Kuno Safari Zones & Entry Gates: Ahera, Tiktoli and Peepalbawri

Kuno currently opens three tourism zones. If you are visiting for the first time, picking the right one materially affects both your comfort and your chances of a good sighting.

When guests ask which gate to book, our answer is almost always Ahera.

It sits on the Pohari side of the park and offers the best overall combination of sightings, road connectivity and convenience. It is the closest gate for most travellers arriving from Gwalior Airport, Gwalior Junction or Shivpuri Railway Station, and the easiest to reach.

Over the past two tourism seasons our team has spent hundreds of days tracking wildlife in this zone. On that record, Ahera has consistently produced the highest number of cheetah and leopard sightings of the three tourism gates. The habitat explains a lot of it — a mix of open grasslands, dry deciduous forest and riverine patches that suits cheetahs, leopards, sloth bears, deer and a long list of birds.

Why we point people here:

• Best road connectivity of the three gates.
• Closest to most hotels and homestays.
• Straightforward access from Gwalior and Shivpuri.
• The habitat where cheetahs and leopards are most reliably seen.
• Either a registered Gypsy or an eligible private vehicle is permitted.
• Well suited to first-time visitors and to photographers.

Tiktoli was one of the original tourism gates developed for Kuno and gives a genuinely different safari. The landscape here is forest, rolling hills and open woodland — beautiful country, and rewarding if you enjoy a forest drive rather than open grassland.

Deer, nilgai, wild boar, jackals, hyenas and a rich variety of birds are seen regularly. Cheetah sightings, though, have generally been less frequent here than at Ahera through recent seasons, and leopard sightings are comparatively lower too. That can shift as animals expand their territories, but it is what our drives have shown so far.

Two practical points. Only registered safari Gypsies are currently permitted from Tiktoli, so a vehicle has to be arranged in advance. Accommodation around Tiktoli is also more limited than on the Ahera side.

Tiktoli suits you if:

• You want to explore a quieter part of Kuno.
• You prefer forest landscapes to open grassland.
• You are a birdwatcher.
• You are already staying on the Tiktoli side of the park.

Peepalbawri opens onto another beautiful section of the park. The approach runs through rural villages and interior roads, which is part of its appeal — though road conditions can be rough in stretches, particularly after the monsoon.

Tourism infrastructure here is still developing. There are fewer places to stay nearby and limited Gypsy availability at the gate itself, so most guests arrange their vehicle before arriving.

Eligible private vehicles are currently permitted, as at Ahera, subject to Forest Department rules. Because comparatively few visitors enter here, there is less consistent sighting data than for the other two zones — but the landscapes are excellent and the zone has real potential as tourism develops.

• Ahera — a first visit, the best road access, and cheetahs or leopards as the priority.
• Tiktoli — quieter forest landscapes and birds, and you are happy to travel in a registered Gypsy.
• Peepalbawri — a less-visited side of the park, and you do not mind rural roads.

We pick the gate for each of our guests based on the latest wildlife movement, the season and their travel plans rather than a fixed rule — which is often the difference between a good drive and a quiet one. See how booking and permits work, or where to stay for each gate.