Our special places
We design holidays tailored to your priorities. Please contact us to discuss any destination.
On the Trail of the Tiger
First stop is Mumbai, an exciting and vibrant city with hectic and buzzing bazaars that you can endlessly wander through. As well as being the home to glamorous Bollywood it also has the best nightlife in India with an array of trendy bars and restaurants. The city, which is situated on the waterfront, has a rich heritage of Victorian architecture from the days of British colonial rule. A fine example of this is the Taj Mahal Palace where you should stay for your first two nights.
Take an early flight from Mumbai to Nagpur where you will be met and transferred to Pench National Park, the first of 3 national parks you will visit on this itinerary.
The park takes its name from the Pench River that cuts through it from North to South and forms the boundary between southern Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra. Although after the monsoon this is a large river its flow is much reduced following the winter months. The sandy river bed then becomes a pathway for much of the resident wildlife moving between the remaining pools. Pench lies at the foot of the Satpura range and varies between undulating terrain with small hills, open grass meadows and dense forests, primarily teak. The park has been attracting increasing interest due to a growing tiger population. There are many other notable residents, including sloth bear, gaur, Nilgai, wild dog, leopard and lesser cats, jackals, rhesus macaque and flying squirrels.
Stay 2 nights at Baghvan which will give you 4 game drives by jeep. Morning game drives start at about 7am and finish at 10am. Breakfast is taken in the park. During the day you can relax in the camp or visit some of the local villages. Your afternoon game drive is scheduled from 3pm to 5:30pm. Dinner is served after your return to the camp.
The second national park on your schedule is Kanha where the game is similar to Pench with the exception of possible sightings of endangered hard ground Barasingha deer and wild dog (dhole). A policy of careful wildlife management over the last 30 years has seen a steady increase in the numbers of tigers and leopards and Kanha offers a less congested safari experience than some of the other parks. 3 nights at Sher Garh will give you a good number of game drives but to also take part in some of the other activities on offer such as cycling to the river for a swim (accompanied by a prepared picnic lunch) or visiting market day in the village.
The final park on the itinerary is Bandhavgarh. A relatively small park in terms of size, with dense sal and bamboo forests and stunning grasslands. Bandhavgarh has the most dense tiger population in India, consequently there is a very good chance of spotting one of the 30 or so resident tigers if you have been unlucky up to now. As well as tiger it is possible, if lucky, to see leopard, bear, wolf and wild dog, and of course there are the Sambar Deer and Hanuman Monkeys. There is also over 180 species of bird. A worthwhile excursion whilst inside the park is to the ancient Bandhavgarh Fort, which is built on a cliff top towering 800 metres above the park. Access is partly by jeep and partly on foot, passing by an ancient temple with a reclining Vishnu statue and a sacred tank. The suggested lodge is Junglemantra, a small lodge near to the village of Tala. The surrounding grounds are kept purposefully naturalistic to encourage wildlife through this natural corridor. In keeping with the hosts determination to be as environmentally responsible as possible there is no air-conditioning (more traditional air-coolers are used instead) and staff are locally sourced.
After your final morning game drive you will be transferred to Katni for your overnight train to Agra, home to the Taj Mahal. An overnight stay at Amarvilas and a visit to the Taj should ensure you finish a memorable trip in style.
To get a quote for this trip or to discuss any of our other Central India journeys please call 0207 359 3938 or email Matt and we can put together a tailormade trip of a lifetime.
- Luxury holidays Italy
- Luxury villas Umbria
- Luxury villas Tuscany
- Luxury family holidays
- Family Wildlife Holidays
- Family Adventure Holidays
- Tailormade holidays to India
- Holidays in Southern Italy
- City breaks Italy
- Holidays with young children
- Family cultural holidays
- Holidays with teenagers
- Holidays to the Pelion
- Tailor made holidays to Italy
- Tailor made Indochina
- Umbria holidays
- Marche holidays
- Puglia holidays
- Sicily holidays
- Campania holidays
- Basilicata holidays
- Calabria holidays
