1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?

Without doubt the 13, yes 13 tiger sightings during our stay in Kanha National Park for 5 1/2 days in December 2008. This included a very young tiger cub!! A great privilege to see one tiger let alone more than one. Full credit to Bapu and Raju, our guide and driver respectively, for without whom this would not have been possible. The two sightings of different Indian Wild Dogs packs was also very special as well as all the other wonderful wildlife and birds.

2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?

Just relax and enjoy! Please remember this is India and not Western Europe or North America... things can happen at a different speed to what you are used to!! Please be aware that it can be very cold during the early morning game drives so take warm clothes (December / January very cold, March just cold). The tipping of the national park guides and mahouts is customary especially if and when a tiger is sighted. Dust can be an issue for camera equipment especially digital SLR's so make sure you take something to cover your camera and cleaning materials.

3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, and minimized impacts on the environment?

Firstly any trip involving a long haul flight will have an environmental impact however this should be weighed against the benefits of visiting India's national parks. Without the existence of visitors, especially relatively well off western visitors the pressure from local communities on the parks would be even greater. Effectively no visitors means greater risk for the Tigers. Having said that your visit will give rise to numerous local employment opportunities, either direct or indirect, including the local guides, drivers and staff at Krishna Jungle Lodge, the local national park guides and those people employed within the park. A very clear benefit to the local community.
Environmental impacts are minimised by cooking local food (no fancy western imports!), the lack of tv's and radios thereby reducing electricity demands, the restrictions in the park limiting vehicles to those that are petrol powered and the use of trains for long distance travelling eg New Delhi to Jabalpur.

4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?

Excellent, we would have no hesitation in booking with this operator again. Excellent organisation by Neelesh at a very reasonable price, good friendly communications and willing to be available to deal with any problems that may arise. If you are prepared to take the leap of faith to book with an Indian based operator, as opposed to your local operator, we believe you will be well rewarded.