Kuno National Park — India's only cheetah safari.

Understanding Project Cheetah transforms a Kuno safari from a wildlife outing into witnessing history.

Extinction and the long absence

The Asiatic cheetah was declared extinct in India in 1952. For seventy years the country's grasslands held no cheetahs at all — a gap in India's predator ecosystem that conservationists spent decades trying to close.

September 2022 — the return

On 17 September 2022, eight cheetahs from Namibia — five females and three males — were released at Kuno National Park. This marked the first-ever intercontinental translocation of a large carnivore.

February 2023 — the second batch

Twelve more cheetahs arrived from South Africa, bringing the founder population to twenty.

The difficult years

Project Cheetah has not been without serious setbacks. Multiple adult cheetahs and cubs died in 2023 from a range of causes — a period the project's critics have scrutinised heavily and its managers have openly acknowledged. The release strategy was subsequently made significantly more conservative.

2024–2025 — breeding and free-ranging releases

India-born cubs began surviving to adulthood. In December 2023, males Agni and Vayu were released into the Parond forest range within the Ahera tourism zone — the first cheetahs viewable by tourists. In March 2025, female Gamini and her four cubs were released into the Khajuri tourism zone. In December 2025, on International Cheetah Day, female Veera and her two cubs were released, taking free-ranging numbers to nineteen.

February 2026 — Botswana arrivals

Nine cheetahs — six females and three males — arrived from Botswana, specifically to add genetic diversity to the existing Namibian and South African stock and reduce inbreeding risk.

Where things stand now

India currently has 57 cheetahs — 54 at Kuno and three at Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary, a second site established to avoid concentrating the entire founder population in one place. Of the 54 at Kuno, 17 are free-ranging in the wild while the remainder are in soft bomas — large fenced enclosures of 50 to 150 hectares used for conditioning and breeding management. 28 of India's cheetahs are India-born cubs, the clearest sign the project is establishing a self-sustaining population.

All three gates operate throughout the safari season, from 1 October to 30 June. The park closes entirely during the monsoon from 1 July to 30 September.

Note that several older travel websites still describe Tiktoli as closed to tourism. That restriction applied during the early phase of Project Cheetah, when quarantine and conditioning bomas limited access to the zone. Tiktoli now operates as a full safari gate alongside Ahera and Peepalbawadi.

Official booking channels

The official portal is kunocheetahjunglesafari.com. Bookings can also be made directly at the gates, subject to availability. Advance booking is strongly recommended, particularly for weekends and holidays.

Advance booking window

Kuno safari permits can be booked up to 120 days in advance. Because Kuno is India's only cheetah destination and vehicle numbers are deliberately restricted, weekend slots fill quickly — booking early is genuinely important here.

Documents required

• Full name, age, nationality and gender for every visitor
• Government-issued photo ID number for every visitor
• Indian nationals: Aadhaar Card, Voter ID, PAN Card or Driving Licence
• International visitors: passport details are mandatory

What the permit covers

The online booking permit includes charges for the permit, vehicle and guide. Nothing further is payable at the gate.

Booking rules

• Entry permits are issued to individuals and valid only for the specified date and time
• Permits are non-transferable
• Bookings operate on a first-come, first-served basis
• Vehicle numbers per shift are strictly limited
• You may book an entire 6-seater jeep or opt for a shared jeep safari

Kuno operates under unusually strict rules, reflecting the sensitivity of the cheetah reintroduction programme.

• Vehicles must travel below 20 km/h — cheetahs are vulnerable to vehicle disturbance
• Visitors must remain inside the vehicle at all times
• Music devices and speakers are banned
• No interference with animals is tolerated under any circumstances
• No littering
• Strict adherence to guide and forest staff instructions is mandatory

These rules exist because Project Cheetah remains an active scientific programme, not merely a tourism operation. Compliance genuinely matters.

Kuno's habitat is genuinely distinct from India's tiger reserves. Where Kanha and Bandhavgarh offer dense sal forest, Kuno provides open grassland interspersed with kardhai, khair and salai woodland — savanna-like terrain that closely resembles cheetah habitat in Africa. The Kuno River runs through the park, giving its name to the landscape and providing year-round water.

This openness is precisely why Kuno was selected for Project Cheetah. Cheetahs are sprinters requiring visibility and space — conditions dense Indian forests cannot provide. For visitors this means something practical: sightlines at Kuno are excellent. When wildlife is present, you generally see it clearly.

October to March — recommended. Winter is the best season for Kuno. Temperatures are pleasant, safari conditions comfortable, and wildlife activity high across both shifts. Bird activity peaks with migratory arrivals. The safari season opens on 1 October, and this window is when most visitors should plan.

April to June — hot but productive. Summer in this part of Madhya Pradesh is severe, with temperatures regularly exceeding 42°C. However, wildlife concentrates around water sources and sightings can be rewarding. Morning safaris remain viable; afternoon drives are demanding.

July to September — closed. Kuno National Park closes entirely for the monsoon from 1 July to 30 September.

• Kuno + Ranthambore (4N/5D) — approximately 220 km apart. Combine India's only cheetahs with Rajasthan's most famous tigers; one of the strongest wildlife pairings in the country.
• Kuno + Chambal (3N/4D) — cheetah safari plus a Chambal boat safari for gharial, mugger crocodile and river dolphin.
• Golden Triangle + Kuno (6N/7D) — Delhi, Agra, Gwalior, Kuno, Jaipur. Adds genuine conservation history to India's most popular circuit.
• Kuno + Madhav National Park (3N/4D) — Madhav, near Shivpuri, was declared a tiger reserve in March 2025 and lies conveniently between Gwalior and Kuno.