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The camp is owned and operated by R.K.Vikramaditya
Singh,
a keen sportsman and wild life enthusiast
R. K. Vikramaditya Singh
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The
'Aodhis' :
Cottages in the
design of hunting towers of the erstwhile rulers of Mewar, are close
together overlooking a grassland. They have masses of space
including a dressing area and bath. The 'Aodhis' include a walled in
courtyard ideal for camp-fires and a terrace to enjoy the starlight
nights or wide expanses of rural India.
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Tents
: Strewn along the
game-reserve boundary, the 5 Tents and 3 Huts have a six feet
verandah encompassing them. The Tents are constructed areas with a
canvas canopy for a tented effect. The interiors of both the tents
and Wood-thatch Huts are similar.
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Safari
- Tigers and other Animals :
 There
are several fair weather roads in the park. Four wheeled Drives are
definitely recommended over other vehicles and can be hired. The
most effective way to search for Tigers is on Elephant back.
Government Elephants belonging to the Forest department equipped
with walkie - talkies can be boarded at a price whenever a 'Tiger
Show' is on. The Mahouts are well informed of the where-abouts of
the nearest tigers and the elephants are able to take you up steep
rocky hillsides and down marshy riverbeds which are impassable to
vehicles. Entry into the park is allowed only during daylight hours
and you are not allowed into the park on foot. A forest guard must
accompany all visitors into the park.
Bandhavgarh is justifiably famous for its tigers but it has a wide
range of other mammalian species inhabiting the park. Sambar
(Cervus Unicolour), Cheetal - Spotted Deer (axis
-axis), Muntjac - popularly known as the Barking Deer and
the four-horned antelope are seen in abundance. Nilgai or Blue
Bull (Boselaphus - Tragocamelus) the largest Asian
antelope and Chinkara (the Indian gazelle) are sighted
in the open grasslands.
The Leopard (Panthera Pandus) though sighted rarely,
coexists in abundance. Jungle Cat (Felix Chaus), Striped
Hyena (Hyena-Hyena), Jackal (Canis Aureus),
Fox (Vulpes Bengalensis), Wild Dog or Dhole
(Cuon Alpinus), Wild Boar (Sus Scrofa Cerstatus),
Indian Wolf (Canus Lupus) are sighted regularly. So
too are the Sloth Bear (Melursus Ursinus), Porcupine
(atherurus-macrourus), Ratel (Mellivora Copensis)
and the Indian Pangolin. The primates seen all over the park are the
Rhesus Macque (Maccaca Mulatta) and the Black Faced
Langur (Presbytis Entellus).
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Birds
 Bandhavgarh
is teeming with both migratory and resident bird species which
include Racket tailed Drongo (Disrurus Paradiseus), Leaf
Birds (Chloropois Aurifrons and Cochinchinensis), Tickells
Blue Fly Catcher (Cyornis tickelliac), White-Browed
Fantail (Rhipidura aureola), Malabar Pied Hornbill
(Anthracoceros coronatus), Grey Headed Fishing Eagle (Ichtyphaga
ichtyaetus), Crested Serpent Eagle (Spilormis Cheela),
Crested Hawk Eagle (Spizaetus Cirhatus).
The fast vanishing vultures in India- The White Back (Gyps
Bengalnsis), Long Billed (Gyps Indicus), King (Torgos
Caluas) and the Egyptian (Neophron Punchopterus)
are surviving in abundance here..
Bandhavgarh
also boasts of a wide variety of butterflies.
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Location
Bandhavgarh
National Park originally formed in 1968 was a small park of only 105 sq.
km. In 1986 it was extended to include two large areas of forests
adjoining it on the northern and southern sides. The extension areas
consists mainly of sal forests. In the North, a series of ridges are
intercut by perennial streams and to the south gently undulating forest is
interspersed with grazing areas. There are 32 hills in the central area of
the park, which has a large natural fort at its center. The forts cliffs
are 800 meters above sea level, 300 metres above the surrounding
countryside. Sal forests cover more than half the area though in the upper
reaches it is replaced by Sali, Daj, Dhobin and Saja.
Camp
Mewar on Ketakiya is situated at Bandhavgarh National Park which is a
Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh (Central India) teeming with wildlife.
Among these Vindhyan ranges, history and nature meet, as an ancient fort
straddles the park. This is the famous white tiger country, where the
present density of tigers per square km. is considered the highest in the
country. It covers more than 1200 sq. km. in Ummaria district of Madhya
Pradesh. This terrain of rocky hills rising sharply from waterlogged
grasslands and densely forested valleys is mainly covered with bamboo and
sal (shorba robusta). The central area of the park covering 105 sq. km. is
the principal viewing area open to wildlife enthusiasts.
Camp
Mewar on Ketkiya is set in a thickly wooded ten acres plot, sharing a
common boundary with the Tiger reserve on its south.
The camp gets its
name from the 'Ketkiya Nala', a stream which trickles along its edge.
'Ketkiya Nala' gets its name
from 'Ketkiya-Kewra'
- (Pendanus) a fragrant flowering plant that grows in the abundance along
the banks.
Tigers are usually in residence at Ketkiya.
A
picturesque drive over perennial streams, through fields and hutments, the
camp is a mere fifteen minutes drive from the park entrance.
Accommodation
4 Aodhis (cottages in the design of hunting towers of the
erstwhile rulers of Mewar)
5 Tents and
3 Wood-thatch
Huts.
The Camp operates from mid-October till mid-April.
Our in-house naturalists
are :
K. Dushyant Singh
a well known figure at
Bandhavgarh
and
K. C V Singh
the birder.
Al-Fresco
Dining
The
dining space is an elevated, airy, open to all sides, thatched area with
dining at one end and a comfortable seating area at the other.
History
Mythology has
it that Bandhavgarh was gifted to Laxman by his elder brother Lord Ram,
the legendary hero of Ramayan, thus named "Bandhu-garh" meaning
brother's fort. 
The oldest
sign of habitation in Bandhavgarh are the caves dug into sandstone, to the
north of the fort. Several contain 'Brahmi' inscriptions dating from the
1st century B.C. From that time onwards Bandhavgarh was ruled by a
succession of dynasties including the Chandela kings of Bundelkhand who
built the famous temples of Khajuraho.
Prior to
becoming a National Park, the forests of Bandhavgarh were maintained as a
"Shikhargah" (private hunting reserve) for the rulers of Rewa
State. In 1968, the late Maharaja Venkatraman Singh of Rewa graciously
gifted his private reserve to the people of India, as did many of his
fellow rulers.
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