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.
Where to see tigers in the wild
When you look at the locations of tiger reserves in India, still the best place to see tigers in terms of sightings and safari backup, they spread out in a line from the north to the south of the country. It is almost as if these beauties have created their own catwalk stretching through the heart of their habitat. Striding elegantly, slowly and coolly centre stage, through all the mayhem of human existence. Fans may argue over whether the lion or the tiger is the king of the jungle, but when you see just how much land they cover in India, the tiger is definitely ruling the roost.
1.
Bandhavgarh National Park
2. Bhutan
3. Satpura National Park
4. Kanha National Park
5. Nepal
6. Panna National Park
7. Pench National Park
8. Ranthambore National Park
9. Southeast Russia
10. Sundarbans
11. Tadoba National Park
2. Bhutan
3. Satpura National Park
4. Kanha National Park
5. Nepal
6. Panna National Park
7. Pench National Park
8. Ranthambore National Park
9. Southeast Russia
10. Sundarbans
11. Tadoba National Park
Bandhavgarh National Park
1. Bandhavgarh National Park
Bandhavgarh, in Madhya Pradesh state, is often combined with a trip to Delhi and the Taj Mahal. Very dramatic, with much drier landscape than some of the other parks, and a massive rocky outcrop and Bandhavgarh Fort at its core, thought to be 2000 years old. Around these lie eroded rocks and ruins, caves and chasms, home to the whole gamut of gorgeous wildlife.
Bhutan
2. Bhutan
Tiger safaris are in their infancy here, and so it is essential to travel with a responsible tourism operator who combines the explorative hikes into the Jigme Singe Wanchuck National Park with other remote densely forested mountain regions of this untouched country. It is also important to note that there is approximately only a five percent chance of seeing tigers, so be prepared for the fact that sightings are rare in Bhutan, although there is a wealth of other wildlife.
Satpura National Park
3. Satpura National Park
Nestled in the Satpura mountains, this underrated park is one of the best places to see wildlife in India. It’s home to large herds of deer and antelope, impressive birdlife, and its leopard, sloth bear and rare Asian wild dogs are abundant and relatively easy to spot. Oh, and tigers, too. As well as game drives, you can do walking safaris and canoe the Tawa Reservoir.
Kanha National Park
4. Kanha National Park
Bang in the middle of India, in Madhya Pradesh, Kanha is a natural concoction of grassy plateaus, open misty plains and bamboo forests. About 100 tigers live in this vast park and, along with the leopard, rule the roost as the main predator. The forests are also habitat for the rare swamp deer as well as the sambhar, chital, monkeys and mongoose.
Nepal
5. Nepal
Although sightings of tigers are less common than in India, you are able to explore Chitwan and Bardia National Parks on foot and also via canoe, as well as by jeep. Chitwan is located only half a day from Kathmandu and is also known for its populations of leopards, sloth bears and over 500 one-horned rhinos. Bardia is located in a more remote area of western Nepal, so you will need your explorer hat on.
Panna National Park
6. Panna National Park
With the Ken River running through it, this park, in Madhya Pradesh state, is peppered with prettiness. With ancient rock paintings, ruins from the Gondwana period, acacia trees with omnipresent birds, a different species at every turn, this park is a stunning place to stay. Take a boat trip on the river, or a night safari where you have a better chance to spot tigers which are, sadly, much rarer here than in other parks.
Pench National Park
7. Pench National Park
Although not so well known for its tiger safaris, it is the park that inspired Rudyard Kipling to write The Jungle Book. It is often offered as an optional extra on tiger safaris, as the tigers are less visible here, but leopard do come out to play. You will forget about all your worries and strife here though when you take in the bird populations, with over 210 species thriving at the park's reservoir.
Ranthambore National Park
8. Ranthambore National Park
Don’t just tie this onto the end of a trip to India’s Golden Triangle. Located in Rajasthan, with its magical mixture of Bengal Tigers and Baloo style sloth bears, tropical forest and ruined temples, Ranthambore is not a place to hurry round. Although famous, it isn’t a zoo with tigers at every turn. It’s a wonderful wildlife wilderness, now highly protected, compared with its history as the private hunting ground of the Maharaja of Jaipur.
Southeast Russia
9. Southeast Russia
You will need a big tiger in your tank to make it to this remote part of Russia. Travel with a responsible operator and the rewards will be great, being early explorers into the taiga forest of far eastern Siberia & Amur. Home to 400 Siberian tigers and many Amur leopards, these are still the rarest big cats in the world, therefore sightings are low, which is why tracking them is an important part of this trip.
Sundarbans
10. Sundarbans
Shared between India and Bangladesh, this extraordinary landscape is the largest mangrove forest in the world and one where you can be lucky enough to see tigers from the water. There are approximately 500 of them living in the tangled web of roots and branches here. There is also a plethora of primates, crocodiles, Gangetic and Irrawaddy dolphins to be seen here too. An Attenborough-esque adventure if ever there was one.
Tadoba National Park
11. Tadoba National Park
Located in the Maharashtra state of central India, you are jumping right off the well-trodden tourist track here. Also known as Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve, it was named after the god Tadoba or Taru, worshipped by tribal people living in the region’s dense forests and around its eponymous Andhari River. These people still live here and several are now being trained as naturalists and field guides for tourists coming to see their sacred place.
Our Tiger safari Holidays
Wildlife holiday in Central India
Best of Indian wildlife with tiger, leopard and sloth bear
From
Rupee223000 to Rupee249000
12 days
ex flights
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
£1000 to £1200
9 days
ex flights
Central India holiday, culture and wildlife
The very best of central India's wildlife and history
From
Rupee145000 to Rupee195000
16 days
ex flights
Golden Triangle with Ranthambore tour, India
Brilliant experiences including Tigers and Temples
From
£1199 to £1299
11 days
ex flights
Rajasthan cycling holiday with Taj & tigers
Enjoy cycling tour in Royal Rajasthan with Taj and Tiger.
From
US $2240 to US $2380
16 days
ex flights
Travel Team
If you'd like to chat about Tiger safari or need help finding a holiday to suit you we're very happy to help.
01273 823 700
Call us until 4pm
Calling from outside the UK
Tips on where to see wild tigers
Paul Goldstein , top tiger safari guide and expert at one of our leading suppliers, Exodus:
“The best parks for seeing tigers are Ranthambore, Kanha, Bandhavgarh and Tadoba. For tiger safaris, it is important to give yourself more time in one or two places than just a tour that ticks of four or five reserves, because there are big distances between them. Also, be prepared for appalling bureaucracy in the parks. You just have to be patient. Most importantly, it’s about moments. It might just be one moment as a tiger walks through a beam of light and then looks straight through you. It’s not just about chalking up six of them.”
Shanane Davis, Director of our supplier, True Luxury Tours, specialising in Rajasthan:
“We have the only privately owned wildlife sanctuary in India as all the sanctuaries were nationalised. We are also offer, unusually, walking safaris as well as night safaris, so it is similar to safaris in Africa. You can see the animals up close on foot during the morning, and then at night by jeep. We also have the highest number of Asian wild cats in the country, as we have brought back the numbers ourselves, so we are proud of that. For other wildlife seekers, I highly recommend Pench and Tadoba National Parks where they have tight controls over the numbers of jeeps allowed in per day, and they don’t have minibuses like in Ranthambhore. The mangrove forests of the Sunderbans are also amazing of course.”
Julian Matthews, founder and chair of tourism action charity Travel Operators for Tigers (TOFTigers) and Tiger Nation, both aiming to use tourism to support tiger conservation more effectively:
"Really, tiger tourism only exists in Nepal and India. Unless you are an avid adventurer, you could go to Siberia or Malaysia, but chances of catching a glimpse are small. Mind you, thirty years ago that is what India was like, with tigers being wholly nocturnal, being hunted and under pressure from grazers and agricultural practices. The reality today is that because tigers born in tourism zones do not now have these human disturbance pressures, they are now diurnal, and habituated to the jeeps and guards that are a part of their daily landscape. There are now 47 tiger reserves in India, but 98 percent of visitors go to fewer than 10 of them, the most well-known ones. These well visited reserves have the key source populations of tigers, and indeed many are now ‘too full’ of tigers, and more land is needed to be restored to cope with the tiger overflow, a major conservation headache to the Forest Ministry."
More about Tiger safari
We can capture a lot of details in our tiger safaris travel guide about where to go and when to go, but we can’t capture that feeling when you finally get to see into the eye of a tiger.
No matter what time of year you choose, it is worth remembering that it's always the tiger who calls the shots about making an appearance.
Beautiful landscapes, a growing population of tigers and the atmospheric Ranthambore Fort presiding over all make Ranthambore National Park a must-visit for wildlife lovers.
Big, wild and beautiful, Kanha National Park is home to around 100 Bengal tigers, plus an abundance of other fascinating wildlife and birdlife.
Pench National Park is not one of India’s best known parks and won’t always deliver tiger sightigs, but that has the advantage of keeping visitor numbers low.
Tiger safaris in Nepal explore Bardia and Chitwan national parks in the Terai region bordering the Himalayas.
At Responsible Travel we are lucky to work with some of the world’s most dedicated conservationists, leader guides, naturalists and scientists when it comes to tigers.
Dig a little deeper into the detail of travelling to see tigers in the wild, and find out what tiger safaris entail, so you can plan and prepare with confidence.
People travel a long way to see tigers, and it is definitely worth the trip when you do, but it makes good sense to pick a trip that has plenty of other activities alongside the tiger safari.
Read about the issues affecting tigers today, from habitat loss to poaching and learn how responsible tourism is playing its part in conservation.
More relevant guides
