Tiger Photo Safari
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Overview
A thrilling photo safari across Central India, delving into three renowned national parks teeming with captivating wildlife which provides fantastic opportunity to see and photograph tigers in their natural habitat.
Begin your journey in Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve, boasting the highest density of royal Bengal tigers in the world. Explore deep into the reserve to encounter these magnificent creatures, along with jungle cats, mongooses, and the mighty gaur. Continue to Kanha Tiger Reserve, famed for its lush meadows and diverse fauna, including the endangered barasingha. Lose yourself in the park’s pristine landscapes and vibrant biodiversity with a healthy tiger population. Conclude your tour in Pench, the inspiration for Rudyard Kipling’s Jungle Book. Traverse its dry deciduous forests, home to a plethora of herbivores sustaining a thriving predator population such as tigers, leopards and wild dogs.
Experience thrilling safaris twice daily in open 4×4 jeeps, guided by seasoned local experts who cater to photographers’ needs. Rest in comfortable accommodations ranging from mid-range lodges to luxurious safari tents, ensuring a delightful retreat amidst nature.
This tour is an unforgettable wildlife photo safari adventure in Central India, where every moment promises excitement and every encounter is a testament to the untamed beauty of these remarkable national parks.
Highlights
- Big cat safari tours in India’s most prestigious tiger reserves with excellent chances of seeing wild dogs, leopards and other wildlife alongside the slinking figure of Shere Khan himself.
- Explore Central India’s best-regarded jungle regions, known to be the inspiration behind Rudyard Kipling’s Jungle Book.
- Safaris are conducted in open 4×4 and are led by expert photo safari guides.
- 16 private or shared safaris for the best photo safari experience.
- Enjoy comfortable and well-equipped luxury safari camp accommodations.
- Tailor-make the tour to suit your exact wishes as the tour can also be combined with the golden triangle to see Jaipur’s mighty fort and beautiful palace to the magnificent Taj Mahal.
- Extend your tour to Satpura Tiger Reserve to discover wildlife on foot, by boat or through a jeep safari, including night drives to see nocturnal wildlife.
Location
Itinerary
Upon arrival at Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi, you will be greeted and transferred to your hotel for a night. The hotel close to the domestic and international terminals and allows for quick get in and get out of Delhi without battling with the city’s traffic.
Today early morning you will be transferred back to the airport to catch a flight to Jabalpur in central India. Jabalpur is the closest airport to the Bandhavgarh tiger reserve. Morning flight will take you into the heart of India. Upon reaching Jabalpur, your driver will receive you and take you on a 4-hour scenic drive to Bandhavgarh. The route is busy initially with traffic, but soon rural India will take over, and you will pass through several big and small villages, which provide fantastic photo opportunities.
Reach Bandhavgarh by lunchtime. Upon arrival, you will check in to your modern camp . The lodge offers a unique combination of modern comforts and a timeless ambience. Located close to the forest, the lodge also offers stunning views of the Bandhavgarh forests and Fort, creating a mesmerising and awe-inspiring atmosphere.
Relax at the camp with refreshing drinks and retire early for the morning safari.
The day in Bandhavgarh begins with an early start. You will receive a wake-up call with tea/coffee and biscuits to invigorate your senses. Get ready to embark on an exciting jungle adventure as you hop into an open 4×4 Jeep. Your goal is to search for the elusive and majestic tiger and other wildlife inhabiting Bandhavgarh. During your safari, you will have the opportunity to witness the beauty of nature and observe the diverse flora and fauna of the reserve. Breakfast will be provided and enjoyed at designated spots within the park, allowing you to enjoy the wilderness while savouring a delicious meal.
Bandhavgarh Reserve, named after the highest hill in the area, offers a diverse range of wildlife. Among the notable species found here are the spotted deer or chital, chinkara, wild boar, sambhar, muntjac, and nilgai. Each outing in the Reserve presents an opportunity to encounter rarer inhabitants, including the sloth bear, Bengal fox, golden jackal, and jungle cat. Additionally, the Reserve is home to ruddy mongoose, rhesus macaque, Indian hare, and the charming palm squirrel. Common Langurs are abundant throughout the Reserve. With over 250 identified bird species, birdwatchers will be delighted by sightings of the peafowl, red jungle fowl, grey hornbill, red-wattled lapwing, crested serpent eagle, white-breasted kingfisher, and lesser adjutant stork, among others. The rich biodiversity of Bandhavgarh Reserve ensures a rewarding wildlife experience.
Bandhavgarh National Park is renowned worldwide for its exceptional tiger sightings, making it one of the best tiger reserves globally. Visitors who spend three to four days here have a high chance of encountering and observing these magnificent creatures. The park offers a unique opportunity to witness and photograph tiger behaviour over extended periods. With skilled guides and drivers who possess an exceptional understanding of the tigers’ territories and movements, visitors can enjoy intimate encounters and gain profound insights into the public lives of these enigmatic big cats.
Tigers are elusive and can swiftly disappear into the dense vegetation, but subtle hints such as large paw prints on dusty roads or the alarm calls of deer and langurs often reveal their presence. In such moments, silence and patience are crucial. The reward for this dedication is the potential for unforgettable moments. When the majestic tiger emerges into view, scarcely acknowledging the presence of humans, and purposefully walks across the track before vanishing again into the wilderness, it becomes one of the most awe-inspiring wildlife spectacles imaginable.
After the morning safari, which concludes around 10:00 to 11:00 am when the park temporarily closes, you will return to the lodge. The park reopens for the afternoon safari, usually around 3:00 pm, offering another opportunity to witness Bandhavgarh’s wild cats and other captivating wildlife.
After breakfast drive south to the moist deciduous forest of Kanha tiger reserve. After 5 hour drive will reach Kanha. Here a luxurious tented accommodation will be reserved for you. Located in the buffer area on the quitter sider of the reserve.
Kanha has been accredited with one of the best managed tiger reserve in the country. It has been successful in preserving biodiversity specially bringing swamp deer from brink of extinction after extensive shooting. The hard ground race of barasingha or twelve tinted, also known as swamp deer is endemic to Kanha. Kanha is also one of the reserve that was included in the first phase of project tiger as an important tiger habitat. The sal forest, which stays green round the year, and the meadows which supports healthy population of herbivores are two iconic symbols of Kanha. The tiger population is thriving in these jungles making it a perfect destination of tiger lovers.
Commonly seen animals include tiger, leopard, gaur or Indian bison, jackal, swamp deer, spotted deer, sambar, barking deer, wild dogs. Bird life is also abundant here. Contact us for complete list of animals and birds recorded in Kanha.
Morning and evening game drives in the reserve in search of tiger. Kanha has also been home to many forest dwelling tribes. Villages or tola of Baiga tribes are dotted all around the reserve. You can take a break from a daily drives and visit Baiga village and meet the locals that will give you an insight how people once co-existed in harmony with nature.
After a leisurely morning travel west to Pench Tiger Reserve (150 km/3 hours), the forest inspired Rudyard Kipling. On route, you will see some Indian birds, typically black kites, laughing and spotted doves, rose-ringed parakeets, little swifts, little green bee-eaters, black drongos, and a variety of shrikes, mynas, bulbuls and babblers. You are also likely to see cheeky roadside rhesus macaques.
Arrive at Pench in the evening and check into the Jungle Camp to relax amidst its natural setting. It is well placed in the buffer zone of the park. Ethnically designed in keeping with the native culture, the camp showcases a rustic jungle theme making it a unique holiday getaway.
Named after the Pench River, the Reserve is located in the southern reaches of the Satpura hill range; a total of 758 sq. km of this southern Indian tropical moist deciduous forest is dominated by teak trees.
The Pench Reservoir at the centre of the Reserve is the only primary water source during the pinch period. In winter, the same reservoir attracts many waders to its banks. As a result, Pench has good numbers of oriole, black-hooded and golden, along with a high density of raptors. The most common and frequently sighted raptor includes a white-eyed buzzard and crested serpent eagle, with the occasional sighting of a booted, changeable and tawny eagle.
Pench also has some of the highest herbivore densities in India, attracting good numbers of carnivore species. Primary ungulate species consist of spotted deer, sambar, nilgai and barking deer, and the world’s biggest wild cattle, gaur or the Indian bison. The apex species in the food chain include tigers, leopards, wild dogs, and occasionally seen Indian wolves. Altogether, Pench is home to 39 species of mammals, 13 species of reptiles, three species of amphibians and over 200 varieties of birds that have already been listed.
The description of its natural beauty and richness in flora and fauna has appeared in numerous wildlife books dating back to the 17th century. Books written in the 19th and early 20th centuries by famous naturalists like Captain J. Forsyth and Rudyard Kipling’s Jungle Book explicitly present the detailed panorama of nature’s abundance in this tract. You may have enjoyed watching the BBC’s excellent Sunday-evening series (April 2008) on the Tigers of Pench, entitled Tiger – Spy in the Jungle ‘, narrated by Sir David Attenborough.
Spend two full days here with morning and afternoon game drives searching for leopards, wild dogs and the elusive tiger.
Today, you will have the pleasure of a relaxing morning at your leisure. You can stroll in the nearby forest village or simply unwind at the lodge, enjoying the serene surroundings. After a fulfilling breakfast, you will be transferred to Nagpur airport, which is approximately a 2.5-hour drive. From Nagpur, catch your flight to New Delhi to continue your onward journey.
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