Indian Tiger & Wildlife Safari

Your first taste of the wild will be upon arrival at Kanha National Park, approximately 4 hours from Jabalpur airport.

Kanha is considered to be amongst the most spectacular protected wildlife reserves in the world. Kipling's 'Jungle Book' tales come alive amongst the grassy plateaux, wooded hills and valleys that are home to tiger and its primary prey, chital. However, this wildlife sanctuary was originally founded to protect the endangered bharasingha or swamp deer, which today only number around 5000 individuals and are still classified as Vulnerable by the IUCN.

There is a great diversity of wildlife across this large park and we generally recommend camps and lodges closer to the quieter Mukki gate entrance to the park for more rewarding encounters. Whilst tiger sightings are generally very good throughout the park they are of course not guaranteed but with so much other wildlife and over 300 bird species there is plenty to enjoy.

Recent years have given excellent tiger safaris in Pench National Park. In just the last year or so there have been 3 female tigers here with cubs that have been delighting visitors. This scenic reserve is covered in prime teak forest and grassland nestles in the undulating terrain of the Satpura Range where it is drained by the Pench and Wainganga Rivers.

The presence of the new luxury camp, Jamtara Wilderness Camp, on the north side of Pench makes this an ideal addition to this wildlife safari, sitting nicely between the tigers of Kanha and the diverse nature activities of Satpura National Park. With good guiding, great food and even a machaan star bed, we had to include this camp at Pench; whilst the park itself also boasts good leopard, wild dog and wolf sightings.

The final park of this trio offers more terrific guiding and diverse safari activities. Tigers are generally not one of the target species in Satpura National Park, but then you should have enjoyed encounters earlier in this wildlife holiday. Satpura is to the northwest of Pench and in a key transition zone for flora and a key migratory zone for birds. Again a park of great beauty there is the Pachmarhi plateau at 1200m, ravines, meadows and forests as well as the waters of the Tawa Reservoir.

The emphasis here is on the different activities, watch the sun rise as you sit quietly whilst a ranger paddles your canoe close to the wetland birds and discover the smaller fauna and flora on a walk in the national park, an activity which is unique in this area of India. There are also night drives spotlighting for nocturnal wildlife and even the possibility of an elephant back safari.

Of course there are game drives to be enjoyed too with sloth bear and leopards as the key highlights you might expect to see. Leaving Satpura to the end of this Indian wildlife safari will allow you time to appreciate all that you have seen and experienced on this terrific trip across the state of Madhya Pradesh.

October - May

Highlight species

	Tiger

Key species

Cost from £

Please contact us for a cost for when you wish to travel.

Our trips are almost always tailored to your requirements, we'll make small changes or alter the itinerary completely for you. For instance we get many requests to slow down the pace of a trip.

Departure Dates

Any day to your requirements.

Difficulty

An easy safari with game drives each day.

Flights

Direct flights on British Airways, Virgin Atlantic and other carriers, or via Middle Eastern and European hubs on airlines, some with regional departures possible.

Time

GMT +5.5 hours

Bandhavgarh National Park, also in Madhya Pradesh or head to the parks in southern Indian. 

Other options such as combining with Kaziranga in northeast India or Gir in the west are possible for those looking for an extended stay in India.

Alternatively you could cross the border to Chitwan National Park in Nepal or hop across to Sri Lanka on an extended trip.