Jungle Safari in the capital city Raipur has the fun of four different safaris packed into one. Yes, it is the largest man made jungle safari in Asia.
Founded in 2001, Chhattisgarh is comparatively very young state in India. The growth, development and exploration of this place is a very new topic, as it went un-noticed when it was a part of MP. Now the state is lined up with juggernaut of projects mapping the state not only in India but in the world. In the process, one of the marvellous feat is the construction of Nandan Van Zoo Safari project in Naya Raipur. It is also known to be Asia’s largest man made forest reserve and it spreads across an area of 202.87 hectares.
First thing first, you cannot book the tickets online but the facility is soon to start. However, the official government website does mention phone booking on +91-74406-06000. At the I’m really not sure who’ll take an AC ride with tinted windows that can’t be open. The non-AC version of the bus is actually a steel cage and that’s the one you want to take if you’re carrying professional lenses to shoot. However, the AC buses now have large windows which supports a clear view of the safari. It’s not a bad option as conditioning definitely adds to the comfort.
Like one of an old Hollywood movie Jurassic Park, this place welcomes tourist with a huge steel gate and with clearly written Jungle Safari on a wooden board (of course the movie had a board with Jurassic park written on it). Well, that’s it about the visual, the entry gate leads to a beautiful garden on the right, a huge map of the jungle on left and golf carts waiting at the center lane to take tourist towards the pickup point of jungle safari. The forest is divided into 7 zones of which, the safari is 7th zone. There’s Herbivore Safari, Bear Safari, Tiger Safari, Lion Safari and towards the end of the ride, they’ll take you to crocodile conservation point. In addition, there’s a boating option towards the end of the journey by the bus. Also, there’s a botanical garden under development.
The project is just started hence the wildlife was a bit scarce. A few tigers, bears, deer and lion and that’s pretty much it for now. It has been a few years since this project started. Today, the Tigers have multiplied and there are two adults and two cubs. The Lions have multiplied too in a span of 3 years doubling their population. Herbivore safari now supports conservation of many rare species. Lastly, even the bears have doubled their population now. However, The vision of this establishment seems magnificent. Something of this scale is slowly getting functional, growing steadily and adding on to wildlife protection. This Nandanvan Zoo Safari is Surely going to take everyone’s heart away.
