Kanha Reserve tiger camp
| country: | India |
| location: | Kanha, Madhya Pradesh |
| price: | From approx £205 for double room & £126 for single room per night all inclusive (meals, 2 game drives/day, elephant rides, nature walks, village/market trips). We are closed May-Nov |
| vouchers: | Gift vouchers can be used with this holiday |
description
Set amongst woodland surrounding a large waterhole, the only luxury-tented accommodation at Kanha is situated on the southern and quieter side of the world renowned tiger reserve. Our camp is the creation of naturalist Jehan Bhujwala and his English wife Katie, whose aim is to ensure a personalised and specialised wildlife experience to every guest
Six cosy tents are individually spaced inside a wooded grove to provide privacy, each has a large front verandah and an attached bathroom with piping hot showers. Thatched roofs house each tent and are watered in the hot months to ease off rising temperatures.
Wholesome Indian and Continental food is prepared from home-grown vegetables, local produce and fish farmed from our lake, and served in the Main House. Surrounded by deep verandahs, the house looks out on to an array of bird life displaying on the water, and serves as a central meeting point to exchange stories around an open fire, or to relax quietly with a book from our library. At night, guests can float out on a raft under the stars and hear wild calls of howling jackals and alarmed deer.
Kanha Reserve: Every year thousands of visitors come to view Kanha’s diverse wildlife amongst 940 sq km of sal and bamboo forests, meandering riverines, misty meadows and grassy plateaus.
Kanha is home to some 22 Mammal species and over 220 species of birds including racket-tailed drongos, bee-eaters, crested serpant and hawk eagles, shikras and flycatchers. Here, over 100 tigers roam the jungle in its pristine wilderness. Wild dog and the elusive leopard are the other two major predators.
Today Kanha is at the forefront of efforts to save the tiger and its habitat. Part of the Project Tiger programme, involved the relocation of 27 villagers outside of the core area. It is now of prime importance to work fairly with the local people to protect the tiger. Kanha opens twice daily to visitors. Local guides accompany game drives and are provided upon entrance. Jeeps are free to follow their own route along tracks, using pugmarks and alarm calls as indicators of a nearby predator. Every morning, three ranges of elephants and their mahouts are tracking such indicators for tigers. If they are successful, visitors may have the opportunity to view tiger from elephant back.
Activities: We offer our guests a variety of activities during their stay including accompanied game drives within the core area of the reserve to view the diverse range of wildlife, early morning bird walks or cycling through the forest for a swim in the Banjar river rewarded with afternoon tea on the rocks!
Other options include visiting a local village on market day - a unique opportunity to experience traditional trading and bustling rural life - and enjoying a riverside picnic en-route. Pre-dinner slide shows provide a concise and informative documentation of Kanha's wildlife and people.
Six cosy tents are individually spaced inside a wooded grove to provide privacy, each has a large front verandah and an attached bathroom with piping hot showers. Thatched roofs house each tent and are watered in the hot months to ease off rising temperatures.
Wholesome Indian and Continental food is prepared from home-grown vegetables, local produce and fish farmed from our lake, and served in the Main House. Surrounded by deep verandahs, the house looks out on to an array of bird life displaying on the water, and serves as a central meeting point to exchange stories around an open fire, or to relax quietly with a book from our library. At night, guests can float out on a raft under the stars and hear wild calls of howling jackals and alarmed deer.
special things to do and see here
Kanha Reserve: Every year thousands of visitors come to view Kanha’s diverse wildlife amongst 940 sq km of sal and bamboo forests, meandering riverines, misty meadows and grassy plateaus. Kanha is home to some 22 Mammal species and over 220 species of birds including racket-tailed drongos, bee-eaters, crested serpant and hawk eagles, shikras and flycatchers. Here, over 100 tigers roam the jungle in its pristine wilderness. Wild dog and the elusive leopard are the other two major predators.
Today Kanha is at the forefront of efforts to save the tiger and its habitat. Part of the Project Tiger programme, involved the relocation of 27 villagers outside of the core area. It is now of prime importance to work fairly with the local people to protect the tiger. Kanha opens twice daily to visitors. Local guides accompany game drives and are provided upon entrance. Jeeps are free to follow their own route along tracks, using pugmarks and alarm calls as indicators of a nearby predator. Every morning, three ranges of elephants and their mahouts are tracking such indicators for tigers. If they are successful, visitors may have the opportunity to view tiger from elephant back.
Activities: We offer our guests a variety of activities during their stay including accompanied game drives within the core area of the reserve to view the diverse range of wildlife, early morning bird walks or cycling through the forest for a swim in the Banjar river rewarded with afternoon tea on the rocks! Other options include visiting a local village on market day - a unique opportunity to experience traditional trading and bustling rural life - and enjoying a riverside picnic en-route. Pre-dinner slide shows provide a concise and informative documentation of Kanha's wildlife and people.
rooms, food and facilities
Tented accommodation with electricty & en-suite bathroom providing hot running water Family friendly accommodation: My husband and I reside here with our young family (2 year old + another on the way), so already there is a lot of understanding and consideration when it comes to taking care of children - meal menus and times etc. We offer a 50% discount for children under 12 years & under fives stay for free!
A family could have a whole jeep to themselves for game drives, and back at camp there is plenty to do if the kids are 'outdoor' minded - exploring the forest, finding frogs or making compost etc.. There are plenty of staff too, who will help out with baby sitting if the parents want to go off for a bit, though it should be noted that no mobile phones operate in the area - so in that sense we are a little cut off.
We have a few things such as a travel cot, high chair, baby chairs, tri-cycle, baby back-pack carrier all based here, that can be borrowed. We would also like to encourage visitors to bring either cotton or bio-degradable nappies with them. If visitors were willing to clean off the initial waste from soiled nappies - we can have them all laundered here.
how to find us
We are located near the Mukki gate, which is the southern of the two entrance points to Kanha Tiger Reserve.
By air: The nearest airports are Raipur (180km) and Nagpur (260km). They are followed by approximately 4 and 6 hours drive respectively.
By train: The nearest railway station is Gondia (120km) followed by a 3 hour drive. Railway stations also at Jabalpur (200km), Bilaspur (220km), Raipur and Nagpur.
how this holiday makes a difference
 In establishing the camp it has been at the forefront of our efforts to create a comfortable atmosphere for our guests without compromising on sensitivity to our local social and environmental surroundings. We continuously seek mutually beneficial relationships with our community by providing education on important environmental issues e.g. waste management and wildlife conservation, and in return react positively to local needs such as availability of water, electricity and medical aid. All our waste matter is segregated and re-used wherever possible. Food litter is composted while plastic is sent to the city for recycling. By growing our own vegetables guests can enjoy a healthy and varied diet, and we employ staff specifically to maintain the garden.This allows traditional cultivation techniques to be sustained amongst people who have lost land through displacement.  Our ongoing indigenous aforestation helps maintain soil balance and the water table, and we are planting fruiting and flowering trees to encourage wildlife. The central waterhole ensures a high water table through the hot and dry months. All services that have been employed during construction have been locally sourced, i.e. plumbing, masonry, electricals, carpentry, tailoring. Our permanent staff is also pre-dominantly local. Local artists have also been commissioned to produce useful handicrafts using their traditional skills. Our immediate aim now is to introduce alternative and sustainable energy resources. Initially we plan for solar energy to power all lighting. |
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