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Mukundra Hills Tiger Reserve — Kota
National Park

Mukundra Hills Tiger Reserve

Kota · Wildlife & Parks

About Mukundra Hills Tiger Reserve

Mukundra Hills (Mukundara Hills) Tiger Reserve spans about 759 sq km across the Kota and Chittorgarh districts, with its core formerly the Darrah and Chambal sanctuaries. It was declared a tiger reserve in 2013. Its dry deciduous forests hold tiger, leopard, chinkara, sambar and the marsh crocodile along the Chambal river.

Events & Festivals at this place

WildlifeOctober to June

Mukundra Hills Safari Season

Mukundra Hills, Rajasthan's third tiger reserve, offers open-jeep and canter safaris through dry forest and river valleys where tigers, leopards, sloth bears and wolves are found. The season runs from October to June, with winter bringing the most comfortable conditions and an influx of migratory birds. Summer months concentrate wildlife around waterholes and improve sightings, while boat safaris on the adjoining Chambal gorge are best in winter.

  • Tiger and leopard sightings
  • Darrah and Kolipura range safaris
  • Chambal river boat eco-safari
  • winter migrant birds
ReligiousSeptember-October (Ashwin)

Kota Dussehra Mela

The Kota Dussehra Mela is one of India's longest and most famous Dussehra celebrations, a 15-day festival running through Navratri on the bank of the Chambal. Villagers in colourful attire join processions to offer prayers, and Ramleela performances climax with the burning of gigantic effigies of Ravana, Kumbhakarna and Meghnad at the Dussehra Mela Ground. The huge effigies, often around 75 feet tall and stuffed with crackers, create a spectacular finale.

  • 15-day Dussehra mela on the Chambal
  • towering 75-foot effigies of Ravana
  • Kumbhakarna and Meghnad
  • dramatic Ravana Dahan climax
  • Ramleela and folk processions
ReligiousFebruary-March (Phalguna)

Garadia Mahadev Mahashivratri

Garadia Mahadev is a Shiva temple perched on a cliff of the Chambal river gorge near Kota, a popular viewpoint for its sweeping canyon panorama. On Mahashivratri, large numbers of devotees make the journey to the temple to offer prayers and take in the view over the deep green gorge. The festival day sees the site thronged with pilgrims and day-trippers.

  • Shiva temple above the Chambal gorge
  • panoramic canyon viewpoint
  • Mahashivratri pilgrimage and darshan
  • scenic riverside setting

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