24/01/2019
Absolute Adventure organizes the only Weekend Tiger Safari from Pune. This weekend safari visits the unexposed Melghat Tiger Reserve along with ancient Narnala fort & Gajanan Maharaj Temple Shegaon. So this safari gives you a chance to experience nature, wildlife, history & pilgrimage in a single journey.
Melghat is spread over the Districts of Amaravati, Akola & Buldana in Maharashtra. It is located on the southern offshoot of the Satpura Range in Central India. It was declared a tiger reserve in 1974. Melghat was the first tiger reserve of Maharashtra. It is one of the biggest tiger reserves in the country in terms of area and a habitat for 45 to 50 tigers. The name ‘Melghat’ means the confluence of various ‘ghats’ or alleys as is typical from the landscape of this tiger Reserve. 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. The total area of the reserve is around 2768.52 square km. The forest is tropical dry deciduous in nature, dominated by teak (Tectona grandis). Different kinds of flora and fauna are found here.
Narnala Fort is a hill fortress in Melghat, named after the Rajput Ruler Narnal Singh. The fort was first established in the 10th century A.D. by the Gond Kings. In the 15th Century it was occupied and rebuilt by the Mughals, becoming one of Berar Subah’s thirteen sarkar. It consists of three small forts: Zafarabad (or Jafarabad) fort on the east, Narnala in the centre and Teliagarh to the west. The fort covers an area of 362 acres. It has six large and twenty one small gates. It is evident that Islamic rulers made changes in Narnal Singh’s original architectural construction and converted the place in Moghul style. It was impossible for any ruler to rebuild the entire fort considering the rugged terrain and dense forest surrounding the fort.
