gypsy not produced anymore for end customers. For people who love to spend moments in the forest with a large group can also take Canter Safari in a mid-size open-top bus with row seats on both sides. Canter Safari is operated the Madhya Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation. 3 minibuses operate each being 18 seaters plus an MP forest guide and driver. One bus starts at the Mukki Gate and two from Khatia gate. You can book the tickets for these buses from counters near the entry gates or online mp forest website.

Earlier there used to be Elephant Safari as well but they have been stopped from some time now. The Jeep and Canter safari timings remain the same. Further, there are guided walks organised by Kanha Forest Department on designated trails commonly called Kanha Nature Trails usually in the buffer zone, near the gates of Khatia and Mukki with proper permits and timings. [Check – List of Wildlife Homestay in Kanha]

Vehicle Permit for Jeep Safaris

There are two types of vehicle permits that tourists can book –

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Full Vehicle Permit

In this case, the entire vehicle is booked by an individual. The vehicle booking is on a non-sharing basis and can take a maximum of 6 passengers. The tourist is accompanied by a driver and a guide during the safari. Mostly vehicles booked on Full permit basis pick and drop tourists from their place of accommodation near Kanha Tiger Reserve.

Single Seat Vehicle Permit

This is a type of Kanha National Park Safari where the booking is on a sharing basis. This means that the vehicle will be shared by many tourists who do not know each other. It is cheaper than Full Vehicle permit. The ticket can be pre-booked, but the cost of the gipsy and the guide is collected at the time of the safari from individual tourists.

Core Zone – Gate entry details

a.) The four Core zones of Kanha Tiger Reserve namely Kanha, Kisli, Mukki and Sarhi are open to visitors for Morning and Evening Safari except Wednesday when the evening safari is closed.
b.) Kisli Zone can be entered using the Khatia and Mukki gates in the morning and evening by a Full Permit Vehicle. The zone can also be accessed in the morning by a Full permit vehicle through Sarhi gate. For single-vehicle permit, the zone can be accessed only via the Khatia gate in the morning and evening.
c.) Mukki Zone can be entered by a full permit vehicle through the Khatia and Mukki Gate in the morning and evening. Single vehicle permits can use only the Mukki gate to enter this zone in the morning and evening.
d.) Sarhi Zone can be accessed by Full Vehicle Permit through the Khatia and Sarhi Gates while a single-vehicle permit can enter this zone only via Sarhi gate, both times – morning and evening.

Buffer Zone – Kanha Gate Entry Details

a.) The four Buffer zones of Kanha National Park, namely Khatia, Khapa, Sijora and Phen are accessible in morning and evening.
b.) Single vehicle permits are not allowed to enter the Buffer Zones. Only Full Vehicle permits can enter these zones.
c.) Khatia Zone can be entered in the morning and evening via the Khatia gate. [Must Explore – Sustainable Coliving Tourism Place]

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d.) Khapa Zone can be entered in the morning and evening via the Mukki gate.
e.) Sijora Zone can be entered in the morning and evening through the Sarhi gate.
f.) Phen Zone can be entered in the morning and evening through Ghurri, Barrier and Mukki Gates.

Number of Jeep Vehicles Permitted within each zone –

Core Zone

Safari Zones	Kisli	Kanha	Mukki	Sarhi
Morning Safari	15	36	30	19
Evening Safari	10	23	28	17

Buffer Zone

Safari Zones	Khatia	Khapa	Sijora	Phen
Morning Safari	25	20	20	25
Evening Safari	15	12	12	15

Best Time for Kanha Tiger Reserve Safari –

• The ideal months to visit Kanha National Park is from 15th October to 30th June.
• From 15 June till 30 September the Park is closed due to monsoon and weather conditions.

KTR Safari Timings – Summer & Winter Season

• In summers the morning safari timings are from 6.00 to 10:00 while the evening timings are 16:00 to 19:00
• In winters, the morning timings are 6:30 to 10:30 and the evening timings are 15:00 to 17:30.
• On Wednesdays, the evening safari is closed.
• There is a Night Safari that is organised by the Forest Department. Only three jeeps which are 6-seaters each are allowed between 19:00 to 22:00. The booking for the Night Safari can be done only from the Khatia Ticket counter by visitors direct. Full Vehicle and Single vehicle permit are allowed. [Check – Wildlife Accommodations for Ecotourism Nearby Kanha]
• Plus, there is a guided Jungle evening walk ‘Kanha Nature Trail’ that is organised by the Forest Department between 15:00 to 18:30 every day. The walk happens only in the Buffer Zone.:

Kanha National Park Safari – Do’s and Don’ts

• Smoking and fire of any kind is not permitted in the forest.
• Do not discard potential hazardous items in the forest like plastic bottles, foil papers, cans etc. There are bins provided to dispose of these items.
• The vehicle is driven slowly. Do not ask the driver to rush as there is wildlife around and you need to respect their space.
• Do not ask the driver to drive to route that is off the trail – it is not allowed.
• Do not embark from the vehicle other than designated places.
• Forests are noise-free zones. Please respect the same. On observing animal movement, the drivers may go slow or switch off the engine. Kindly bear with the same.
• Touching plants, eating fruits or drinking stream and river water in the forest are not advisable.
• There are guides who accompany you on the trails as well as on Jeep and Canter Safari. They are all trained and qualified. It is mandatory to have the guides accompany the vehicle on any safari.
• For the night safari, lights from the Jeep vehicle are only allowed lights.

Kanha Safari Bookings & Availability

You cannot book online a jeep safari for Kanha wildlife booking using the booking website of any private travel agent or tour operator. Only authentic way, you can also make Kanha Safari booking online is at the Madhya Pradesh Forest Department site. There are very limited around 5-10 Jeep permits are available under current bookings every day for which a huge queue is inevitable at the Kanha park entrance gates. It’s highly recommended to book Safari permits on MP online website before booking your stay at Surwahi Social Kanha. These advance bookings are largely for core zone Jeep Safari for upcoming weekends, summer vacations, winter vacations or state/national holidays. Buffer Zone Safari bookings are generally available without much queue and rush and can be booked last minute at the forest department counters on park entrance gates.

You can check the availability of Full Vehicle permit or single seat in vehicle permit while requesting for Kanha wildlife booking online or at the ticket counter on either of Canter or Jeep vehicles. You need to furnish the following details to book a safari – Full name, age, gender, nationality, Any Government ID Proof like Aadhar, Passport, Driving license, PAN etc. When visiting the Park for safari you need to carry the same ID proof with you.

Cancellation Policy

• Permits that are booked online can be cancelled online from the site where you booked the permit. Physical tickets can be cancelled from counters at the entry gates.
• Cancellation of permit before 60 days of Safari date are 100% refunded.
• Cancellation of permit between 59 days to 30 days from Safari date are refunded up to 75% of the permit value.
• Cancellation of the permit between 29 days to 15 days from the Safari date attracts 50% cancellation charges.
• Cancellation of the permit between 14 days to 5 days from the Safari date attracts 75% cancellation charges: and
• Cancellation of the permit 4 days or less from the Safari date attract 100% cancellation charges.