Welcome to another national park in Madhya Pradesh called Sanjay Dubri National Park. It is located in Sidhi & Shahdol districts in north eastern part of the state. This park covers an area of 1650 sq.kms. The core area has Sanjay National park & Dubri sanctuary. This park acts as wild life corridor between Bandhavgarh (Madhya Pradesh) & Palamau Tiger reserve (Chhattisgarh). Wild elephants from nearby Chhattisgarh state use this corridor to reach Bandhavgarh.

The chief vegetation compromises of ever green Sal trees with scattered blocks of Bamboo. The topography has variation from undulating terrain to plateaus & plain areas.

The park has 22+ tigers, 30+ leopards, 30 sloth bears, 152 species of birds, 32 species of mamals,11 species of reptiles,03 species of amphibians & 34 species of fresh water fishes.

Beside this the Banas rivers flowing through the park offers extra interesting activities like birdwatching, swimming, boating & nature walk.

The other nearby excursion can be Bagdara Sanctuary for black bucks & Son Ghariyal area.

Location & How to Reach

Sanjay Dubri National Park is located in Sidhi district of Madhya Pradesh. The Nearest Rail way stations are Beohari. The other stations are Dubri, Kanchanpur & Joba. This park can be reached from so many places as listed below. This is approximately the distance of main Gate called Badkadol gate. However, other gates distance may vary.

• Bhopal (airport /rail station) 550 kms 07 hrs.
• Khajuraho (airport/ rail station) 260 kms 04 hrs.
• Jabalpur ( airport/ rail station) 250 kms 04 hrs.
• Shahdol ( rail station) 120 kms 02:30 hrs.
• Rewa  & Singaurli ( rail station) 130 kms 02:30 hrs.
• Varanasi ( airport/ rail station) 260 kms 05 hrs.
• Allahabad ( airport/ rail station) 200 kms 04 hrs.
• Katni ( rail station) 200 kms 04 hrs.
•  Bandhavgarh National Park it is 110 kms 02 hrs.

Safari Zones & Gates in Sanjay Dubri National Park.

From tourism point of view, the park is divided into 05 zones. Out of them Dubri, Bastua, Machmahua are core zones & Kiolari , Badkadol & Gadduha are Buffer Zones.

These different zones have respective gates as below.

1. Dubri – Badkadol gate. (Core zone )
2. Bastua – kolipahari gate. (Core zone)
3. Machmahua – Kusmi gate. (Core zone- offline available)
4. Koilary – Koilary gate. (Buffer zone)
5. Badkadol- ( Buffer zone)
6. Gadduha- ( Buffer Zone)

Night Stay facility inside Sanjay Dubri National Park.

Sanjay Dubri National Park, doesn’t have Guest Houses in core area. Few small guest houses for staying are there , but they should not be confused with the same charm of Corbett, Dhudhwa & Pilibhit. They are located at the entrance gate itself. They can be booked by department office.

Private Hotels: Many private hotels are there on different gates of the park.

As the park is in developing phase there are not so many resorts here.

Luxury Resorts in Sanjay Dubri:

Parsili Resort MPT luxury ( Govt ), Baghela Heritage luxury Resort ;Skylark Jungle Resort;Badahariya Eco-Heaven Farm & Resort. ;The Palash Wildlife Resort; Sarai by Greetoe Resorts .

Budget / Economy resorts & hotels in Sanjay Dubri .

Tiger Camp ;Rajan Jungle Resort;Vanvasa Jungle Resort & Shri Sai Hone Stay.

Opening & closing date of Sanjay Dubri National Park & weekly off.

Sanjay Dubri National Park opens from 01’st October to 30’th June every year.  This park does not open in monsoon season i.e. July, August & September.

Sanjay Dubri National Park does not offer safari in afternoon shift on every Wednesday. Besides this the park remains close completely on festival of Diwali & Holi in the month of March every year.

Types of safaris in Sanjay Dubri National Park

Broadly safari can be classified into 03 types in this park.

• Normal Safaris: Mostly safaris are done by jeep (06-seater) in this park. There are 02 shifts i.e. morning & afternoon. Morning shifts are longer here (till 11:00 am). Afternoon safaris are shorter here & a smaller number of jeeps are allowed.

Note: In Sanjay Dubri National Park, mostly jeeps are booked on exclusive basis. However, there are few jeeps which can be booked in single seat basis also. These jeeps do not go to hotel to pick up guests. One has to go to gate for safaris. If number of single passengers/ tourists are less than 06 then remaining cost is divided among present tourists to make payment complete. Single seat option is clearly seen on site at the time of booking.

• Tatkal Safaris: These safaris are done by jeeps mainly in premium zones of the park. There are no fix numbers of jeep in this category. Only those jeep appear in this quota which are previously booked but are cancelled due to some reason. This quota opens 08 days prior to visit date at 11:00 am. The costing is slightly higher than normal/advance quota jeeps.

• Premium safaris: Full Day safari is available.

• Elephant Safaris: Not operating for now.

Safari Booking Process, Quota & Requirement

Booking Safaris

All safaris can be booked by official site www.mponline.gov.in. One has to register on this site & after going to wild life section you need to fill details like name, age, gender, nationality, photo id proof numbers. For Indian nationals Aadhar card, passport, driving license, voter id etc are valid. For Non-Indians passport details & country is mandatory. By booking safari you only secure your seat for safaris. Rest formalities are done on the safari day itself.

In Sanjay Dubri National Park only Entrance fee & vehicle entry fee is charged in tickets/ permit.

Guide fee & vehicle fare are to be paid on the safari day.

You can select zones while you are making online booking. The zones once selected cannot be changed. You have to rebook the permit if you want to change the zone. Your previous amount will go waist.

All types of safaris are booked through this site only.

• Boarding pass:

After booking safaris, one has to get boarding pass on the safari day. For getting boarding pass you have report to Central Booking office of the park 01:00 hrs before safari. You have to show original copy of safari voucher & Id proofs to get boarding pass. Boarding pass give you vehicle number & guide name allotted for your safari. After this you are ready for the safari. Boarding pass is must for every safari.

Same Id proof is mandatory (given at the time of booking) to carry during safaris as some times they check at the entry gate.

• Choice of guide & driver/jeep.

For every safari booked, the department allots guides & vehicles by roaster system. Professional guides & drivers can be hired by paying extra fee to the department as per rules.

• Entrance Fee:

The Entrance fees are different for Indians & Non-Indians in Sanjay Dubri National Park.

The fee structure remains same throughout the season. Weekends hike in fee is not seen in Sanjay Dubri National Park.

Booking Quota.

There are 03 quotas for safari bookings.

1. Advance quota: In Sanjay Dubri National Park, the safari booking opens 120 days prior to visit. Almost 90 % of tickets / permits are made available in this quota.

Number of Jeeps/ canters for safaris in Sanjay Dubri National Park.

Sanjay Dubri National Park has below distribution of jeeps in various zones for direct tourists.

Dubri: Morning shift 12 & afternoon 07.

Bastua: Morning shift 07 & afternoon 03.

We provide all services from booking safaris to get with boarding pass & jeeps, guides to your hotel as per department’s rules and assistance during your stay in Sanjay Dubri National Park. We help you to select good zones from sighting point of view. Good guides & professional drivers can be hired by paying extra fee as per department rules. Transport is also provided from Jabalpur, Nagpur, Bhopal, Varanasi, Allahabad, Bandhavgarh national park & other places as per your itinerary.

Written By

Sudhir Sharma

India Wildlife, Safari & Cultural Travel Specialist

Sudhir Sharma helps travelers plan thoughtful wildlife safaris, birdwatching tours, Rajasthan heritage journeys and customised India holidays. His practical local guidance helps couples, families, photographers and nature lovers choose the right national parks, travel season and itinerary for a comfortable, memorable trip.