Churna Full Day Jeep Safari - History, Timings & Entry Fee

At a distance of 30 km from Madhai, Churna is located deep inside the Satpura National Park core area and falls under the Bori range. This zone is one of the popular safari zones of Satpura and is primarily visited through the Madhai entrance gate, located near Madhai village.

The landscape of the Churna zone consists of a core tiger habitat that records the best tiger sighting in Satpura National Park. The topography has abundant sparkling water streams channeling through the entire forest. The prey base is one of the healthiest here especially for herbivores thus ensuring an ample tiger population too. One can get to see a variety of birds. The probability of sighting a Sloth Bear is almost guaranteed on the Churna route.

The safari in the Churna route is spread over 30 km including parts of the Keria route. Churna can be visited as a full day trip or as an overnight excursion which is considered equivalent to 2 safaris. One can opt to go for the trip from 6 AM - 6 PM (combine the morning & afternoon safari's) with a rest at Churna Forest Rest House for about 4 hours. Tourists can have breakfast/lunch at Churna Forest Rest House. The other option is to do a safari from 3 PM to 9.30 AM (combine the afternoon & morning safari's) with a night stay at Churna Forest Rest House. It is worth mentioning the existence of ancient temple ruins & pre-historic rock paintings which can be explored while going to Churna Forest Rest House.

Churna FRH is to be booked manually from the office of the Forest Department, Satpura Tiger Reserve, Hoshangabad. The room charge for Churnai Forest Rest House is Rs. 1000/- per night and a maximum of 2 persons can stay in the room. Since this accommodation facility is operated by the forest department and its primary function is not tourism, bookings may be cancelled at the forest department's discretion. Refunds in such cases will be subjective.

The Jeep Safari is done with vehicles registered with the park administration. The number of vehicles allowed to enter this core zone is 12 in the morning and 12 in the evening. Each jeep can take up to 6 travelers other than a driver and one guide. It is advisable to book the entrance ticket in well advance to avoid any chance of unavailability of safari seats. The afternoon shift is typically closed on Wednesdays. Morning & Afternoon both the shift remains closed on Holi & Diwali festivals. The cost of an excursion to Churna is more expensive than the regular Madhai rounds. It is advisable to have a group of six to share the cost. In the Churna zone, tourist can take their own four-wheel drive enabled/SUV vehicle but the cost is high.

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. One can also book a single seat for a jeep safari instead of paying for the full vehicle at Satpura. Single-seat bookings are only offered online for core zones. The guide fee and vehicle hire fee are to be paid separately at the park before undertaking the safari and will be distributed equally between the tourists in the vehicle. 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.

This zone is open for jungle safari drives from 1st October to 30th June. During the monsoon period i.e. from July to September, it remains closed for tourists.

Safari Timings: 6 AM - 6 AM & 3 PM - 9.30 AM, Closed every Wednesday evening, on Holi, Diwali & during monsoon.

Entry: Rs. 500 for Single Seat, Rs. 3000 for Full Jeep(Max 6), Rs. 5000 for Jeep Rent, Rs. 720 for Guide, Rs. 1000 for Forest Rest House Stay for 1 Night