Blogs from Bandhavgarh NP, Madhya Pradesh, India, Asia - page 2

Summer camp 2010... Seeing a tiger in the wild was a dream I had been nursing for a long time. I made several successful attempts towards this end by visiting Corbett National Park, the Sunderbans, Kanha National Park, Tadoba Reserve and Nagarhole. In 2007 when the rate of extinction of tigers became so alarming we decided to pay a visit to Bandhavgarh (which had been described in glowing terms to me by various wildlife enthusiasts) before tigers went extinct altogether. With work and other commitments looming large over my life this plan did not fructify for another two and a half years after which I resolved that this was one thing holiday I had to take before the sun set on 2009. I embarked on this quest with a friend who had also never seen a ... read more

Day 7 - Panna - Banhavgarh After the slight disappointment of Panna we headed of to Banhavgarh National Park for our first safari in seach of a tiger. This Park was alleged to have had around 70 tigers, so with a sense of anticipation we were picked up after breakfast and set off on our 7 hour journey in our minibus to the Mogli Jungle Resort. The journey was extremly bumpy and we all were very glad of the few stops we had along the way for lunch and toilet breaks where we could stretch our legs. When we arrived at our destination the hotel looked quite promising from the front and we had been told that they had a swimming pool. Unfortunatley that is where the good news ended. We all had a quick look ... read more

It was pretty foggy as the sun rose over the grasslands. I kept thinking to myself how lovely it is to watch the sun rise and hear the birds greeting the morning. It's my last safari in Bandhavgarh. After yesterday's grand tiger show I was wondering if we would see more tigers or if they would lay low this morning. When we met up with our guide he said that there hadn't been any sightings as of yet, but you just never know. We saw quite a few tiger tracks on our way to the central meeting place where the elephants were. But we did not see any tigers along the way. Once we arrived at the central meeting place the guides began exchanging information and Vi told me that no one had seen a tiger ... read more

The trip to Bandhavgarh National Park was a long one. I took a 2 hour flight from Delhi to Khajuraho and met up with my driver for a 7 hour ride into the middle of nowhere. By the time I arrived at the Jungle Lodge it was pitch black and so quiet. They gave me masala tea and some cookies which was so nice after such a long trip. I settled into my room, which was a cute little cottage. It was lovely, and the bed looked so comfortable. One of the staff members came and took me to the dining hall where a very hot dinner was waiting for me. My naturalist, Vi, was waiting for me, the hotel pares you up with a naturalist during your stay which is pretty nice. Since there was ... read more

24 Nov - Bhupindra wakes us at 5.30am so that we're ready to get off the train. We drive straight to Bandhavargh National Park for our first jeep safari ride here. It's a different experience to Ranthambore - great scenery, smaller jeep with just Bhupindra, Liam, Ginny, Mark and myself. Within an hour of driving round the park...we see our first tigers. We spot one some distance away feeding on a kill from the previous day, while enjoying watching that tiger, another one pounces from nowhere right beside us, what an encounter. We stay and watch for a while, what beautiful big pussy cats! The national parks have a good system whereby you can roam around in the jeeps taking your luck that you will spot tigers but meantime, the expert trackers each day find the ... read more