Majestic Tigers

There is something magical about the experience of the early morning alarm calls of spotted deer and langur monkeys in the sub-continental forests and the languid appearance of one of the planet’s most powerful and breath-taking predators, the tiger. To see and photograph this majestic big cat is one of the best experiences and the memory will last for a lifetime. This trip will be centred around two locations Panna National Park and Bandhavgarh National Park, both in the central state of Madhya Pradesh. We feel that by splitting the trip over two locations will give us the benefit of two slightly different environments but with the main goal of seeing and photographing the world’s most majestic big cat. We have been running trips to Bandhavgarh National Park for many years now and we our hosted by one of the leading guides in the park that has been working here for over 40 years. His experience and knowledge are second to none and our chances of enjoying those elusive but awesome encounters is maximised, alongside our top local guides and our own photographic experiences of working at this reserve Panna is a new reserve for us but our host has been many times over the years and the tiger sightings are increasing year on year. We have secured the services of the best guides that guide in the park and will be with us throughout the two locations. We have 3 vehicles in each location so plenty of space for you and your camera gear and in total we will have 20 morning and afternoon game drives so we can maximise our chances of seeing the tigers.

It’s always a challenge to photograph tigers at this time of year with the fabulous setting of lush green vegetation so soon after the monsoon season and before the dry heat to come, but the rewards when we do are photographically worth it, and that’s what this trip is all about. Add in the fact that this is just one of those species that will be high on any nature photographer’s wish-list, and we know it’ll be full of experiences that will stay with you as long as the images.

Day 1: We leave our destinations on an overnight flight to Delhi.

Day 2: We are due to arrive in Delhi via our connecting flights in the early morning. We will arrange a taxi to transfer us to the hotel which is only 10 minutes away. We will arrive too early to be able to check in to hotel straight away so will have to wait in the restaurant area where we can have some lunch while we wait, check-in is usually around 3pm. We will have dinner on the first night at the hotel.

Day 3: It will be an early start and after breakfast we will arrange a transfer to the domestic airport for our internal flight to Khajuraho. Once we are in Khajuraho, we will then be collected by our drivers for a one-hour drive to our lodge near to Panna National Park, where we will be based for the next five nights. We will settle into our rooms and after lunch we will then head out for our first afternoon game drive in search of the elusive tiger. We will arrive back at the lodge at around 6.00pm to relax and have dinner.

Day 4 – 7: For the next 4 days we will be based in a comfortable and remarkably tranquil lodge near to Panna National Park. It is an early morning start each morning so we are at the gate by 6.30 am, this morning’s drive will go on to around 11.00am and we will head back to the lodge for breakfast and rest. Our afternoon game drive will be around 2.30 until 6.00pm and we will be back to the lodge for dinner and time to relax. Our time in Panna will be mainly searching for the elusive tiger and so we must put a lot of time in to achieve our goals of finding this beautiful cat. Panna National Park is a wonderful open Teak Forest, and the environment is stunning. The park supports a small population of tigers along with a host of other subjects that share the tiger’s jungle home. There will be plenty of opportunities to photograph lots of different wildlife species like spotted deer, majestic samba, and wild boar and of course the ever-playful langur monkey but our main priority throughout this trip is to photograph the beautiful Bengal tiger. We will have three vehicles for our group, and I will alternate between the vehicles throughout the trip.

Day 8: It is an early morning start again for our encounter with the tigers, and we need to be at the park entrance by 6.30 am and we will then go back to the accommodation to have a late breakfast and then get ready for our transfer down to Bandhavgarh National Park. This drive will take around four hours and we will arrive in the late afternoon. We will have plenty of time to settle into our new lodge, ready for our evening meal.

Days 9 – 13: It is an early start again as we will be at the entrance by 6.30am and again this morning’s drive will last until around 11.00am. We will head back to the lodge for breakfast and a short rest before we return to the park for our afternoon game drive. These days are a repeat as we follow the same pattern throughout our stay and by now you will be in a routine. Again, our aim will be the Bengal tiger as Bandhavgarh has got a healthy viable population of this beautiful cat. The Bengal tiger can turn up literally anywhere whilst we are in the park, we might encounter one walking down the track but usually the best chance of seeing and photographing the tiger is when one is spotted by our guides, we will have a park ranger with us at all times and these guides are very knowledgeable for looking for signs and tracks but also listening for the tell-tale signs of the jungle which the alarm calls of the monkeys and more importantly the spotted deer give the game away of this illusive cat.

Day 14: It will be an early morning breakfast and then we will head to Jabalpur to begin the journey home, returning to Delhi via Jabalpur. This drive will take around four hours. We will arrive in Delhi around mid-afternoon and will transfer by taxi to our hotel near to the international airport. We will have dinner at 7pm.

Day 15: We will have an early breakfast and then transfer by taxi to the international airport for our return flights back to the UK which will arrive back later the same day.