Sijora Jeep Safari, Kanha National Park - Timings, Safari Cost, Best Time to Visit
#10 of 13 Places to Visit in Kanha National Park
Distance (From Kanha National Park): 60 Kms
Trip Duration (Including Travel): 4-6 Hours
Transportation Options: Cab
Travel Tips: The Kanha National Park remains closed from 1st July to 15th October every year. It is also closed on Holi festival and every Wednesday afternoon safari. The park management may also cancel the safaris due to floods and forest fires and no refund is provided to tourists.
At a distance of 60 km from Mocha, Sijora is a buffer safari zone of Kanha National Park. It is accessible from Sarhi entrance gate of Kanha national park which lies close to Bichhiya town in Mandla district.
Sijore Zone is located in north-east of the Kanha tiger reserve and adjacent to Sarhi core zone. There is no physical boundary in between core zone and buffer zone. For visiting Sijora Zone, the entrance gate is same i.e. Sarhi entrance gate through which tourists enters to visit Sarhi core zone.
Sijora Zone first came into light in the year 2017, when all the buffer safari zones were introduced online for safari tickets booking. Till that year, Sijora is almost unknown to resort of the world. One can find varying landscapes and scenic waterfalls in this zone during safari drive. Famous Hallon river valley also lies in this zone. Here one can visit the popular Kharati waterfall. The prominent mammals in this zone are Leopards, Nilgai, Indian Gaur, Wild Dog (Dholes), Barasingha, Spotted Deer, Tiger, Jackal, Hyena, etc.
One can book the entry ticket either online at www.mponline.gov.in or through travel agents or if available one can also get this from the booking window at the entrance gate of the national park. Presence of buffer zone safari allows more safari options to all the wildlife lovers who wish to visit Kanha National Park. As if now, here sharing safari option is not available, only full-safari is available which means, one will have to book exclusive safari drives for visiting Sijora Zone safari. All the visitors are required to carry their original identity document during safari drives as it is verified at the entrance gate. Safari tickets are non-transferable. During safari drive, guide service is compulsory on each safari vehicle.
While booking the safari tickets in Buffer zone, you should be aware of the fact that you need to take hotel close to the entrance gate of that buffer zone otherwise you will face problem in reaching the entrance gate, due to distance problem. For Sijora Zone, prefer Sarhi gate hotels. This zone is open for jungle safari drives from 15th October to 30th June. During the monsoon period i.e. from July to September, it remains closed for tourists.
Safari Timings: 6.30 AM - 11 AM & 2 PM - 5.30 PM from Oct - Feb and 6 AM - 10 AM & 3 PM - 6 PM from Mar - June, Closed on every Wednesday evening, on Holi, Diwali & during monsoon.
Safari Permit Fee: Rs. 250 for Single Seat in Jeep, Rs. 1500 per Whole Jeep (max 6 Persons). Jeep hiring cost & guide cost extra (around 2500 per jeep and 480 per guide).
Note: Safari cost changes frequently
