Wildlife guide
This wildlife travel guide is meant to be like a trailer for the new Attenborough series. Because we also have individual travel guides for more specific wildlife holidays, such as our safaris, bear watching and whale watching.
Big cat safaris in India
Face to face, out in the heat, hangin’ tough, stayin’ hungry: tiger safaris in India require plenty of determination and patience but perhaps slightly less than you need for other trips in this guide. Because although there are devastatingly few tigers left in the wild – just under 4,000 it’s estimated – in the national parks of Madhya Pradesh they are found in greater numbers than anywhere else and sightings, while never guaranteed, are very likely.
Our Big cat safaris Holidays
Tiger tour in India, land of the Tiger tour
Wildlife tour through India
From
£3499 to £3899
17 days
inc UK flights
Tiger watching holiday in India
A chance to see the majestic tiger in the wild
From
£1200 to £1550
9 days
ex flights
Tadoba National park tiger safari, India
Tadoba the best tiger reserve of India
From
£1000 to £1500
8 days
ex flights
India big cats safari, lions and tigers
Search for three big cats in Gujurat and Ranthambore
From
£2595 to £2695
15 days
ex flights
Golden Triangle & tigers holiday in India
Rajathan's palaces, the Taj Mahal & tigers
From
£1000 to £1300
9 days
ex flights
India safari practicalities
The tiger is India’s national symbol, fiercely distinctive, and wisely shy of human contact. But our big cat safaris in India make use of skilled guides, well-versed in the locations of recent sightings, and with most itineraries spending at least four to five days on the hunt across one or more parks, success rates tend to be high. Game drives in the mornings and late afternoons typically last around four hours, travelling in 4x4 vehicles that resemble open-topped minibuses, so that you can stand up for a better view.
Prepare for dusty, bumpy journeys and depending on the time of year you’re travelling, cold weather especially in the mornings, so layer up. Tiger safaris can be the focus of an itinerary, or part of a wider one that might also take in Delhi, the iconic Taj Mahal in Agra, Mumbai, tea and spice plantations, hill stations or a houseboat cruise on the Kerala backwaters. Note that due to the growing popularity of tiger watching tours in India, regulations have been tightened in recent years and the bureaucracy around getting permits has increased. You need to book well in advance, and so to avoid disappointment and hassle, it makes good sense to join an organised tour.
Prepare for dusty, bumpy journeys and depending on the time of year you’re travelling, cold weather especially in the mornings, so layer up. Tiger safaris can be the focus of an itinerary, or part of a wider one that might also take in Delhi, the iconic Taj Mahal in Agra, Mumbai, tea and spice plantations, hill stations or a houseboat cruise on the Kerala backwaters. Note that due to the growing popularity of tiger watching tours in India, regulations have been tightened in recent years and the bureaucracy around getting permits has increased. You need to book well in advance, and so to avoid disappointment and hassle, it makes good sense to join an organised tour.
Bandhavgarh National Park
Home to India’s most substantial population of Royal Bengals, 60-70 of them in fact, and a 2,000-year old ruined fort, Bandhavgarh National Park is often reached via sleeper train from Delhi. While the tigers are the main attraction, you may also see jungle cats, leopards, wolves and over 100 species of bird.
Kanha National Park
Sadly, the tiger population of Kanha National Park has been seriously depleted in recent years by poaching, but it’s still a very popular destination for wildlife safaris as one of the largest parks in India. There are herds of wild elephants here, swamp deer (a favourite snack for tigers) and peacocks. The tigers themselves are most commonly seen in the tall grass around the edge of meadows where their prey feeds.Pench National Park
Pench National Park is thought to have been an inspiration for Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book. Its undulating terrain, lined with teak forests home to monkeys and leopards, and sees far fewer visitors than other parks, but the 50 or so tigers here tend to be trickier to spot.Our top Big cat safaris Holiday
Tiger tour in India, land of the Tiger tour
Wildlife tour through India
From
£3499 to £3899
17 days
inc UK flights
Small group travel:
2022: 29 Oct, 5 Nov, 12 Nov, 19 Nov
2023: 28 Jan, 4 Feb, 11 Feb, 18 Feb, 11 Mar, 25 Mar, 1 Apr, 15 Apr, 22 Apr, 7 Oct, 28 Oct, 4 Nov, 11 Nov, 18 Nov
2022: 29 Oct, 5 Nov, 12 Nov, 19 Nov
2023: 28 Jan, 4 Feb, 11 Feb, 18 Feb, 11 Mar, 25 Mar, 1 Apr, 15 Apr, 22 Apr, 7 Oct, 28 Oct, 4 Nov, 11 Nov, 18 Nov
Travel Team
If you'd like to chat about Big cat safaris or need help finding a holiday to suit you we're very happy to help.
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Fearful symmetry
National park tourism and India’s tigers are co-dependent, and to be sustainable they depend on responsible tour operators and guides. Problems with drivers getting too close to the animals, and noisy or disrespectful tourists, are well documented. The safari companies we work with have all earned their stripes. They contribute to conservation efforts, and support local economies. They also use expert local guides to escort you through landscapes of steep ridges, forests and open meadows. Their job isn’t simply to locate the tigers for you, but also to act as wells of knowledge that you can tap on everything from wildlife behaviours to village life, folklore and medicinal plants.With so few tigers left in the wild and those remaining under constant threat from poaching and habitat loss, it has never been so important when taking a big cat safari to use a responsible safari company.
“I was looking at a bird through my binoculars, when I hear a sudden call that resonates right through me. Out of the jungle walks a female tiger. I was lucky to be in the only jeep in that area, which made it feel all the more special. Even the guides who see many a tiger were excited. We watched as she scent marked before disappearing back into the forest. On another occasion I was also lucky enough to see two tigers fighting, which demonstrated the power of these awesome animals.”– Kelvin Lofthouse in a review of his tiger and wildlife tour in Central India
Asiatic Lion Safaris in Gujarat
Of course India’s big cat population is not limited to its tigers. Gir National Park and its environs in Gujarat is the only place in the world that the endangered Asiatic lion is to be found. With Gir made a protected area, and hunting outlawed, the number of lions here has steadily increased after being almost wiped out. Skilled guides on morning and evening game drives offer you an excellent chance of sightings as well as the chance to observe other Gir wildlife including jackals, leopards and four-horned antelope.
More about Big cat safaris
Our guide to big cat safaris around the world takes you from the frozen wildernesses of Russia and Lapland to the jungles of India and Borneo, via the plains of Africa and the marshlands of Pantanal.
It can be a little difficult to pin down the absolute best time to go on a big cat safari given that they tend to keep to their own schedules, but to narrow down your chances of success, read on to discover when to travel.
Our big cat safaris map and highlights demonstrate the variety of locations you can see these elusive creatures in the wild, from Russia to Borneo and India, while an interactive map reveals where to see big cats around the world.
On big cat safaris in South Africa you’ll most likely catch the lions lounging in the shade but the chance of seeing them on the hunt will be enough to get you bounding into the jeep every evening.
Big cat safaris in the Pantanal focus on the Cuiabá riverbanks from Porto Jofre because cruising by boat affords superb opportunities to witness jaguars on the hunt or at their leisure in their preferred habitat.
Yala National Park is the key destination that big cat safaris in Sri Lanka focus on, as it's home to a higher concentration of leopards per square kilometre than anywhere else on the planet.
Big cat safaris in Russia are a truly spectacular experience, and a fantastic opportunity for those with the patience to wait on the appearance of Siberian tigers and Amur leopards, offering exclusive access to hides in prime locations.
Big cat safaris in Borneo are accompanied by naturalist guides and zoologists to help you track down nocturnal, tree-climbing clouded leopards and a host of other incredible creatures along the way.
Explore a true wilderness in company of expert naturalists and guides with snow leopard tracking holidays in the Himalayas, as you search the mountains for one of the world’s rarest and most majestic big cats.
Big cats are in urgent need of more responsible tourism - on this page we discuss some of the current issues around big cat conservation and how by choosing the right kind of trip, you make a difference to their survival.
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