Madhya Pradesh Geography for UPSC: Interactive Map, Rivers and Protected Areas

Narmada

Rises Amarkantak plateau, Anuppur district, Madhya Pradesh; flows to Gulf of Khambhat, Arabian Sea (via Gujarat)

The Narmada rises at Amarkantak and flows west in a rift valley between the Vindhya and Satpura; the marble rocks at Bhedaghat are on it.

Chambal

Rises Janapav hills near Mhow (Indore); flows to joins the Yamuna near Etawah (UP)

The Chambal's ravines and gharial sanctuary define the MP-UP boundary river.

Betwa

Rises Vindhya Range near Bhopal; flows to Joins the Yamuna near Hamirpur, Uttar Pradesh

Central to the Ken, Betwa river-linking project, India’s first interlinking-of-rivers project.

Son

Rises Amarkantak plateau; flows to joins the Ganga near Patna

The Ganga's largest south-bank tributary; Bansagar is on it.

Tapi

Rises Multai, Betul; flows to Gulf of Khambhat (Surat)

The Tapi rises in MP's Satpuras and flows west in a rift valley.

Ken

Wainganga

Rises Mahadeo hills, Seoni; flows to joins the Wardha to form the Pranhita (a Godavari tributary)

A key Godavari headwater of the Satpura-Maikal region.

Parbati

Rises Vindhyan plateau; flows to joins the Chambal in Rajasthan

A Chambal tributary through MP's Sheopur-Kuno region.

Bhoj Wetland

Twin lakes (Upper and Lower Lake) at Bhopal, designated Ramsar in 2002, created in the 11th century by Raja Bhoj. The Upper Lake supplies the city's drinking water and supports rich birdlife.

Ramsar (2002); Bhopal's 11th-century twin lakes.

Sakhya Sagar

A wetland in Shivpuri district within Madhav NP, designated Ramsar in 2022, supporting marsh crocodiles and migratory waterfowl.

Ramsar (2022); Madhav NP wetland in Shivpuri.

Sirpur Wetland

A wetland in Indore designated Ramsar in 2022, an urban lake hosting resident and migratory birds.

Ramsar (2022); urban birding lake of Indore.

Yashwant Sagar

A wetland near Indore designated Ramsar in 2022, an irrigation reservoir that supports Sarus cranes and wintering waterfowl.

Ramsar (2022); Sarus crane wetland near Indore.

Tawa Reservoir

A reservoir on the Tawa river in Narmadapuram district designated Ramsar in 2024, supporting waterbirds and fisheries in the Satpura foothills.

Ramsar (2024); Tawa river reservoir in the Satpuras.

Pachmarhi Biosphere

A biosphere reserve in the Satpura range around Pachmarhi, with teak forests, ancient caves (rock shelters with paintings) and tigers, leopards and gaur.

Satpura range; teak forests and ancient rock shelters.

Panna Biosphere

A biosphere reserve in the Vindhyas around Panna NP and the Ken river, home to the celebrated reintroduced tiger population and the Ken gharial sanctuary.

Vindhyan reserve on the Ken river; reintroduced tigers.

Achanakmar-Amarkantak Biosphere

The MP share of the Achanakmar-Amarkantak reserve in the Maikal hills near Amarkantak, the Narmada's source, with sal forests and tigers.

MP share of the Maikal hills reserve at the Narmada's source.

Kanha NP

A park in the Maikal hills (Balaghat-Mandla districts) of sal and bamboo forests, the setting that inspired Kipling's Jungle Book. A Project Tiger reserve famous for barasingha (hard-ground swamp deer), which was saved from near extinction here.

Inspiration for the Jungle Book; saved the hard-ground barasingha from extinction.

Bandhavgarh NP

A park in Umaria district around the ancient Bandhavgarh Fort, with one of the highest tiger densities in India. Its grasslands and sal forests also hold leopards and a large gaur population.

One of India's highest tiger densities; around the ancient Bandhavgarh Fort.

Pench NP

A park in Seoni and Chhindwara districts straddling the Pench river, on the MP-Maharashtra border (Pench Tiger Reserve). The Rudyard Kipling-inspired setting for the wolf pack of the Jungle Book.

Straddles MP-Maharashtra; another Jungle Book landscape on the Pench river.

Satpura NP

A park in the Satpura range (Hoshangabad/Narmadapuram district) within the Pachmarhi Biosphere Reserve, known for Indian bison, sloth bear, leopard and its walkable, less-crowded terrain.

In the Pachmarhi Biosphere Reserve; one of India's quietest tiger reserves.

Panna NP

A park in Panna and Chhatarpur districts on the Ken river. Its tigers went locally extinct in 2009 and were restored through a celebrated reintroduction programme, now a national success story.

Tigers reintroduced after 2009 local extinction, a celebrated recovery.

Sanjay-Dubri NP

A park in Sidhi district on the MP-Chhattisgarh border, part of the Sanjay-Dubri Tiger Reserve, with sal forests supporting tigers and leopards.

Part of the Sanjay-Dubri Tiger Reserve on the Chhattisgarh border.

Madhav NP

A park in Shivpuri district around the Madhav lakes and forests of the Vindhyas. India's 58th tiger reserve, the newest on the NTCA list, was notified here in 2025.

India's 58th tiger reserve (2025); the newest on the NTCA list.

Van Vihar NP

An urban national park in Bhopal, unusual for being managed as a modern zoological park within the city, caring for rescued tigers, leopards and bears.

An urban park-cum-zoo in Bhopal, rare for a national park.

Kuno NP

A park in Sheopur district, chosen for India's cheetah reintroduction (Project Cheetah). Eight Namibian cheetahs arrived in September 2022 and twelve South African cheetahs in February 2023; the population has since crossed 50.

Site of Project Cheetah, India's cheetah reintroduction (2022).

Bori WLS

A sanctuary in Narmadapuram district, part of the Pachmarhi Biosphere Reserve, with teak forests and the Tawa river, among India's oldest forest reserves.

Among India's oldest forest reserves; part of Pachmarhi Biosphere Reserve.

Pachmarhi WLS

A sanctuary around the Pachmarhi hill station in the Satpuras, part of the Pachmarhi Biosphere Reserve, with caves, waterfalls and rich birdlife.

Around Pachmarhi hill station in the Satpura range.

Ratapani WLS

A sanctuary near Bhopal around the Bhimbetka rock shelters (a World Heritage Site). India's 57th tiger reserve, notified in 2024.

India's 57th tiger reserve (2024); surrounds the Bhimbetka World Heritage Site.