Papikonda national park: Carnivores and Herbivores

Papikonda national park has mythological significance because it was once the kingdom of the apes during the epic time of the holy Ramayana. The area was formerly known as Kishkinda, and its residents had assisted Lord Rama in bringing Sita back from Lanka.

The park exists in the Eastern Ghats, one of India’s most luxuriant forests. Here you will see carnivores and herbivores both, and the hilly terrain with high slopes & valleys makes this place inaccessible.

The availability of the Tiger, Leopard, Hyena, etc., attracts more and more tourists from India’s different places. Not only India but Papikonda national park also attract foreign tourists.

In this article, we will discuss with you Papikonda national park, how you can come here, what to do, best places to stay for more exploration.

Why are we talking about staying? Because this is an inaccessible area, and we don’t know from where you are coming.

Maybe you are far from this Papikonda national park, but when you are clear about where you can spend your nighttime, your mind will be free from fear.

This is why you should know where you can stay or not. Without further delay, let’s get started.

A little introduction to Papikonda national park

Papikonda Wildlife Sanctuary was established in 1978. Papikonda Wildlife Sanctuary was declared a National Park in 2008.

The total area of Papikonda national park is 1012.858 SQ.KM. This park has 2531 species under 700 genera and 125 families, constituting about 13% of the flowering plants of India.

You will see tigers, leopards, hyenas, and vulnerable Bovidae in the carnivores. On the other hand, you will see sambar, barking deer, chowsinga, spotted deer, etc.

Including peacocks, Red jungle fowl, etc., this park has 92 bird species records. But you can’t underestimate reptiles. In the snakes, Indian python, chameleon, freshwater crocodile, Indian Golden gecko, king cobra, Indian cobra, monitor lizard, etc.

The 96 species are wild relatives of crops, and 31 species of plants make this place more beautiful and have agrobiodiversity.

Location

Papikonda national park is located in Telangana (southern India) and Andhra Pradesh (south-eastern). Three districts include one location, East Godavari and West Godavari districts and Khammam district.

The Park lies on the left and right banks of the river Godavari and cuts through the Papikonda hill range of the Eastern Ghats.

The floral variety of the Park is mainly Eastern Ghats vegetation. The nearby cities to the Park are Khammam, Suryapet, and Warangal.

Geographic location: MG9W+363, Andhra Pradesh 507113

Distance from Nearby and Major Cities

Hyderabad – 394 km
Chennai – 708 km
Bangalore – 882 km
Pune – 949 km
Kolkata – 1120 km
Mumbai – 1095 km
Ahmadabad – 1496 km
Delhi – 1706 km
Chandigarh – 1956 km
Jammu – 2299 km

Best time to visit

In the mid-summer time, in Andhra Pradesh’s hottest part, where Papikonda national park is situated, temperatures (April and May) soared as high as 47°.

For this high temperature, animals can be spotted on the banks of Godavari at a higher frequency.

So, whenever you make up your mind to come here, please avoid this time. Most of the time will be with the bank of Godavari, and it can be risky.

October and May is the best time to come here, and hopefully, this time is tourist effective season. The weather will be pleasant, and different animals will be in their other place.

If you come here during this time, you can go long for longer safaris due to the ideal weather conditions.

Wildlife at Papikonda National Park

As we told you before, in Papikonda national park, Carnivores and Herbivores both are available. Some people call this place tiger’s home.

The sight of the mighty Godavari meandering through densely Forested hills with deep gorges & valleys provides an unforgettable experience.

Let’s see what you can see at Papikonda national park.

Flora

Moist deciduous and dry deciduous are two significant vegetation in Papikonda national park. Tree species include 7 names and those are:

Pterocarpus marsupium: Medium to large deciduous tree that can grow up to 102 ft.
Terminalia elliptica: It’s a species of Terminalia native to southern and southeast Asia in India and also seven countries (Nepal, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam). Dry or moist every deciduous forest has this species.
Terminalia arjuna: This is a widespread tree in India and Bangladesh; people call this tree Arjuna or Arjun tree.
Adina cordifolia: Haldina cordifolia is a deciduous tree that can grow well over 20 meters high.
Sterculia urens: It’s a native tree in India, but it was introduced into Burma.
Mangifera indica: It’s a sizeable growing mango tree.
Anogeissus latifolia: Small to medium-sized native tree of India, Nepal, Myanmar, and Sri Lanka.

Fauna

Mammals, Birds, and Reptiles are commonly seen fauna in the Papikonda national park. The name you will see have taken their images with camera traps.

Some look good, and some are bad, but most people come here for Bengal Tiger. Maybe you are reading this post for Bengal Tiger.

Let’s see how much tourists love the fauna that lives here. We will give you a list so that you can simplify them easily.

Animal

Royal Bengal tiger and Indian leopard make this park some fear. When you come here with the guard, you will be safe to make it clear we are giving you a shortlist that you can use to see those animals that you want to see.

Bengal tiger
Indian leopard
Hyena
Rusty-spotted cat
Jungle cat
Leopard cat
Sloth bear
Small Indian civet
Asian palm civet
Wild boar and honey badger
Chowsinga
Barking deer
Spotted deer
Sambar deer
Indian muntjac
Indian spotted chevrotain
Gaur
Nilgai
Four-horned antelope

How can we forget monkeys and water buffaloes? Here you will see three types of Money and here is the list:

Rhesus macaque
Bonnet macaque
Gray langurs

Birds

Birds are more influential on our today’s planet. If you don’t know why I am talking like this, then you should ask this question to the farmer who is working to save their crops.

Common Peacock
Red jungle fowl
Black-bellied tern
Pale-capped pigeon
Yellow-throated bulbul
Oriental darter
Pallid harrier
Great Thick-knee
River lapwing
River tern
Malabar pied hornbill
Alexandrine parakeet

Here are some moist species of birds:

Black-throated munia
Indian scimitar babbler
Jerdon’s nightjar
Malabar trogon Malabar whistling thrush
Abbott’s babbler

Reptiles

I don’t know about you, but I am scared of reptiles. Especially snakes are more dangerous to me. Let’s see which reptiles you will see here.

Indian python
King cobra
Indian cobra
Monitor lizard
Chamaelon
Freshwater crocodile
Indian Golden gecko

Papikonda national park famous for

Papikonda national park is famous for its rich floristic diversity with more than 2531 species. Two thousand five hundred thirty-one species under 700 genera and 125 families constitute around 13% of the flowering plants of India.

The moist deciduous forests have a maximum number of endemic species (173 taxa), followed by dry deciduous (121 taxa).

Papikonda national park on map

Papikonda national park safari

Apart From Animal Safari, Papikonda National Park in 2022 Offers Many Other Outdoor Adventure Sports & Activities to Indian Travellers Like Jeep Safari, in Andhra Pradesh.

Papikonda national park images

How to reach

To reach Papikonda national park, you can go by route, air, and boat. Take your comfortable one and start your journey.

By Route

It’s a place of low residency, and for this reason, we will recommend you stay at Dondapudi. A tour guide and forest excursions will help you reach the Park premises from Dondapudi – Koyyalagudem Rd.

Each vehicle has a tour guide. But if you are looking for accommodation facilities, you should come to Rajamundry town. Including a forest rest house, several guest lodges can be availed in the city of Kannapuram as well.

Do a Google search, see which place is near your hometown, and then go ahead.

By train

The nearest railway station is the Godavari. Besides this, other train stations include Rajahmundry, Kovvur, and Pasivedala railway stations. Vehicles are available for Dondapudi and Rajahmundry.

By air

The nearest airport to Papikonda national park is Rajahmundry Airport. If you are willing to come to Dondapudi, you can; otherwise, you can stay at Rajahmundry for your next step.

Papikonda national park is around 96 km from Rajahmundry Airport; if you come by car, that will take approximately two and a half hours.

Important contact

Divisional Forest Officer (Wildlife Management), Rajahmundry

Phone:- 0883-2478643

Forest Range Officer, Rampachodavaram

Phone:- 08864-243705