Join us on the ultimate tiger-safari in “The Jungle Books” original setting, and follow in the footsteps of the world famous author Rudyard Kipling. Visit four of the world’s best tiger reserves that are also home to many other exciting animals in an incredibly beautiful setting.
No other country can come close to offering such a high chance of seeing the majestic - but shy - tiger as India. There are perhaps six or seven of India’s National Parks that aspire to be the best place of all. On this tour you will visit a total of four of them, of which perhaps Bandhavgarh in the north may be the best. After three safari drives in the parks’s beautiful forested terrain in open jeeps, the tour will take you further and visit the other fantastic tiger reserves of Kanha, Pench and Tadoba.
On three jeep-safaris you will enjoy the vast expanses and beautiful forests of Kanha, which is one of India’s biggest national parks. In addition to tigers, of which the park has a good population - and naturally will stand high on the program- it is possible to see many other large, exciting animals such as deer, wild oxen and wild boar There are also many monkeys and an impressive number of birds.
The third of the fantastic “tiger parks” you will visit is Pench, a park famous for being author Rudyard Kipling’s home and the inspiration for “The Jungle Book”. It has also been immortalised by the BBC’s fantastic TV documentary, which involved elephants with camera’s mounted on their trunks following a female tiger and her three cubs, as they grew to reach maturity. There will be two safari drives in Pench National Park.
Your tour of central India, is search of the majestic striped cat, ends with three safari drives in an open jeep in Tadoba National Park. This park, which has recently had its infrastructure improved and can now offer a wider choice of good accommodation, has a fine population of animals. It is home to many large predators and, in addition to the tiger, is home to leopard, sloth bear and wild dogs.
Fly with Emirates, an airline that offers a real touch of luxury, to Dubai. Arrive around midnight.
Two good meals will be served en route
During the night you will fly on with Emirates to India’s financial capital Mumbai (formerly Bombay), arriving in the morning after eating breakfast on the aircraft. Here you will change planes and take a domestic flight to Jabalpur, arriving around midday. Here your driver will be waiting for you with a comfortable vehicle. During the afternoon you will drive to Bandhavgarh, arriving at your accommodation around sunset.
Overnight at The Tiger Den, including full board
After a good night’s sleep you will gather your strength for the coming week’s intensive “hunt” for tigers and all the other large, handsome animals that live in the impressive nature of central India . There will be a jeep safari in Bandhavgarh in both the morning and the afternoon, during which you can marvel at the beautiful scenery and the rich animal life. There will be a really good chance of seeing the tour’s first tiger. In the pause between your two safaris there will be time to relax, eat lunch and take a refreshing dip in the swimming pool.
Overnight at The Tiger Den, including full board
After another morning safari drive in Bandhavgarh and lunch at the lodge, you will drive south to Kanha National Park, which is the biggest in central India. You will arrive around sunset after a roughly 5 hour drive.
Overnight at Celebration Van Vilas, including full board.
There will be a jeep safari in Kanha in the morning and again in the afternoon. Kanha is a magnificent park with a rich and varied fauna that include many large and exciting animals in addition to the tiger. During the middle of the day you can relax in the attractive, luxuriant surroundings of the lodge, and perhaps have a swim in the pool.
Overnight at Celebration Van Vilas, including full board.
You will have a morning safari drive in Kanha before driving further south to Pench National Park. You will eat lunch in the fine lodge before driving out on a jeep safari in this beautiful park, which was Kipling’s home district and the source of inspiration for The Jungle Book.
Overnight at Tuli Tiger Corridor, including full board.
After a morning safari in beautiful Pench you will drive to the region’s biggest city, Nagpur, where you will eat lunch in a good restaurant before driving on to the most southerly destination on this safari, Tadoba National Park. You will arrive around sunset.
Overnight at Svasara Jungle Lodge, including full board.
There will be jeep safaris in Tadoba, the fourth and final national park on this tour, in both the morning and the afternoon. Like the other parks you have already visited, the park has wonderful scenery and a rich and varied fauna, “crowned” by the Bengal tiger. You will spend the lunchtime break at your attractive lodge on the borders of the national park.
Overnight at Svasara Jungle Lodge, including full board.
After a final jeep safari, during which you can say goodbye to the beautiful nature and wildlife of central India, you will eat lunch at the lodge. You will then drive back to Nagpur, where you will have a farewell dinner in a charming restaurant, before flying to Mumbai, where you will arrive around midnight.
During the night you will fly to Dubai, where you will catch your flight back to Europe.
A solid breakfast will be served on the flight.
Situated in beautiful, lush, hilly terrain close to the famous Bandhavgarh National Park, The Tiger’s Den Resort is the perfect place to stay when visiting the tiger reserve. The lodge features 34 lovely, well furnished rooms with modern comforts and friendly, smiling staff. The lodge naturally also features a large swimming pool, where you can enjoy a cooling dip during the hottest times of the day. The best time of year to go on a tiger safari can be very warm.
Read moreJust 300 meters from the Kolara Gate of the Tadoba-Andhari tiger reserve, and only a two hour drive from the “orange” city of Nagpur, you can find the first of the Svasara-chains luxurious lodges. The style is modern, but with a hint of the local culture. There is a high standard of service, a lovely swimming pool and good dining. The Svasara Jungle Lodge offers 12 luxurious rooms, all well furnished and equipped with modern facilities. All rooms offer air-conditioning, LCD TV, a mini refrigerator, veranda and well equipped bathroom.
Read moreTuli Tiger Corridor is a very luxurious jungle camp lying 88 kilometres from Nagpur and 40 kilometres from the town of Seoni. It is a real paradise for nature lovers and presents a world of contrasts and excitement. The lodge consists of 15 large luxury rooms and 8 huge, very luxurious tents, all of a very high standard. The lodge has a unique location close to Pench National Park.
Read moreCelebration Van Vilas is spread over 67 hectares of land along the River Banjar, close to the entrance to the Kahna National Park. The lodge is a real pearl, and clearly shows the influence of a skilled management team, from the lovely meals, the great service and the 34 rooms. The grounds feature a lake which you can sail on, a swimming pool, and a walking trail which is perfect for birdwatching. The rooms all offer a high standard of comfort with air conditioning, a private bathroom and a veranda. Power sockets are provided so you can charge cameras and other electronic equipment.
Read moreBandhavgarh lies in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, circa. 200km east of the city of Jabalpur, this also is where you can find the nearest airport. This national park is part of, together with surrounding protected areas, the Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve which covers a total of 1,000km2, and is one of the most important districts included in “Project Tiger”. Bandhavgarh, in keen completion with Ranthambore National Park further to the west, is perhaps the best place in India - and therefore the whole world - where you have the best chance of seeing tigers in the wild. The park not only has one of the densest population of tigers anywhere, but it was also the home of the last wild white tigers, which today can only be found in captivity.
Read moreThe Big Five is a historic term that comes from big game hunting. It groups together the five animals that were considered to require the most courage and skill to hunt: Elephant, rhino, buffalo, lion and leopard. The term has been readily adopted by today’s wildlife safaris, on which rifles have been swapped for a camera and animals are only “shot” through a telephoto lens. It is also widely used in the marketing of reserves, camps and lodges, where the “Big Five” can be found, and visitors have a reasonable chance of encountering them.
Read moreKanha lies mid-way between the national parks of Bandhavgarh and Pench, around 150km south east of the city of Jabalpur and 250km north east of Nagpur, where you can find the nearest airport. This national park, together with surrounding reserves and buffer zones, forms the Kanha Tiger Reserve, which at some 2,000km2 in size is the largest reserve in the state of Madhya Pradesh and a very important part of India’s “Project Tiger”. The magnificent scenery of the park includes areas of hilly terrain covered in a mosaic of beautiful forests, open grasslands, rivers, streams, wetlands, and small lakes.
Read more