The Palamau Tiger Reserve

The Palamau Tiger Reserve lies in the western part of the Chhotanagpur plateau in Bihar state of India. The forest stretches from the edge of the Netarhat hill range in the south to the Auranga river in the north and from the Latehar-Sarju road in the east to Madhya Pradesh border in the west. The forest of Palamau is the catchment of the river North Koel.

Palamau is the land of Palas and Mahua (and represents the biological riches of the dry and moist deciduous eastern peninsular forests with an interesting association of Sal and Bamboo.

The verdant landscape of the Reserve is clothed with stately Sal in the valleys and lower slopes, and with dry deciduous forests on the upper slopes and on the mound caps in the northern part. Copious bamboo and scattered open grassy patches are common. Almost pure patches of Bel (Aegle marmelos) are unique vegetation types mostly found in the northern part of the reserve.

The track is undulating and the important hills are Murhu, Netarhat, Huluk and Gulgul. Gulgul is the highest hill. Hill slops are steep in southern part and gentle in the northern part of the Reserve.

There are many water falls. A few of them - Mirchaia Water Fall near Garu, Suga Bandh Water Fall near Baresand and Lodh Fall, which is the highest water fall in the Bihar State - are major tourist attraction. There is a hot water spring, Tataha Pani, near Barwadih.

Conservation History
Palamau Tiger Reserve was created at the time when Project Tiger was in India in 1973.

The present area of the Reserve got duly constituted either as Protected Forest or Reserved Forest under the Indian Forest Act, 1927 way back in 1947.

Prior to the creation of Palamau Tiger Reserve, the management of these forests was highly commercial. There were some cattle camps and the area was open to grazing. The entire forest area used to be ravaged by fires every year. Poaching too was rampant.

Human population
The population has grown many fold in the surrounding areasThere are three tribal villages, Ramandag, Latoo and Kujrum, in the core. The human and cattle populations in these villages are 549 and 643 respectively. These people belong to Oraon, Kherwar, Korwa, Munda and Birjia tribes. There are 72 village in the buffer zone of the Reserve and an additional 113 around it within the radius of 5 km. The total human population in these villages has been projected at over 1,16,549 out of which 39,000 people are living within the Reserve boundary.

Palamau Fort of the great tribal king of Palamau, Sri Medini Roy, is situated inside the Reserve in the Betla area. There are ruins of two forts situated at New Qila on a hillock and Old Qila on the bank of the river Oranga.

General Information
State: Bihar
Location: 25 kms. from Daltonganj
Area: 1026 sq. Kms.
Best time to visit: All the year
Nearest Town : Tezpur (31km)