A complete Travel guide to Kuno National Park and all you need to know before visiting this unique destination for all wildlife lovers and enthusiasts.

One of the more unexplored national parks in the state of Madhya Pradesh, Kuno has recently emerged as a bona fide crowd-puller in wildlife circles with the arrival of African Cheetahs.

Spread across 748sq.km., the park lies within the Kuno Wildlife Division. An additional area of 600sq.km. is treated as a buffer zone of the national park. Kuno was upgraded to National Park status from a Wildlife Sanctuary in the year 2018.

More recently, Kuno has been in the news for its selection as the most suitable site for the Cheetah reintroduction program in India by the Wildlife Institute of India (WII). 

 For nature lovers and wildlife lovers, it is a great place for wildlife safaris. Catch glimpses of the majestic animals in their natural habitat.

If you’ve decided to pay a visit to a national park, you know pretty well that you aren’t leaving without embarking on a wildlife safari tour. Lucky for you Kuno National Park has one of the most engaging jungle safari experiences among all national parks in India.

There are three Entry Gates of Kuno National Park and here is their distance from Various Cities.

Tiktoli Gate	Ahera Gate	Peepal Bawadi Gate
Sheopur- 70	Sheopur- 101km	Sheopur- 159 km
Shivpuri- 74 km	Shivpuri- 54 km	Shivpuri- 102 km

Distance of Entry gates of Kuno to various cities.

Tiktoli Gate is the main entrance Gate for Kuno National Park.

By Road:-

City	Mode of Transportation	Distance (km)	Duration (by Road)
Sheopur	By Road	70	1.5 Hours By car
Ranthambore National Park	By Road	190	3 hours by car
Indore	By Road	490	10 hours By Car
Jaipur	By Road	300	6 hours by car
Gwalior	By Road	196	4-5 hours by car
Delhi	By Road	500	9 hours by car

Sesaipura is the nearest village located in the Sheopur district and is accessible from Sheopur (60km; 1 hr). The park gate (Tiktoli) is about 16km from Sesaipura.

By Train:-

Shivpuri Railway Station is the nearest station (61km; 1hr 16min). The Indian Railways operates a train from Hazrat Nizamuddin Station (New Delhi) to Shivpuri once every day. Sawai Madhopur (130km; 2hr 30min) is another major Railway Station. Gwalior Railway Station (160km; 3hr 15min) is also a major Station nearby and well connected to major cities.

By Air:-

Gwalior Airport (207km; 4 hrs 30 min) is the nearest airport. Other airport options are Jaipur (300km; 6hr), Indore (466km; 9 hrs 18 min), and Bhopal (371km; 7 hrs 36 min) all of these are international airports.

Kuno National Park comes under the Tropical regions and so does its climate. This park’s mean temperature and precipitation are 24.7°C/76.46°F and 764 mm respectively.

Mid-June to September: is considered the Monsoon season. This is when Kuno National Park is closed for tourists as movement around the park is very difficult because many places get waterlogged.

October-February is considered the winter season. December and January’s months are specifically chilly with average minimum temperatures of 7.27°C/45°F & 6.3°C/43.34°F respectively. The park is most beautiful during this time of the year, with the growth of tall grasses giving the landscape a savannah-like appearance. During these months, the climate remains pleasant and it is easy to explore the region.

March-June: Mid-March to Mid June is typically a hot summer with max. average temperature recorded at 42.3°C/108.14°F. The entire area is very hot during these months. However, sightings are better at this time as animals often congregate near waterholes.

Season	Months	Description	Temperature	Precipitation	Best Activities
Winter	October – February	Chilly, Pleasant Climate	6.3°C/43.34°F	–	Wildlife viewing, hiking, camping
Summer	March – June	Hot, Dry Climate	42.3°C/108.14°F	–	Wildlife viewing at waterholes
Monsoon	Mid-June to September	Waterlogged, Park Closed	–	764 mm	–
Best Time	Mid-November to Mid-March	Optimal weather, the Best Landscape	24.7°C/76.46°F	–	Wildlife viewing, hiking, camping

Stay options are limited near Kuno, but the park has a rest house inside the jungle that can be booked by getting in touch with the Kuno Officials.

• The Palpur Rest House, which is located beside the magnificent Palpur Fort overlooking the Kuno river, is one of the best places to stay at the national park. This is also one of the most scenic areas of the park.
• The Radhika Vilas is heritage style hotel features a garden, terrace, and a restaurant in Sheopur. The accommodation provides room service, a 24-hour front desk and is located between Kuno national Park And National Chambal Sanctuary.
• The MP Tourism Hotel (Jungle Resort Kuno) at Sesaipura is another property located along the Kuno river and provides some of the best views of the landscape. The property houses a beautiful, large garden and a restaurant.

Otherwise, You could book your stay in the nearest city like Sheopur, Shivpuri, Sawai Madhopur, or Gwalior, and have a day trip to the national park.

• Carry light-colored clothes that will blend in with the surroundings. The light shades of Blue Green and Brown are your best pick and the camo print works wonders too.
• Always carry drinking water with you.
• Binoculars and a good camera are your best friend to get the best out of the safari.
• During the winter season carry warm clothing, jackets, gloves, mufflers, etc as the morning open jeep safari drives can be freezing cold.
• During the summer months, the weather is hot therefore loose light-colored cotton clothing is recommended with the clear-cut inclusion of a Cap and Sunglasses. Sunscreen lotions are necessary for summer (April to June) when the sun is very strong.

• Ranthambore National Park is located at a distance of 150km from Kuno and can be reached in 3.5 hrs. One of the popular destinations in the country, Ranthambore hosts a wide diversity of wildlife like Barasingha, Blackbuck, Chousingha, Royal Bengal Tiger, and Indian Leopard, among other megafauna species, birds, and reptiles.
• Palpur Gadi is an old fort along the banks of River Kuno. This is an ideal place for bird watching and bird photography. Apart from vultures, Kuno is also a place to photograph cranes and raptors like harriers, eagles, and owls.
• Kair-Khoh & Gravity Pipeline: The River Kuno is the main source of water in the forest and it would be fair to call it a lifeline of the forest. But most of the other streams are not perennial and do not retain water in the summers. Thus the upper reaches on both sides of the Kuno River suffer from water scarcity during the summer.
• Madhav National Park in Shivpuri is also worth a visit. Dotted with several ponds, including the Sankhya Sagar reservoir, the park plays host to a number of resident and migratory birds.