Seoni: A Trip to Mowgli’s home

Posted on June 15, 2019 by Ghoomophiro

Considering a trip to Seoni? Well, there are several reasons why you should. One of the reasons why the name might sound familiar to you is because Rudyard Kipling, the Nobel laureate for literature who spelled its name as Seeonee, used this small city of Madhya Pradesh as a setting for his two Jungle books. In short, this would have been the place where the famous and beloved characters like Mowgli and Akira would have lived if they were alive.

Though no rainforests, Seoni is a thickly forested town. The home town of Mowgli will offer you it all – stunning views, thick vegetation, exotic animals, a dam, a temple, a tiger safari, old temples, a chance to go hiking, etc. The biggest attraction of the town is, of course, Pench Tiger Reserve, whose ideal location at Mowgli’s home makes it even more thrilling to go for a tiger safari there.

Best time to visit Seoni

The region has extremely hot summers (with a temperature rising as high as 45 degrees) and cold winter (with temperature recording as low as 0 degrees) and there is a very well defined rainy season. We recommend visiting it in October-November when the rainy season is over and the climate is cool without being cold.

How to reach Seoni?

By air

The nearest airports are at Sonegam (109 kilometers away) and Nagpur (130 kilometers away) from where taxis are easily available.

By rail

You can take a train to Chhindwara, Jabalpur or Nagpur and from there hire a taxi. Pench tiger reserve is 145 kilometers Nagpur and 215 kilometers from Jabalpur airport. a

By road

Seoni is well connected by road to all the major cities of the region. Pench tiger reserve is located at a distance of nearly 500 kilometers from the state capital, Bhopal.

Where to stay?

Nothing so perfect as Pugdundee Pench Tree resort. The resort is located at a distance of 32 kilometers from Seoni – in the thick buffer of National Park. It is made in form rustic wooden camps create a feel in one of living in nature – surrounded as one is with flora and fauna on all sides.

Main attractions

• Pench Tiger Reserve

The Pench Tiger Reserve is the biggest attraction for tourists in the region. It is named after Pench river which flows through the reserve in a North to South direction. The river also acts as the natural boundary between Seoni and Chhindwara districts of Madhya Pradesh. A dam exists on this river built within the tiger reserve. There are a number of other smaller streams as well as springs in the region but distribution is uneven making most of the wildlife to limit to only some of the regions.

The 293 square kilometers terrain of the reserve was uneven with frequent small hills occurring all around located as it is in Satpura mountain range. Tropical Moist Deciduous Forests fill the region with natural vegetation. Teak and Bamboo trees are some of the most abundant ones here.

Covering a huge area of land, the tiger reserve is located in one of the forested regions of the district, surrounded by hills and mountains, and is home to various kinds of wildlife including the tiger, wild cats, leopards, wild bears, sloth bears, Jackals, wildcats, wolves, chital, sambar …… stops for breadth ……… gaur, nilgai, Indian muntjac, wild pig, small Indian civet, langaur, mongoose and lots more.

Visiting the tiger reserve was the highlight of our visit to Seoni – for even though we were greeted by sight of just one tiger during our safari, we get to see a great number of other animals – leopard, two wolves, countless langoor and a wild bear. The tiger that gratified us with his presence was drinking water from the Pench river.

• Bheemgarh Dam

Bheemgarh dam also known as Upper Wainganga dam and Sanjay Sarovar Bandh is constructed across the Wainganga river of Seoni. The Dam is located at quite a distance, 43 km away from the Seoni. It is Asia’s biggest Mud or Earthen dam and the mesmerizing effect its sight had on us was enhanced by the fact of its being surrounded by mountains on all sides. The place is one of the popular tourist attractions and makes for a nice picnic spot.

• Amodagarh

Returning back to Rudyard Kiping and Mougli links, we now took ourselves to the place that was supposed to be Mougli’s workplace – Amodagarh. The place is situated on a state highway and doesn’t have much to recommend it. Though a small amusement lies in the sight of the ruins of the palace of Sona Rani that is visible from here. A history lover might also be amused by the ancient Mahakaleshwar and Shiv temples here.

•  Matradham

Matradham is a village 15 km west in the Seoni and is the place where the Hindu guru Shankara Acharya was born and in its honor, he has constructed a Shiv Temple here in 2003.

•  Guru Rataneshwar Dham

Last in our list of sights to see in Seoni is Dighori village, 25 kilometers north of Seoni, where one could find the World’s Largest Sphatik Shivling at Guru Rataneshwar Dham. Hindu Guru Shankar Acharya has constructed this Dham  – a sphatik Shivling that is world biggest at 54 kilograms and 21 kg paras shivling).

What to take back home?

We highly recommend buying some locally handcrafted goods made of bamboos as the perfect souvenir one might get from Mukukndpur.

Traveling tips:

1. There might be some safety concerns especially those surrounding solo women travelers.
2. Cameras are not allowed inside the Pench Tiger Reserve.
3. Follow the rules and regulations of the Pench Tiger Reserve inside the reserve.

Conclusion

The Disney tv series on Mowgli was our childhood favorite and thus it was with very childish grins we saw the wild animals here and called them by titles from Jungle Book series – Akela, Sher Khan etc. If you too craved to visit Mowgli’s town as a child, Seoni is definitely worth your while. J