Madhya Pradesh is unique among Indian states in packing four major tiger reserves within a manageable driving radius of each other, and travellers who have the time increasingly skip the single-park trip in favour of a proper wildlife circuit. This guide lays out a practical, multi-park route linking Panna, Bandhavgarh and Kanha (with an optional Pench extension), covering how many days to budget, how the transfers work, and why Panna makes the natural starting point for the loop.
Why Build a Multi-Park Circuit Instead of One Park
A single park visit is a fine introduction to a Madhya Pradesh safari, but each reserve here has a genuinely different character, and seeing more than one in a trip gives you a far better sense of the state's range. Panna offers open grassland and river-gorge terrain with a quieter, less crowded safari; Bandhavgarh is dense sal-and-bamboo forest with some of the country's most reliable tiger sightings; Kanha is the vast, meadow-studded park that inspired Kipling's Jungle Book and is also the last stronghold of the barasingha (swamp deer). Combining two or three of these in one trip, rather than flying in for a single park, spreads your safari drives across very different habitats and meaningfully improves your overall odds of a strong sighting somewhere along the way.
How Many Days the Full Circuit Needs
A comfortable three-park circuit (Panna, Bandhavgarh, Kanha) with two safaris at each reserve typically needs 8 to 10 days including travel days between parks. If your schedule is tighter, a two-park loop of just Panna and Bandhavgarh is very workable in 5 to 6 days and is the version we most often help guests plan. Trying to compress all three parks into under a week usually means cutting safaris short or spending too many hours on the road, so we'd steer most travellers towards the two-park version unless you have a generous holiday window. For a tighter two-reserve comparison and how to choose between them, see our Panna vs Bandhavgarh guide.
Suggested Route and Sequencing
The most efficient sequencing starts at Panna (reached via Khajuraho, which has both an airport and a railway station), then works south-east towards Bandhavgarh, and finishes at Kanha before flying out of Jabalpur or Nagpur. Starting at Panna rather than the other end has a real practical advantage: Khajuraho's flight and rail connectivity from Delhi and other metros tends to be more convenient than the routes into the other reserves, so it's an easier place to fly into cold, and it lets you pair your safari circuit with a Khajuraho temples visit at the very start of the trip. See our Khajuraho-Panna itinerary for how that combination works in detail.
| Leg | Route | Approx. drive time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Khajuraho / Panna to Bandhavgarh | ~210 km, approx. 5 hours |
| 2 | Bandhavgarh to Kanha | ~250 km, approx. 5-6 hours |
| 3 | Kanha to Jabalpur (exit point) | ~160 km, approx. 4 hours |
Sample 9-Day Itinerary
- Day 1: Arrive Khajuraho, transfer to Nature's Lap Resort near Panna, settle in and rest.
- Day 2-3: Two safaris in Panna Tiger Reserve, plus a half-day at the Khajuraho temples or Raneh Falls.
- Day 4: Drive from Panna to Bandhavgarh, arriving by evening.
- Day 5-6: Two to three safaris in Bandhavgarh's core zones.
- Day 7: Drive from Bandhavgarh to Kanha.
- Day 8: Two safaris in Kanha, including a look-out for the barasingha meadows.
- Day 9: Drive to Jabalpur for departure, or extend towards Pench if time allows.
Where to Base Yourself in Each Park
For the Panna leg, Nature's Lap Resort sits right beside the reserve on the Madla side, making it a relaxed, unhurried base for the start of your circuit before the longer road stretches ahead. Booking your Panna stay and safari permits together through our packages page also takes one layer of logistics off your plate before you head onward. For Bandhavgarh and Kanha, look for properties close to the gate you'll be entering from, since both reserves have multiple entry zones spread well apart, and a mismatch between your stay and your permitted zone can add significant drive time before each safari.
Permits, Timing and Booking Ahead
Safari permits at all these reserves are zone-specific and capped in number, and Bandhavgarh's popular zones in particular sell out well ahead of peak season. If you're planning a multi-park circuit, book your permits for each reserve as early as your dates are firm, ideally , since shifting one park's dates later to accommodate a sold-out permit can throw off the whole sequencing. Winter (November to February) and the hot months of April to June are the open season for the core zones of all three parks; the monsoon core-zone closure runs roughly July through September, though buffer zones often stay open. Our best time to visit guide goes into month-by-month detail for the Panna leg specifically.
Extending the Circuit to Pench
If you have an extra two to three days, Pench National Park sits conveniently between Kanha and Nagpur, making it an easy add-on at the tail end of the circuit rather than a detour. Pench is a smaller, more compact park than Kanha or Bandhavgarh, with teak forest along the Pench river, and works well as a gentler final stop before your flight out of Nagpur. Most travellers we speak with treat it as optional rather than essential, since the three-park Panna-Bandhavgarh-Kanha loop already covers a strong range of habitats on its own.
Is a multi-park circuit better than visiting just one Madhya Pradesh reserve?
It depends on your time budget. A single park is perfectly satisfying for a short trip, but if you have 8-10 days, a circuit across Panna, Bandhavgarh and Kanha gives you three very different habitats and generally better overall sighting odds across the trip.
Which park should I start the circuit from?
We generally recommend starting at Panna via Khajuraho, since Khajuraho has good flight and rail connectivity, and starting there lets you combine the temples with your first safari leg before the longer overland stretches to Bandhavgarh and Kanha.
How far in advance should I book safari permits for a multi-park trip?
As early as your travel dates are confirmed. Bandhavgarh in particular has high permit demand for its core zones, and staggering three parks means you need each leg's permits to line up, so early booking matters more here than for a single-park visit. .
Can I do this circuit without a car and driver for the whole trip?
Most travellers hire a car and driver for the full loop, since public transport between these reserves is limited and infrequent. A single vehicle for the entire circuit is usually more comfortable and reliable than trying to arrange separate transfers at each park.
Whichever version of the circuit you build, starting your trip with a few relaxed nights at Nature's Lap Resort beside Panna is a comfortable way to ease into the longer wildlife loop ahead. Get in touch through our contact page and our team can help you sequence the full circuit, including permit timing for each reserve.