Melghat Tiger Reserve, Amravati
About Melghat Tiger Reserve
History
There are passes in Melghat that invaders from the north traversed to reach Berar, where the Imad Shahi dynasty had been founded in 1484. The historic forts, Narnala and Gawilgarh, guarded the main east-west ridge. In 1803, in the Second Maratha War, Colonel Arthur Wellesley, who later became the Duke of Wellington, captured the Gawilgarh fort from the Marathas.
Tourism
Melghat, located in the Amaravati district of Maharashtra, is a tiger reserve wildlife sanctuary. Melghat Tiger Reserve is located on the southern offshoot of the Satpura Hill Range in Central India, called Gavilgarh Hill. It is 225 km west of Nagpur. It was established as a wildlife sanctuary in 1967, and was declared a tiger reserve in 1974. It was among the first nine tiger reserves notified in 1973-74 under Project Tiger, a wildlife conservation project initiated in India in 1972 to protect Bengal tigers. Apart from Tigers the other prominent animals are Sloth Bear, Indian Gaur, Sambar deer, Leopard, Nilgais, etc. The endangered and 'back from extinction' Forest Owlet is also found in various areas of Melghat. Tourism in Melghat is distributed along 4 centres/villages. Semadoh, Chikhaldara, Harisal & Shahnur. There are some additional stay facilities at Kolkas which is 14 km ahead of Semadoh. The nearest railway station to reach Chikhaldara, Semadoh, Kolkas, Harisal is Amravati. Shahnur is closest to Akola. The nearest airport is at Nagpur some 250 km away. Tourists can explore Melghat in all seasons but the monsoons starting mid July till end of September offers the best views. The winters are cold with night temperature dropping below 5 degrees. The summers are good for animal sightings. Accommodation facilities in Melghat are mostly run by forest department except the hotels and resorts at Chikhaldara which are operated by private. Facilities are comfortable and basic in nature suiting the forest atmosphere whe| name = Melghat Tiger Reserve | photo = Melghat Tiger Reserve.JPG | photo_alt = | photo_caption = Entry gate of Melghat Tiger Reserve par the stone bridge. | photo_width = re it is located.