In Search of Tigers

Welcome to Delhi! You’ll be met immediately off the plane and escorted through fast-track immigration, baggage, and customs formalities, ensuring your arrival in India is as seamless as possible. Then meet your private driver and an Unforgettable Travel local representative and be transferred to your hotel in the heart of New Delhi.

The rest of the day is spent at leisure to recover from the flight. However, should you wish to explore locally, the hotel is within walking distance of the Gandhi Museum (closed on a Monday) and a short auto ride from Khan Market, a local and expat hang-out, which is full of a variety of shops and restaurants, and Lodhi Gardens if you fancy stretching your legs. If you’d prefer to relax, there’s a swimming pool and a choice of restaurants.

This morning, your private driver will escort you out of the capital and along the Delhi-Agra expressway to Agra, a transfer time of around 3.5 hours.

Along the way, you will stop off at the Wildlife SOS Sanctuary. Wildlife SOS was established in 1995 and is India’s most significant wildlife protection and conservation NGO. Just outside of Agra, they provide sanctuary for their rescued animals, who are now well looked after and live much happier lives.

Continue onto Agra, arriving early afternoon. As the afternoon light begins to fade, you will head to the iconic and effortlessly beautiful Taj Mahal. Poetry in white marble: watch as the colors are reflected by the setting sun as the birds swoop and fly overhead on their way to roost for the evening. This is a magical time to visit this world-famous monument.

This morning, your driver will drop you off at the nearby station to board the ‘Gatimaan Express’ fast-running inter-city train, which will whisk you to Jhansi in just over 2.5 hours. At Jhansi you will be met by a private driver for a further two-hour drive to Panna National Park.

Arrive at Sarai at Toria mid-afternoon: a wonderful eco-lodge with outstanding hospitality located close to the National Park and the famous temples of Khajuraho. After checking in, the rest of the day is at leisure to settle in.

After breakfast, you’ll be taken to nearby Khajuraho, around 15 minutes away, for a guided tour of temples. Khajuraho’s outstanding complex of 25 intricately carved Hindu and Jain almost all date from one century-long burst of creative genius between the 10th and 12th centuries. The temples are renowned for their exquisite carvings that depict various scenes from Hindu mythology, including deities, celestial beings, and scenes of everyday life.

All the temples are faced from east to west and follow a similar three-section layout: enter through an elaborate porch (Ardha Mandapa) into a vast hall flanked by corridors and supported by pillars (Mahamandapa). From here, make your way into the inner sanctum (Garbhagriha), where you’ll find the image of whichever particular deity this temple is dedicated to.

In the evening, head out on a wonderful evening boat ride on the Ken River. This is a wonderful and peaceful late afternoon activity with a chance to witness some of the local, wonderful birdlife. You’ll be paddled gently down the ‘river garden’, enjoying a unique vantage point of riverside nature which includes darting kingfishers and elegant storks.

Today you’ll be taken on an early morning and late afternoon safari into Panna National Park in search of leopards, bears, and tigers. For the early morning drive, tea and biscuits are served before departure, with a picnic breakfast taken in the park. The afternoon drive will then give you a further opportunity to spot Panna’s diverse wildlife, including tigers, leopards, sloth bears, and a variety of bird species.

Time in between is spent at leisure enjoying the lodge and its surroundings, or you may choose to do one of the activities on offer, such as a nature walk around the grounds.

After a leisurely breakfast, you’ll leave Sarai at Toria and transfer on the fairly long, 5-hour+ road journey to Bandhavgarh National Park. Although a long time in the car, this is a beautiful drive through dense forests and small villages.

Arrive at Bandhavgarh early afternoon. Check into your fine lodge and have the rest of the day at leisure. Get to know your hosts, their in-house naturalists, and your fellow guests during evening drinks before settling down for a fine dinner.

Early morning and again in the afternoon, you will enjoy game drives in the
Bandhavgarh National Park. This is a relatively small park, dominated by the fort at its center, but it does have a very healthy population of tigers. Tiger sightings, while they can never be guaranteed, are good and help give this park a leading reputation amongst Indian wildlife enthusiasts. A further recent addition to the park is a herd of wild elephants who made their way from Chattisgarh and have decided to make Bandhavgarh their home.

You have the option of arranging a further game drive directly with the lodge or enjoy a lie-in and a leisurely breakfast before hitting the road again for the transfer to Kanha National Park. Today’s transfer will again be roughly five hours, taking you through beautiful pastoral scenes. On arrival, check into a charming boutique lodge located right on the banks of the river. The rest of the day is at leisure to chat with your hosts about the park, wildlife, and recent sightings!

Kanha National Park is a much bigger park than Bandhavgarh, and it is known for its beautiful ‘maidans’ (grasslands) and the picturesque Sal forest. The mists that rise early in the winter give way to herds of deer, gently grazing whilst keeping a watchful eye out for a predator on the move. There is a wide array of wildlife, including sloth bear, leopard, wild dog, and some of the smallest species of wild cats, such as jungle cat and rusty spotted cat…as well as India’s biggest cat, the tiger.

Morning and afternoon game drives will be arranged in the park. The drives to and from the park gates are fascinating in and around Kanha. The local Baiga tribal population lives a subsistence lifestyle, and many live in houses that are still very traditional. At the end of each monsoon season, the houses are painted a brilliant indigo blue and provide a beautiful contrast to the greens and browns of the buffer forest.

Time in between drives is spent relaxing back at the lodge. There are some excellent NGOs around the park that support the local tribal population in various endeavors and are well worth visiting if you have time.

Depart Kanha this morning for a long drive to Nagpur, the closest city and airport to this region of remote Madhya Pradesh. From Nagpur, you will board a short domestic flight to Mumbai, your final destination.

Effervescent Mumbai – India’s ‘city of dreams’ will be something of a culture shock after a week in the bush! Enjoy a final night here resting up before your flight home.

Sadly, your adventures in India have come to an end. At the appropriate time, you will be collected from your Mumbai hotel for your private transfer back to the airport for your onward flight.

Please speak to your consultant to arrange extensions to this tour or further transport arrangements to facilitate your journey home.