India Tiger Photo Safari

Itinerary

Monday, January 30

Arrive at Delhi Indira Gandhi International Airport (DEL) in Delhi, India, any time of day. Our VIP welcome team will meet you at the airport and transfer you to our five-star hotel for a couple of days of relaxation and being pampered. Feel a little “Royal” at the Capital’s only Modern Palace hotel. Always a great way to start a trip!

Overnight at the luxurious The Leela Palace Hotel

Tuesday, January 31 (B, D)

Today is a buffer day to recoup from jet lag and get ready for our tiger safari. Relax at the hotel, or maybe take a rickshaw ride through the narrow alleys among 350-year-old markets built by the Mughal Empire. Pass through the shops of bustling Chandai Chowk, one of the largest wholesale markets in Asia. We’ll have an optional sightseeing tour in the Walled City of Old Delhi. Colorful, vibrant, noisy, and chaotic are words that best describe Old Delhi. The photography opportunities are endless! Overnight Leela Palace

Wednesday, February 1 (B, L, D)

After breakfast, we’ll depart for the airport and board our flight to Jabalpur, located in the state of Madhya Pradesh. Upon arrival, we will organize into private air-conditioned vehicles and drive to Bandhavgarh Jungle Lodge, our home for the next four nights.

Bandhavgarh Jungle Lodge is located at the entrance of Bandhavgarh National Park. Hear the sounds of the jungle in your own backyard! Our spacious cottages are equipped with modern amenities. Indian and continental cuisines are served in a spacious thatched dining room, which is also the basecamp for activities like campfire performances, lectures, and star gazing.

Once we get settled into our rooms, the remainder of day can be spent enjoying activities around the lodge. Feel free to wander the lodge’s courtyard, organic farm, and medicinal plant garden. Take a nature walk. Butterflies, birds, and other animals, including spotted deer, mongoose, jungle cat, wild boar, porcupine, and langur monkeys frequent the lodge and a nearby watering hole. In the evenings, use the lodge telescopes to marvel at the galaxy of stars above.

All of our lodge stays are run by a family whose heritage dates back three generations in Tiger Conservation. Kailash Sankhala was the founding Director of  Project Tiger, under which the inception of Tiger Reserves in India took place. The Discovery Channel’s documentary, Tigerland, focuses on two passionate people, one Kailash Sankhala, working to save the tiger from extinction. Sankhala’s grandchildren run and manage Bandhavgarh Jungle Lodge, Kanha Jungle Lodge, and Jamtara Wilderness Camp.

Thursday, February 2 – Saturday, February 4 (B, L, D)

In the early morning, before the sun rises, we’ll drive into Bandhavgarh National Park in our 4×4 jeeps and begin tiger tracking.

Set among the Vindhya Hills in the state of Madhya Pradesh, Bandhavgarh consists of approximately 170 square miles of very biologically diverse habitat and boasts one of the highest concentrations of Bengal tigers in the world. Its dense forest, vast grasslands, and perennial streams provide critical habitat for the tigers. In turn, the majestic, solitary apex predators play a pivotal role in the Park’s ecosystem, helping to balance and support a rich abundance of wildlife and vegetation.

Absorb the sights and sounds of the vibrant forest. Keep your eyes open for one of many species of mammals such as Bengal fox, sloth bear, leopard, dhole (Indian wild dog), and various ungulates including wild pig, spotted and sambar deer, nilgai antelope, and gaur (Indian buffalo). Birds, butterflies, and reptiles are also plentiful. But most of all, we hope for awe-inspiring encounters with the magnificent Bengal tiger, an emotional experience you will never forget!

A naturalist guide and driver will escort us on daily tours, sharing their knowledge of the Park. Each open-air 4×4 jeep will host 2-3 guests per vehicle.

Bandhavgarh is very popular with tourists and tightly controlled. Our special full day access permits will give us the best chance of spotting tigers and staying with them all day.

Our special full day access permits are expensive, yes, but extremely beneficial. Here’s how they work:

Usually, safari vehicles entering the Park must abide by strictly enforced operating times (7:00am-10:30am and 2:00pm-5:30pm) and stay in an assigned safari zone route. With our permits, we have the privilege of entering the Park early, staying all day (if we wish), and staying later. We’re allowed unrestricted travel in all the three safari zones (Tala, Magdhi, and Khitauli).

We will return to the lodge in the evening, after sunset. A delicious dinner will be served by the resident chefs. Well fed and relaxed, take some time to reminisce by the campfire, curl up with a book in the library, or spend some time stargazing in the canopy of galaxies above. Overnight Bandhavgarh Jungle Lodge

Sunday, February 5 (B, L, D)

Today we depart Bandhavgarh to start a new journey in one of the largest wildlife reserves in India, Kanha National Park/Tiger Reserve. Kanha is in the heart of India and considered one of the finest wildlife areas in the world.

Arrive at Kanha Jungle Lodge and get settled into our cottages overlooking the lush green forest. The lodge is set among 11 acres of thick Sal forest, close to the Mukki entrance of Kanha National Park. The family-run lodge was built with minimal interference to its natural surroundings and is managed with eco-friendly principles. You can expect outstanding service and food.

There is an onsite professional resident naturalist along with an extensive library abundant in wildlife books and magazines. Aside from daily safaris, activities at the lodge include cooking classes, bird watching, nature walks, elephant baths by the river, and visits to the nearby village. Tribal dances and barbecue dinners around a campfire are some of the treats in store for you! Here in the midst of the jungle, you will find an oasis of peace. We’ll spend three nights at Kanha Jungle Lodge.

Monday, February 6 and Tuesday, February 7 (B, L, D)

Kanha National Park is the jungle of your imagination, one of a few that may have inspired Rudyard Kipling’s classic tale, The Jungle Book. Lush Sal and bamboo forests interspersed with meadows and waterholes create a picturesque home to a seemingly endless splendor of wild animals.

Kanha is not a new Park. It was declared a reserve forest in 1879 and revalued as a wildlife sanctuary in 1933. Kanha became a National Park in 1955. Animal viewing is outstanding in Kanha, a treat for any wildlife enthusiast. Of course, we will always be on the prowl for the great Bengal tiger, and we’re sure to encounter many other creatures along the way. Kanha is well-known for the exclusive deer species barasingha, or swamp deer, which are often seen at watering holes throughout the Park.

Populations of leopard, wild dog, foxes, and jackals reside here. Gaur, sambar, chital, barking deer, black deer, black buck, chousingha, nilgai, hyena, python, sloth bear, mongoose… the list goes on and on, and on. And let us not forget our avian friends; Kanha hosts around 300 species!

We have secured a special full day access permit for our last day in Kanha, similar to Bandhavgarh. Khana is divided into four Safari Zones: Kisli, Kanha, Mukki, and Sarhi. Our lodge is near Mukki, but we can travel into any zone with our permit.

Additional activities are always available during your stay. Maybe a morning at leisure, a nature stroll, or a visit to a nearby village/school. Whether you want to learn to tie a sari or cook Indian food, or go on a dragonfly and butterfly walk, just ask your expedition leader or a team member at Kanha Jungle Lodge.

Wednesday, February 8 (B, L, D)

Now that we have experienced the full romance of Kanha, we will say goodbye and make our way to our final destination.

Jamtara Wilderness Camp is a luxury tent camp in the humble village of Jamtara near Pench National Park. This remote camp is an ideal location to spend the last few days of our adventure. Surrounded by tall arjuna trees and an ancient banyan rooted on a dry riverbed, each tented room overlooks the forest which sets the perfect background to this jungle experience.

Each luxury tent has a bathroom that has been made into a permanent structure for the comfort of guests with air – conditioning!. Roll up the front panels of your tent for an optimum view of nature. And while you have the option to sleep inside your tent, there is also the option to sleep outside in the patio bed for an even deeper connection with nature.  We’ll spend three nights at Jamtara Wilderness Camp.

Thursday, February 9 and Friday, February 10 (B, L, D)

Pench National Park/Tiger Reserve is named after the pristine Pench River that runs north to south, dividing the Park in half. Pench is another jungle thought to have inspired Kipling’s The Jungle Book.

Here we will spend our last two full days on safari tracking Bengal tigers. Pench is home to the very famous tigress and supermom, named Collarwali by the locals, who has birthed almost 30 cubs! You may recognize her as a cub herself from the BBC documentary, Spy in the Jungle. Collarwali is credited as playing a key role for the excellent sightings of tigers in the Park.

Pench, like Bandhavgarh and Kanha, hosts a plethora of wildlife for us to enjoy while out on safari. The mostly open canopy of predominately teak forest, grassy open patches, and highest density of herbivores in any Indian Park, make Pench a special place to visit. Leopard and Indian wild dog sightings are excellent here!

Immerse yourself in the Indian jungle experience as we look for tigers and other wildlife. Relish in the beauty of your surroundings, and take in all this spectacular Park has to offer. Our time in Pench will be a perfect ending to our very own Jungle Book story!

Saturday, February 11 (B, L, D)

Today we drive to Nagpur to board our flight back to Delhi. Depending on our flight time (TBA).

Group farewell dinner in Delhi this evening to celebrate our trip and toast to an amazing Indian experience. All guests have their own dayrooms to freshen up or stay overnight. Depart on a late evening flight out tonight or overnight at the JW Marriott Hotel New Delhi Aerocity.

Sunday, February 12 (B)

Transfer to Delhi Indira Gandhi International Airport (DEL) for your flight home today.