Melghat Tiger Reserve

Melghat Tiger Reserve
Entry gate of Melghat Tiger Reserve par the stone bridge.

Melghat was declared a tiger reserve and was among the first nine tiger reserves notified in 1973-74 under the Project Tiger. It is located at 21°26′45″N 77°11′50″E / 21.44583°N 77.19722°E / 21.44583; 77.19722Coordinates: 21°26′45″N 77°11′50″E / 21.44583°N 77.19722°E / 21.44583; 77.19722 in northern part of Amravati District of Maharashtra State in India. The Tapti River and the Gawilgadh ridge of the Satpura Range form the boundaries of the reserve. In 1985 Melghat Wildlife Sanctuary was created. The Tapi river flows through the northern end of the Melghat Tiger Reserve, through a forest which lies within the catchment area of the river system. Many different kinds of wildlife, both flora and fauna, are found here.

Gugamal National Park, which forms the core area of the reserve, has an area of 361.28 km². carved out in 1987.

There are passes in Melghat that invaders from the north traversed to reach Berar, where the Imad Shahi dynasty had been founded in 1484. The historic forts, Narnala and Gawilgarh, guarded the main east-west ridge. In 1803, in the Second Maratha War, Colonel Arthur Wellesley, who later became the Duke of Wellington, captured the Gawilgarh fort from the Marathas.