Indravati Tiger Reserve to reopen for tourists from November 1

The brief

Context

Indravati Tiger Reserve, in Bijapur district of Chhattisgarh's Bastar region, was notified under Project Tiger in 1983 but decades of left wing extremism (LWE) kept much of it out of reach of even the forest department, let alone tourists. With the security situation improving, the state forest department plans to open the reserve to organised wildlife tourism from November 1 — the first such tourism in four decades. Greater field access is also yielding fresh wildlife records, even as tiger and wild buffalo numbers remain provisional pending the ongoing All India Tiger Estimation.

Key facts

• Indravati Tiger Reserve will reopen to tourists on November 1, allowing organised wildlife tourism for the first time in four decades.
• The reserve spans 2,799.07 sq km: core/critical tiger habitat of 1,258.37 sq km and buffer area of 1,540.70 sq km, according to the NTCA.
• It was established under Project Tiger in 1983; LWE restricted forest department access to around 70% of the reserve's area, per deputy director Sumedh Survade.
• A forest department presentation to state forest minister Kedar Kashyap puts tigers in Indravati at six in current state-level figures.
• The same chart records 18 tigers in Achanakmar, seven in Guru Ghasidas-Tamor Pingla, three in Bhoramdev and one in Udanti-Sitanadi.
• An internal census in February-March 2025 recorded 14-17 wild buffaloes in Indravati, against 10 in Barnawapara and one in Udanti.
• A smooth-coated otter was recently sighted in the reserve — a species officials said was not earlier known to be recorded from the area.
• PCCF Chhattisgarh Arun Pandey said safari vehicles are being purchased and routes prepared, with primarily two-three destinations for tourists.

Timeline

1. 1983Indravati Tiger Reserve established under Project Tiger.
2. February-March 2025Internal census records 14-17 wild buffaloes in Indravati.
3. Current (as reported)All India Tiger Estimation under way; carrying-capacity assessment and finalisation of safari routes in progress.
4. November 1Planned reopening of the reserve for organised wildlife tourism.

Who has a stake

• Chhattisgarh forest department (PCCF Arun Pandey, deputy director Sumedh Survade) — Must open the reserve to tourism while keeping conservation the primary consideration and expanding protection in newly accessible areas.
• National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) — Tourism zone and safari routes are being finalised in accordance with its Tiger Conservation Plan; it provides the reserve's area figures.
• Local communities around the reserve — Potential livelihoods as guides, drivers and hospitality providers, through homestays and promotion of tribal products and culture.
• Police and security agencies — A security assessment will be sought after safari routes are finalised; some areas may remain inaccessible to tourists.
• Wildlife of Indravati (tigers, wild buffalo, leopard, sloth bear, gaur, chital, otters) — A forest largely free of tourist pressure now faces visitor movement; conflict-prone stretches may get fencing and cattle-proof trenches.
• State forest minister Kedar Kashyap — Received the department presentation with tiger and wild buffalo figures; politically accountable for the tourism push.

Why it matters

The reopening shows how a decline in left wing extremism can restore state presence in forests that were effectively ungoverned, enabling both protection work and the first scientific picture of wildlife there. It also poses a classic conservation dilemma: a habitat that survived without tourist pressure must now absorb visitors without ecological damage. For Bastar's tribal communities, regulated tourism could become a new livelihood stream tied to forest and cultural heritage.