Tiger watching holiday in India
| country: | India |
| location: | Madhya Pradesh, Kanha, Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve |
| departures: | This trip can be tailormade throughout the year and can be adapted to suit your requirements for 2 to 12 people. The best time to travel is October to June |
| price: | From £790 (10 days) excluding flights. Includes accommodation (Delhi B&B, Kanha & Bandhavgarh FB) , AC sleeper train, road transfers (AC car), internal taxes. |
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the amazing things you'll be doing
This trip has been designed to maximise your chances of seeing the majestic tiger and the great wildlife of Central India. You will be escorted by our trained local naturalist for game drives.
The Kanha National Park spreads over 1,945 sq. km of dense sal forests, interspersed with extensive meadows, trees and wild bamboo. This is where you can spot the tiger in all his magnificence or feast your eyes on the rare Barasingha Deer amidst extensive grasslands. The Park forms the core of the Kanha Tiger Reserve created in 1974, under Project Tiger.
It was here at Kanha that the eminent zoologist George Schaller undertook the first ever-scientific study of the tiger. The animals at Kanha are best observed from elephant back and the open country makes the chance of sightings reasonably good. Deer are seen along the maidans and gaur at Bamhindadr or in the Bishanpura Sondhar-Ghorella area of the Mukki range. This area is also ideal for the dhole or wild dog. Langurs, wild boar, water fowl and birds are also commonly seen.
The Bandhavgarh National Park is the place where the famous white tigers of Rewa were discovered. The last known capture of the white tiger was in 1951. He is believed to have fathered many a cub in Indian zoos and outside. 'Mohan' is now stuffed and on display in the palace of the Maharaja of Rewa.
Bandhavgarh is densely populated with other animal species too. The sambar, barking deer and nilgai are also common sights in the open areas of the park.
The vegetation of the Park is dry deciduous and about half of the Park is covered with sal trees. There are mixed forests in the higher reaches of the hills, stretches of bamboo and grasslands extend to the north and grassy meadow patches occur in the valley and along the nalas.
The Park sustains all those species which are typical to Central India. There are 22 species of mammals which include langurs and rhesus macaque as the primary group. The jackal, fox, bears, ratel, mongoose, hyena, jungle cat, leopard and tiger form the core carnivore population. The animals frequently sighted are wild pig, spotted deer, sambar, dhole, the small Indian civet, palm squirrel and lesser bandicoot rat are seen occasionally. The National Park holds some 250 odd species of birds along the streams and marshes. Reptilian fauna include cobra, krait, viper, rat snake, python, turtle and a large number of lizard varieties, including monitor lizard.
You will be on our full board jungle plan which includes deluxe jungle lodge accommodation, meals, game drives, services of naturalist, wildlife lecture, and a daily bonfire.
The Kanha National Park spreads over 1,945 sq. km of dense sal forests, interspersed with extensive meadows, trees and wild bamboo. This is where you can spot the tiger in all his magnificence or feast your eyes on the rare Barasingha Deer amidst extensive grasslands. The Park forms the core of the Kanha Tiger Reserve created in 1974, under Project Tiger.
It was here at Kanha that the eminent zoologist George Schaller undertook the first ever-scientific study of the tiger. The animals at Kanha are best observed from elephant back and the open country makes the chance of sightings reasonably good. Deer are seen along the maidans and gaur at Bamhindadr or in the Bishanpura Sondhar-Ghorella area of the Mukki range. This area is also ideal for the dhole or wild dog. Langurs, wild boar, water fowl and birds are also commonly seen.
The Bandhavgarh National Park is the place where the famous white tigers of Rewa were discovered. The last known capture of the white tiger was in 1951. He is believed to have fathered many a cub in Indian zoos and outside. 'Mohan' is now stuffed and on display in the palace of the Maharaja of Rewa.
Bandhavgarh is densely populated with other animal species too. The sambar, barking deer and nilgai are also common sights in the open areas of the park.
The vegetation of the Park is dry deciduous and about half of the Park is covered with sal trees. There are mixed forests in the higher reaches of the hills, stretches of bamboo and grasslands extend to the north and grassy meadow patches occur in the valley and along the nalas.
The Park sustains all those species which are typical to Central India. There are 22 species of mammals which include langurs and rhesus macaque as the primary group. The jackal, fox, bears, ratel, mongoose, hyena, jungle cat, leopard and tiger form the core carnivore population. The animals frequently sighted are wild pig, spotted deer, sambar, dhole, the small Indian civet, palm squirrel and lesser bandicoot rat are seen occasionally. The National Park holds some 250 odd species of birds along the streams and marshes. Reptilian fauna include cobra, krait, viper, rat snake, python, turtle and a large number of lizard varieties, including monitor lizard.
You will be on our full board jungle plan which includes deluxe jungle lodge accommodation, meals, game drives, services of naturalist, wildlife lecture, and a daily bonfire.
day-by-day itinerary
| Day 1: | Arrive Delhi & transfer to hotel. Local sightseeing arranged on request if time permits. Overnight hotel. |
| Day 2: | Overnight sleeper train to Umariya. |
| Day 3: | Reach Umariya early morning. Drive to Bandhavgarh National Park (34 km) in AC car/coach. Evening game drive. Overnight lodge. |
| Day 4-5: | Bandhavgarh NP. Morning & evening game drives. Overnight lodge. |
| Day 6: | Transfer early morning to Kanha NP. Reach Kanha by lunch time. Evening game drive. Overnight lodge. |
| Day 7-8: | Kanha NP. Morning & evening game drives. Overnight lodge. |
| Day 9: | Transfer to Jabalpur. Today after breakfast we drive back to Jabalpur for lunch. Later we board a direct overnight train to New Delhi, packed dinner onboard. |
| Day 10: | Arrive Delhi. You reach Delhi early morning & transfer to airport for your onward journey or transfer to hotel if you have booked extra nights. |
travellers' tales
Seeing (and hearing!) the tigers and a leopard was the highlight. (more)
travelling with a local operator
This holiday is operated by a company based in the holiday destination and they will be able to provide expert local knowledge. They will be able to tailor make your holiday to suit your requirements not only concerning the dates of travel but also typically the standard of accommodation, and thus price. It is rare for local operators to be able to help with the booking of your flights.how this holiday makes a difference
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This trip aims to help and support a more responsible and sustainable approach to wildlife tourism in Central India by catering to small groups of not more than 10-12 people, thus leaving behind the least impact on a particular destination. Our connection with the central Indian National parks & jungles date backs to 1932 when one of our family members Late Lakhpat Rai was the first chief conservator of Forest of Central India during British rule. The trained naturalists who will accompany you for game drives are from the local community who have developed the skills of communicating with clients over the years with our regular in house training.
Recently we installed the first ground water recharge unit in one of the lodges in Kanha which we will use. A part of the income (£5 per person) generated from this tour goes straight to the local tribal village school in Kanha. We will be visiting one such school during your trip. The lodge in Bhandavgarh NP: 80% of the staff come from the local area and the lodge is committed to purchasing from local suppliers as far as possible. The lodge has a water soak pit, uses recycled water to water their plants (we discourage gardens that have high water demands), and there is a sign in all bathrooms explaining how to save water. The lodge only uses CFL lamps and solar lanterns to save electricity. The lodge in Kanha NP: The lodge you will stay in was constructed using locally available material and each cottage was built in the local style without chemical paints. They use waste wood boilers for heating and try to minimise electricity use by using energy saving lamps and solar, hurricane and earthen lamps in the night. There is no air-conditioning. In addition the lodge use recycled stationary, harvests rain water, uses soak pits to collect water and reuses waste water in the garden. All cleaning is done manually (no machines), organic waste is composted, food is cooked on LPG stoves and they do not allow music or televisions to keep noise pollution to a minimum. The lodge is dedicated to the local upliftment of the area. They were the first in the history of Kanha National Park to train the locals in catering, house keeping, steward ship, guiding etc., all of whom had very basic schooling if any at all. The staff is trained at the parent hotel in Jabalpur, and the majority (all drivers) come from the local community. They have financed one vehicle for a member of our staff who is from the community and use this for game drives. In addition, they do not have washing machines so they can provide work for the local community and have taught the local people cane weaving and pottery, the results of which are all used in the lodge. Raw materials are purchased locally where possible. |
Tourism can be good and bad for destinations & local people. We carefully screen every holiday against our criteria for responsible travel. 'Look behind the brochure' to find how each holiday makes a difference (see left). We don't claim to be perfect - there is no global accreditation - but we've lead the way since 2001 and screened 1000's of holidays. We invite every traveller to write a review about their experiences and responsible tourism. This valuable feedback is sent to the people who run the holidays. We keep a very close eye on it and take off holidays that don't live up to our standards. |