Southern India wildlife holiday, tailor made

Description of Southern India wildlife holiday, tailor made

South India is home to a dazzling range of rare and endemic species and we explore all of the individual forests, hillsides and waterways in search of some of the world's most charismatic and endangered species such as Asiatic elephants, Tigers, Hornbills and King Cobras.

Introduction:

We are specialists in tailoring wildlife watching tours and safari holidays all over the world, specialising in the Indian subcontinent and of course the wonderful and diverse country of India. Whilst most wildlife watchers who visit India spend time in the famous tiger reserves of the central plains or maybe the sub-Himalayan parks of the north west and north east. But these ecosystems and incredible wildlife are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the wildlife that India has to offer.

This tour explores some of the lesser known parks and takes you into the deepest parts of India’s southern rainforests and hillsides. All of this whilst escorted by our very own expert zoologist coupled with local guides. Of course there is one species in particular that dominates everyone’s thoughts and dreams when they think of an Indian safari and that is the beautiful tiger.

Whilst there are chances of seeing tigers here we take time to showcase the tiger’s ecosystem in full and try and find as many other animals that share the forests with tigers. We also offer a few different ways of exploring the parks, so however you like to travel through the tiger’s habitat we have the tour for you, whether you want to drive around in your own jeep, walk through the forests and grasslands tracking the elusive big cat, lumbering around on elephant back or even via a boat or canoe in the water ways of Periyar.

One of the reasons why our safaris of India are unique is that our background (as a company) is from a scientific and zoological standpoint and so have a great network of colleagues and contacts all over the world who are the people on the front line in search of the best new locations for wildlife watching in the wild. All of these reasons and many more make us experts in arranging and guiding safaris and are able to tailor a Indian safaris to any location to try to find them that you request. All you have to do is to get in touch with us and tell us your budget and your group size and where you would like to go on safari.

Price Includes:

Everything mentioned in the itinerary is included. Including three meals per day (breakfast, lunch and dinner). There will be bottled water (approx 1ltr) available for each guest each day. We have our own private air conditioned vehicles with an excellent local driver for all transfers. We include internal flights where ever possible on all our Indian safaris. We use two brilliant full time guides; first a professional zoologist will escort you on all your excursions and also a very knowledgeable English speaking local guide at each national park. Your zoologist escort is an expert in mammal biology, ecology and behaviour and will be able to help you identify the different species as well as interpret you what behaviours you are seeing. Your zoologist escort has spent time studying and working with different species all over the world and he has years of experience guiding throughout most of India’s national parks. We also use local expert guides with decades of experience on all our Indian safaris. We also include all jeep safaris, guided walks, elephant safaris, canoe safaris, boat-trips, park entrance fees and sightseeing entrance fees. We include more individual safaris into national parks per tour than any other tour operator around; only if you request to have a rest day will we not arrange a safari into the national parks to search for tigers and other wildlife. A comprehensive species list (which states the relative chances of seeing animals based on past tours) is included in the pre-departure pack. There is also a reference book library available for your use throughout the trip as well as some documentaries on tigers and other Indian wildlife which are available to watch throughout the tour.

Seasons:

March and April is the dry season and best for wildlife. For wildlife watching in southern India we recommend visiting during March and April (this is the best overall game viewing in the Indian Subcontinent’s main tiger reserves and national parks). This is towards the end of the hot dry season and offers the best chances of seeing wildlife as the hotter and drier it gets the more the wildlife aggregate around waterholes as well as there being less vegetation blocking the view.

Why Choose this Tour:

• All of our Indian safaris are guided by a zoologist as well as local naturalist guides, drivers and also scientists or researchers where possible, this not only gives you numerous sets of trained eyes to find the animals but also gives you the chance to understand the behaviours and habits of the wildlife your watching.
• Our zoologist that escorts all our Indian safaris has great experience guiding throughout India and the world, and specialising in big cat tracking and has worked with and tracked big cats on 4 continents.
• We use camera traps (where available) which will increase the chances of getting close up pictures and movies of tigers and other rare nocturnal wildlife.
• During this tour we explore various national parks and wildlife sanctuaries (Bandipur, Nagahole, Wayanad, Parambikulam, Eravikulam, Silent Valley and Periyar) which will give you a very good overview of the Western Ghats and Nilgiri biosphere wilderness.
• Travel to Silent Valley National Park for the rare and endemic lion-tailed macaques, that are best seen here than anywhere else in the world.
• By joining one of our Indian safaris you will have an overall wildlife experience as we are determined to showcase all of the wildlife of the parks we visit (not just tigers), you will not feel like a passenger in a rally and bounce all over the place in pursuit of tigers; we make sure all our Indian safaris are relaxed and environmentally friendly experiences. In fact the majority of tiger sightings that we enjoy in India are of tigers that our jeep and guides have found (as opposed to other operators who wait for a tiger to be seen and then stake out the waterhole surrounded by dozens of other jeeps), we always investigate any suspicious behaviour exhibited by their prey and usually find tigers by watching the deer and monkey behaviour as they change from relaxed to agitated when a predator is spotted.
• We have explored all the areas we visit in depth and have found the best and most conveniently located accommodations to stay in whilst searching out wildlife in isolated and remote places. Including some of the best and most ecologically friendly lodges in all of India.
• We are a member of Tour Operators for Tigers (TOFT) and we make sure that all of our tiger safaris run by their code of practice and we also make sure that all the accommodation we use is audited by TOFT to make sure of sustainable practices.
• All the above reasons give this our tiger tours and general wildlife holidays of India a great success rate of seeing tigers (100% in Bandhavgarh and close to 50% for this tour, which is very good considering the dense forests and vastness of the protected areas).
• We have an unrivalled network of experts and guides throughout the India and are able to find and observe species that are difficult to find or overlooked sometimes such as Indian leopards, Asiatic elephants, water buffalo, sloth bears, jungle cats, dhole, gaur and hundreds other endangered, rare or endemic species throughout the tigers current distribution.
• Due to our greta network of guides and researchers throughout India we are able to organise tailor made safari to anywhere in India, whether it is Bandhavgarh, Kanha, Periyar, Kaziranga, Corbett, Ramthambore, Satpura, Tadoba, and many other wildlife watching locations you want to visit we can arrange it. Please inform us if you wish to receive more information about any of these locations and booking a safari holiday to India.
• Unlike many tour operators we are willing to run this tour for a single person (on request).

Locations:

This tour takes you to the southern states of Kerala and Karnataka and from the cities of Bangalore to Trivandrum, visiting Nagarhole, Bandipur, Parambikulam, Silent Valley & Eravikulam National Parks as well as Wayanad & Periyar Wildlife Sanctuaries.

Fitness Level:

The fitness level required for this safari holiday is not very high. The vast majority of the activities are conducted from vehicles or elephant backs so no fitness is required, but there is some walking involved. The walking is all done at a leisurely pace with regular breaks, anyone who is used to mild hiking will find this easy.

Equipment:

When you book onto the tour we will send you a comprehensive pre-departure pack which will include a full packing list of recommended equipment; the equipment list will vary from tour to tour and from location to location so it is best to contact us or wait until you receive the pre-departure pack after booking.

Minimum Age: 18 Years Old