Ken Ghariyal Sanctury
Ken Gharial Sanctuary is a wildlife sanctuary in Panna and Chhatarpur Districts of Madhya Pradesh, India. It was established for the conservation of gharial and mugger crocodile populations in 1981. It is located at the confluence of the Ken River and Khudar River and spread over an area of 45,201 sq. km. It is located northeast of the Khajuraho temples and north of Panna National Park. It is usually visited along with the Raneh Falls site nearby. It is closed for visitors in monsoon season. Ken Gharial Sanctuary was gazetted in 1981 along a 45 km (28 mi) long stretch of the Ken River. Sanctuary is protected under India's Wildlife Protection Act of 1972. The park is open from 06:00 AM to 05:00 PM every day. Entry Fee: The entry fee is INR 15 per head. Location: Panna National Park, NH 75, Chhatarpur, Madhya Pradesh. Distance from Khajuraho Bus Stand: Located at a distance of nearly 92 km from Khajuraho Bus Stand. Ken Gharial Reserve is an important Khajuraho tourist attraction which is often visited by tourists. After completing Khajuraho temples sightseeing, tourists love to visit Raneh fall and its adjoining Ken Gharial reserve. It is approx. 25kms from Khajuraho and connected by road. Sanctuary is spread over an area of 45.202sq.kms. It is a nature tourism site in Panna national park area. There are several beautiful rivers that rise from the Vindhya hill ranges of Central India. One of the prettiest is the Ken River or Kiyen. The river flows in a northerly direction until it meets with the holy river Ganges. Ken gharial sanctuary can be visited while going to visit Raneh fall. Here we can find Gharials at their natural abode. This reserve is managed by Madhya Pradesh Forest Department. For visiting this spot, tourists are required to pay declared fee as per number of visitors and vehicle type. As it is a hilly terrain so it demands medium level of physical fitness. While visiting this spot, we recommend carrying your own water bottles, good camera with battery, sun-glasses, original ID document.
Son Ghariyal Sanctury
Son Gharial Sanctuary was established under Project Crocodile for Gharial conservation and population growth. An altogether length of 210 km encompassing lengths of 161 km of Son river, 23 km of Banas river, and 26 km of Gopad River was declared as a sanctuary in 1981. In 1981, 161 kilometres around the Son river was declared a wildlife sanctuary to protect the endangered gharials, Indian soft shell turtle and the Indian skimmer. The number of gharials, however, has been on the decline since then: It came down to 20 in 2021 (all female) from 72 in 2016.
Sandy habitats (such as Sand banks, riverine islands etc) are major habitats for many endangered species like Gharial, Indian Soft Shell Turtle (Chitra Indica), Indian Skimmer (Rynchops albicollis) etc. About 101 species of birds registered in the sanctuary make it rich in aquatic and avifaunal biodiversity.
Nearest airport is Bamrauli Airport (Allahabad), Prayagraj, UP (approx. 157 KM) Marwasgram (MWJ), Majhauli, Sidhi (40 KM) • Rewa (REWA) (87 KM) • Satna (STA) (142 KM) Sidhi is very well connected by NH 39 and other roads.