Tigers!
The Ultimate Tiger Safari
covering three of India's best natural history
and tiger national parks
Our itinerary is almost entirely devoted to in-field photography of India's wildlife,
at
Bandhavgarh National Park -
with one of the largest concentrations of tigers in India
Kanha National Park -
one of the big 'four' for viewing tigers (Bandhavgarh is in that four, too), with a wide diversity of herbivores as well.
Pench National Park -
with the highest density of herbivores of any Indian park, and with sloth bears, dhole (Asiatic wild dog), leopards, and tigers
Dates - February 28 to March 19, 2011
Limited to Ten Participants
Price: $7,399
Based on a tour of ten participants.
A sliding scale must be levied for a tour
of four or six participants (see end of brochure for details).
The First Tour is NEARLY FULL. A 2nd tour
will immediately follow the Trip Extension of Tour 1,
March 22 - April 9, 2011
No one is offering a more complete, tiger and wildlife intensive photo safari.
Optional Extension to Satpura National Park!
Scroll to the end of the brochure
Because of our self-imposed limitation of two photographers per jeep we will be accepting participants on a first come/first serve basis, and the last participant, if the fifth, or seventh, or ninth participant, will not be guaranteed a spot until the sixth or eighth or tenth participant registers. You will be first on the list as another participant registers, but we cannot have a one or a three person jeep.
All photos in this brochure are from our tour operator, Amit Sankhala.
I asked Amit to supply me with images like those we could expect to
make, and not shots from stock or a BBC-style shooting crew. I think
they tell a very convincing story!
Some History ...
This is the ultimate tiger trip, visiting three of the best tiger parks without wasting time in cities, as each park is within driving distance of the next. After a tremendous amount of research, we've designed an itinerary that maximizes our chances of photographing tigers, as well as much of India's other exciting wildlife.
Too many years ago, Mary and I did our only tiger photo safari to India, where we visited none of the parks featured in the above itinerary. We did extraordinarily well, and Mary and I saw nine tigers, and the group, in total, saw thirteen. One of Mary's shots ended up as the first place winner in the Endangered Species category of the BBC Wildlife Photographer of the year competition. We saw most of our tigers in a park called Ranthambore, and in the years that followed that park suffered a tremendous amount of tiger poaching, and Mary's first place winning tiger was one of those killed. We lost interest in returning to India.
Over the years, however, friends have returned to India and provided positive feedback. Ranthambore, sad to say, became a tiger-tourist mecca, and tiger viewing there has become something of a carnival. We knew, if we would return, that we would not visit Ranthambore.
These tigers, and the second tiger shown in the brochure (see top)
are our photos from our first trip. Just had to add some of our tiger shots, too!
Fortunately, two other parks gained in prominence as Ranthambore's prestige declined, and those were Bandhavgarh and Kanha. Both offer game-viewing from jeeps as well as elephant back 'tiger shows' (more on this later), and most of the nature films are now made in these two parks.
Last year, I decided to revisit India, and I contemplated doing a scouting trip for just Mary and I. Doing so, we'd be enjoying an almost vacation experience, something we rarely if ever have a chance to do. However, several of our photography friends have been asking us about doing an Indian tiger trip for years, and, since none of us are getting any younger, we felt it prudent to open our scouting trip to participants.
A Scouting Trip
Over several months I contacted and corresponded with several Indian tour companies, many of which specialized in tiger and wildlife photography safaris. Several of these companies cited professional photographers I know as references, and I was pretty confident about the quality I'd expect.
For very compelling reasons, and none of these involving price, I chose our company, which happens to be the same one our African tour operator uses as well. So, as far as an outfitter goes, I'm quite happy.
However, unlike almost all of the trips Mary and I have offered, for this first trip we have not done a pre-tour scouting trip to the locations we'll be visiting. We've already asked a lot of questions, and received great answers, from our outfitter, and I'm sure we'll be asking many more, so that we'll be able to provide our participants with a very complete pre-trip package of information.
What we will not be able to do is state definitively what's going to happen on a given day, or what specific conditions will be at a particular location, or whatever questions someone might ask that, in Africa or elsewhere, we are likely to have a ready answer. There may be some surprises, and we may be surprised or contradicted by subsequent events that we did not foresee.
I'm not stating any of this to scare potential participants away. On the contrary, 
three years ago I took a small group to Brazil for jaguars on a scouting trip, and that experience was incredible, and Brazil's Pantanal Jaguars are now part of our regular schedule. Likewise, our 2009 Alaska whale trip was new to us, and proved to be one of the most exciting and rewarding trips we did that year. I have equal confidence about this trip, but surprises can happen for, after all, THIS IS A SCOUTING TRIP.
So, what does that mean? Aside from a potential surprise here or there, it should mean nothing. Our outfitter has everything arranged like clockwork and I suspect that this year's trip will end up being no different than the trips we will be offering to India in the future. But, I want the honest freedom to be able to shrug and say, I don't know, I haven't been here before, if a particular question arises. If you need those answers now, then you may wish to wait until we do our scouting trip and do a future trip for tigers.
To get the absolute most out of these safaris, or any of our
offerings, consider taking one of our Complete Digital Nature
Photo Courses, in either Pennsylvania or Arizona next summer!
Our Photo Safari
Langur monkeys, a large, tame, and common primate around many
of the park entrances and throughout the forests.
This trip is devoted to photographing India's wildlife, with a special emphasis upon photographing the Bengal tiger, the most threatened of the big cats. Except for our first full day in Delhi, where we'll have the option of doing some city touring or simply resting and getting over jet-lag, all of our time will be spent in the National Parks. We will not be spending time in cities doing tours, and our only non-Delhi city time will be as we drive from the airport in Jabalpur and then as we commute from park to park.
We will game-drive through the parks in jeeps with only TWO PHOTOGRAPHERS per vehicle. There may be a guide, and certainly a driver, but you won't be competing with several people as we do our shooting.
We will also have the opportunity to do some elephant back tiger viewing. These 'Sher Darshan' or tiger shows are offered at Bandhavgarh and Pench, but they are subject to availability, based upon the number of people in the park or with an interest, or if a film crew has taken over all of the elephants.
While this opportunity may arise, our best shooting will be from the vehicles where we'll film tigers at close to ground-level from our open jeeps. These jeeps are open, so you'll be photographing either from a seated position or a kneeling one, depending upon how you are supporting your camera. We'll be bringing along a MOLAR BAG to mount upon the side of the jeep, if that is possible, but we'll also have our tripods along, for shooting off a tripod-mounted lens. This is how we photograph in Botswana, in similar vehicles, and in the Pantanal of Brazil when we photograph jaguars from small boats. While a tripod-mounted lens provides a very sturdy platform, using this system is more awkward than what we experience in Kenya or Tanzania where we often shoot off a rooftop through an open hatch. The jeeps do not provide much room for a tripod, but neither does a boat and you may find that you'll work with a tripod easily, or with the legs folded together into a monopod, or even a bi-pod.
Depending upon your competency in camera-handling, or even in geometry (getting your tripod legs angled correctly, etc.), you might find this shooting challenging, but that's how it is done in India. There is no other option.
We'll be game-driving in the best hours for seeing predators, starting our game drives shortly after dawn and in the late afternoon prior to sunset. And, although the focus and goal of this safari is to photograph tigers, we will photograph every good wildlife and nature subject we find.
Let me repeat that -- we'll photograph everything. It is often very counter-productive to be obsessed with one subject and ignoring others while you seek one goal. On our first trip to the Pantanal for the 'elusive' jaguar, we approached this shoot with the hope that we'd see a jaguar, but even if we didn't, we'd come away with great wildlife shots of everything else we encountered. As it was, we had great jaguars, but we also had a very well-rounded portfolio of all of the Pantanal's wildlife, and we will adopt the same shooting philosophy for this tiger shoot. If you're not interested in anything but tigers, if you're not willing to photograph other species, if you're not prepared to 'smell the roses' and take things as they come, not rushing things and letting nature play out as it may, then do not come with us. Our shooting philosophy has been extremely successful, and even when we haven't shot our target species (which has only happened once, on an African wild dog trip) we nonetheless had a great trip.
Photo of the leopard by Gordon Gould, one of Amit's clients.
I'm extremely confident that we'll get tigers -- we'll be there at the best time, at the best parks, but we'll be photographing wild animals that may not cooperate for us, or for you. It is possible that the jeep that you are in will be at the wrong place at the wrong time and you'll miss the best encounter, or that there will be a traffic jam of vehicles on a cat, and our shooting will be compromised. That reality would occur on any trip, whether a scouting trip or our fiftieth trip, but you must be aware that this could happen.
The Parks
We'll be visiting what I believe are the three best parks for tiger opportunities, and while that point could be argued, other parks in India are quite removed from one another. That means, if one went to Corbett, or to Kazaranga, or Nagorhole, or Ranthambore, one would need to either fly or drive or take a train, wasting valuable field time that could more productively be spent in the field at a park looking for tigers and shooting other species.
As I said in 'History,' Ranthambore is pretty much a disaster these days. I've been to Corbett, where I did see two tigers from elephant back, but the habitat is dense and shooting is difficult. The other parks I've mentioned, and I've been to all, offered little chance for photographing tigers, or indeed other species of wildlife.
So, that said, I'm delighted in designing an itinerary where all of our time is devoted to three parks within driving range of one another, so that no day is entirely wasted by travel.
Bandhavgarh
This may be the premiere tiger park, and may offer the best opportunities for seeing and photographing tigers. Most, if not all, of our photography will be from jeeps, although India's erratic Park's Department sometimes offers elephant ride/tiger viewing Tiger Shows.
We may also have the option of booking elephants for an entire day, but again this will be subject to availability. As of this writing, tiger shows are not available at Bandhavgarh, but that may change. There are pros and cons to shooting from elephants. On the positive side, elephants can take us to locations where our jeeps cannot, and one can get very close with elephants. On the negative side, the shooting can be nearly straight down if both the elephant and the tiger is on the same plane, but it can also be at virtual eye-level if a tiger is on a hill.
A note on the Elephant ride tiger viewing: Unfortunately, the access to elephants is not guaranteed, so we could not build in a trip price that included all-day elephant rides. Further, we might find that we enjoy shooting from the near ground-level perspective of our jeeps, rather than 10 feet above the ground on an elephant's back. However, we may have the option of booking one or more elephants for an entire day, but anyone wishing to take advantage of this opportunity will be paying extra. The price on this will depend upon the park, and the number of photographers per elephant back. We suggest everyone bringing along extra money in case they wish to do one or more additional elephant rides. More details on this will be forwarded to registered participants. This information applies to Bandhavgarh, Kanha, Pench, and the extension at Satpura.
The park is a mixture of bamboo, grassland, and a complex of deciduous forests. There are at least 150 species of birds in the park, along with several great mammals. This may be the best of all India parks for tigers, but there are also sloth bears, langur monkeys, wild boar, and three species of deer - chital, sambar, and barking deer. The park is 168 sq miles, and we'll be game-driving in a 105 sq km area that borders our lodge boundaries, giving us further chances of seeing great wildlife outside the lodge property. The zone where we will be touring has had the best tiger viewing in recent years.
Kanha
Kanha is a more popular and more highly visited park, and offers a variety of species including tigers and leopards, cheetal, Indian bison, barking deer, sambhar deer, and the endangered Barasingha deer. The habitat is similar to Bandhavgarh, a mixture of grassy plains and sal forests.
Tiger Shows, the 'Sher Darshan,'may be offered here, but whether or not elephant rides will be offered or available (sometimes film crews take all the elephants) won't be known until we get there.
Pench, now known as Indira Priyadarshu Pench National Park
I think I'll always refers to this park as Pench! This is the 19th reserve in the Project Tiger and is a little known park. It has a large diversity of wildlife, including leopard, tiger, jungle cat, dhole (wild dog), sloth bear, wild boar, mongoose, gaur (a huge bovine that may be the ancestor to all cattle), and the highest density of herbivores, including cheetal (spotted deer), and sambar.
There are at least 250 species of birds found in the diverse habitats, which is composed of grasslands, open canopy mixed forests, riverine forest systems, and rolling hills.
Our Itinerary
Day 1, Feb 28, 2011 - Depart US or departure city
Day 2, March 1, 2011 - Arrive in Delhi
Welcome dinner and meeting.
Overnight - The Claridges Hotel.
Visit http://www.claridges-hotels.com/delhi/ to check out
our beautiful hotel in Delhi.
Day 3, March 2 - Delhi
Recover from jet-lag or tour the city or engage in other personal activities. In the afternoon we'll visit some markets, including a silver market where the photographic opportunities are stellar. Nearby, there is also a 'gray market' camera market where anything can be purchased - sans boxed -- at the best prices anywhere. If you're short on gear ....
Overnight - The Claridges Hotel
Day 4, March 3- Delhi - Jabalpur - Bandhavgarh
We'll leave the hotel after an early breakfast for our flight to Jabalpur, arriving at approximately 9AM. We'll have a four hour drive to Bandhavgarh National Park where we'll check in to the hotel, and then do an afternoon game drive where we'll introduce ourselves to shooting out of the jeeps.
Overnight - Bandhavgarh Jungle Lodge.
Visit www.tiger-resorts.com to check out our lodging.
Day 5 to 9, March 4 to 8 - Bandhavgarh National Park
Game drives morning and evening for tigers and other wildlife. We'll have the option of visiting the Garh, or Bandhavgarh Fort from which this park gets its name, where there is a temple situated on a hill. There's a huge statue of Lord Vishnu, a religious icon of Indian culture.
Overnights - Bandhavgarh Jungle Lodge.
Our lodges in Bandhavgarh and Kanha are owned by the tour
operator we'll be using. You're looking at a bedroom, eating area,
looking out at the grounds, and a porch outdoor relaxing and viewing area.
Day 10, March 9 - Bandhavgarh to Kanha
After an early breakfast we'll depart for a five hour drive to Kanha National Park. We'll check in to our hotel and prepare for an afternoon game drive.
Overnight - Kanha Jungle Lodge
Day 11 to 15, March 10 to 14 - Kanha National Park
We'll be doing morning and evening game drives through Kanha's varied habitats, and if the Tiger Shows are available we're likely to do at least one of these. Shooting from elephant back does give a photographer the opportunity to film tigers (if found) when they've come to rest for the day off track, but the shooting is generally at an angle, and sometimes a steep angle at that. All of my sources have stated that getting an elephant tiger show is not guaranteed, and that the shooting is better from the vehicles. Nevertheless, I'm sure we'll try at least one if we get the chance.
For anyone who wishes, if Tiger Show elephants are available it may be possible to book an elephant for the entire day. This is expensive and we did not include this as part of our tour, but it may be an option for someone who desires to spend more time on elephants, for whatever reason. Refer to the notes above, and further details on these elephant safaris will be forwarded to registered participants as information comes in.
Overnights - Kanha Jungle Lodge
Visit www.tiger-resorts.com to check out our lodging.
One of the lounges in B or K, and tea time overlooking the grounds.
Day 16, March 15 - Kanha to Pench National Park
After breakfast we'll head out to our last destination, the little known treasure of Pench. We'll check into our lodge, the Tuli Tiger Corridor, luxury cottages with AC, and after a break we'll have an afternoon game drive.
Overnight - Tuli Tiger Corridor
Day 17 - 18, March 16 and 17 - Pench National Park
We'll do morning and afternoon game drives, and may have another opportunity for an elephant back safari. Pench has a wide variety of wildlife, and although it probably has fewer tigers than our other two parks we'll be ready to fill in our portfolios with the other animals and birds found here. As I mentioned earlier, there is a variety of exciting species, including dhole and sloth bear and leopard, as well as the herbivores and birds.
Overnights - Tuli Tiger Corridor
Visit www.tulihotels.com to check out the lodging.
Day 19, March 18 - Pench to Nagpur to Delhi
For those not going on with the extension, we'll have an early morning transfer to Nagpur to board a flight to Delhi, arriving in the late morning in Delhi where we will have a day room until 9PM that evening. We'll have a Farewell Dinner before transfering to Indira Gandhi International Airport for your flight home.
Day Room - Radisson Hotel
For those doing the extension, scroll down to the bottom of this brochure.
Day 20, March 19 - Delhi to Home
In the late hours of Day 19 we'll transfer to the airport and board flights for home.
The Tour Price is $7,399
based upon eight participants.
For a tour of four participants there will be a $300 additional cost.
For a tour of six participants there will be a $150 additional cost.
For a tour of two participants, there will be a $900 additional cost.
Trip Deposit - $2,000 nonrefundable deposit
Single Supplement - $2,212
Our Tour Cost Includes
Accommodations on double/twin sharing basis
Meals in Delhi - Breakfasts and Welcome Dinner on Day 2 and 3
Tips for the jeep drivers, mahots, and our English-speaking guides
All Meals and Accommodations while on Safari, Day 4 - 19
Service of English speaking resident naturalists in each park
Jeep safaris, with 2 per vehicle
Elephant safari (tiger show) subject to availablity
Farewell dinner at 'The Great Kebab Factory' in Delhi
Airfare for domestic flight to Jabalpur and back to Delhi
All transfers - from airport to hotel in Delhi and to airport
Our Tour Cost does not include
Insurance fees
International Airfare
Expenditures of a personal nature, including drinks, laundary, phone calls,
alcoholic beverages, tips
Any sudden and unforeseen increase in price due to an increase in Park Fees, Fuel Costs, or Government Tax Policies beyound our control, acts of god, natural calamity, law and order situations, riots, or forced changes in itinerary due to situations or reasons beyond our control
As with any International trip, we strongly recommend you purchase travel trip insurance.
Optional Extention to Satpura National Park
Day 19 - March 18
Pench to Satpura
Morning drive to Satpura
For those doing the extension we'll leave early for our drive to Satpura National Park after having a breakfast and tearful farewell for anyone leaving us! We'll have a morning drive to reach our next destination, one of the newest of India's parks with some of the most diverse group of predators found anywhere.
This unique park probably sports the most spectacular habitat and landscapes of any park in the Project Tiger system, and as a new park it is almost unvisited. On the negative, tiger sightings are not common and the road system is not as well developed as in other parks, but on the positive side the wildlife sightings have been very good, and there are few tourists to contend with. Satpura has the promise of becoming one of the best locations for wildlife viewing, and there is the opportunity to go through the park in many ways.
Satpura National Park is located in south Hoshangabad district in Madhya Pradesh.
The 524 Sq km Park is the core area of the Panchmarchi Biosphere Reserve that includes Bori wildlife sanctuary to its south-west and Panchmarhi wildlife sanctuary to its northeast. The park has an elevation of 320-1,352m with tall sandstone mountains, narrow gorges, ravines, water falls, streams and dense forests near the Mahadev hills in the Pachmarhi plateau. The area boasts two unique species of trees – the sal and the teak besides a wide variety of ferns, mango trees, butterflies and birds. Upon arrival at Satpura check into Forsyth loge.
Forsyth’s Satpura is a stylish environmentally friendly lodge that is engaged with the park management and the local community in a pioneering effort to create an
unprecedented jungle experience in one of the most exciting tiger habitats in the
world. This is an effort to create an exceptional wilderness experience for those
who truly revel in wild places far from the jeep borne hordes that have defaced so many other parks. Lunch and afternoon visit to the park by 4x4 Jeep with an
English-speaking Naturalist.
Whether or not we'll have the time or energy to avail ourselves of the options, we'll have the chance to canoe, kayak, hike, use elephants, jeep, or stay in blinds -- if the Satpura website is indeed accurate. In talking with our outfitter it sounds promising, but not enough of a sure-thing to incorporate into the main tour. However, if you read the reviews on their website, they were excellent, and the wildlife sightings were great. How that translates into photography will remain to be seen, but it sure looks promising!
Dinner and overnight at Forsyth Lodge.
Visit the Forsyth Lodge, Satpura website for a preview.
Day 20 - 22
March 19 to 21
Satpura National Park
We will have the options of Game drives / walking safarsi / elephant safaris / or bush walk at and around camp or village walk.
One of the greatest attractions of Satpura may be the small predators, mammals, and bird life that are found around the grounds of the lodge. The Forsyth lodge has made a special emphasis upon plantings and setting up small water holes to attract the lesser predators, and we may have some of our most exciting shooting here - day or night -- on jungle cats, civets, and other species. After over two full weeks of 'tiger hunting' and photographing the major animal species, Satpura may offer a very refreshing change and an opportunity to film species not normally seen. I'm looking at this extension as a great way to round out my Indian wildlife portfolio!
As I mentioned above, there are a lot of activities one can do and the trick, truly, will be deciding upon what we, or you, individually, wish to do! If the wildlife viewing is great by jeep, or elephant, we may devote all of our time to that, but the canoeing and kayaking opportunities sound very interesting, too.
Overnight at Forsyth Lodge, Satpura.
Day 23
March 22
Satpura - Bhopal - Delhi
Early morning drive to Bhopal Airport to board our flight for Delhi (a 3.5 hour flight), arriving approximately at 11:50AM. On arrival we'll transfer to our hotel for a day room until 9PM. We'll have a farewell dinner at the Indira Gandhi International Pairpor before your flight home.
Day 24
March 23
Delhi-Onward Journey
On time transfer to the Airport for your flight back home
Optional Extension Price:
$1,700
Our Extension cost includes:
Accommodation on double / twin sharing basis at hotels mentioned above or in
similar category.
Your accommodation at Forsyth Lodge, Satpura includes all meals i.e. breakfast,
Lunch & Dinner with morning and evening tea with cookies.
Services of Air Conditioned Car / Toyta Innova / Tempo Traveler / Mini Coach for
transfers in Delhi & Services of air Conditioned Toyota Innovas/Sumo for drives-
Pench-Satpura-Bhopal sectors depending up the number of guests.
Services of English speaking resident naturalist in Satpura National parks.
Jeep Safaris (sits 2 in a jeep)/elephant safari / boat ride / Village walks as mentioned in itinerary inclusive of entry fee to park, resident naturalist services. (Elephant Ride is subject to availability)
Farewell Dinner at restaurant “The Great Kebab Factory” in Delhi.
Cost does not include:
Any additional Airfare , any insurance fee
Anything not mentioned in inclusion above.
Any expenditure of personal nature like tabled drinks, laundry, telephone calls, soft/hard drinks, Tips.
Any sudden increase in price due to steep hike in park Entry Fee, steep hike in fuel cost, change in government tax policy or for any reason beyond our control like acts of god, natural calamity, law and order situation, riots etc and any forced change in itinerary for any unforeseen situation or reason beyond our control.
As with any International trip, we strongly recommend you purchase travel trip insurance.
Contact us by e-mail:info@hoothollow.com
Phone us at 717-543-6423
Or FAX us at: (717) 543-5342
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Tigers!
The Ultimate Tiger Safari
covering three of India's best natural history
and tiger national parks
Our itinerary is almost entirely devoted to in-field photography of India's wildlife,
at
Bandhavgarh National Park -
with one of the largest concentrations of tigers in India
Kanha National Park -
one of the big 'four' for viewing tigers (Bandhavgarh is in that four, too), with a wide diversity of herbivores as well.
Pench National Park -
with the highest density of herbivores of any Indian park, and with sloth bears, dhole (Asiatic wild dog), leopards, and tigers
Dates - February 28 to March 19, 2011
Limited to Ten Participants
Price: $7,399
Based on a tour of ten participants.
A sliding scale must be levied for a tour
of four or six participants (see end of brochure for details).
The First Tour is NEARLY FULL. A 2nd tour
will immediately follow the Trip Extension of Tour 1,
March 22 - April 9, 2011
No one is offering a more complete, tiger and wildlife intensive photo safari.
Optional Extension to Satpura National Park!
Scroll to the end of the brochure
Because of our self-imposed limitation of two photographers per jeep we will be accepting participants on a first come/first serve basis, and the last participant, if the fifth, or seventh, or ninth participant, will not be guaranteed a spot until the sixth or eighth or tenth participant registers. You will be first on the list as another participant registers, but we cannot have a one or a three person jeep.
All photos in this brochure are from our tour operator, Amit Sankhala.
I asked Amit to supply me with images like those we could expect to
make, and not shots from stock or a BBC-style shooting crew. I think
they tell a very convincing story!
Some History ...
This is the ultimate tiger trip, visiting three of the best tiger parks without wasting time in cities, as each park is within driving distance of the next. After a tremendous amount of research, we've designed an itinerary that maximizes our chances of photographing tigers, as well as much of India's other exciting wildlife.
Too many years ago, Mary and I did our only tiger photo safari to India, where we visited none of the parks featured in the above itinerary. We did extraordinarily well, and Mary and I saw nine tigers, and the group, in total, saw thirteen. One of Mary's shots ended up as the first place winner in the Endangered Species category of the BBC Wildlife Photographer of the year competition. We saw most of our tigers in a park called Ranthambore, and in the years that followed that park suffered a tremendous amount of tiger poaching, and Mary's first place winning tiger was one of those killed. We lost interest in returning to India.
Over the years, however, friends have returned to India and provided positive feedback. Ranthambore, sad to say, became a tiger-tourist mecca, and tiger viewing there has become something of a carnival. We knew, if we would return, that we would not visit Ranthambore.
These tigers, and the second tiger shown in the brochure (see top)
are our photos from our first trip. Just had to add some of our tiger shots, too!
Fortunately, two other parks gained in prominence as Ranthambore's prestige declined, and those were Bandhavgarh and Kanha. Both offer game-viewing from jeeps as well as elephant back 'tiger shows' (more on this later), and most of the nature films are now made in these two parks.
Last year, I decided to revisit India, and I contemplated doing a scouting trip for just Mary and I. Doing so, we'd be enjoying an almost vacation experience, something we rarely if ever have a chance to do. However, several of our photography friends have been asking us about doing an Indian tiger trip for years, and, since none of us are getting any younger, we felt it prudent to open our scouting trip to participants.
A Scouting Trip
Over several months I contacted and corresponded with several Indian tour companies, many of which specialized in tiger and wildlife photography safaris. Several of these companies cited professional photographers I know as references, and I was pretty confident about the quality I'd expect.
For very compelling reasons, and none of these involving price, I chose our company, which happens to be the same one our African tour operator uses as well. So, as far as an outfitter goes, I'm quite happy.
However, unlike almost all of the trips Mary and I have offered, for this first trip we have not done a pre-tour scouting trip to the locations we'll be visiting. We've already asked a lot of questions, and received great answers, from our outfitter, and I'm sure we'll be asking many more, so that we'll be able to provide our participants with a very complete pre-trip package of information.
What we will not be able to do is state definitively what's going to happen on a given day, or what specific conditions will be at a particular location, or whatever questions someone might ask that, in Africa or elsewhere, we are likely to have a ready answer. There may be some surprises, and we may be surprised or contradicted by subsequent events that we did not foresee.
I'm not stating any of this to scare potential participants away. On the contrary, three years ago I took a small group to Brazil for jaguars on a scouting trip, and that experience was incredible, and Brazil's Pantanal Jaguars are now part of our regular schedule. Likewise, our 2009 Alaska whale trip was new to us, and proved to be one of the most exciting and rewarding trips we did that year. I have equal confidence about this trip, but surprises can happen for, after all, THIS IS A SCOUTING TRIP.
So, what does that mean? Aside from a potential surprise here or there, it should mean nothing. Our outfitter has everything arranged like clockwork and I suspect that this year's trip will end up being no different than the trips we will be offering to India in the future. But, I want the honest freedom to be able to shrug and say, I don't know, I haven't been here before, if a particular question arises. If you need those answers now, then you may wish to wait until we do our scouting trip and do a future trip for tigers.
To get the absolute most out of these safaris, or any of our
offerings, consider taking one of our Complete Digital Nature
Photo Courses, in either Pennsylvania or Arizona next summer!
Our Photo Safari
Langur monkeys, a large, tame, and common primate around many
of the park entrances and throughout the forests.
This trip is devoted to photographing India's wildlife, with a special emphasis upon photographing the Bengal tiger, the most threatened of the big cats. Except for our first full day in Delhi, where we'll have the option of doing some city touring or simply resting and getting over jet-lag, all of our time will be spent in the National Parks. We will not be spending time in cities doing tours, and our only non-Delhi city time will be as we drive from the airport in Jabalpur and then as we commute from park to park.
We will game-drive through the parks in jeeps with only TWO PHOTOGRAPHERS per vehicle. There may be a guide, and certainly a driver, but you won't be competing with several people as we do our shooting.
We will also have the opportunity to do some elephant back tiger viewing. These 'Sher Darshan' or tiger shows are offered at Bandhavgarh and Pench, but they are subject to availability, based upon the number of people in the park or with an interest, or if a film crew has taken over all of the elephants.
While this opportunity may arise, our best shooting will be from the vehicles where we'll film tigers at close to ground-level from our open jeeps. These jeeps are open, so you'll be photographing either from a seated position or a kneeling one, depending upon how you are supporting your camera. We'll be bringing along a MOLAR BAG to mount upon the side of the jeep, if that is possible, but we'll also have our tripods along, for shooting off a tripod-mounted lens. This is how we photograph in Botswana, in similar vehicles, and in the Pantanal of Brazil when we photograph jaguars from small boats. While a tripod-mounted lens provides a very sturdy platform, using this system is more awkward than what we experience in Kenya or Tanzania where we often shoot off a rooftop through an open hatch. The jeeps do not provide much room for a tripod, but neither does a boat and you may find that you'll work with a tripod easily, or with the legs folded together into a monopod, or even a bi-pod.
Depending upon your competency in camera-handling, or even in geometry (getting your tripod legs angled correctly, etc.), you might find this shooting challenging, but that's how it is done in India. There is no other option.
We'll be game-driving in the best hours for seeing predators, starting our game drives shortly after dawn and in the late afternoon prior to sunset. And, although the focus and goal of this safari is to photograph tigers, we will photograph every good wildlife and nature subject we find.
Let me repeat that -- we'll photograph everything. It is often very counter-productive to be obsessed with one subject and ignoring others while you seek one goal. On our first trip to the Pantanal for the 'elusive' jaguar, we approached this shoot with the hope that we'd see a jaguar, but even if we didn't, we'd come away with great wildlife shots of everything else we encountered. As it was, we had great jaguars, but we also had a very well-rounded portfolio of all of the Pantanal's wildlife, and we will adopt the same shooting philosophy for this tiger shoot. If you're not interested in anything but tigers, if you're not willing to photograph other species, if you're not prepared to 'smell the roses' and take things as they come, not rushing things and letting nature play out as it may, then do not come with us. Our shooting philosophy has been extremely successful, and even when we haven't shot our target species (which has only happened once, on an African wild dog trip) we nonetheless had a great trip.
Photo of the leopard by Gordon Gould, one of Amit's clients.
I'm extremely confident that we'll get tigers -- we'll be there at the best time, at the best parks, but we'll be photographing wild animals that may not cooperate for us, or for you. It is possible that the jeep that you are in will be at the wrong place at the wrong time and you'll miss the best encounter, or that there will be a traffic jam of vehicles on a cat, and our shooting will be compromised. That reality would occur on any trip, whether a scouting trip or our fiftieth trip, but you must be aware that this could happen.
The Parks
We'll be visiting what I believe are the three best parks for tiger opportunities, and while that point could be argued, other parks in India are quite removed from one another. That means, if one went to Corbett, or to Kazaranga, or Nagorhole, or Ranthambore, one would need to either fly or drive or take a train, wasting valuable field time that could more productively be spent in the field at a park looking for tigers and shooting other species.
As I said in 'History,' Ranthambore is pretty much a disaster these days. I've been to Corbett, where I did see two tigers from elephant back, but the habitat is dense and shooting is difficult. The other parks I've mentioned, and I've been to all, offered little chance for photographing tigers, or indeed other species of wildlife.
So, that said, I'm delighted in designing an itinerary where all of our time is devoted to three parks within driving range of one another, so that no day is entirely wasted by travel.
Bandhavgarh
This may be the premiere tiger park, and may offer the best opportunities for seeing and photographing tigers. Most, if not all, of our photography will be from jeeps, although India's erratic Park's Department sometimes offers elephant ride/tiger viewing Tiger Shows.
We may also have the option of booking elephants for an entire day, but again this will be subject to availability. As of this writing, tiger shows are not available at Bandhavgarh, but that may change. There are pros and cons to shooting from elephants. On the positive side, elephants can take us to locations where our jeeps cannot, and one can get very close with elephants. On the negative side, the shooting can be nearly straight down if both the elephant and the tiger is on the same plane, but it can also be at virtual eye-level if a tiger is on a hill.
A note on the Elephant ride tiger viewing: Unfortunately, the access to elephants is not guaranteed, so we could not build in a trip price that included all-day elephant rides. Further, we might find that we enjoy shooting from the near ground-level perspective of our jeeps, rather than 10 feet above the ground on an elephant's back. However, we may have the option of booking one or more elephants for an entire day, but anyone wishing to take advantage of this opportunity will be paying extra. The price on this will depend upon the park, and the number of photographers per elephant back. We suggest everyone bringing along extra money in case they wish to do one or more additional elephant rides. More details on this will be forwarded to registered participants. This information applies to Bandhavgarh, Kanha, Pench, and the extension at Satpura.
The park is a mixture of bamboo, grassland, and a complex of deciduous forests. There are at least 150 species of birds in the park, along with several great mammals. This may be the best of all India parks for tigers, but there are also sloth bears, langur monkeys, wild boar, and three species of deer - chital, sambar, and barking deer. The park is 168 sq miles, and we'll be game-driving in a 105 sq km area that borders our lodge boundaries, giving us further chances of seeing great wildlife outside the lodge property. The zone where we will be touring has had the best tiger viewing in recent years.
Kanha
Kanha is a more popular and more highly visited park, and offers a variety of species including tigers and leopards, cheetal, Indian bison, barking deer, sambhar deer, and the endangered Barasingha deer. The habitat is similar to Bandhavgarh, a mixture of grassy plains and sal forests.
Tiger Shows, the 'Sher Darshan,'may be offered here, but whether or not elephant rides will be offered or available (sometimes film crews take all the elephants) won't be known until we get there.
Pench, now known as Indira Priyadarshu Pench National Park
I think I'll always refers to this park as Pench! This is the 19th reserve in the Project Tiger and is a little known park. It has a large diversity of wildlife, including leopard, tiger, jungle cat, dhole (wild dog), sloth bear, wild boar, mongoose, gaur (a huge bovine that may be the ancestor to all cattle), and the highest density of herbivores, including cheetal (spotted deer), and sambar.
There are at least 250 species of birds found in the diverse habitats, which is composed of grasslands, open canopy mixed forests, riverine forest systems, and rolling hills.
Our Itinerary
Day 1, Feb 28, 2011 - Depart US or departure city
Day 2, March 1, 2011 - Arrive in Delhi
Welcome dinner and meeting.
Overnight - The Claridges Hotel.
Visit http://www.claridges-hotels.com/delhi/ to check out
our beautiful hotel in Delhi.
Day 3, March 2 - Delhi
Recover from jet-lag or tour the city or engage in other personal activities. In the afternoon we'll visit some markets, including a silver market where the photographic opportunities are stellar. Nearby, there is also a 'gray market' camera market where anything can be purchased - sans boxed -- at the best prices anywhere. If you're short on gear ....
Overnight - The Claridges Hotel
Day 4, March 3- Delhi - Jabalpur - Bandhavgarh
We'll leave the hotel after an early breakfast for our flight to Jabalpur, arriving at approximately 9AM. We'll have a four hour drive to Bandhavgarh National Park where we'll check in to the hotel, and then do an afternoon game drive where we'll introduce ourselves to shooting out of the jeeps.
Overnight - Bandhavgarh Jungle Lodge.
Visit www.tiger-resorts.com to check out our lodging.
Day 5 to 9, March 4 to 8 - Bandhavgarh National Park
Game drives morning and evening for tigers and other wildlife. We'll have the option of visiting the Garh, or Bandhavgarh Fort from which this park gets its name, where there is a temple situated on a hill. There's a huge statue of Lord Vishnu, a religious icon of Indian culture.
Overnights - Bandhavgarh Jungle Lodge.
Our lodges in Bandhavgarh and Kanha are owned by the tour
operator we'll be using. You're looking at a bedroom, eating area,
looking out at the grounds, and a porch outdoor relaxing and viewing area.
Day 10, March 9 - Bandhavgarh to Kanha
After an early breakfast we'll depart for a five hour drive to Kanha National Park. We'll check in to our hotel and prepare for an afternoon game drive.
Overnight - Kanha Jungle Lodge
Day 11 to 15, March 10 to 14 - Kanha National Park
We'll be doing morning and evening game drives through Kanha's varied habitats, and if the Tiger Shows are available we're likely to do at least one of these. Shooting from elephant back does give a photographer the opportunity to film tigers (if found) when they've come to rest for the day off track, but the shooting is generally at an angle, and sometimes a steep angle at that. All of my sources have stated that getting an elephant tiger show is not guaranteed, and that the shooting is better from the vehicles. Nevertheless, I'm sure we'll try at least one if we get the chance.
For anyone who wishes, if Tiger Show elephants are available it may be possible to book an elephant for the entire day. This is expensive and we did not include this as part of our tour, but it may be an option for someone who desires to spend more time on elephants, for whatever reason. Refer to the notes above, and further details on these elephant safaris will be forwarded to registered participants as information comes in.
Overnights - Kanha Jungle Lodge
Visit www.tiger-resorts.com to check out our lodging.
One of the lounges in B or K, and tea time overlooking the grounds.
Day 16, March 15 - Kanha to Pench National Park
After breakfast we'll head out to our last destination, the little known treasure of Pench. We'll check into our lodge, the Tuli Tiger Corridor, luxury cottages with AC, and after a break we'll have an afternoon game drive.
Overnight - Tuli Tiger Corridor
Day 17 - 18, March 16 and 17 - Pench National Park
We'll do morning and afternoon game drives, and may have another opportunity for an elephant back safari. Pench has a wide variety of wildlife, and although it probably has fewer tigers than our other two parks we'll be ready to fill in our portfolios with the other animals and birds found here. As I mentioned earlier, there is a variety of exciting species, including dhole and sloth bear and leopard, as well as the herbivores and birds.
Overnights - Tuli Tiger Corridor
Visit www.tulihotels.com to check out the lodging.
Day 19, March 18 - Pench to Nagpur to Delhi
For those not going on with the extension, we'll have an early morning transfer to Nagpur to board a flight to Delhi, arriving in the late morning in Delhi where we will have a day room until 9PM that evening. We'll have a Farewell Dinner before transfering to Indira Gandhi International Airport for your flight home.
Day Room - Radisson Hotel
For those doing the extension, scroll down to the bottom of this brochure.
Day 20, March 19 - Delhi to Home
In the late hours of Day 19 we'll transfer to the airport and board flights for home.
The Tour Price is $7,399
based upon eight participants.
For a tour of four participants there will be a $300 additional cost.
For a tour of six participants there will be a $150 additional cost.
For a tour of two participants, there will be a $900 additional cost.
Trip Deposit - $2,000 nonrefundable deposit
Single Supplement - $2,212
Our Tour Cost Includes
Accommodations on double/twin sharing basis
Meals in Delhi - Breakfasts and Welcome Dinner on Day 2 and 3
Tips for the jeep drivers, mahots, and our English-speaking guides
All Meals and Accommodations while on Safari, Day 4 - 19
Service of English speaking resident naturalists in each park
Jeep safaris, with 2 per vehicle
Elephant safari (tiger show) subject to availablity
Farewell dinner at 'The Great Kebab Factory' in Delhi
Airfare for domestic flight to Jabalpur and back to Delhi
All transfers - from airport to hotel in Delhi and to airport
Our Tour Cost does not include
Insurance fees
International Airfare
Expenditures of a personal nature, including drinks, laundary, phone calls,
alcoholic beverages, tips
Any sudden and unforeseen increase in price due to an increase in Park Fees, Fuel Costs, or Government Tax Policies beyound our control, acts of god, natural calamity, law and order situations, riots, or forced changes in itinerary due to situations or reasons beyond our control
As with any International trip, we strongly recommend you purchase travel trip insurance.
Optional Extention to Satpura National Park
Day 19 - March 18
Pench to Satpura
Morning drive to Satpura
For those doing the extension we'll leave early for our drive to Satpura National Park after having a breakfast and tearful farewell for anyone leaving us! We'll have a morning drive to reach our next destination, one of the newest of India's parks with some of the most diverse group of predators found anywhere.
This unique park probably sports the most spectacular habitat and landscapes of any park in the Project Tiger system, and as a new park it is almost unvisited. On the negative, tiger sightings are not common and the road system is not as well developed as in other parks, but on the positive side the wildlife sightings have been very good, and there are few tourists to contend with. Satpura has the promise of becoming one of the best locations for wildlife viewing, and there is the opportunity to go through the park in many ways.
Satpura National Park is located in south Hoshangabad district in Madhya Pradesh.
The 524 Sq km Park is the core area of the Panchmarchi Biosphere Reserve that includes Bori wildlife sanctuary to its south-west and Panchmarhi wildlife sanctuary to its northeast. The park has an elevation of 320-1,352m with tall sandstone mountains, narrow gorges, ravines, water falls, streams and dense forests near the Mahadev hills in the Pachmarhi plateau. The area boasts two unique species of trees – the sal and the teak besides a wide variety of ferns, mango trees, butterflies and birds. Upon arrival at Satpura check into Forsyth loge.
Forsyth’s Satpura is a stylish environmentally friendly lodge that is engaged with the park management and the local community in a pioneering effort to create an
unprecedented jungle experience in one of the most exciting tiger habitats in the
world. This is an effort to create an exceptional wilderness experience for those
who truly revel in wild places far from the jeep borne hordes that have defaced so many other parks. Lunch and afternoon visit to the park by 4x4 Jeep with an
English-speaking Naturalist.
Whether or not we'll have the time or energy to avail ourselves of the options, we'll have the chance to canoe, kayak, hike, use elephants, jeep, or stay in blinds -- if the Satpura website is indeed accurate. In talking with our outfitter it sounds promising, but not enough of a sure-thing to incorporate into the main tour. However, if you read the reviews on their website, they were excellent, and the wildlife sightings were great. How that translates into photography will remain to be seen, but it sure looks promising!
Dinner and overnight at Forsyth Lodge.
Visit the Forsyth Lodge, Satpura website for a preview.
Day 20 - 22
March 19 to 21
Satpura National Park
We will have the options of Game drives / walking safarsi / elephant safaris / or bush walk at and around camp or village walk.
One of the greatest attractions of Satpura may be the small predators, mammals, and bird life that are found around the grounds of the lodge. The Forsyth lodge has made a special emphasis upon plantings and setting up small water holes to attract the lesser predators, and we may have some of our most exciting shooting here - day or night -- on jungle cats, civets, and other species. After over two full weeks of 'tiger hunting' and photographing the major animal species, Satpura may offer a very refreshing change and an opportunity to film species not normally seen. I'm looking at this extension as a great way to round out my Indian wildlife portfolio!
As I mentioned above, there are a lot of activities one can do and the trick, truly, will be deciding upon what we, or you, individually, wish to do! If the wildlife viewing is great by jeep, or elephant, we may devote all of our time to that, but the canoeing and kayaking opportunities sound very interesting, too.
Overnight at Forsyth Lodge, Satpura.
Day 23
March 22
Satpura - Bhopal - Delhi
Early morning drive to Bhopal Airport to board our flight for Delhi (a 3.5 hour flight), arriving approximately at 11:50AM. On arrival we'll transfer to our hotel for a day room until 9PM. We'll have a farewell dinner at the Indira Gandhi International Pairpor before your flight home.
Day 24
March 23
Delhi-Onward Journey
On time transfer to the Airport for your flight back home
Optional Extension Price:
$1,700
Our Extension cost includes:
Accommodation on double / twin sharing basis at hotels mentioned above or in
similar category.
Your accommodation at Forsyth Lodge, Satpura includes all meals i.e. breakfast,
Lunch & Dinner with morning and evening tea with cookies.
Services of Air Conditioned Car / Toyta Innova / Tempo Traveler / Mini Coach for
transfers in Delhi & Services of air Conditioned Toyota Innovas/Sumo for drives-
Pench-Satpura-Bhopal sectors depending up the number of guests.
Services of English speaking resident naturalist in Satpura National parks.
Jeep Safaris (sits 2 in a jeep)/elephant safari / boat ride / Village walks as mentioned in itinerary inclusive of entry fee to park, resident naturalist services. (Elephant Ride is subject to availability)
Farewell Dinner at restaurant “The Great Kebab Factory” in Delhi.
Cost does not include:
Any additional Airfare , any insurance fee
Anything not mentioned in inclusion above.
Any expenditure of personal nature like tabled drinks, laundry, telephone calls, soft/hard drinks, Tips.
Any sudden increase in price due to steep hike in park Entry Fee, steep hike in fuel cost, change in government tax policy or for any reason beyond our control like acts of god, natural calamity, law and order situation, riots etc and any forced change in itinerary for any unforeseen situation or reason beyond our control.
As with any International trip, we strongly recommend you purchase travel trip insurance.
Contact us by e-mail:info@hoothollow.com
Phone us at 717-543-6423
Or FAX us at: (717) 543-5342
Return to HomePage
Tigers!
The Ultimate Tiger Safari
covering three of India's best natural history
and tiger national parks
Our itinerary is almost entirely devoted to in-field photography of India's wildlife,
at
Bandhavgarh National Park -
with one of the largest concentrations of tigers in India
Kanha National Park -
one of the big 'four' for viewing tigers (Bandhavgarh is in that four, too), with a wide diversity of herbivores as well.
Pench National Park -
with the highest density of herbivores of any Indian park, and with sloth bears, dhole (Asiatic wild dog), leopards, and tigers
Dates - February 28 to March 19, 2011
Limited to Ten Participants
Price: $7,399
Based on a tour of ten participants.
A sliding scale must be levied for a tour
of four or six participants (see end of brochure for details).
The First Tour is NEARLY FULL. A 2nd tour
will immediately follow the Trip Extension of Tour 1,
March 22 - April 9, 2011
No one is offering a more complete, tiger and wildlife intensive photo safari.
Optional Extension to Satpura National Park!
Scroll to the end of the brochure
Because of our self-imposed limitation of two photographers per jeep we will be accepting participants on a first come/first serve basis, and the last participant, if the fifth, or seventh, or ninth participant, will not be guaranteed a spot until the sixth or eighth or tenth participant registers. You will be first on the list as another participant registers, but we cannot have a one or a three person jeep.
All photos in this brochure are from our tour operator, Amit Sankhala.
I asked Amit to supply me with images like those we could expect to
make, and not shots from stock or a BBC-style shooting crew. I think
they tell a very convincing story!
Some History ...
This is the ultimate tiger trip, visiting three of the best tiger parks without wasting time in cities, as each park is within driving distance of the next. After a tremendous amount of research, we've designed an itinerary that maximizes our chances of photographing tigers, as well as much of India's other exciting wildlife.
Too many years ago, Mary and I did our only tiger photo safari to India, where we visited none of the parks featured in the above itinerary. We did extraordinarily well, and Mary and I saw nine tigers, and the group, in total, saw thirteen. One of Mary's shots ended up as the first place winner in the Endangered Species category of the BBC Wildlife Photographer of the year competition. We saw most of our tigers in a park called Ranthambore, and in the years that followed that park suffered a tremendous amount of tiger poaching, and Mary's first place winning tiger was one of those killed. We lost interest in returning to India.
Over the years, however, friends have returned to India and provided positive feedback. Ranthambore, sad to say, became a tiger-tourist mecca, and tiger viewing there has become something of a carnival. We knew, if we would return, that we would not visit Ranthambore.
These tigers, and the second tiger shown in the brochure (see top)
are our photos from our first trip. Just had to add some of our tiger shots, too!
Fortunately, two other parks gained in prominence as Ranthambore's prestige declined, and those were Bandhavgarh and Kanha. Both offer game-viewing from jeeps as well as elephant back 'tiger shows' (more on this later), and most of the nature films are now made in these two parks.
Last year, I decided to revisit India, and I contemplated doing a scouting trip for just Mary and I. Doing so, we'd be enjoying an almost vacation experience, something we rarely if ever have a chance to do. However, several of our photography friends have been asking us about doing an Indian tiger trip for years, and, since none of us are getting any younger, we felt it prudent to open our scouting trip to participants.
A Scouting Trip
Over several months I contacted and corresponded with several Indian tour companies, many of which specialized in tiger and wildlife photography safaris. Several of these companies cited professional photographers I know as references, and I was pretty confident about the quality I'd expect.
For very compelling reasons, and none of these involving price, I chose our company, which happens to be the same one our African tour operator uses as well. So, as far as an outfitter goes, I'm quite happy.
However, unlike almost all of the trips Mary and I have offered, for this first trip we have not done a pre-tour scouting trip to the locations we'll be visiting. We've already asked a lot of questions, and received great answers, from our outfitter, and I'm sure we'll be asking many more, so that we'll be able to provide our participants with a very complete pre-trip package of information.
What we will not be able to do is state definitively what's going to happen on a given day, or what specific conditions will be at a particular location, or whatever questions someone might ask that, in Africa or elsewhere, we are likely to have a ready answer. There may be some surprises, and we may be surprised or contradicted by subsequent events that we did not foresee.
I'm not stating any of this to scare potential participants away. On the contrary, three years ago I took a small group to Brazil for jaguars on a scouting trip, and that experience was incredible, and Brazil's Pantanal Jaguars are now part of our regular schedule. Likewise, our 2009 Alaska whale trip was new to us, and proved to be one of the most exciting and rewarding trips we did that year. I have equal confidence about this trip, but surprises can happen for, after all, THIS IS A SCOUTING TRIP.
So, what does that mean? Aside from a potential surprise here or there, it should mean nothing. Our outfitter has everything arranged like clockwork and I suspect that this year's trip will end up being no different than the trips we will be offering to India in the future. But, I want the honest freedom to be able to shrug and say, I don't know, I haven't been here before, if a particular question arises. If you need those answers now, then you may wish to wait until we do our scouting trip and do a future trip for tigers.
To get the absolute most out of these safaris, or any of our
offerings, consider taking one of our Complete Digital Nature
Photo Courses, in either Pennsylvania or Arizona next summer!
Our Photo Safari
Langur monkeys, a large, tame, and common primate around many
of the park entrances and throughout the forests.
This trip is devoted to photographing India's wildlife, with a special emphasis upon photographing the Bengal tiger, the most threatened of the big cats. Except for our first full day in Delhi, where we'll have the option of doing some city touring or simply resting and getting over jet-lag, all of our time will be spent in the National Parks. We will not be spending time in cities doing tours, and our only non-Delhi city time will be as we drive from the airport in Jabalpur and then as we commute from park to park.
We will game-drive through the parks in jeeps with only TWO PHOTOGRAPHERS per vehicle. There may be a guide, and certainly a driver, but you won't be competing with several people as we do our shooting.
We will also have the opportunity to do some elephant back tiger viewing. These 'Sher Darshan' or tiger shows are offered at Bandhavgarh and Pench, but they are subject to availability, based upon the number of people in the park or with an interest, or if a film crew has taken over all of the elephants.
While this opportunity may arise, our best shooting will be from the vehicles where we'll film tigers at close to ground-level from our open jeeps. These jeeps are open, so you'll be photographing either from a seated position or a kneeling one, depending upon how you are supporting your camera. We'll be bringing along a MOLAR BAG to mount upon the side of the jeep, if that is possible, but we'll also have our tripods along, for shooting off a tripod-mounted lens. This is how we photograph in Botswana, in similar vehicles, and in the Pantanal of Brazil when we photograph jaguars from small boats. While a tripod-mounted lens provides a very sturdy platform, using this system is more awkward than what we experience in Kenya or Tanzania where we often shoot off a rooftop through an open hatch. The jeeps do not provide much room for a tripod, but neither does a boat and you may find that you'll work with a tripod easily, or with the legs folded together into a monopod, or even a bi-pod.
Depending upon your competency in camera-handling, or even in geometry (getting your tripod legs angled correctly, etc.), you might find this shooting challenging, but that's how it is done in India. There is no other option.
We'll be game-driving in the best hours for seeing predators, starting our game drives shortly after dawn and in the late afternoon prior to sunset. And, although the focus and goal of this safari is to photograph tigers, we will photograph every good wildlife and nature subject we find.
Let me repeat that -- we'll photograph everything. It is often very counter-productive to be obsessed with one subject and ignoring others while you seek one goal. On our first trip to the Pantanal for the 'elusive' jaguar, we approached this shoot with the hope that we'd see a jaguar, but even if we didn't, we'd come away with great wildlife shots of everything else we encountered. As it was, we had great jaguars, but we also had a very well-rounded portfolio of all of the Pantanal's wildlife, and we will adopt the same shooting philosophy for this tiger shoot. If you're not interested in anything but tigers, if you're not willing to photograph other species, if you're not prepared to 'smell the roses' and take things as they come, not rushing things and letting nature play out as it may, then do not come with us. Our shooting philosophy has been extremely successful, and even when we haven't shot our target species (which has only happened once, on an African wild dog trip) we nonetheless had a great trip.
Photo of the leopard by Gordon Gould, one of Amit's clients.
I'm extremely confident that we'll get tigers -- we'll be there at the best time, at the best parks, but we'll be photographing wild animals that may not cooperate for us, or for you. It is possible that the jeep that you are in will be at the wrong place at the wrong time and you'll miss the best encounter, or that there will be a traffic jam of vehicles on a cat, and our shooting will be compromised. That reality would occur on any trip, whether a scouting trip or our fiftieth trip, but you must be aware that this could happen.
The Parks
We'll be visiting what I believe are the three best parks for tiger opportunities, and while that point could be argued, other parks in India are quite removed from one another. That means, if one went to Corbett, or to Kazaranga, or Nagorhole, or Ranthambore, one would need to either fly or drive or take a train, wasting valuable field time that could more productively be spent in the field at a park looking for tigers and shooting other species.
As I said in 'History,' Ranthambore is pretty much a disaster these days. I've been to Corbett, where I did see two tigers from elephant back, but the habitat is dense and shooting is difficult. The other parks I've mentioned, and I've been to all, offered little chance for photographing tigers, or indeed other species of wildlife.
So, that said, I'm delighted in designing an itinerary where all of our time is devoted to three parks within driving range of one another, so that no day is entirely wasted by travel.
Bandhavgarh
This may be the premiere tiger park, and may offer the best opportunities for seeing and photographing tigers. Most, if not all, of our photography will be from jeeps, although India's erratic Park's Department sometimes offers elephant ride/tiger viewing Tiger Shows.
We may also have the option of booking elephants for an entire day, but again this will be subject to availability. As of this writing, tiger shows are not available at Bandhavgarh, but that may change. There are pros and cons to shooting from elephants. On the positive side, elephants can take us to locations where our jeeps cannot, and one can get very close with elephants. On the negative side, the shooting can be nearly straight down if both the elephant and the tiger is on the same plane, but it can also be at virtual eye-level if a tiger is on a hill.
A note on the Elephant ride tiger viewing: Unfortunately, the access to elephants is not guaranteed, so we could not build in a trip price that included all-day elephant rides. Further, we might find that we enjoy shooting from the near ground-level perspective of our jeeps, rather than 10 feet above the ground on an elephant's back. However, we may have the option of booking one or more elephants for an entire day, but anyone wishing to take advantage of this opportunity will be paying extra. The price on this will depend upon the park, and the number of photographers per elephant back. We suggest everyone bringing along extra money in case they wish to do one or more additional elephant rides. More details on this will be forwarded to registered participants. This information applies to Bandhavgarh, Kanha, Pench, and the extension at Satpura.
The park is a mixture of bamboo, grassland, and a complex of deciduous forests. There are at least 150 species of birds in the park, along with several great mammals. This may be the best of all India parks for tigers, but there are also sloth bears, langur monkeys, wild boar, and three species of deer - chital, sambar, and barking deer. The park is 168 sq miles, and we'll be game-driving in a 105 sq km area that borders our lodge boundaries, giving us further chances of seeing great wildlife outside the lodge property. The zone where we will be touring has had the best tiger viewing in recent years.
Kanha
Kanha is a more popular and more highly visited park, and offers a variety of species including tigers and leopards, cheetal, Indian bison, barking deer, sambhar deer, and the endangered Barasingha deer. The habitat is similar to Bandhavgarh, a mixture of grassy plains and sal forests.
Tiger Shows, the 'Sher Darshan,'may be offered here, but whether or not elephant rides will be offered or available (sometimes film crews take all the elephants) won't be known until we get there.
Pench, now known as Indira Priyadarshu Pench National Park
I think I'll always refers to this park as Pench! This is the 19th reserve in the Project Tiger and is a little known park. It has a large diversity of wildlife, including leopard, tiger, jungle cat, dhole (wild dog), sloth bear, wild boar, mongoose, gaur (a huge bovine that may be the ancestor to all cattle), and the highest density of herbivores, including cheetal (spotted deer), and sambar.
There are at least 250 species of birds found in the diverse habitats, which is composed of grasslands, open canopy mixed forests, riverine forest systems, and rolling hills.
Our Itinerary
Day 1, Feb 28, 2011 - Depart US or departure city
Day 2, March 1, 2011 - Arrive in Delhi
Welcome dinner and meeting.
Overnight - The Claridges Hotel.
Visit http://www.claridges-hotels.com/delhi/ to check out
our beautiful hotel in Delhi.
Day 3, March 2 - Delhi
Recover from jet-lag or tour the city or engage in other personal activities. In the afternoon we'll visit some markets, including a silver market where the photographic opportunities are stellar. Nearby, there is also a 'gray market' camera market where anything can be purchased - sans boxed -- at the best prices anywhere. If you're short on gear ....
Overnight - The Claridges Hotel
Day 4, March 3- Delhi - Jabalpur - Bandhavgarh
We'll leave the hotel after an early breakfast for our flight to Jabalpur, arriving at approximately 9AM. We'll have a four hour drive to Bandhavgarh National Park where we'll check in to the hotel, and then do an afternoon game drive where we'll introduce ourselves to shooting out of the jeeps.
Overnight - Bandhavgarh Jungle Lodge.
Visit www.tiger-resorts.com to check out our lodging.
Day 5 to 9, March 4 to 8 - Bandhavgarh National Park
Game drives morning and evening for tigers and other wildlife. We'll have the option of visiting the Garh, or Bandhavgarh Fort from which this park gets its name, where there is a temple situated on a hill. There's a huge statue of Lord Vishnu, a religious icon of Indian culture.
Overnights - Bandhavgarh Jungle Lodge.
Our lodges in Bandhavgarh and Kanha are owned by the tour
operator we'll be using. You're looking at a bedroom, eating area,
looking out at the grounds, and a porch outdoor relaxing and viewing area.
Day 10, March 9 - Bandhavgarh to Kanha
After an early breakfast we'll depart for a five hour drive to Kanha National Park. We'll check in to our hotel and prepare for an afternoon game drive.
Overnight - Kanha Jungle Lodge
Day 11 to 15, March 10 to 14 - Kanha National Park
We'll be doing morning and evening game drives through Kanha's varied habitats, and if the Tiger Shows are available we're likely to do at least one of these. Shooting from elephant back does give a photographer the opportunity to film tigers (if found) when they've come to rest for the day off track, but the shooting is generally at an angle, and sometimes a steep angle at that. All of my sources have stated that getting an elephant tiger show is not guaranteed, and that the shooting is better from the vehicles. Nevertheless, I'm sure we'll try at least one if we get the chance.
For anyone who wishes, if Tiger Show elephants are available it may be possible to book an elephant for the entire day. This is expensive and we did not include this as part of our tour, but it may be an option for someone who desires to spend more time on elephants, for whatever reason. Refer to the notes above, and further details on these elephant safaris will be forwarded to registered participants as information comes in.
Overnights - Kanha Jungle Lodge
Visit www.tiger-resorts.com to check out our lodging.
One of the lounges in B or K, and tea time overlooking the grounds.
Day 16, March 15 - Kanha to Pench National Park
After breakfast we'll head out to our last destination, the little known treasure of Pench. We'll check into our lodge, the Tuli Tiger Corridor, luxury cottages with AC, and after a break we'll have an afternoon game drive.
Overnight - Tuli Tiger Corridor
Day 17 - 18, March 16 and 17 - Pench National Park
We'll do morning and afternoon game drives, and may have another opportunity for an elephant back safari. Pench has a wide variety of wildlife, and although it probably has fewer tigers than our other two parks we'll be ready to fill in our portfolios with the other animals and birds found here. As I mentioned earlier, there is a variety of exciting species, including dhole and sloth bear and leopard, as well as the herbivores and birds.
Overnights - Tuli Tiger Corridor
Visit www.tulihotels.com to check out the lodging.
Day 19, March 18 - Pench to Nagpur to Delhi
For those not going on with the extension, we'll have an early morning transfer to Nagpur to board a flight to Delhi, arriving in the late morning in Delhi where we will have a day room until 9PM that evening. We'll have a Farewell Dinner before transfering to Indira Gandhi International Airport for your flight home.
Day Room - Radisson Hotel
For those doing the extension, scroll down to the bottom of this brochure.
Day 20, March 19 - Delhi to Home
In the late hours of Day 19 we'll transfer to the airport and board flights for home.
The Tour Price is $7,399
based upon eight participants.
For a tour of four participants there will be a $300 additional cost.
For a tour of six participants there will be a $150 additional cost.
For a tour of two participants, there will be a $900 additional cost.
Trip Deposit - $2,000 nonrefundable deposit
Single Supplement - $2,212
Our Tour Cost Includes
Accommodations on double/twin sharing basis
Meals in Delhi - Breakfasts and Welcome Dinner on Day 2 and 3
Tips for the jeep drivers, mahots, and our English-speaking guides
All Meals and Accommodations while on Safari, Day 4 - 19
Service of English speaking resident naturalists in each park
Jeep safaris, with 2 per vehicle
Elephant safari (tiger show) subject to availablity
Farewell dinner at 'The Great Kebab Factory' in Delhi
Airfare for domestic flight to Jabalpur and back to Delhi
All transfers - from airport to hotel in Delhi and to airport
Our Tour Cost does not include
Insurance fees
International Airfare
Expenditures of a personal nature, including drinks, laundary, phone calls,
alcoholic beverages, tips
Any sudden and unforeseen increase in price due to an increase in Park Fees, Fuel Costs, or Government Tax Policies beyound our control, acts of god, natural calamity, law and order situations, riots, or forced changes in itinerary due to situations or reasons beyond our control
As with any International trip, we strongly recommend you purchase travel trip insurance.
Optional Extention to Satpura National Park
Day 19 - March 18
Pench to Satpura
Morning drive to Satpura
For those doing the extension we'll leave early for our drive to Satpura National Park after having a breakfast and tearful farewell for anyone leaving us! We'll have a morning drive to reach our next destination, one of the newest of India's parks with some of the most diverse group of predators found anywhere.
This unique park probably sports the most spectacular habitat and landscapes of any park in the Project Tiger system, and as a new park it is almost unvisited. On the negative, tiger sightings are not common and the road system is not as well developed as in other parks, but on the positive side the wildlife sightings have been very good, and there are few tourists to contend with. Satpura has the promise of becoming one of the best locations for wildlife viewing, and there is the opportunity to go through the park in many ways.
Satpura National Park is located in south Hoshangabad district in Madhya Pradesh.
The 524 Sq km Park is the core area of the Panchmarchi Biosphere Reserve that includes Bori wildlife sanctuary to its south-west and Panchmarhi wildlife sanctuary to its northeast. The park has an elevation of 320-1,352m with tall sandstone mountains, narrow gorges, ravines, water falls, streams and dense forests near the Mahadev hills in the Pachmarhi plateau. The area boasts two unique species of trees – the sal and the teak besides a wide variety of ferns, mango trees, butterflies and birds. Upon arrival at Satpura check into Forsyth loge.
Forsyth’s Satpura is a stylish environmentally friendly lodge that is engaged with the park management and the local community in a pioneering effort to create an
unprecedented jungle experience in one of the most exciting tiger habitats in the
world. This is an effort to create an exceptional wilderness experience for those
who truly revel in wild places far from the jeep borne hordes that have defaced so many other parks. Lunch and afternoon visit to the park by 4x4 Jeep with an
English-speaking Naturalist.
Whether or not we'll have the time or energy to avail ourselves of the options, we'll have the chance to canoe, kayak, hike, use elephants, jeep, or stay in blinds -- if the Satpura website is indeed accurate. In talking with our outfitter it sounds promising, but not enough of a sure-thing to incorporate into the main tour. However, if you read the reviews on their website, they were excellent, and the wildlife sightings were great. How that translates into photography will remain to be seen, but it sure looks promising!
Dinner and overnight at Forsyth Lodge.
Visit the Forsyth Lodge, Satpura website for a preview.
Day 20 - 22
March 19 to 21
Satpura National Park
We will have the options of Game drives / walking safarsi / elephant safaris / or bush walk at and around camp or village walk.
One of the greatest attractions of Satpura may be the small predators, mammals, and bird life that are found around the grounds of the lodge. The Forsyth lodge has made a special emphasis upon plantings and setting up small water holes to attract the lesser predators, and we may have some of our most exciting shooting here - day or night -- on jungle cats, civets, and other species. After over two full weeks of 'tiger hunting' and photographing the major animal species, Satpura may offer a very refreshing change and an opportunity to film species not normally seen. I'm looking at this extension as a great way to round out my Indian wildlife portfolio!
As I mentioned above, there are a lot of activities one can do and the trick, truly, will be deciding upon what we, or you, individually, wish to do! If the wildlife viewing is great by jeep, or elephant, we may devote all of our time to that, but the canoeing and kayaking opportunities sound very interesting, too.
Overnight at Forsyth Lodge, Satpura.
Day 23
March 22
Satpura - Bhopal - Delhi
Early morning drive to Bhopal Airport to board our flight for Delhi (a 3.5 hour flight), arriving approximately at 11:50AM. On arrival we'll transfer to our hotel for a day room until 9PM. We'll have a farewell dinner at the Indira Gandhi International Pairpor before your flight home.
Day 24
March 23
Delhi-Onward Journey
On time transfer to the Airport for your flight back home
Optional Extension Price:
$1,700
Our Extension cost includes:
Accommodation on double / twin sharing basis at hotels mentioned above or in
similar category.
Your accommodation at Forsyth Lodge, Satpura includes all meals i.e. breakfast,
Lunch & Dinner with morning and evening tea with cookies.
Services of Air Conditioned Car / Toyta Innova / Tempo Traveler / Mini Coach for
transfers in Delhi & Services of air Conditioned Toyota Innovas/Sumo for drives-
Pench-Satpura-Bhopal sectors depending up the number of guests.
Services of English speaking resident naturalist in Satpura National parks.
Jeep Safaris (sits 2 in a jeep)/elephant safari / boat ride / Village walks as mentioned in itinerary inclusive of entry fee to park, resident naturalist services. (Elephant Ride is subject to availability)
Farewell Dinner at restaurant “The Great Kebab Factory” in Delhi.
Cost does not include:
Any additional Airfare , any insurance fee
Anything not mentioned in inclusion above.
Any expenditure of personal nature like tabled drinks, laundry, telephone calls, soft/hard drinks, Tips.
Any sudden increase in price due to steep hike in park Entry Fee, steep hike in fuel cost, change in government tax policy or for any reason beyond our control like acts of god, natural calamity, law and order situation, riots etc and any forced change in itinerary for any unforeseen situation or reason beyond our control.
As with any International trip, we strongly recommend you purchase travel trip insurance.
Contact us by e-mail:info@hoothollow.com
Phone us at 717-543-6423
Or FAX us at: (717) 543-5342
Return to HomePage
Tigers!
The Ultimate Tiger Safari
covering three of India's best natural history
and tiger national parks
Our itinerary is almost entirely devoted to in-field photography of India's wildlife,
at
Bandhavgarh National Park -
with one of the largest concentrations of tigers in India
Kanha National Park -
one of the big 'four' for viewing tigers (Bandhavgarh is in that four, too), with a wide diversity of herbivores as well.
Pench National Park -
with the highest density of herbivores of any Indian park, and with sloth bears, dhole (Asiatic wild dog), leopards, and tigers
Dates - February 28 to March 19, 2011
Limited to Ten Participants
Price: $7,399
Based on a tour of ten participants.
A sliding scale must be levied for a tour
of four or six participants (see end of brochure for details).
The First Tour is NEARLY FULL. A 2nd tour
will immediately follow the Trip Extension of Tour 1,
March 22 - April 9, 2011
No one is offering a more complete, tiger and wildlife intensive photo safari.
Optional Extension to Satpura National Park!
Scroll to the end of the brochure
Because of our self-imposed limitation of two photographers per jeep we will be accepting participants on a first come/first serve basis, and the last participant, if the fifth, or seventh, or ninth participant, will not be guaranteed a spot until the sixth or eighth or tenth participant registers. You will be first on the list as another participant registers, but we cannot have a one or a three person jeep.
All photos in this brochure are from our tour operator, Amit Sankhala.
I asked Amit to supply me with images like those we could expect to
make, and not shots from stock or a BBC-style shooting crew. I think
they tell a very convincing story!
Some History ...
This is the ultimate tiger trip, visiting three of the best tiger parks without wasting time in cities, as each park is within driving distance of the next. After a tremendous amount of research, we've designed an itinerary that maximizes our chances of photographing tigers, as well as much of India's other exciting wildlife.
Too many years ago, Mary and I did our only tiger photo safari to India, where we visited none of the parks featured in the above itinerary. We did extraordinarily well, and Mary and I saw nine tigers, and the group, in total, saw thirteen. One of Mary's shots ended up as the first place winner in the Endangered Species category of the BBC Wildlife Photographer of the year competition. We saw most of our tigers in a park called Ranthambore, and in the years that followed that park suffered a tremendous amount of tiger poaching, and Mary's first place winning tiger was one of those killed. We lost interest in returning to India.
Over the years, however, friends have returned to India and provided positive feedback. Ranthambore, sad to say, became a tiger-tourist mecca, and tiger viewing there has become something of a carnival. We knew, if we would return, that we would not visit Ranthambore.
These tigers, and the second tiger shown in the brochure (see top)
are our photos from our first trip. Just had to add some of our tiger shots, too!
Fortunately, two other parks gained in prominence as Ranthambore's prestige declined, and those were Bandhavgarh and Kanha. Both offer game-viewing from jeeps as well as elephant back 'tiger shows' (more on this later), and most of the nature films are now made in these two parks.
Last year, I decided to revisit India, and I contemplated doing a scouting trip for just Mary and I. Doing so, we'd be enjoying an almost vacation experience, something we rarely if ever have a chance to do. However, several of our photography friends have been asking us about doing an Indian tiger trip for years, and, since none of us are getting any younger, we felt it prudent to open our scouting trip to participants.
A Scouting Trip
Over several months I contacted and corresponded with several Indian tour companies, many of which specialized in tiger and wildlife photography safaris. Several of these companies cited professional photographers I know as references, and I was pretty confident about the quality I'd expect.
For very compelling reasons, and none of these involving price, I chose our company, which happens to be the same one our African tour operator uses as well. So, as far as an outfitter goes, I'm quite happy.
However, unlike almost all of the trips Mary and I have offered, for this first trip we have not done a pre-tour scouting trip to the locations we'll be visiting. We've already asked a lot of questions, and received great answers, from our outfitter, and I'm sure we'll be asking many more, so that we'll be able to provide our participants with a very complete pre-trip package of information.
What we will not be able to do is state definitively what's going to happen on a given day, or what specific conditions will be at a particular location, or whatever questions someone might ask that, in Africa or elsewhere, we are likely to have a ready answer. There may be some surprises, and we may be surprised or contradicted by subsequent events that we did not foresee.
I'm not stating any of this to scare potential participants away. On the contrary, three years ago I took a small group to Brazil for jaguars on a scouting trip, and that experience was incredible, and Brazil's Pantanal Jaguars are now part of our regular schedule. Likewise, our 2009 Alaska whale trip was new to us, and proved to be one of the most exciting and rewarding trips we did that year. I have equal confidence about this trip, but surprises can happen for, after all, THIS IS A SCOUTING TRIP.
So, what does that mean? Aside from a potential surprise here or there, it should mean nothing. Our outfitter has everything arranged like clockwork and I suspect that this year's trip will end up being no different than the trips we will be offering to India in the future. But, I want the honest freedom to be able to shrug and say, I don't know, I haven't been here before, if a particular question arises. If you need those answers now, then you may wish to wait until we do our scouting trip and do a future trip for tigers.
To get the absolute most out of these safaris, or any of our
offerings, consider taking one of our Complete Digital Nature
Photo Courses, in either Pennsylvania or Arizona next summer!
Our Photo Safari
Langur monkeys, a large, tame, and common primate around many
of the park entrances and throughout the forests.
This trip is devoted to photographing India's wildlife, with a special emphasis upon photographing the Bengal tiger, the most threatened of the big cats. Except for our first full day in Delhi, where we'll have the option of doing some city touring or simply resting and getting over jet-lag, all of our time will be spent in the National Parks. We will not be spending time in cities doing tours, and our only non-Delhi city time will be as we drive from the airport in Jabalpur and then as we commute from park to park.
We will game-drive through the parks in jeeps with only TWO PHOTOGRAPHERS per vehicle. There may be a guide, and certainly a driver, but you won't be competing with several people as we do our shooting.
We will also have the opportunity to do some elephant back tiger viewing. These 'Sher Darshan' or tiger shows are offered at Bandhavgarh and Pench, but they are subject to availability, based upon the number of people in the park or with an interest, or if a film crew has taken over all of the elephants.
While this opportunity may arise, our best shooting will be from the vehicles where we'll film tigers at close to ground-level from our open jeeps. These jeeps are open, so you'll be photographing either from a seated position or a kneeling one, depending upon how you are supporting your camera. We'll be bringing along a MOLAR BAG to mount upon the side of the jeep, if that is possible, but we'll also have our tripods along, for shooting off a tripod-mounted lens. This is how we photograph in Botswana, in similar vehicles, and in the Pantanal of Brazil when we photograph jaguars from small boats. While a tripod-mounted lens provides a very sturdy platform, using this system is more awkward than what we experience in Kenya or Tanzania where we often shoot off a rooftop through an open hatch. The jeeps do not provide much room for a tripod, but neither does a boat and you may find that you'll work with a tripod easily, or with the legs folded together into a monopod, or even a bi-pod.
Depending upon your competency in camera-handling, or even in geometry (getting your tripod legs angled correctly, etc.), you might find this shooting challenging, but that's how it is done in India. There is no other option.
We'll be game-driving in the best hours for seeing predators, starting our game drives shortly after dawn and in the late afternoon prior to sunset. And, although the focus and goal of this safari is to photograph tigers, we will photograph every good wildlife and nature subject we find.
Let me repeat that -- we'll photograph everything. It is often very counter-productive to be obsessed with one subject and ignoring others while you seek one goal. On our first trip to the Pantanal for the 'elusive' jaguar, we approached this shoot with the hope that we'd see a jaguar, but even if we didn't, we'd come away with great wildlife shots of everything else we encountered. As it was, we had great jaguars, but we also had a very well-rounded portfolio of all of the Pantanal's wildlife, and we will adopt the same shooting philosophy for this tiger shoot. If you're not interested in anything but tigers, if you're not willing to photograph other species, if you're not prepared to 'smell the roses' and take things as they come, not rushing things and letting nature play out as it may, then do not come with us. Our shooting philosophy has been extremely successful, and even when we haven't shot our target species (which has only happened once, on an African wild dog trip) we nonetheless had a great trip.
Photo of the leopard by Gordon Gould, one of Amit's clients.
I'm extremely confident that we'll get tigers -- we'll be there at the best time, at the best parks, but we'll be photographing wild animals that may not cooperate for us, or for you. It is possible that the jeep that you are in will be at the wrong place at the wrong time and you'll miss the best encounter, or that there will be a traffic jam of vehicles on a cat, and our shooting will be compromised. That reality would occur on any trip, whether a scouting trip or our fiftieth trip, but you must be aware that this could happen.
The Parks
We'll be visiting what I believe are the three best parks for tiger opportunities, and while that point could be argued, other parks in India are quite removed from one another. That means, if one went to Corbett, or to Kazaranga, or Nagorhole, or Ranthambore, one would need to either fly or drive or take a train, wasting valuable field time that could more productively be spent in the field at a park looking for tigers and shooting other species.
As I said in 'History,' Ranthambore is pretty much a disaster these days. I've been to Corbett, where I did see two tigers from elephant back, but the habitat is dense and shooting is difficult. The other parks I've mentioned, and I've been to all, offered little chance for photographing tigers, or indeed other species of wildlife.
So, that said, I'm delighted in designing an itinerary where all of our time is devoted to three parks within driving range of one another, so that no day is entirely wasted by travel.
Bandhavgarh
This may be the premiere tiger park, and may offer the best opportunities for seeing and photographing tigers. Most, if not all, of our photography will be from jeeps, although India's erratic Park's Department sometimes offers elephant ride/tiger viewing Tiger Shows.
We may also have the option of booking elephants for an entire day, but again this will be subject to availability. As of this writing, tiger shows are not available at Bandhavgarh, but that may change. There are pros and cons to shooting from elephants. On the positive side, elephants can take us to locations where our jeeps cannot, and one can get very close with elephants. On the negative side, the shooting can be nearly straight down if both the elephant and the tiger is on the same plane, but it can also be at virtual eye-level if a tiger is on a hill.
A note on the Elephant ride tiger viewing: Unfortunately, the access to elephants is not guaranteed, so we could not build in a trip price that included all-day elephant rides. Further, we might find that we enjoy shooting from the near ground-level perspective of our jeeps, rather than 10 feet above the ground on an elephant's back. However, we may have the option of booking one or more elephants for an entire day, but anyone wishing to take advantage of this opportunity will be paying extra. The price on this will depend upon the park, and the number of photographers per elephant back. We suggest everyone bringing along extra money in case they wish to do one or more additional elephant rides. More details on this will be forwarded to registered participants. This information applies to Bandhavgarh, Kanha, Pench, and the extension at Satpura.
The park is a mixture of bamboo, grassland, and a complex of deciduous forests. There are at least 150 species of birds in the park, along with several great mammals. This may be the best of all India parks for tigers, but there are also sloth bears, langur monkeys, wild boar, and three species of deer - chital, sambar, and barking deer. The park is 168 sq miles, and we'll be game-driving in a 105 sq km area that borders our lodge boundaries, giving us further chances of seeing great wildlife outside the lodge property. The zone where we will be touring has had the best tiger viewing in recent years.
Kanha
Kanha is a more popular and more highly visited park, and offers a variety of species including tigers and leopards, cheetal, Indian bison, barking deer, sambhar deer, and the endangered Barasingha deer. The habitat is similar to Bandhavgarh, a mixture of grassy plains and sal forests.
Tiger Shows, the 'Sher Darshan,'may be offered here, but whether or not elephant rides will be offered or available (sometimes film crews take all the elephants) won't be known until we get there.
Pench, now known as Indira Priyadarshu Pench National Park
I think I'll always refers to this park as Pench! This is the 19th reserve in the Project Tiger and is a little known park. It has a large diversity of wildlife, including leopard, tiger, jungle cat, dhole (wild dog), sloth bear, wild boar, mongoose, gaur (a huge bovine that may be the ancestor to all cattle), and the highest density of herbivores, including cheetal (spotted deer), and sambar.
There are at least 250 species of birds found in the diverse habitats, which is composed of grasslands, open canopy mixed forests, riverine forest systems, and rolling hills.
Our Itinerary
Day 1, Feb 28, 2011 - Depart US or departure city
Day 2, March 1, 2011 - Arrive in Delhi
Welcome dinner and meeting.
Overnight - The Claridges Hotel.
Visit http://www.claridges-hotels.com/delhi/ to check out
our beautiful hotel in Delhi.
Day 3, March 2 - Delhi
Recover from jet-lag or tour the city or engage in other personal activities. In the afternoon we'll visit some markets, including a silver market where the photographic opportunities are stellar. Nearby, there is also a 'gray market' camera market where anything can be purchased - sans boxed -- at the best prices anywhere. If you're short on gear ....
Overnight - The Claridges Hotel
Day 4, March 3- Delhi - Jabalpur - Bandhavgarh
We'll leave the hotel after an early breakfast for our flight to Jabalpur, arriving at approximately 9AM. We'll have a four hour drive to Bandhavgarh National Park where we'll check in to the hotel, and then do an afternoon game drive where we'll introduce ourselves to shooting out of the jeeps.
Overnight - Bandhavgarh Jungle Lodge.
Visit www.tiger-resorts.com to check out our lodging.
Day 5 to 9, March 4 to 8 - Bandhavgarh National Park
Game drives morning and evening for tigers and other wildlife. We'll have the option of visiting the Garh, or Bandhavgarh Fort from which this park gets its name, where there is a temple situated on a hill. There's a huge statue of Lord Vishnu, a religious icon of Indian culture.
Overnights - Bandhavgarh Jungle Lodge.
Our lodges in Bandhavgarh and Kanha are owned by the tour
operator we'll be using. You're looking at a bedroom, eating area,
looking out at the grounds, and a porch outdoor relaxing and viewing area.
Day 10, March 9 - Bandhavgarh to Kanha
After an early breakfast we'll depart for a five hour drive to Kanha National Park. We'll check in to our hotel and prepare for an afternoon game drive.
Overnight - Kanha Jungle Lodge
Day 11 to 15, March 10 to 14 - Kanha National Park
We'll be doing morning and evening game drives through Kanha's varied habitats, and if the Tiger Shows are available we're likely to do at least one of these. Shooting from elephant back does give a photographer the opportunity to film tigers (if found) when they've come to rest for the day off track, but the shooting is generally at an angle, and sometimes a steep angle at that. All of my sources have stated that getting an elephant tiger show is not guaranteed, and that the shooting is better from the vehicles. Nevertheless, I'm sure we'll try at least one if we get the chance.
For anyone who wishes, if Tiger Show elephants are available it may be possible to book an elephant for the entire day. This is expensive and we did not include this as part of our tour, but it may be an option for someone who desires to spend more time on elephants, for whatever reason. Refer to the notes above, and further details on these elephant safaris will be forwarded to registered participants as information comes in.
Overnights - Kanha Jungle Lodge
Visit www.tiger-resorts.com to check out our lodging.
One of the lounges in B or K, and tea time overlooking the grounds.
Day 16, March 15 - Kanha to Pench National Park
After breakfast we'll head out to our last destination, the little known treasure of Pench. We'll check into our lodge, the Tuli Tiger Corridor, luxury cottages with AC, and after a break we'll have an afternoon game drive.
Overnight - Tuli Tiger Corridor
Day 17 - 18, March 16 and 17 - Pench National Park
We'll do morning and afternoon game drives, and may have another opportunity for an elephant back safari. Pench has a wide variety of wildlife, and although it probably has fewer tigers than our other two parks we'll be ready to fill in our portfolios with the other animals and birds found here. As I mentioned earlier, there is a variety of exciting species, including dhole and sloth bear and leopard, as well as the herbivores and birds.
Overnights - Tuli Tiger Corridor
Visit www.tulihotels.com to check out the lodging.
Day 19, March 18 - Pench to Nagpur to Delhi
For those not going on with the extension, we'll have an early morning transfer to Nagpur to board a flight to Delhi, arriving in the late morning in Delhi where we will have a day room until 9PM that evening. We'll have a Farewell Dinner before transfering to Indira Gandhi International Airport for your flight home.
Day Room - Radisson Hotel
For those doing the extension, scroll down to the bottom of this brochure.
Day 20, March 19 - Delhi to Home
In the late hours of Day 19 we'll transfer to the airport and board flights for home.
The Tour Price is $7,399
based upon eight participants.
For a tour of four participants there will be a $300 additional cost.
For a tour of six participants there will be a $150 additional cost.
For a tour of two participants, there will be a $900 additional cost.
Trip Deposit - $2,000 nonrefundable deposit
Single Supplement - $2,212
Our Tour Cost Includes
Accommodations on double/twin sharing basis
Meals in Delhi - Breakfasts and Welcome Dinner on Day 2 and 3
Tips for the jeep drivers, mahots, and our English-speaking guides
All Meals and Accommodations while on Safari, Day 4 - 19
Service of English speaking resident naturalists in each park
Jeep safaris, with 2 per vehicle
Elephant safari (tiger show) subject to availablity
Farewell dinner at 'The Great Kebab Factory' in Delhi
Airfare for domestic flight to Jabalpur and back to Delhi
All transfers - from airport to hotel in Delhi and to airport
Our Tour Cost does not include
Insurance fees
International Airfare
Expenditures of a personal nature, including drinks, laundary, phone calls,
alcoholic beverages, tips
Any sudden and unforeseen increase in price due to an increase in Park Fees, Fuel Costs, or Government Tax Policies beyound our control, acts of god, natural calamity, law and order situations, riots, or forced changes in itinerary due to situations or reasons beyond our control
As with any International trip, we strongly recommend you purchase travel trip insurance.
Optional Extention to Satpura National Park
Day 19 - March 18
Pench to Satpura
Morning drive to Satpura
For those doing the extension we'll leave early for our drive to Satpura National Park after having a breakfast and tearful farewell for anyone leaving us! We'll have a morning drive to reach our next destination, one of the newest of India's parks with some of the most diverse group of predators found anywhere.
This unique park probably sports the most spectacular habitat and landscapes of any park in the Project Tiger system, and as a new park it is almost unvisited. On the negative, tiger sightings are not common and the road system is not as well developed as in other parks, but on the positive side the wildlife sightings have been very good, and there are few tourists to contend with. Satpura has the promise of becoming one of the best locations for wildlife viewing, and there is the opportunity to go through the park in many ways.
Satpura National Park is located in south Hoshangabad district in Madhya Pradesh.
The 524 Sq km Park is the core area of the Panchmarchi Biosphere Reserve that includes Bori wildlife sanctuary to its south-west and Panchmarhi wildlife sanctuary to its northeast. The park has an elevation of 320-1,352m with tall sandstone mountains, narrow gorges, ravines, water falls, streams and dense forests near the Mahadev hills in the Pachmarhi plateau. The area boasts two unique species of trees – the sal and the teak besides a wide variety of ferns, mango trees, butterflies and birds. Upon arrival at Satpura check into Forsyth loge.
Forsyth’s Satpura is a stylish environmentally friendly lodge that is engaged with the park management and the local community in a pioneering effort to create an
unprecedented jungle experience in one of the most exciting tiger habitats in the
world. This is an effort to create an exceptional wilderness experience for those
who truly revel in wild places far from the jeep borne hordes that have defaced so many other parks. Lunch and afternoon visit to the park by 4x4 Jeep with an
English-speaking Naturalist.
Whether or not we'll have the time or energy to avail ourselves of the options, we'll have the chance to canoe, kayak, hike, use elephants, jeep, or stay in blinds -- if the Satpura website is indeed accurate. In talking with our outfitter it sounds promising, but not enough of a sure-thing to incorporate into the main tour. However, if you read the reviews on their website, they were excellent, and the wildlife sightings were great. How that translates into photography will remain to be seen, but it sure looks promising!
Dinner and overnight at Forsyth Lodge.
Visit the Forsyth Lodge, Satpura website for a preview.
Day 20 - 22
March 19 to 21
Satpura National Park
We will have the options of Game drives / walking safarsi / elephant safaris / or bush walk at and around camp or village walk.
One of the greatest attractions of Satpura may be the small predators, mammals, and bird life that are found around the grounds of the lodge. The Forsyth lodge has made a special emphasis upon plantings and setting up small water holes to attract the lesser predators, and we may have some of our most exciting shooting here - day or night -- on jungle cats, civets, and other species. After over two full weeks of 'tiger hunting' and photographing the major animal species, Satpura may offer a very refreshing change and an opportunity to film species not normally seen. I'm looking at this extension as a great way to round out my Indian wildlife portfolio!
As I mentioned above, there are a lot of activities one can do and the trick, truly, will be deciding upon what we, or you, individually, wish to do! If the wildlife viewing is great by jeep, or elephant, we may devote all of our time to that, but the canoeing and kayaking opportunities sound very interesting, too.
Overnight at Forsyth Lodge, Satpura.
Day 23
March 22
Satpura - Bhopal - Delhi
Early morning drive to Bhopal Airport to board our flight for Delhi (a 3.5 hour flight), arriving approximately at 11:50AM. On arrival we'll transfer to our hotel for a day room until 9PM. We'll have a farewell dinner at the Indira Gandhi International Pairpor before your flight home.
Day 24
March 23
Delhi-Onward Journey
On time transfer to the Airport for your flight back home
Optional Extension Price:
$1,700
Our Extension cost includes:
Accommodation on double / twin sharing basis at hotels mentioned above or in
similar category.
Your accommodation at Forsyth Lodge, Satpura includes all meals i.e. breakfast,
Lunch & Dinner with morning and evening tea with cookies.
Services of Air Conditioned Car / Toyta Innova / Tempo Traveler / Mini Coach for
transfers in Delhi & Services of air Conditioned Toyota Innovas/Sumo for drives-
Pench-Satpura-Bhopal sectors depending up the number of guests.
Services of English speaking resident naturalist in Satpura National parks.
Jeep Safaris (sits 2 in a jeep)/elephant safari / boat ride / Village walks as mentioned in itinerary inclusive of entry fee to park, resident naturalist services. (Elephant Ride is subject to availability)
Farewell Dinner at restaurant “The Great Kebab Factory” in Delhi.
Cost does not include:
Any additional Airfare , any insurance fee
Anything not mentioned in inclusion above.
Any expenditure of personal nature like tabled drinks, laundry, telephone calls, soft/hard drinks, Tips.
Any sudden increase in price due to steep hike in park Entry Fee, steep hike in fuel cost, change in government tax policy or for any reason beyond our control like acts of god, natural calamity, law and order situation, riots etc and any forced change in itinerary for any unforeseen situation or reason beyond our control.
As with any International trip, we strongly recommend you purchase travel trip insurance.
Contact us by e-mail:info@hoothollow.com
Phone us at 717-543-6423
Or FAX us at: (717) 543-5342
Return to HomePage
Tigers!
The Ultimate Tiger Safari
covering three of India's best natural history
and tiger national parks
Our itinerary is almost entirely devoted to in-field photography of India's wildlife,
at
Bandhavgarh National Park -
with one of the largest concentrations of tigers in India
Kanha National Park -
one of the big 'four' for viewing tigers (Bandhavgarh is in that four, too), with a wide diversity of herbivores as well.
Pench National Park -
with the highest density of herbivores of any Indian park, and with sloth bears, dhole (Asiatic wild dog), leopards, and tigers
Dates - February 28 to March 19, 2011
Limited to Ten Participants
Price: $7,399
Based on a tour of ten participants.
A sliding scale must be levied for a tour
of four or six participants (see end of brochure for details).
The First Tour is NEARLY FULL. A 2nd tour
will immediately follow the Trip Extension of Tour 1,
March 22 - April 9, 2011
No one is offering a more complete, tiger and wildlife intensive photo safari.
Optional Extension to Satpura National Park!
Scroll to the end of the brochure
Because of our self-imposed limitation of two photographers per jeep we will be accepting participants on a first come/first serve basis, and the last participant, if the fifth, or seventh, or ninth participant, will not be guaranteed a spot until the sixth or eighth or tenth participant registers. You will be first on the list as another participant registers, but we cannot have a one or a three person jeep.
All photos in this brochure are from our tour operator, Amit Sankhala.
I asked Amit to supply me with images like those we could expect to
make, and not shots from stock or a BBC-style shooting crew. I think
they tell a very convincing story!
Some History ...
This is the ultimate tiger trip, visiting three of the best tiger parks without wasting time in cities, as each park is within driving distance of the next. After a tremendous amount of research, we've designed an itinerary that maximizes our chances of photographing tigers, as well as much of India's other exciting wildlife.
Too many years ago, Mary and I did our only tiger photo safari to India, where we visited none of the parks featured in the above itinerary. We did extraordinarily well, and Mary and I saw nine tigers, and the group, in total, saw thirteen. One of Mary's shots ended up as the first place winner in the Endangered Species category of the BBC Wildlife Photographer of the year competition. We saw most of our tigers in a park called Ranthambore, and in the years that followed that park suffered a tremendous amount of tiger poaching, and Mary's first place winning tiger was one of those killed. We lost interest in returning to India.
Over the years, however, friends have returned to India and provided positive feedback. Ranthambore, sad to say, became a tiger-tourist mecca, and tiger viewing there has become something of a carnival. We knew, if we would return, that we would not visit Ranthambore.
These tigers, and the second tiger shown in the brochure (see top)
are our photos from our first trip. Just had to add some of our tiger shots, too!
Fortunately, two other parks gained in prominence as Ranthambore's prestige declined, and those were Bandhavgarh and Kanha. Both offer game-viewing from jeeps as well as elephant back 'tiger shows' (more on this later), and most of the nature films are now made in these two parks.
Last year, I decided to revisit India, and I contemplated doing a scouting trip for just Mary and I. Doing so, we'd be enjoying an almost vacation experience, something we rarely if ever have a chance to do. However, several of our photography friends have been asking us about doing an Indian tiger trip for years, and, since none of us are getting any younger, we felt it prudent to open our scouting trip to participants.
A Scouting Trip
Over several months I contacted and corresponded with several Indian tour companies, many of which specialized in tiger and wildlife photography safaris. Several of these companies cited professional photographers I know as references, and I was pretty confident about the quality I'd expect.
For very compelling reasons, and none of these involving price, I chose our company, which happens to be the same one our African tour operator uses as well. So, as far as an outfitter goes, I'm quite happy.
However, unlike almost all of the trips Mary and I have offered, for this first trip we have not done a pre-tour scouting trip to the locations we'll be visiting. We've already asked a lot of questions, and received great answers, from our outfitter, and I'm sure we'll be asking many more, so that we'll be able to provide our participants with a very complete pre-trip package of information.
What we will not be able to do is state definitively what's going to happen on a given day, or what specific conditions will be at a particular location, or whatever questions someone might ask that, in Africa or elsewhere, we are likely to have a ready answer. There may be some surprises, and we may be surprised or contradicted by subsequent events that we did not foresee.
I'm not stating any of this to scare potential participants away. On the contrary, three years ago I took a small group to Brazil for jaguars on a scouting trip, and that experience was incredible, and Brazil's Pantanal Jaguars are now part of our regular schedule. Likewise, our 2009 Alaska whale trip was new to us, and proved to be one of the most exciting and rewarding trips we did that year. I have equal confidence about this trip, but surprises can happen for, after all, THIS IS A SCOUTING TRIP.
So, what does that mean? Aside from a potential surprise here or there, it should mean nothing. Our outfitter has everything arranged like clockwork and I suspect that this year's trip will end up being no different than the trips we will be offering to India in the future. But, I want the honest freedom to be able to shrug and say, I don't know, I haven't been here before, if a particular question arises. If you need those answers now, then you may wish to wait until we do our scouting trip and do a future trip for tigers.
To get the absolute most out of these safaris, or any of our
offerings, consider taking one of our Complete Digital Nature
Photo Courses, in either Pennsylvania or Arizona next summer!
Our Photo Safari
Langur monkeys, a large, tame, and common primate around many
of the park entrances and throughout the forests.
This trip is devoted to photographing India's wildlife, with a special emphasis upon photographing the Bengal tiger, the most threatened of the big cats. Except for our first full day in Delhi, where we'll have the option of doing some city touring or simply resting and getting over jet-lag, all of our time will be spent in the National Parks. We will not be spending time in cities doing tours, and our only non-Delhi city time will be as we drive from the airport in Jabalpur and then as we commute from park to park.
We will game-drive through the parks in jeeps with only TWO PHOTOGRAPHERS per vehicle. There may be a guide, and certainly a driver, but you won't be competing with several people as we do our shooting.
We will also have the opportunity to do some elephant back tiger viewing. These 'Sher Darshan' or tiger shows are offered at Bandhavgarh and Pench, but they are subject to availability, based upon the number of people in the park or with an interest, or if a film crew has taken over all of the elephants.
While this opportunity may arise, our best shooting will be from the vehicles where we'll film tigers at close to ground-level from our open jeeps. These jeeps are open, so you'll be photographing either from a seated position or a kneeling one, depending upon how you are supporting your camera. We'll be bringing along a MOLAR BAG to mount upon the side of the jeep, if that is possible, but we'll also have our tripods along, for shooting off a tripod-mounted lens. This is how we photograph in Botswana, in similar vehicles, and in the Pantanal of Brazil when we photograph jaguars from small boats. While a tripod-mounted lens provides a very sturdy platform, using this system is more awkward than what we experience in Kenya or Tanzania where we often shoot off a rooftop through an open hatch. The jeeps do not provide much room for a tripod, but neither does a boat and you may find that you'll work with a tripod easily, or with the legs folded together into a monopod, or even a bi-pod.
Depending upon your competency in camera-handling, or even in geometry (getting your tripod legs angled correctly, etc.), you might find this shooting challenging, but that's how it is done in India. There is no other option.
We'll be game-driving in the best hours for seeing predators, starting our game drives shortly after dawn and in the late afternoon prior to sunset. And, although the focus and goal of this safari is to photograph tigers, we will photograph every good wildlife and nature subject we find.
Let me repeat that -- we'll photograph everything. It is often very counter-productive to be obsessed with one subject and ignoring others while you seek one goal. On our first trip to the Pantanal for the 'elusive' jaguar, we approached this shoot with the hope that we'd see a jaguar, but even if we didn't, we'd come away with great wildlife shots of everything else we encountered. As it was, we had great jaguars, but we also had a very well-rounded portfolio of all of the Pantanal's wildlife, and we will adopt the same shooting philosophy for this tiger shoot. If you're not interested in anything but tigers, if you're not willing to photograph other species, if you're not prepared to 'smell the roses' and take things as they come, not rushing things and letting nature play out as it may, then do not come with us. Our shooting philosophy has been extremely successful, and even when we haven't shot our target species (which has only happened once, on an African wild dog trip) we nonetheless had a great trip.
Photo of the leopard by Gordon Gould, one of Amit's clients.
I'm extremely confident that we'll get tigers -- we'll be there at the best time, at the best parks, but we'll be photographing wild animals that may not cooperate for us, or for you. It is possible that the jeep that you are in will be at the wrong place at the wrong time and you'll miss the best encounter, or that there will be a traffic jam of vehicles on a cat, and our shooting will be compromised. That reality would occur on any trip, whether a scouting trip or our fiftieth trip, but you must be aware that this could happen.
The Parks
We'll be visiting what I believe are the three best parks for tiger opportunities, and while that point could be argued, other parks in India are quite removed from one another. That means, if one went to Corbett, or to Kazaranga, or Nagorhole, or Ranthambore, one would need to either fly or drive or take a train, wasting valuable field time that could more productively be spent in the field at a park looking for tigers and shooting other species.
As I said in 'History,' Ranthambore is pretty much a disaster these days. I've been to Corbett, where I did see two tigers from elephant back, but the habitat is dense and shooting is difficult. The other parks I've mentioned, and I've been to all, offered little chance for photographing tigers, or indeed other species of wildlife.
So, that said, I'm delighted in designing an itinerary where all of our time is devoted to three parks within driving range of one another, so that no day is entirely wasted by travel.
Bandhavgarh
This may be the premiere tiger park, and may offer the best opportunities for seeing and photographing tigers. Most, if not all, of our photography will be from jeeps, although India's erratic Park's Department sometimes offers elephant ride/tiger viewing Tiger Shows.
We may also have the option of booking elephants for an entire day, but again this will be subject to availability. As of this writing, tiger shows are not available at Bandhavgarh, but that may change. There are pros and cons to shooting from elephants. On the positive side, elephants can take us to locations where our jeeps cannot, and one can get very close with elephants. On the negative side, the shooting can be nearly straight down if both the elephant and the tiger is on the same plane, but it can also be at virtual eye-level if a tiger is on a hill.
A note on the Elephant ride tiger viewing: Unfortunately, the access to elephants is not guaranteed, so we could not build in a trip price that included all-day elephant rides. Further, we might find that we enjoy shooting from the near ground-level perspective of our jeeps, rather than 10 feet above the ground on an elephant's back. However, we may have the option of booking one or more elephants for an entire day, but anyone wishing to take advantage of this opportunity will be paying extra. The price on this will depend upon the park, and the number of photographers per elephant back. We suggest everyone bringing along extra money in case they wish to do one or more additional elephant rides. More details on this will be forwarded to registered participants. This information applies to Bandhavgarh, Kanha, Pench, and the extension at Satpura.
The park is a mixture of bamboo, grassland, and a complex of deciduous forests. There are at least 150 species of birds in the park, along with several great mammals. This may be the best of all India parks for tigers, but there are also sloth bears, langur monkeys, wild boar, and three species of deer - chital, sambar, and barking deer. The park is 168 sq miles, and we'll be game-driving in a 105 sq km area that borders our lodge boundaries, giving us further chances of seeing great wildlife outside the lodge property. The zone where we will be touring has had the best tiger viewing in recent years.
Kanha
Kanha is a more popular and more highly visited park, and offers a variety of species including tigers and leopards, cheetal, Indian bison, barking deer, sambhar deer, and the endangered Barasingha deer. The habitat is similar to Bandhavgarh, a mixture of grassy plains and sal forests.
Tiger Shows, the 'Sher Darshan,'may be offered here, but whether or not elephant rides will be offered or available (sometimes film crews take all the elephants) won't be known until we get there.
Pench, now known as Indira Priyadarshu Pench National Park
I think I'll always refers to this park as Pench! This is the 19th reserve in the Project Tiger and is a little known park. It has a large diversity of wildlife, including leopard, tiger, jungle cat, dhole (wild dog), sloth bear, wild boar, mongoose, gaur (a huge bovine that may be the ancestor to all cattle), and the highest density of herbivores, including cheetal (spotted deer), and sambar.
There are at least 250 species of birds found in the diverse habitats, which is composed of grasslands, open canopy mixed forests, riverine forest systems, and rolling hills.
Our Itinerary
Day 1, Feb 28, 2011 - Depart US or departure city
Day 2, March 1, 2011 - Arrive in Delhi
Welcome dinner and meeting.
Overnight - The Claridges Hotel.
Visit http://www.claridges-hotels.com/delhi/ to check out
our beautiful hotel in Delhi.
Day 3, March 2 - Delhi
Recover from jet-lag or tour the city or engage in other personal activities. In the afternoon we'll visit some markets, including a silver market where the photographic opportunities are stellar. Nearby, there is also a 'gray market' camera market where anything can be purchased - sans boxed -- at the best prices anywhere. If you're short on gear ....
Overnight - The Claridges Hotel
Day 4, March 3- Delhi - Jabalpur - Bandhavgarh
We'll leave the hotel after an early breakfast for our flight to Jabalpur, arriving at approximately 9AM. We'll have a four hour drive to Bandhavgarh National Park where we'll check in to the hotel, and then do an afternoon game drive where we'll introduce ourselves to shooting out of the jeeps.
Overnight - Bandhavgarh Jungle Lodge.
Visit www.tiger-resorts.com to check out our lodging.
Day 5 to 9, March 4 to 8 - Bandhavgarh National Park
Game drives morning and evening for tigers and other wildlife. We'll have the option of visiting the Garh, or Bandhavgarh Fort from which this park gets its name, where there is a temple situated on a hill. There's a huge statue of Lord Vishnu, a religious icon of Indian culture.
Overnights - Bandhavgarh Jungle Lodge.
Our lodges in Bandhavgarh and Kanha are owned by the tour
operator we'll be using. You're looking at a bedroom, eating area,
looking out at the grounds, and a porch outdoor relaxing and viewing area.
Day 10, March 9 - Bandhavgarh to Kanha
After an early breakfast we'll depart for a five hour drive to Kanha National Park. We'll check in to our hotel and prepare for an afternoon game drive.
Overnight - Kanha Jungle Lodge
Day 11 to 15, March 10 to 14 - Kanha National Park
We'll be doing morning and evening game drives through Kanha's varied habitats, and if the Tiger Shows are available we're likely to do at least one of these. Shooting from elephant back does give a photographer the opportunity to film tigers (if found) when they've come to rest for the day off track, but the shooting is generally at an angle, and sometimes a steep angle at that. All of my sources have stated that getting an elephant tiger show is not guaranteed, and that the shooting is better from the vehicles. Nevertheless, I'm sure we'll try at least one if we get the chance.
For anyone who wishes, if Tiger Show elephants are available it may be possible to book an elephant for the entire day. This is expensive and we did not include this as part of our tour, but it may be an option for someone who desires to spend more time on elephants, for whatever reason. Refer to the notes above, and further details on these elephant safaris will be forwarded to registered participants as information comes in.
Overnights - Kanha Jungle Lodge
Visit www.tiger-resorts.com to check out our lodging.
One of the lounges in B or K, and tea time overlooking the grounds.
Day 16, March 15 - Kanha to Pench National Park
After breakfast we'll head out to our last destination, the little known treasure of Pench. We'll check into our lodge, the Tuli Tiger Corridor, luxury cottages with AC, and after a break we'll have an afternoon game drive.
Overnight - Tuli Tiger Corridor
Day 17 - 18, March 16 and 17 - Pench National Park
We'll do morning and afternoon game drives, and may have another opportunity for an elephant back safari. Pench has a wide variety of wildlife, and although it probably has fewer tigers than our other two parks we'll be ready to fill in our portfolios with the other animals and birds found here. As I mentioned earlier, there is a variety of exciting species, including dhole and sloth bear and leopard, as well as the herbivores and birds.
Overnights - Tuli Tiger Corridor
Visit www.tulihotels.com to check out the lodging.
Day 19, March 18 - Pench to Nagpur to Delhi
For those not going on with the extension, we'll have an early morning transfer to Nagpur to board a flight to Delhi, arriving in the late morning in Delhi where we will have a day room until 9PM that evening. We'll have a Farewell Dinner before transfering to Indira Gandhi International Airport for your flight home.
Day Room - Radisson Hotel
For those doing the extension, scroll down to the bottom of this brochure.
Day 20, March 19 - Delhi to Home
In the late hours of Day 19 we'll transfer to the airport and board flights for home.
The Tour Price is $7,399
based upon eight participants.
For a tour of four participants there will be a $300 additional cost.
For a tour of six participants there will be a $150 additional cost.
For a tour of two participants, there will be a $900 additional cost.
Trip Deposit - $2,000 nonrefundable deposit
Single Supplement - $2,212
Our Tour Cost Includes
Accommodations on double/twin sharing basis
Meals in Delhi - Breakfasts and Welcome Dinner on Day 2 and 3
Tips for the jeep drivers, mahots, and our English-speaking guides
All Meals and Accommodations while on Safari, Day 4 - 19
Service of English speaking resident naturalists in each park
Jeep safaris, with 2 per vehicle
Elephant safari (tiger show) subject to availablity
Farewell dinner at 'The Great Kebab Factory' in Delhi
Airfare for domestic flight to Jabalpur and back to Delhi
All transfers - from airport to hotel in Delhi and to airport
Our Tour Cost does not include
Insurance fees
International Airfare
Expenditures of a personal nature, including drinks, laundary, phone calls,
alcoholic beverages, tips
Any sudden and unforeseen increase in price due to an increase in Park Fees, Fuel Costs, or Government Tax Policies beyound our control, acts of god, natural calamity, law and order situations, riots, or forced changes in itinerary due to situations or reasons beyond our control
As with any International trip, we strongly recommend you purchase travel trip insurance.
Optional Extention to Satpura National Park
Day 19 - March 18
Pench to Satpura
Morning drive to Satpura
For those doing the extension we'll leave early for our drive to Satpura National Park after having a breakfast and tearful farewell for anyone leaving us! We'll have a morning drive to reach our next destination, one of the newest of India's parks with some of the most diverse group of predators found anywhere.
This unique park probably sports the most spectacular habitat and landscapes of any park in the Project Tiger system, and as a new park it is almost unvisited. On the negative, tiger sightings are not common and the road system is not as well developed as in other parks, but on the positive side the wildlife sightings have been very good, and there are few tourists to contend with. Satpura has the promise of becoming one of the best locations for wildlife viewing, and there is the opportunity to go through the park in many ways.
Satpura National Park is located in south Hoshangabad district in Madhya Pradesh.
The 524 Sq km Park is the core area of the Panchmarchi Biosphere Reserve that includes Bori wildlife sanctuary to its south-west and Panchmarhi wildlife sanctuary to its northeast. The park has an elevation of 320-1,352m with tall sandstone mountains, narrow gorges, ravines, water falls, streams and dense forests near the Mahadev hills in the Pachmarhi plateau. The area boasts two unique species of trees – the sal and the teak besides a wide variety of ferns, mango trees, butterflies and birds. Upon arrival at Satpura check into Forsyth loge.
Forsyth’s Satpura is a stylish environmentally friendly lodge that is engaged with the park management and the local community in a pioneering effort to create an
unprecedented jungle experience in one of the most exciting tiger habitats in the
world. This is an effort to create an exceptional wilderness experience for those
who truly revel in wild places far from the jeep borne hordes that have defaced so many other parks. Lunch and afternoon visit to the park by 4x4 Jeep with an
English-speaking Naturalist.
Whether or not we'll have the time or energy to avail ourselves of the options, we'll have the chance to canoe, kayak, hike, use elephants, jeep, or stay in blinds -- if the Satpura website is indeed accurate. In talking with our outfitter it sounds promising, but not enough of a sure-thing to incorporate into the main tour. However, if you read the reviews on their website, they were excellent, and the wildlife sightings were great. How that translates into photography will remain to be seen, but it sure looks promising!
Dinner and overnight at Forsyth Lodge.
Visit the Forsyth Lodge, Satpura website for a preview.
Day 20 - 22
March 19 to 21
Satpura National Park
We will have the options of Game drives / walking safarsi / elephant safaris / or bush walk at and around camp or village walk.
One of the greatest attractions of Satpura may be the small predators, mammals, and bird life that are found around the grounds of the lodge. The Forsyth lodge has made a special emphasis upon plantings and setting up small water holes to attract the lesser predators, and we may have some of our most exciting shooting here - day or night -- on jungle cats, civets, and other species. After over two full weeks of 'tiger hunting' and photographing the major animal species, Satpura may offer a very refreshing change and an opportunity to film species not normally seen. I'm looking at this extension as a great way to round out my Indian wildlife portfolio!
As I mentioned above, there are a lot of activities one can do and the trick, truly, will be deciding upon what we, or you, individually, wish to do! If the wildlife viewing is great by jeep, or elephant, we may devote all of our time to that, but the canoeing and kayaking opportunities sound very interesting, too.
Overnight at Forsyth Lodge, Satpura.
Day 23
March 22
Satpura - Bhopal - Delhi
Early morning drive to Bhopal Airport to board our flight for Delhi (a 3.5 hour flight), arriving approximately at 11:50AM. On arrival we'll transfer to our hotel for a day room until 9PM. We'll have a farewell dinner at the Indira Gandhi International Pairpor before your flight home.
Day 24
March 23
Delhi-Onward Journey
On time transfer to the Airport for your flight back home
Optional Extension Price:
$1,700
Our Extension cost includes:
Accommodation on double / twin sharing basis at hotels mentioned above or in
similar category.
Your accommodation at Forsyth Lodge, Satpura includes all meals i.e. breakfast,
Lunch & Dinner with morning and evening tea with cookies.
Services of Air Conditioned Car / Toyta Innova / Tempo Traveler / Mini Coach for
transfers in Delhi & Services of air Conditioned Toyota Innovas/Sumo for drives-
Pench-Satpura-Bhopal sectors depending up the number of guests.
Services of English speaking resident naturalist in Satpura National parks.
Jeep Safaris (sits 2 in a jeep)/elephant safari / boat ride / Village walks as mentioned in itinerary inclusive of entry fee to park, resident naturalist services. (Elephant Ride is subject to availability)
Farewell Dinner at restaurant “The Great Kebab Factory” in Delhi.
Cost does not include:
Any additional Airfare , any insurance fee
Anything not mentioned in inclusion above.
Any expenditure of personal nature like tabled drinks, laundry, telephone calls, soft/hard drinks, Tips.
Any sudden increase in price due to steep hike in park Entry Fee, steep hike in fuel cost, change in government tax policy or for any reason beyond our control like acts of god, natural calamity, law and order situation, riots etc and any forced change in itinerary for any unforeseen situation or reason beyond our control.
As with any International trip, we strongly recommend you purchase travel trip insurance.
Tigers!
The Ultimate Tiger Safari
covering three of India's best natural history
and tiger national parks
Our itinerary is almost entirely devoted to in-field photography of India's wildlife,
at
Bandhavgarh National Park -
with one of the largest concentrations of tigers in India
Kanha National Park -
one of the big 'four' for viewing tigers (Bandhavgarh is in that four, too), with a wide diversity of herbivores as well.
Pench National Park -
with the highest density of herbivores of any Indian park, and with sloth bears, dhole (Asiatic wild dog), leopards, and tigers
Dates - February 28 to March 19, 2011
Limited to Ten Participants
Price: $7,399
Based on a tour of ten participants.
A sliding scale must be levied for a tour
of four or six participants (see end of brochure for details).
The First Tour is NEARLY FULL. A 2nd tour
will immediately follow the Trip Extension of Tour 1,
March 22 - April 9, 2011
No one is offering a more complete, tiger and wildlife intensive photo safari.
Optional Extension to Satpura National Park!
Scroll to the end of the brochure
Because of our self-imposed limitation of two photographers per jeep we will be accepting participants on a first come/first serve basis, and the last participant, if the fifth, or seventh, or ninth participant, will not be guaranteed a spot until the sixth or eighth or tenth participant registers. You will be first on the list as another participant registers, but we cannot have a one or a three person jeep.
All photos in this brochure are from our tour operator, Amit Sankhala.
I asked Amit to supply me with images like those we could expect to
make, and not shots from stock or a BBC-style shooting crew. I think
they tell a very convincing story!
Some History ...
This is the ultimate tiger trip, visiting three of the best tiger parks without wasting time in cities, as each park is within driving distance of the next. After a tremendous amount of research, we've designed an itinerary that maximizes our chances of photographing tigers, as well as much of India's other exciting wildlife.
Too many years ago, Mary and I did our only tiger photo safari to India, where we visited none of the parks featured in the above itinerary. We did extraordinarily well, and Mary and I saw nine tigers, and the group, in total, saw thirteen. One of Mary's shots ended up as the first place winner in the Endangered Species category of the BBC Wildlife Photographer of the year competition. We saw most of our tigers in a park called Ranthambore, and in the years that followed that park suffered a tremendous amount of tiger poaching, and Mary's first place winning tiger was one of those killed. We lost interest in returning to India.
Over the years, however, friends have returned to India and provided positive feedback. Ranthambore, sad to say, became a tiger-tourist mecca, and tiger viewing there has become something of a carnival. We knew, if we would return, that we would not visit Ranthambore.
These tigers, and the second tiger shown in the brochure (see top)
are our photos from our first trip. Just had to add some of our tiger shots, too!
Fortunately, two other parks gained in prominence as Ranthambore's prestige declined, and those were Bandhavgarh and Kanha. Both offer game-viewing from jeeps as well as elephant back 'tiger shows' (more on this later), and most of the nature films are now made in these two parks.
Last year, I decided to revisit India, and I contemplated doing a scouting trip for just Mary and I. Doing so, we'd be enjoying an almost vacation experience, something we rarely if ever have a chance to do. However, several of our photography friends have been asking us about doing an Indian tiger trip for years, and, since none of us are getting any younger, we felt it prudent to open our scouting trip to participants.
A Scouting Trip
Over several months I contacted and corresponded with several Indian tour companies, many of which specialized in tiger and wildlife photography safaris. Several of these companies cited professional photographers I know as references, and I was pretty confident about the quality I'd expect.
For very compelling reasons, and none of these involving price, I chose our company, which happens to be the same one our African tour operator uses as well. So, as far as an outfitter goes, I'm quite happy.
However, unlike almost all of the trips Mary and I have offered, for this first trip we have not done a pre-tour scouting trip to the locations we'll be visiting. We've already asked a lot of questions, and received great answers, from our outfitter, and I'm sure we'll be asking many more, so that we'll be able to provide our participants with a very complete pre-trip package of information.
What we will not be able to do is state definitively what's going to happen on a given day, or what specific conditions will be at a particular location, or whatever questions someone might ask that, in Africa or elsewhere, we are likely to have a ready answer. There may be some surprises, and we may be surprised or contradicted by subsequent events that we did not foresee.
I'm not stating any of this to scare potential participants away. On the contrary, three years ago I took a small group to Brazil for jaguars on a scouting trip, and that experience was incredible, and Brazil's Pantanal Jaguars are now part of our regular schedule. Likewise, our 2009 Alaska whale trip was new to us, and proved to be one of the most exciting and rewarding trips we did that year. I have equal confidence about this trip, but surprises can happen for, after all, THIS IS A SCOUTING TRIP.
So, what does that mean? Aside from a potential surprise here or there, it should mean nothing. Our outfitter has everything arranged like clockwork and I suspect that this year's trip will end up being no different than the trips we will be offering to India in the future. But, I want the honest freedom to be able to shrug and say, I don't know, I haven't been here before, if a particular question arises. If you need those answers now, then you may wish to wait until we do our scouting trip and do a future trip for tigers.
To get the absolute most out of these safaris, or any of our
offerings, consider taking one of our Complete Digital Nature
Photo Courses, in either Pennsylvania or Arizona next summer!
Our Photo Safari
Langur monkeys, a large, tame, and common primate around many
of the park entrances and throughout the forests.
This trip is devoted to photographing India's wildlife, with a special emphasis upon photographing the Bengal tiger, the most threatened of the big cats. Except for our first full day in Delhi, where we'll have the option of doing some city touring or simply resting and getting over jet-lag, all of our time will be spent in the National Parks. We will not be spending time in cities doing tours, and our only non-Delhi city time will be as we drive from the airport in Jabalpur and then as we commute from park to park.
We will game-drive through the parks in jeeps with only TWO PHOTOGRAPHERS per vehicle. There may be a guide, and certainly a driver, but you won't be competing with several people as we do our shooting.
We will also have the opportunity to do some elephant back tiger viewing. These 'Sher Darshan' or tiger shows are offered at Bandhavgarh and Pench, but they are subject to availability, based upon the number of people in the park or with an interest, or if a film crew has taken over all of the elephants.
While this opportunity may arise, our best shooting will be from the vehicles where we'll film tigers at close to ground-level from our open jeeps. These jeeps are open, so you'll be photographing either from a seated position or a kneeling one, depending upon how you are supporting your camera. We'll be bringing along a MOLAR BAG to mount upon the side of the jeep, if that is possible, but we'll also have our tripods along, for shooting off a tripod-mounted lens. This is how we photograph in Botswana, in similar vehicles, and in the Pantanal of Brazil when we photograph jaguars from small boats. While a tripod-mounted lens provides a very sturdy platform, using this system is more awkward than what we experience in Kenya or Tanzania where we often shoot off a rooftop through an open hatch. The jeeps do not provide much room for a tripod, but neither does a boat and you may find that you'll work with a tripod easily, or with the legs folded together into a monopod, or even a bi-pod.
Depending upon your competency in camera-handling, or even in geometry (getting your tripod legs angled correctly, etc.), you might find this shooting challenging, but that's how it is done in India. There is no other option.
We'll be game-driving in the best hours for seeing predators, starting our game drives shortly after dawn and in the late afternoon prior to sunset. And, although the focus and goal of this safari is to photograph tigers, we will photograph every good wildlife and nature subject we find.
Let me repeat that -- we'll photograph everything. It is often very counter-productive to be obsessed with one subject and ignoring others while you seek one goal. On our first trip to the Pantanal for the 'elusive' jaguar, we approached this shoot with the hope that we'd see a jaguar, but even if we didn't, we'd come away with great wildlife shots of everything else we encountered. As it was, we had great jaguars, but we also had a very well-rounded portfolio of all of the Pantanal's wildlife, and we will adopt the same shooting philosophy for this tiger shoot. If you're not interested in anything but tigers, if you're not willing to photograph other species, if you're not prepared to 'smell the roses' and take things as they come, not rushing things and letting nature play out as it may, then do not come with us. Our shooting philosophy has been extremely successful, and even when we haven't shot our target species (which has only happened once, on an African wild dog trip) we nonetheless had a great trip.
Photo of the leopard by Gordon Gould, one of Amit's clients.
I'm extremely confident that we'll get tigers -- we'll be there at the best time, at the best parks, but we'll be photographing wild animals that may not cooperate for us, or for you. It is possible that the jeep that you are in will be at the wrong place at the wrong time and you'll miss the best encounter, or that there will be a traffic jam of vehicles on a cat, and our shooting will be compromised. That reality would occur on any trip, whether a scouting trip or our fiftieth trip, but you must be aware that this could happen.
The Parks
We'll be visiting what I believe are the three best parks for tiger opportunities, and while that point could be argued, other parks in India are quite removed from one another. That means, if one went to Corbett, or to Kazaranga, or Nagorhole, or Ranthambore, one would need to either fly or drive or take a train, wasting valuable field time that could more productively be spent in the field at a park looking for tigers and shooting other species.
As I said in 'History,' Ranthambore is pretty much a disaster these days. I've been to Corbett, where I did see two tigers from elephant back, but the habitat is dense and shooting is difficult. The other parks I've mentioned, and I've been to all, offered little chance for photographing tigers, or indeed other species of wildlife.
So, that said, I'm delighted in designing an itinerary where all of our time is devoted to three parks within driving range of one another, so that no day is entirely wasted by travel.
Bandhavgarh
This may be the premiere tiger park, and may offer the best opportunities for seeing and photographing tigers. Most, if not all, of our photography will be from jeeps, although India's erratic Park's Department sometimes offers elephant ride/tiger viewing Tiger Shows.
We may also have the option of booking elephants for an entire day, but again this will be subject to availability. As of this writing, tiger shows are not available at Bandhavgarh, but that may change. There are pros and cons to shooting from elephants. On the positive side, elephants can take us to locations where our jeeps cannot, and one can get very close with elephants. On the negative side, the shooting can be nearly straight down if both the elephant and the tiger is on the same plane, but it can also be at virtual eye-level if a tiger is on a hill.
A note on the Elephant ride tiger viewing: Unfortunately, the access to elephants is not guaranteed, so we could not build in a trip price that included all-day elephant rides. Further, we might find that we enjoy shooting from the near ground-level perspective of our jeeps, rather than 10 feet above the ground on an elephant's back. However, we may have the option of booking one or more elephants for an entire day, but anyone wishing to take advantage of this opportunity will be paying extra. The price on this will depend upon the park, and the number of photographers per elephant back. We suggest everyone bringing along extra money in case they wish to do one or more additional elephant rides. More details on this will be forwarded to registered participants. This information applies to Bandhavgarh, Kanha, Pench, and the extension at Satpura.
The park is a mixture of bamboo, grassland, and a complex of deciduous forests. There are at least 150 species of birds in the park, along with several great mammals. This may be the best of all India parks for tigers, but there are also sloth bears, langur monkeys, wild boar, and three species of deer - chital, sambar, and barking deer. The park is 168 sq miles, and we'll be game-driving in a 105 sq km area that borders our lodge boundaries, giving us further chances of seeing great wildlife outside the lodge property. The zone where we will be touring has had the best tiger viewing in recent years.
Kanha
Kanha is a more popular and more highly visited park, and offers a variety of species including tigers and leopards, cheetal, Indian bison, barking deer, sambhar deer, and the endangered Barasingha deer. The habitat is similar to Bandhavgarh, a mixture of grassy plains and sal forests.
Tiger Shows, the 'Sher Darshan,'may be offered here, but whether or not elephant rides will be offered or available (sometimes film crews take all the elephants) won't be known until we get there.
Pench, now known as Indira Priyadarshu Pench National Park
I think I'll always refers to this park as Pench! This is the 19th reserve in the Project Tiger and is a little known park. It has a large diversity of wildlife, including leopard, tiger, jungle cat, dhole (wild dog), sloth bear, wild boar, mongoose, gaur (a huge bovine that may be the ancestor to all cattle), and the highest density of herbivores, including cheetal (spotted deer), and sambar.
There are at least 250 species of birds found in the diverse habitats, which is composed of grasslands, open canopy mixed forests, riverine forest systems, and rolling hills.
Our Itinerary
Day 1, Feb 28, 2011 - Depart US or departure city
Day 2, March 1, 2011 - Arrive in Delhi
Welcome dinner and meeting.
Overnight - The Claridges Hotel.
Visit http://www.claridges-hotels.com/delhi/ to check out
our beautiful hotel in Delhi.
Day 3, March 2 - Delhi
Recover from jet-lag or tour the city or engage in other personal activities. In the afternoon we'll visit some markets, including a silver market where the photographic opportunities are stellar. Nearby, there is also a 'gray market' camera market where anything can be purchased - sans boxed -- at the best prices anywhere. If you're short on gear ....
Overnight - The Claridges Hotel
Day 4, March 3- Delhi - Jabalpur - Bandhavgarh
We'll leave the hotel after an early breakfast for our flight to Jabalpur, arriving at approximately 9AM. We'll have a four hour drive to Bandhavgarh National Park where we'll check in to the hotel, and then do an afternoon game drive where we'll introduce ourselves to shooting out of the jeeps.
Overnight - Bandhavgarh Jungle Lodge.
Visit www.tiger-resorts.com to check out our lodging.
Day 5 to 9, March 4 to 8 - Bandhavgarh National Park
Game drives morning and evening for tigers and other wildlife. We'll have the option of visiting the Garh, or Bandhavgarh Fort from which this park gets its name, where there is a temple situated on a hill. There's a huge statue of Lord Vishnu, a religious icon of Indian culture.
Overnights - Bandhavgarh Jungle Lodge.
Our lodges in Bandhavgarh and Kanha are owned by the tour
operator we'll be using. You're looking at a bedroom, eating area,
looking out at the grounds, and a porch outdoor relaxing and viewing area.
Day 10, March 9 - Bandhavgarh to Kanha
After an early breakfast we'll depart for a five hour drive to Kanha National Park. We'll check in to our hotel and prepare for an afternoon game drive.
Overnight - Kanha Jungle Lodge
Day 11 to 15, March 10 to 14 - Kanha National Park
We'll be doing morning and evening game drives through Kanha's varied habitats, and if the Tiger Shows are available we're likely to do at least one of these. Shooting from elephant back does give a photographer the opportunity to film tigers (if found) when they've come to rest for the day off track, but the shooting is generally at an angle, and sometimes a steep angle at that. All of my sources have stated that getting an elephant tiger show is not guaranteed, and that the shooting is better from the vehicles. Nevertheless, I'm sure we'll try at least one if we get the chance.
For anyone who wishes, if Tiger Show elephants are available it may be possible to book an elephant for the entire day. This is expensive and we did not include this as part of our tour, but it may be an option for someone who desires to spend more time on elephants, for whatever reason. Refer to the notes above, and further details on these elephant safaris will be forwarded to registered participants as information comes in.
Overnights - Kanha Jungle Lodge
Visit www.tiger-resorts.com to check out our lodging.
One of the lounges in B or K, and tea time overlooking the grounds.
Day 16, March 15 - Kanha to Pench National Park
After breakfast we'll head out to our last destination, the little known treasure of Pench. We'll check into our lodge, the Tuli Tiger Corridor, luxury cottages with AC, and after a break we'll have an afternoon game drive.
Overnight - Tuli Tiger Corridor
Day 17 - 18, March 16 and 17 - Pench National Park
We'll do morning and afternoon game drives, and may have another opportunity for an elephant back safari. Pench has a wide variety of wildlife, and although it probably has fewer tigers than our other two parks we'll be ready to fill in our portfolios with the other animals and birds found here. As I mentioned earlier, there is a variety of exciting species, including dhole and sloth bear and leopard, as well as the herbivores and birds.
Overnights - Tuli Tiger Corridor
Visit www.tulihotels.com to check out the lodging.
Day 19, March 18 - Pench to Nagpur to Delhi
For those not going on with the extension, we'll have an early morning transfer to Nagpur to board a flight to Delhi, arriving in the late morning in Delhi where we will have a day room until 9PM that evening. We'll have a Farewell Dinner before transfering to Indira Gandhi International Airport for your flight home.
Day Room - Radisson Hotel
For those doing the extension, scroll down to the bottom of this brochure.
Day 20, March 19 - Delhi to Home
In the late hours of Day 19 we'll transfer to the airport and board flights for home.
The Tour Price is $7,399
based upon eight participants.
For a tour of four participants there will be a $300 additional cost.
For a tour of six participants there will be a $150 additional cost.
For a tour of two participants, there will be a $900 additional cost.
Trip Deposit - $2,000 nonrefundable deposit
Single Supplement - $2,212
Our Tour Cost Includes
Accommodations on double/twin sharing basis
Meals in Delhi - Breakfasts and Welcome Dinner on Day 2 and 3
Tips for the jeep drivers, mahots, and our English-speaking guides
All Meals and Accommodations while on Safari, Day 4 - 19
Service of English speaking resident naturalists in each park
Jeep safaris, with 2 per vehicle
Elephant safari (tiger show) subject to availablity
Farewell dinner at 'The Great Kebab Factory' in Delhi
Airfare for domestic flight to Jabalpur and back to Delhi
All transfers - from airport to hotel in Delhi and to airport
Our Tour Cost does not include
Insurance fees
International Airfare
Expenditures of a personal nature, including drinks, laundary, phone calls,
alcoholic beverages, tips
Any sudden and unforeseen increase in price due to an increase in Park Fees, Fuel Costs, or Government Tax Policies beyound our control, acts of god, natural calamity, law and order situations, riots, or forced changes in itinerary due to situations or reasons beyond our control
As with any International trip, we strongly recommend you purchase travel trip insurance.
Optional Extention to Satpura National Park
Day 19 - March 18
Pench to Satpura
Morning drive to Satpura
For those doing the extension we'll leave early for our drive to Satpura National Park after having a breakfast and tearful farewell for anyone leaving us! We'll have a morning drive to reach our next destination, one of the newest of India's parks with some of the most diverse group of predators found anywhere.
This unique park probably sports the most spectacular habitat and landscapes of any park in the Project Tiger system, and as a new park it is almost unvisited. On the negative, tiger sightings are not common and the road system is not as well developed as in other parks, but on the positive side the wildlife sightings have been very good, and there are few tourists to contend with. Satpura has the promise of becoming one of the best locations for wildlife viewing, and there is the opportunity to go through the park in many ways.
Satpura National Park is located in south Hoshangabad district in Madhya Pradesh.
The 524 Sq km Park is the core area of the Panchmarchi Biosphere Reserve that includes Bori wildlife sanctuary to its south-west and Panchmarhi wildlife sanctuary to its northeast. The park has an elevation of 320-1,352m with tall sandstone mountains, narrow gorges, ravines, water falls, streams and dense forests near the Mahadev hills in the Pachmarhi plateau. The area boasts two unique species of trees – the sal and the teak besides a wide variety of ferns, mango trees, butterflies and birds. Upon arrival at Satpura check into Forsyth loge.
Forsyth’s Satpura is a stylish environmentally friendly lodge that is engaged with the park management and the local community in a pioneering effort to create an
unprecedented jungle experience in one of the most exciting tiger habitats in the
world. This is an effort to create an exceptional wilderness experience for those
who truly revel in wild places far from the jeep borne hordes that have defaced so many other parks. Lunch and afternoon visit to the park by 4x4 Jeep with an
English-speaking Naturalist.
Whether or not we'll have the time or energy to avail ourselves of the options, we'll have the chance to canoe, kayak, hike, use elephants, jeep, or stay in blinds -- if the Satpura website is indeed accurate. In talking with our outfitter it sounds promising, but not enough of a sure-thing to incorporate into the main tour. However, if you read the reviews on their website, they were excellent, and the wildlife sightings were great. How that translates into photography will remain to be seen, but it sure looks promising!
Dinner and overnight at Forsyth Lodge.
Visit the Forsyth Lodge, Satpura website for a preview.
Day 20 - 22
March 19 to 21
Satpura National Park
We will have the options of Game drives / walking safarsi / elephant safaris / or bush walk at and around camp or village walk.
One of the greatest attractions of Satpura may be the small predators, mammals, and bird life that are found around the grounds of the lodge. The Forsyth lodge has made a special emphasis upon plantings and setting up small water holes to attract the lesser predators, and we may have some of our most exciting shooting here - day or night -- on jungle cats, civets, and other species. After over two full weeks of 'tiger hunting' and photographing the major animal species, Satpura may offer a very refreshing change and an opportunity to film species not normally seen. I'm looking at this extension as a great way to round out my Indian wildlife portfolio!
As I mentioned above, there are a lot of activities one can do and the trick, truly, will be deciding upon what we, or you, individually, wish to do! If the wildlife viewing is great by jeep, or elephant, we may devote all of our time to that, but the canoeing and kayaking opportunities sound very interesting, too.
Overnight at Forsyth Lodge, Satpura.
Day 23
March 22
Satpura - Bhopal - Delhi
Early morning drive to Bhopal Airport to board our flight for Delhi (a 3.5 hour flight), arriving approximately at 11:50AM. On arrival we'll transfer to our hotel for a day room until 9PM. We'll have a farewell dinner at the Indira Gandhi International Pairpor before your flight home.
Day 24
March 23
Delhi-Onward Journey
On time transfer to the Airport for your flight back home
Optional Extension Price:
$1,700
Our Extension cost includes:
Accommodation on double / twin sharing basis at hotels mentioned above or in
similar category.
Your accommodation at Forsyth Lodge, Satpura includes all meals i.e. breakfast,
Lunch & Dinner with morning and evening tea with cookies.
Services of Air Conditioned Car / Toyta Innova / Tempo Traveler / Mini Coach for
transfers in Delhi & Services of air Conditioned Toyota Innovas/Sumo for drives-
Pench-Satpura-Bhopal sectors depending up the number of guests.
Services of English speaking resident naturalist in Satpura National parks.
Jeep Safaris (sits 2 in a jeep)/elephant safari / boat ride / Village walks as mentioned in itinerary inclusive of entry fee to park, resident naturalist services. (Elephant Ride is subject to availability)
Farewell Dinner at restaurant “The Great Kebab Factory” in Delhi.
Cost does not include:
Any additional Airfare , any insurance fee
Anything not mentioned in inclusion above.
Any expenditure of personal nature like tabled drinks, laundry, telephone calls, soft/hard drinks, Tips.
Any sudden increase in price due to steep hike in park Entry Fee, steep hike in fuel cost, change in government tax policy or for any reason beyond our control like acts of god, natural calamity, law and order situation, riots etc and any forced change in itinerary for any unforeseen situation or reason beyond our control.
As with any International trip, we strongly recommend you purchase travel trip insurance.
Contact us by e-mail:info@hoothollow.com
Phone us at 717-543-6423
Or FAX us at: (717) 543-5342
