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Kuno National Park© M G Chandrasekr · CC BY-SA 4.0

Hero photograph by M G Chandrasekr (CC BY-SA 4.0) · source. Remaining gallery slots await licensed imagery.

Tier 3 · Lesser knownEco-sensitive

Kuno National Park

Sheopur district, Madhya Pradesh

WildlifeNatureOffbeat
Directions
Recommended
12 hrs
min 4 hrs
Difficulty
Easy
Best season
Winter
+1 more
Typical spend
₹3,500
per person
Check-in worth
75 pts
Lesser known
Crowds
Rarely crowded

Why go

Cheetah were declared extinct in India in 1952. They were reintroduced here in 2022. Whatever you make of the project, this is the only landscape in the country where the question is live — and the Chambal grassland itself is a habitat almost nobody visits.

Kuno was prepared through the 1990s as a second home for the Asiatic lion, and twenty-four villages were relocated to make room. The lions never came — Gujarat declined to part with any. In September 2022 eight cheetah from Namibia were released here, followed by twelve from South Africa, in the first intercontinental translocation of a large carnivore. The project has been contested by ecologists from the start and the mortality has been significant, but cubs have been born on Indian soil. Sightings are not guaranteed and most animals are in enclosures or soft-release bomas; the park is honest about this, and you should be too before you book.

Things to do here

6 things · 15 hrs to do all of them

Two days at Kuno

3 days · 19 hrs of planned activity

Day 1

  1. Afternoon safari — grassland zone

    3 hr 30 min

Day 2

  1. Morning safari from Ahera gate

    4 hrs

  2. Rest

    4 hrs

  3. Afternoon safari — Kuno river and Palpur

    3 hr 30 min

Day 3

  1. Chambal river safari for gharial

    4 hrs

    60 km north to the Chambal sanctuary

Location & geofence

The shaded ring is the check-in geofence — 5000 m around the site. Your GPS has to fall inside it for a check-in to count.

25.5000, 77.1000 · Open turn-by-turn in Google Maps

Visitor information

Before you go

  • Eco-sensitive zone with an active reintroduction programme. Distance rules around cheetah are legally enforced.
  • Long drives with no facilities. Carry water and fuel up before you leave Sheopur.

Morning safariSunrise to 11:00 am
Afternoon safari3:00 pm to sunset
Park closed1 July – 30 September
Best time of dayMorning. November to March; the grassland is at its best just after monsoon.

Gwalior is the nearest airport and railhead, 165 km, about 4 hours. Sheopur is 60 km. Morena is 130 km. The last stretch is slow.

Last mile: Two gates, Ahera and Tiktoli, about 40 km apart. Confirm which gate your permit is for before you drive.

Accessibility

  • WheelchairNo
  • Senior friendlyYes
  • Child friendlyYes

Standard safari jeeps, long drives on rough tracks.

Reviews

4.3from 380 explorers

Only explorers with a verified check-in here can leave a review.

  • Aarav Deshmukh

    @aarav_rides · 4 Aug 2026

    The guide was excellent and cost less than a coffee in a city. Do not skip it — I walked round once alone first and missed most of what matters.

    Tip: Hire the local guide. ₹600 well spent.

    33 found this helpful

  • Neha Thakur

    @quietmiles · 4 May 2026

    Carried a torch on the advice here and it made the difference. Half the interior is pitch dark and phone lights are not enough.

    Tip: Bring an actual torch, not a phone.

    39 found this helpful

  • Pooja Shrivastava

    @earlylight · 20 Mar 2026

    Came for the check-in points and stayed because it turned out to be the best thing I saw all week. That is presumably the idea.

    Tip: Do not treat it as a quick tick. It deserves the afternoon.

    7 found this helpful