Tigers of Bandhavgarh
Photo Tour
Dates: March 13-22, 2022
Price: $8395, single supplement available
Maximum: 6 participants
A Special Mini-Photo Tour for Photographers with limited time
including TWO Full Day Permits per person
For more great information on all our past Tiger trips, read
our past Trip Reports.
Bandhavgarh National Park and Tiger Reserve is one of the three or four best parks in India, and indeed the world, for finding Tigers. It may be the very best, and certainly is in our opinion. This special Photo Tour is designed to maximize your time and chances of seeing and photographing Tigers, especially for those participants 
who don't have a lot of vacation time or who would like to join us on our Tigers and the Wildlife of India Photo Tour that will follow. For some, this may give you two different times to be in Bandhavgarh! A great opportunity.
There are probably fewer than 3,200 wild Tigers still surviving in the wild, making it the most endangered of all the Big Cats. In contrast, the now endangered African Lion still numbers around 25,000 individuals, although that is down from 100,000 just thirty years ago. Sad and depressing facts.
Nonetheless, great Tiger photographic opportunities are available in the parks we visit, and for this special tour we're concentrating our time and your's in the best, Bandhavgarh. We'll be doing two game drives each day, at dawn and in the late afternoon, with only TWO PHOTOGRAPHERS per vehicle. The Gypsy Jeeps that are typically used on Indian game drives are small, yet many groups cram four, six, or even more people into these 
vehicles. You will have an entire row to yourself, and your vehicle, unlike virtually every other vehicle you'll see, will have side rails to accommodate resting a Molar Bag or similar bean bag support upon the rails.
Bandhavgarh is divided into three Tourist sections, called Jons, and we will be purchasing our entry permits long before the trip, dividing our time between the three sections in a fashion that reflects what, at the time of booking and via the best advice and estimation of our ground operators, are the best locations to spend our time. Additionally, we are including two All-Day Park Permits, that allows you to stay inside the park all day, and to enter earlier, to leave the park later, and to visit any Zone or Jon.
In addition to Tigers, Bandhavgarh has a wealth of other subjects to photograph. These include elk-like Sambar Deer, the common Spotted Deer or Chital, bison-like Gaur, Barking Deer, Asiatic Wild Hog, Langur and Rhesus Macaque Monkeys, and occasionally Sloth Bears and Asiatic Leopards. There are a variety of birds as well, including several species of Stork, White-eyed Buzzards, Crested Serpent Eagles, three species of Vultures, Rollers, Bee-eaters, Owls, Plovers, Nightjars, Bulbuls, and many more. We always encourage everyone to photograph all of the wildlife within the parks and not just pursue Tigers, and there are plenty of options in Bandhavgarh.
One of the truly special features of all of our Photo Safaris and Tours is our rotation policy. In contrast to many, we rotate all 
of our participants through the various jeeps to insure that everyone has a chance to benefit from the experiences of the professional drivers (the Park guides, in contrast, that accompany us are assigned by the Park and we have little control over who is assigned) and that everyone has an equal amount of time shooting with Mary and Joe. This last point is important to us, as we feel that we can give everyone the best guidance and help, and hopefully you'll make your best images when you are with either of us. You won't be stuck in one vehicle with the same people (another participant or the same driver), although at the time of registration for this tour, if two people are traveling together and wish to remain together we will accommodate that request.
To sum up, this special Mini-Photo Tour offers:
6 Game Drives in Bandhavgarh
not including the TWO All Day Permits.
Two Photographers per vehicle.
Side-braces for resting your Lenses.
Rotation of All photographers.
The Following is the Day-to-Day Itinerary for 2022
13th Mar Arrive Delhi
Meeting assistance on arrival and transfer to hotel
Rest of the day is at leisure.
Overnight at Radisson Blu Hotel
14th Mar Delhi – Jabalpur – Bandhavgarh (B, L & D)
After breakfast you will be transferred to the airport to board flight for Jabalpur
Arrive Jabalpur and transfer to the lodge (4 hr. drive) by passing through the villages and countryside of Madhya Pradesh
Upon arrival check in to the lodge
Dinner and rest of the evening is at leisure
Overnight at Bandhavgarh Jungle Lodge
Bandhavgarh National Park: Set amongst The Vindhya Hills in Madhya Pradesh, Bandhavgarh consists of 168 sq. miles of Sal & a mixed forest of bamboo, grassland, and a complex of deciduous forests. There are at least 150 species of birds in the park, along with other mammals such as Tigers, Sloth Bear, Langur Monkeys, Wild Boar, Mongoose, 3 Kinds Of Deer - Chital, Sambar And Barking, to name a few.
15th – 20th March Bandhavgarh (B, L & D)
Early morning wake-up call with a knock on your room door and Tea/Coffee.
You will wake up to misty mornings and sounds of birds calling, which will make an exciting start to your day. As soon as dawn breaks, leave for your Jungle Safari, accompanied by a resident naturalist and forest park guides in 4x 4 Jeeps. Lunch and afternoon safari by 4x4 jeep accompanied by resident naturalist and forest guide Return to lodge for evening tea and rest of time free to relax.
For the All Day Permits, you'll have the option of staying out all day with a packed lunch and drinks or returning to the lodge for a mid-day break.
18th March is Holi: The Festival of Color. The park is closed on this day. We will celebrate the festival with the lodge staff (this is so much fun). A small daytrip can be planned but we will decide that onsite.
Overnights at Bandhavgarh Jungle Lodge
21st March Bandhavgarh – Jabalpur - Delhi (B, L, D)
After breakfast drive to Jabalpur airport to board the flight for Delhi.
Upon arrival in Delhi, you will be transferred to the hotel for an overnight at the Radison Hotel.
22nd March - Delhi
You can fly out of IGIA early this morning (most international flights leave in the middle of the night such as 0330) or you can pay for an optional day room and fly out the evening of the 22nd/23rd.
Price: USD $8395.00, based on double occupancy
Maximum: 6 participants with a surcharge for fewer than 6
Single supplement: USD $550.00
The trip price includes:
- One group transfer to/from airport at the time of arrival and departure for the trip
- Meeting/assistance at the time of arrival and departure at airport and during check in/out of major hotels during the course of the trip
- Accommodation on double / twin sharing basis at hotels and lodges mentioned above
- All lodging beginning with the night of March 13 and concluding with an overnight on March 21
- 2 nights at the Radisson Blu (Superior Room)
- 7 nights at Bandhavgarh Jungle Lodge
- All meals beginning with breakfast on March 14 and ending with dinner on March 21 as indicated with B, L or D. This also includes morning and evening tea at Bandhavgarh Jungle Lodge.
- Services of air Conditioned Toyota Innovas for drives between Bandhavgarh-Jabalpur
- Round trip airfare from Delhi/Jabalpur and from Jabalpur/Delhi
The cost of the airfare is based on current airfare prices. A price increase is possible between now and the purchase of the group’s airfare.
- In Bandhavgarh NP: Jeep Safaris (sits 2 in a jeep) - as mentioned in itinerary inclusive of entry fee to park, resident English speaking guide/naturalist at park
- Still camera fee per person per day (Non-professional)**
- Two full day permits per person
- Mineral water during meals, game drives and available in vehicle during drives/sightseeing
- Gratuities for local guides, transfer personnel, park guides/drivers, park naturalists
3.50% Govt. Service Tax on Total Bill.
The trip price DOES NOT include:
- International airfare to India
- Trip cancellation insurance
Medical evacuation insurance: Mandatory for all international trips
- Indian Visa
- Covid-19 vaccine or Covid test that may be required before arrival into India
- Overweight or excessive luggage fees on domestic flights
- Overnight accommodations before the start of the tour or after the conclusion of the tour
- Any meal other than what is specified above or anything not mentioned in inclusion above.
- Any expenditure of personal nature like tabled drinks, camera fee, laundry, telephone calls, soft/ hard drinks.
This Tour will be followed by:
India's Wildlife: Tigers and More Photo Safari
About Your Leaders
My wife Mary Ann and I strive to provide the most comfortable and thorough safari you will experience. Both Mary and I are professional photographers, and I'd hope you've seen our credits. These included National Geographic, National Wildlife, Ranger Rick, Natural History, Living Bird, Birder's World, and most nature/wildlife calendars.
As a husband/wife team, Mary Ann and I have won more times in the prestigious BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition than any one. To date we have had 15 firsts, seconds, or thirds -- and we have not entered every year. Our trips are not about us, however, they are all for you, but credentials seem to matter, and we have them.
Mary has written twenty-nine (29) children's books, including Leopards, Grizzly Bears, Woodpeckers, Flying Squirrels, Sunflowers, Cobras, Jupiter, Boas, Garter Snakes, Pythons, Rattlesnakes, Ducks, Chickens, Horses, and Cows, and a coffee table book, Out of the Past, Amish Tradition and Faith.
I've written several how-to wildlife photography books -- A Practical Guide to Photographing American Wildlife, The Wildlife Photographer's Field Manual, The Complete Guide to Wildlife Photography, Designing Wildlife Photographs, Photographing on Safari, A Field Guide to Photographing in East Africa, and the New Complete Guide to Wildlife Photography, African Wildlife, Creatures of the Night, The World's Deadliest, and several ebooks. We have produced an instructional video, A Video Guide to Photographing on Safari with Joe and Mary Ann McDonald.
We are both editors for Nature Photographer magazine.
In addition to leading our trips to Tanzania, Mary and I personally lead photo safaris to Kenya, Brazil's Pantanal, Chile, Galapagos, Svalbard, India, Rwanda, Ecuador, Costa Rica,
the Falklands, South Texas, Yellowstone and some other spots, too!
As with any International trip, we strongly recommend you purchase trip cancellation insurance. Medical Evacuation Insurance is Mandatory for this trip.
Contact us by e-mail:info@hoothollow.com
Phone us at 717-543-6423
Return to HomePage
Tigers of Bandhavgarh
Photo Tour
Dates: March 13-22, 2022
Price: $8395, single supplement available
Maximum: 6 participants
A Special Mini-Photo Tour for Photographers with limited time
including TWO Full Day Permits per person
For more great information on all our past Tiger trips, read
our past Trip Reports.
Bandhavgarh National Park and Tiger Reserve is one of the three or four best parks in India, and indeed the world, for finding Tigers. It may be the very best, and certainly is in our opinion. This special Photo Tour is designed to maximize your time and chances of seeing and photographing Tigers, especially for those participants who don't have a lot of vacation time or who would like to join us on our Tigers and the Wildlife of India Photo Tour that will follow. For some, this may give you two different times to be in Bandhavgarh! A great opportunity.
There are probably fewer than 3,200 wild Tigers still surviving in the wild, making it the most endangered of all the Big Cats. In contrast, the now endangered African Lion still numbers around 25,000 individuals, although that is down from 100,000 just thirty years ago. Sad and depressing facts.
Nonetheless, great Tiger photographic opportunities are available in the parks we visit, and for this special tour we're concentrating our time and your's in the best, Bandhavgarh. We'll be doing two game drives each day, at dawn and in the late afternoon, with only TWO PHOTOGRAPHERS per vehicle. The Gypsy Jeeps that are typically used on Indian game drives are small, yet many groups cram four, six, or even more people into these vehicles. You will have an entire row to yourself, and your vehicle, unlike virtually every other vehicle you'll see, will have side rails to accommodate resting a Molar Bag or similar bean bag support upon the rails.
Bandhavgarh is divided into three Tourist sections, called Jons, and we will be purchasing our entry permits long before the trip, dividing our time between the three sections in a fashion that reflects what, at the time of booking and via the best advice and estimation of our ground operators, are the best locations to spend our time. Additionally, we are including two All-Day Park Permits, that allows you to stay inside the park all day, and to enter earlier, to leave the park later, and to visit any Zone or Jon.
In addition to Tigers, Bandhavgarh has a wealth of other subjects to photograph. These include elk-like Sambar Deer, the common Spotted Deer or Chital, bison-like Gaur, Barking Deer, Asiatic Wild Hog, Langur and Rhesus Macaque Monkeys, and occasionally Sloth Bears and Asiatic Leopards. There are a variety of birds as well, including several species of Stork, White-eyed Buzzards, Crested Serpent Eagles, three species of Vultures, Rollers, Bee-eaters, Owls, Plovers, Nightjars, Bulbuls, and many more. We always encourage everyone to photograph all of the wildlife within the parks and not just pursue Tigers, and there are plenty of options in Bandhavgarh.
One of the truly special features of all of our Photo Safaris and Tours is our rotation policy. In contrast to many, we rotate all of our participants through the various jeeps to insure that everyone has a chance to benefit from the experiences of the professional drivers (the Park guides, in contrast, that accompany us are assigned by the Park and we have little control over who is assigned) and that everyone has an equal amount of time shooting with Mary and Joe. This last point is important to us, as we feel that we can give everyone the best guidance and help, and hopefully you'll make your best images when you are with either of us. You won't be stuck in one vehicle with the same people (another participant or the same driver), although at the time of registration for this tour, if two people are traveling together and wish to remain together we will accommodate that request.
To sum up, this special Mini-Photo Tour offers:
6 Game Drives in Bandhavgarh
not including the TWO All Day Permits.
Two Photographers per vehicle.
Side-braces for resting your Lenses.
Rotation of All photographers.
The Following is the Day-to-Day Itinerary for 2022
13th Mar Arrive Delhi
Meeting assistance on arrival and transfer to hotel
Rest of the day is at leisure.
Overnight at Radisson Blu Hotel
14th Mar Delhi – Jabalpur – Bandhavgarh (B, L & D)
After breakfast you will be transferred to the airport to board flight for Jabalpur
Arrive Jabalpur and transfer to the lodge (4 hr. drive) by passing through the villages and countryside of Madhya Pradesh
Upon arrival check in to the lodge
Dinner and rest of the evening is at leisure
Overnight at Bandhavgarh Jungle Lodge
Bandhavgarh National Park: Set amongst The Vindhya Hills in Madhya Pradesh, Bandhavgarh consists of 168 sq. miles of Sal & a mixed forest of bamboo, grassland, and a complex of deciduous forests. There are at least 150 species of birds in the park, along with other mammals such as Tigers, Sloth Bear, Langur Monkeys, Wild Boar, Mongoose, 3 Kinds Of Deer - Chital, Sambar And Barking, to name a few.
15th – 20th March Bandhavgarh (B, L & D)
Early morning wake-up call with a knock on your room door and Tea/Coffee.
You will wake up to misty mornings and sounds of birds calling, which will make an exciting start to your day. As soon as dawn breaks, leave for your Jungle Safari, accompanied by a resident naturalist and forest park guides in 4x 4 Jeeps. Lunch and afternoon safari by 4x4 jeep accompanied by resident naturalist and forest guide Return to lodge for evening tea and rest of time free to relax.
For the All Day Permits, you'll have the option of staying out all day with a packed lunch and drinks or returning to the lodge for a mid-day break.
18th March is Holi: The Festival of Color. The park is closed on this day. We will celebrate the festival with the lodge staff (this is so much fun). A small daytrip can be planned but we will decide that onsite.
Overnights at Bandhavgarh Jungle Lodge
21st March Bandhavgarh – Jabalpur - Delhi (B, L, D)
After breakfast drive to Jabalpur airport to board the flight for Delhi.
Upon arrival in Delhi, you will be transferred to the hotel for an overnight at the Radison Hotel.
22nd March - Delhi
You can fly out of IGIA early this morning (most international flights leave in the middle of the night such as 0330) or you can pay for an optional day room and fly out the evening of the 22nd/23rd.
Price: USD $8395.00, based on double occupancy
Maximum: 6 participants with a surcharge for fewer than 6
Single supplement: USD $550.00
The trip price includes:
- One group transfer to/from airport at the time of arrival and departure for the trip
- Meeting/assistance at the time of arrival and departure at airport and during check in/out of major hotels during the course of the trip
- Accommodation on double / twin sharing basis at hotels and lodges mentioned above
- All lodging beginning with the night of March 13 and concluding with an overnight on March 21
- 2 nights at the Radisson Blu (Superior Room)
- 7 nights at Bandhavgarh Jungle Lodge
- All meals beginning with breakfast on March 14 and ending with dinner on March 21 as indicated with B, L or D. This also includes morning and evening tea at Bandhavgarh Jungle Lodge.
- Services of air Conditioned Toyota Innovas for drives between Bandhavgarh-Jabalpur
- Round trip airfare from Delhi/Jabalpur and from Jabalpur/Delhi
The cost of the airfare is based on current airfare prices. A price increase is possible between now and the purchase of the group’s airfare.
- In Bandhavgarh NP: Jeep Safaris (sits 2 in a jeep) - as mentioned in itinerary inclusive of entry fee to park, resident English speaking guide/naturalist at park
- Still camera fee per person per day (Non-professional)**
- Two full day permits per person
- Mineral water during meals, game drives and available in vehicle during drives/sightseeing
- Gratuities for local guides, transfer personnel, park guides/drivers, park naturalists
3.50% Govt. Service Tax on Total Bill.
The trip price DOES NOT include:
- International airfare to India
- Trip cancellation insurance
Medical evacuation insurance: Mandatory for all international trips
- Indian Visa
- Covid-19 vaccine or Covid test that may be required before arrival into India
- Overweight or excessive luggage fees on domestic flights
- Overnight accommodations before the start of the tour or after the conclusion of the tour
- Any meal other than what is specified above or anything not mentioned in inclusion above.
- Any expenditure of personal nature like tabled drinks, camera fee, laundry, telephone calls, soft/ hard drinks.
This Tour will be followed by:
India's Wildlife: Tigers and More Photo Safari
About Your Leaders
My wife Mary Ann and I strive to provide the most comfortable and thorough safari you will experience. Both Mary and I are professional photographers, and I'd hope you've seen our credits. These included National Geographic, National Wildlife, Ranger Rick, Natural History, Living Bird, Birder's World, and most nature/wildlife calendars.
As a husband/wife team, Mary Ann and I have won more times in the prestigious BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition than any one. To date we have had 15 firsts, seconds, or thirds -- and we have not entered every year. Our trips are not about us, however, they are all for you, but credentials seem to matter, and we have them.
Mary has written twenty-nine (29) children's books, including Leopards, Grizzly Bears, Woodpeckers, Flying Squirrels, Sunflowers, Cobras, Jupiter, Boas, Garter Snakes, Pythons, Rattlesnakes, Ducks, Chickens, Horses, and Cows, and a coffee table book, Out of the Past, Amish Tradition and Faith.
I've written several how-to wildlife photography books -- A Practical Guide to Photographing American Wildlife, The Wildlife Photographer's Field Manual, The Complete Guide to Wildlife Photography, Designing Wildlife Photographs, Photographing on Safari, A Field Guide to Photographing in East Africa, and the New Complete Guide to Wildlife Photography, African Wildlife, Creatures of the Night, The World's Deadliest, and several ebooks. We have produced an instructional video, A Video Guide to Photographing on Safari with Joe and Mary Ann McDonald.
We are both editors for Nature Photographer magazine.
In addition to leading our trips to Tanzania, Mary and I personally lead photo safaris to Kenya, Brazil's Pantanal, Chile, Galapagos, Svalbard, India, Rwanda, Ecuador, Costa Rica,
the Falklands, South Texas, Yellowstone and some other spots, too!
As with any International trip, we strongly recommend you purchase trip cancellation insurance. Medical Evacuation Insurance is Mandatory for this trip.
Contact us by e-mail:info@hoothollow.com
Phone us at 717-543-6423
Return to HomePage
Tigers of Bandhavgarh
Photo Tour
Dates: March 13-22, 2022
Price: $8395, single supplement available
Maximum: 6 participants
A Special Mini-Photo Tour for Photographers with limited time
including TWO Full Day Permits per person
For more great information on all our past Tiger trips, read
our past Trip Reports.
Bandhavgarh National Park and Tiger Reserve is one of the three or four best parks in India, and indeed the world, for finding Tigers. It may be the very best, and certainly is in our opinion. This special Photo Tour is designed to maximize your time and chances of seeing and photographing Tigers, especially for those participants who don't have a lot of vacation time or who would like to join us on our Tigers and the Wildlife of India Photo Tour that will follow. For some, this may give you two different times to be in Bandhavgarh! A great opportunity.
There are probably fewer than 3,200 wild Tigers still surviving in the wild, making it the most endangered of all the Big Cats. In contrast, the now endangered African Lion still numbers around 25,000 individuals, although that is down from 100,000 just thirty years ago. Sad and depressing facts.
Nonetheless, great Tiger photographic opportunities are available in the parks we visit, and for this special tour we're concentrating our time and your's in the best, Bandhavgarh. We'll be doing two game drives each day, at dawn and in the late afternoon, with only TWO PHOTOGRAPHERS per vehicle. The Gypsy Jeeps that are typically used on Indian game drives are small, yet many groups cram four, six, or even more people into these vehicles. You will have an entire row to yourself, and your vehicle, unlike virtually every other vehicle you'll see, will have side rails to accommodate resting a Molar Bag or similar bean bag support upon the rails.
Bandhavgarh is divided into three Tourist sections, called Jons, and we will be purchasing our entry permits long before the trip, dividing our time between the three sections in a fashion that reflects what, at the time of booking and via the best advice and estimation of our ground operators, are the best locations to spend our time. Additionally, we are including two All-Day Park Permits, that allows you to stay inside the park all day, and to enter earlier, to leave the park later, and to visit any Zone or Jon.
In addition to Tigers, Bandhavgarh has a wealth of other subjects to photograph. These include elk-like Sambar Deer, the common Spotted Deer or Chital, bison-like Gaur, Barking Deer, Asiatic Wild Hog, Langur and Rhesus Macaque Monkeys, and occasionally Sloth Bears and Asiatic Leopards. There are a variety of birds as well, including several species of Stork, White-eyed Buzzards, Crested Serpent Eagles, three species of Vultures, Rollers, Bee-eaters, Owls, Plovers, Nightjars, Bulbuls, and many more. We always encourage everyone to photograph all of the wildlife within the parks and not just pursue Tigers, and there are plenty of options in Bandhavgarh.
One of the truly special features of all of our Photo Safaris and Tours is our rotation policy. In contrast to many, we rotate all of our participants through the various jeeps to insure that everyone has a chance to benefit from the experiences of the professional drivers (the Park guides, in contrast, that accompany us are assigned by the Park and we have little control over who is assigned) and that everyone has an equal amount of time shooting with Mary and Joe. This last point is important to us, as we feel that we can give everyone the best guidance and help, and hopefully you'll make your best images when you are with either of us. You won't be stuck in one vehicle with the same people (another participant or the same driver), although at the time of registration for this tour, if two people are traveling together and wish to remain together we will accommodate that request.
To sum up, this special Mini-Photo Tour offers:
6 Game Drives in Bandhavgarh
not including the TWO All Day Permits.
Two Photographers per vehicle.
Side-braces for resting your Lenses.
Rotation of All photographers.
The Following is the Day-to-Day Itinerary for 2022
13th Mar Arrive Delhi
Meeting assistance on arrival and transfer to hotel
Rest of the day is at leisure.
Overnight at Radisson Blu Hotel
14th Mar Delhi – Jabalpur – Bandhavgarh (B, L & D)
After breakfast you will be transferred to the airport to board flight for Jabalpur
Arrive Jabalpur and transfer to the lodge (4 hr. drive) by passing through the villages and countryside of Madhya Pradesh
Upon arrival check in to the lodge
Dinner and rest of the evening is at leisure
Overnight at Bandhavgarh Jungle Lodge
Bandhavgarh National Park: Set amongst The Vindhya Hills in Madhya Pradesh, Bandhavgarh consists of 168 sq. miles of Sal & a mixed forest of bamboo, grassland, and a complex of deciduous forests. There are at least 150 species of birds in the park, along with other mammals such as Tigers, Sloth Bear, Langur Monkeys, Wild Boar, Mongoose, 3 Kinds Of Deer - Chital, Sambar And Barking, to name a few.
15th – 20th March Bandhavgarh (B, L & D)
Early morning wake-up call with a knock on your room door and Tea/Coffee.
You will wake up to misty mornings and sounds of birds calling, which will make an exciting start to your day. As soon as dawn breaks, leave for your Jungle Safari, accompanied by a resident naturalist and forest park guides in 4x 4 Jeeps. Lunch and afternoon safari by 4x4 jeep accompanied by resident naturalist and forest guide Return to lodge for evening tea and rest of time free to relax.
For the All Day Permits, you'll have the option of staying out all day with a packed lunch and drinks or returning to the lodge for a mid-day break.
18th March is Holi: The Festival of Color. The park is closed on this day. We will celebrate the festival with the lodge staff (this is so much fun). A small daytrip can be planned but we will decide that onsite.
Overnights at Bandhavgarh Jungle Lodge
21st March Bandhavgarh – Jabalpur - Delhi (B, L, D)
After breakfast drive to Jabalpur airport to board the flight for Delhi.
Upon arrival in Delhi, you will be transferred to the hotel for an overnight at the Radison Hotel.
22nd March - Delhi
You can fly out of IGIA early this morning (most international flights leave in the middle of the night such as 0330) or you can pay for an optional day room and fly out the evening of the 22nd/23rd.
Price: USD $8395.00, based on double occupancy
Maximum: 6 participants with a surcharge for fewer than 6
Single supplement: USD $550.00
The trip price includes:
- One group transfer to/from airport at the time of arrival and departure for the trip
- Meeting/assistance at the time of arrival and departure at airport and during check in/out of major hotels during the course of the trip
- Accommodation on double / twin sharing basis at hotels and lodges mentioned above
- All lodging beginning with the night of March 13 and concluding with an overnight on March 21
- 2 nights at the Radisson Blu (Superior Room)
- 7 nights at Bandhavgarh Jungle Lodge
- All meals beginning with breakfast on March 14 and ending with dinner on March 21 as indicated with B, L or D. This also includes morning and evening tea at Bandhavgarh Jungle Lodge.
- Services of air Conditioned Toyota Innovas for drives between Bandhavgarh-Jabalpur
- Round trip airfare from Delhi/Jabalpur and from Jabalpur/Delhi
The cost of the airfare is based on current airfare prices. A price increase is possible between now and the purchase of the group’s airfare.
- In Bandhavgarh NP: Jeep Safaris (sits 2 in a jeep) - as mentioned in itinerary inclusive of entry fee to park, resident English speaking guide/naturalist at park
- Still camera fee per person per day (Non-professional)**
- Two full day permits per person
- Mineral water during meals, game drives and available in vehicle during drives/sightseeing
- Gratuities for local guides, transfer personnel, park guides/drivers, park naturalists
3.50% Govt. Service Tax on Total Bill.
The trip price DOES NOT include:
- International airfare to India
- Trip cancellation insurance
Medical evacuation insurance: Mandatory for all international trips
- Indian Visa
- Covid-19 vaccine or Covid test that may be required before arrival into India
- Overweight or excessive luggage fees on domestic flights
- Overnight accommodations before the start of the tour or after the conclusion of the tour
- Any meal other than what is specified above or anything not mentioned in inclusion above.
- Any expenditure of personal nature like tabled drinks, camera fee, laundry, telephone calls, soft/ hard drinks.
This Tour will be followed by:
India's Wildlife: Tigers and More Photo Safari
About Your Leaders
My wife Mary Ann and I strive to provide the most comfortable and thorough safari you will experience. Both Mary and I are professional photographers, and I'd hope you've seen our credits. These included National Geographic, National Wildlife, Ranger Rick, Natural History, Living Bird, Birder's World, and most nature/wildlife calendars.
As a husband/wife team, Mary Ann and I have won more times in the prestigious BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition than any one. To date we have had 15 firsts, seconds, or thirds -- and we have not entered every year. Our trips are not about us, however, they are all for you, but credentials seem to matter, and we have them.
Mary has written twenty-nine (29) children's books, including Leopards, Grizzly Bears, Woodpeckers, Flying Squirrels, Sunflowers, Cobras, Jupiter, Boas, Garter Snakes, Pythons, Rattlesnakes, Ducks, Chickens, Horses, and Cows, and a coffee table book, Out of the Past, Amish Tradition and Faith.
I've written several how-to wildlife photography books -- A Practical Guide to Photographing American Wildlife, The Wildlife Photographer's Field Manual, The Complete Guide to Wildlife Photography, Designing Wildlife Photographs, Photographing on Safari, A Field Guide to Photographing in East Africa, and the New Complete Guide to Wildlife Photography, African Wildlife, Creatures of the Night, The World's Deadliest, and several ebooks. We have produced an instructional video, A Video Guide to Photographing on Safari with Joe and Mary Ann McDonald.
We are both editors for Nature Photographer magazine.
In addition to leading our trips to Tanzania, Mary and I personally lead photo safaris to Kenya, Brazil's Pantanal, Chile, Galapagos, Svalbard, India, Rwanda, Ecuador, Costa Rica,
the Falklands, South Texas, Yellowstone and some other spots, too!
As with any International trip, we strongly recommend you purchase trip cancellation insurance. Medical Evacuation Insurance is Mandatory for this trip.
Contact us by e-mail:info@hoothollow.com
Phone us at 717-543-6423
Return to HomePage
Tigers of Bandhavgarh
Photo Tour
Dates: March 13-22, 2022
Price: $8395, single supplement available
Maximum: 6 participants
A Special Mini-Photo Tour for Photographers with limited time
including TWO Full Day Permits per person
For more great information on all our past Tiger trips, read
our past Trip Reports.
Bandhavgarh National Park and Tiger Reserve is one of the three or four best parks in India, and indeed the world, for finding Tigers. It may be the very best, and certainly is in our opinion. This special Photo Tour is designed to maximize your time and chances of seeing and photographing Tigers, especially for those participants who don't have a lot of vacation time or who would like to join us on our Tigers and the Wildlife of India Photo Tour that will follow. For some, this may give you two different times to be in Bandhavgarh! A great opportunity.
There are probably fewer than 3,200 wild Tigers still surviving in the wild, making it the most endangered of all the Big Cats. In contrast, the now endangered African Lion still numbers around 25,000 individuals, although that is down from 100,000 just thirty years ago. Sad and depressing facts.
Nonetheless, great Tiger photographic opportunities are available in the parks we visit, and for this special tour we're concentrating our time and your's in the best, Bandhavgarh. We'll be doing two game drives each day, at dawn and in the late afternoon, with only TWO PHOTOGRAPHERS per vehicle. The Gypsy Jeeps that are typically used on Indian game drives are small, yet many groups cram four, six, or even more people into these vehicles. You will have an entire row to yourself, and your vehicle, unlike virtually every other vehicle you'll see, will have side rails to accommodate resting a Molar Bag or similar bean bag support upon the rails.
Bandhavgarh is divided into three Tourist sections, called Jons, and we will be purchasing our entry permits long before the trip, dividing our time between the three sections in a fashion that reflects what, at the time of booking and via the best advice and estimation of our ground operators, are the best locations to spend our time. Additionally, we are including two All-Day Park Permits, that allows you to stay inside the park all day, and to enter earlier, to leave the park later, and to visit any Zone or Jon.
In addition to Tigers, Bandhavgarh has a wealth of other subjects to photograph. These include elk-like Sambar Deer, the common Spotted Deer or Chital, bison-like Gaur, Barking Deer, Asiatic Wild Hog, Langur and Rhesus Macaque Monkeys, and occasionally Sloth Bears and Asiatic Leopards. There are a variety of birds as well, including several species of Stork, White-eyed Buzzards, Crested Serpent Eagles, three species of Vultures, Rollers, Bee-eaters, Owls, Plovers, Nightjars, Bulbuls, and many more. We always encourage everyone to photograph all of the wildlife within the parks and not just pursue Tigers, and there are plenty of options in Bandhavgarh.
One of the truly special features of all of our Photo Safaris and Tours is our rotation policy. In contrast to many, we rotate all of our participants through the various jeeps to insure that everyone has a chance to benefit from the experiences of the professional drivers (the Park guides, in contrast, that accompany us are assigned by the Park and we have little control over who is assigned) and that everyone has an equal amount of time shooting with Mary and Joe. This last point is important to us, as we feel that we can give everyone the best guidance and help, and hopefully you'll make your best images when you are with either of us. You won't be stuck in one vehicle with the same people (another participant or the same driver), although at the time of registration for this tour, if two people are traveling together and wish to remain together we will accommodate that request.
To sum up, this special Mini-Photo Tour offers:
6 Game Drives in Bandhavgarh
not including the TWO All Day Permits.
Two Photographers per vehicle.
Side-braces for resting your Lenses.
Rotation of All photographers.
The Following is the Day-to-Day Itinerary for 2022
13th Mar Arrive Delhi
Meeting assistance on arrival and transfer to hotel
Rest of the day is at leisure.
Overnight at Radisson Blu Hotel
14th Mar Delhi – Jabalpur – Bandhavgarh (B, L & D)
After breakfast you will be transferred to the airport to board flight for Jabalpur
Arrive Jabalpur and transfer to the lodge (4 hr. drive) by passing through the villages and countryside of Madhya Pradesh
Upon arrival check in to the lodge
Dinner and rest of the evening is at leisure
Overnight at Bandhavgarh Jungle Lodge
Bandhavgarh National Park: Set amongst The Vindhya Hills in Madhya Pradesh, Bandhavgarh consists of 168 sq. miles of Sal & a mixed forest of bamboo, grassland, and a complex of deciduous forests. There are at least 150 species of birds in the park, along with other mammals such as Tigers, Sloth Bear, Langur Monkeys, Wild Boar, Mongoose, 3 Kinds Of Deer - Chital, Sambar And Barking, to name a few.
15th – 20th March Bandhavgarh (B, L & D)
Early morning wake-up call with a knock on your room door and Tea/Coffee.
You will wake up to misty mornings and sounds of birds calling, which will make an exciting start to your day. As soon as dawn breaks, leave for your Jungle Safari, accompanied by a resident naturalist and forest park guides in 4x 4 Jeeps. Lunch and afternoon safari by 4x4 jeep accompanied by resident naturalist and forest guide Return to lodge for evening tea and rest of time free to relax.
For the All Day Permits, you'll have the option of staying out all day with a packed lunch and drinks or returning to the lodge for a mid-day break.
18th March is Holi: The Festival of Color. The park is closed on this day. We will celebrate the festival with the lodge staff (this is so much fun). A small daytrip can be planned but we will decide that onsite.
Overnights at Bandhavgarh Jungle Lodge
21st March Bandhavgarh – Jabalpur - Delhi (B, L, D)
After breakfast drive to Jabalpur airport to board the flight for Delhi.
Upon arrival in Delhi, you will be transferred to the hotel for an overnight at the Radison Hotel.
22nd March - Delhi
You can fly out of IGIA early this morning (most international flights leave in the middle of the night such as 0330) or you can pay for an optional day room and fly out the evening of the 22nd/23rd.
Price: USD $8395.00, based on double occupancy
Maximum: 6 participants with a surcharge for fewer than 6
Single supplement: USD $550.00
The trip price includes:
- One group transfer to/from airport at the time of arrival and departure for the trip
- Meeting/assistance at the time of arrival and departure at airport and during check in/out of major hotels during the course of the trip
- Accommodation on double / twin sharing basis at hotels and lodges mentioned above
- All lodging beginning with the night of March 13 and concluding with an overnight on March 21
- 2 nights at the Radisson Blu (Superior Room)
- 7 nights at Bandhavgarh Jungle Lodge
- All meals beginning with breakfast on March 14 and ending with dinner on March 21 as indicated with B, L or D. This also includes morning and evening tea at Bandhavgarh Jungle Lodge.
- Services of air Conditioned Toyota Innovas for drives between Bandhavgarh-Jabalpur
- Round trip airfare from Delhi/Jabalpur and from Jabalpur/Delhi
The cost of the airfare is based on current airfare prices. A price increase is possible between now and the purchase of the group’s airfare.
- In Bandhavgarh NP: Jeep Safaris (sits 2 in a jeep) - as mentioned in itinerary inclusive of entry fee to park, resident English speaking guide/naturalist at park
- Still camera fee per person per day (Non-professional)**
- Two full day permits per person
- Mineral water during meals, game drives and available in vehicle during drives/sightseeing
- Gratuities for local guides, transfer personnel, park guides/drivers, park naturalists
3.50% Govt. Service Tax on Total Bill.
The trip price DOES NOT include:
- International airfare to India
- Trip cancellation insurance
Medical evacuation insurance: Mandatory for all international trips
- Indian Visa
- Covid-19 vaccine or Covid test that may be required before arrival into India
- Overweight or excessive luggage fees on domestic flights
- Overnight accommodations before the start of the tour or after the conclusion of the tour
- Any meal other than what is specified above or anything not mentioned in inclusion above.
- Any expenditure of personal nature like tabled drinks, camera fee, laundry, telephone calls, soft/ hard drinks.
This Tour will be followed by:
India's Wildlife: Tigers and More Photo Safari
About Your Leaders
My wife Mary Ann and I strive to provide the most comfortable and thorough safari you will experience. Both Mary and I are professional photographers, and I'd hope you've seen our credits. These included National Geographic, National Wildlife, Ranger Rick, Natural History, Living Bird, Birder's World, and most nature/wildlife calendars.
As a husband/wife team, Mary Ann and I have won more times in the prestigious BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition than any one. To date we have had 15 firsts, seconds, or thirds -- and we have not entered every year. Our trips are not about us, however, they are all for you, but credentials seem to matter, and we have them.
Mary has written twenty-nine (29) children's books, including Leopards, Grizzly Bears, Woodpeckers, Flying Squirrels, Sunflowers, Cobras, Jupiter, Boas, Garter Snakes, Pythons, Rattlesnakes, Ducks, Chickens, Horses, and Cows, and a coffee table book, Out of the Past, Amish Tradition and Faith.
I've written several how-to wildlife photography books -- A Practical Guide to Photographing American Wildlife, The Wildlife Photographer's Field Manual, The Complete Guide to Wildlife Photography, Designing Wildlife Photographs, Photographing on Safari, A Field Guide to Photographing in East Africa, and the New Complete Guide to Wildlife Photography, African Wildlife, Creatures of the Night, The World's Deadliest, and several ebooks. We have produced an instructional video, A Video Guide to Photographing on Safari with Joe and Mary Ann McDonald.
We are both editors for Nature Photographer magazine.
In addition to leading our trips to Tanzania, Mary and I personally lead photo safaris to Kenya, Brazil's Pantanal, Chile, Galapagos, Svalbard, India, Rwanda, Ecuador, Costa Rica,
the Falklands, South Texas, Yellowstone and some other spots, too!
As with any International trip, we strongly recommend you purchase trip cancellation insurance. Medical Evacuation Insurance is Mandatory for this trip.
Contact us by e-mail:info@hoothollow.com
Phone us at 717-543-6423
Return to HomePage
Tigers of Bandhavgarh
Photo Tour
Dates: March 13-22, 2022
Price: $8395, single supplement available
Maximum: 6 participants
A Special Mini-Photo Tour for Photographers with limited time
including TWO Full Day Permits per person
For more great information on all our past Tiger trips, read
our past Trip Reports.
Bandhavgarh National Park and Tiger Reserve is one of the three or four best parks in India, and indeed the world, for finding Tigers. It may be the very best, and certainly is in our opinion. This special Photo Tour is designed to maximize your time and chances of seeing and photographing Tigers, especially for those participants who don't have a lot of vacation time or who would like to join us on our Tigers and the Wildlife of India Photo Tour that will follow. For some, this may give you two different times to be in Bandhavgarh! A great opportunity.
There are probably fewer than 3,200 wild Tigers still surviving in the wild, making it the most endangered of all the Big Cats. In contrast, the now endangered African Lion still numbers around 25,000 individuals, although that is down from 100,000 just thirty years ago. Sad and depressing facts.
Nonetheless, great Tiger photographic opportunities are available in the parks we visit, and for this special tour we're concentrating our time and your's in the best, Bandhavgarh. We'll be doing two game drives each day, at dawn and in the late afternoon, with only TWO PHOTOGRAPHERS per vehicle. The Gypsy Jeeps that are typically used on Indian game drives are small, yet many groups cram four, six, or even more people into these vehicles. You will have an entire row to yourself, and your vehicle, unlike virtually every other vehicle you'll see, will have side rails to accommodate resting a Molar Bag or similar bean bag support upon the rails.
Bandhavgarh is divided into three Tourist sections, called Jons, and we will be purchasing our entry permits long before the trip, dividing our time between the three sections in a fashion that reflects what, at the time of booking and via the best advice and estimation of our ground operators, are the best locations to spend our time. Additionally, we are including two All-Day Park Permits, that allows you to stay inside the park all day, and to enter earlier, to leave the park later, and to visit any Zone or Jon.
In addition to Tigers, Bandhavgarh has a wealth of other subjects to photograph. These include elk-like Sambar Deer, the common Spotted Deer or Chital, bison-like Gaur, Barking Deer, Asiatic Wild Hog, Langur and Rhesus Macaque Monkeys, and occasionally Sloth Bears and Asiatic Leopards. There are a variety of birds as well, including several species of Stork, White-eyed Buzzards, Crested Serpent Eagles, three species of Vultures, Rollers, Bee-eaters, Owls, Plovers, Nightjars, Bulbuls, and many more. We always encourage everyone to photograph all of the wildlife within the parks and not just pursue Tigers, and there are plenty of options in Bandhavgarh.
One of the truly special features of all of our Photo Safaris and Tours is our rotation policy. In contrast to many, we rotate all of our participants through the various jeeps to insure that everyone has a chance to benefit from the experiences of the professional drivers (the Park guides, in contrast, that accompany us are assigned by the Park and we have little control over who is assigned) and that everyone has an equal amount of time shooting with Mary and Joe. This last point is important to us, as we feel that we can give everyone the best guidance and help, and hopefully you'll make your best images when you are with either of us. You won't be stuck in one vehicle with the same people (another participant or the same driver), although at the time of registration for this tour, if two people are traveling together and wish to remain together we will accommodate that request.
To sum up, this special Mini-Photo Tour offers:
6 Game Drives in Bandhavgarh
not including the TWO All Day Permits.
Two Photographers per vehicle.
Side-braces for resting your Lenses.
Rotation of All photographers.
The Following is the Day-to-Day Itinerary for 2022
13th Mar Arrive Delhi
Meeting assistance on arrival and transfer to hotel
Rest of the day is at leisure.
Overnight at Radisson Blu Hotel
14th Mar Delhi – Jabalpur – Bandhavgarh (B, L & D)
After breakfast you will be transferred to the airport to board flight for Jabalpur
Arrive Jabalpur and transfer to the lodge (4 hr. drive) by passing through the villages and countryside of Madhya Pradesh
Upon arrival check in to the lodge
Dinner and rest of the evening is at leisure
Overnight at Bandhavgarh Jungle Lodge
Bandhavgarh National Park: Set amongst The Vindhya Hills in Madhya Pradesh, Bandhavgarh consists of 168 sq. miles of Sal & a mixed forest of bamboo, grassland, and a complex of deciduous forests. There are at least 150 species of birds in the park, along with other mammals such as Tigers, Sloth Bear, Langur Monkeys, Wild Boar, Mongoose, 3 Kinds Of Deer - Chital, Sambar And Barking, to name a few.
15th – 20th March Bandhavgarh (B, L & D)
Early morning wake-up call with a knock on your room door and Tea/Coffee.
You will wake up to misty mornings and sounds of birds calling, which will make an exciting start to your day. As soon as dawn breaks, leave for your Jungle Safari, accompanied by a resident naturalist and forest park guides in 4x 4 Jeeps. Lunch and afternoon safari by 4x4 jeep accompanied by resident naturalist and forest guide Return to lodge for evening tea and rest of time free to relax.
For the All Day Permits, you'll have the option of staying out all day with a packed lunch and drinks or returning to the lodge for a mid-day break.
18th March is Holi: The Festival of Color. The park is closed on this day. We will celebrate the festival with the lodge staff (this is so much fun). A small daytrip can be planned but we will decide that onsite.
Overnights at Bandhavgarh Jungle Lodge
21st March Bandhavgarh – Jabalpur - Delhi (B, L, D)
After breakfast drive to Jabalpur airport to board the flight for Delhi.
Upon arrival in Delhi, you will be transferred to the hotel for an overnight at the Radison Hotel.
22nd March - Delhi
You can fly out of IGIA early this morning (most international flights leave in the middle of the night such as 0330) or you can pay for an optional day room and fly out the evening of the 22nd/23rd.
Price: USD $8395.00, based on double occupancy
Maximum: 6 participants with a surcharge for fewer than 6
Single supplement: USD $550.00
The trip price includes:
- One group transfer to/from airport at the time of arrival and departure for the trip
- Meeting/assistance at the time of arrival and departure at airport and during check in/out of major hotels during the course of the trip
- Accommodation on double / twin sharing basis at hotels and lodges mentioned above
- All lodging beginning with the night of March 13 and concluding with an overnight on March 21
- 2 nights at the Radisson Blu (Superior Room)
- 7 nights at Bandhavgarh Jungle Lodge
- All meals beginning with breakfast on March 14 and ending with dinner on March 21 as indicated with B, L or D. This also includes morning and evening tea at Bandhavgarh Jungle Lodge.
- Services of air Conditioned Toyota Innovas for drives between Bandhavgarh-Jabalpur
- Round trip airfare from Delhi/Jabalpur and from Jabalpur/Delhi
The cost of the airfare is based on current airfare prices. A price increase is possible between now and the purchase of the group’s airfare.
- In Bandhavgarh NP: Jeep Safaris (sits 2 in a jeep) - as mentioned in itinerary inclusive of entry fee to park, resident English speaking guide/naturalist at park
- Still camera fee per person per day (Non-professional)**
- Two full day permits per person
- Mineral water during meals, game drives and available in vehicle during drives/sightseeing
- Gratuities for local guides, transfer personnel, park guides/drivers, park naturalists
3.50% Govt. Service Tax on Total Bill.
The trip price DOES NOT include:
- International airfare to India
- Trip cancellation insurance
Medical evacuation insurance: Mandatory for all international trips
- Indian Visa
- Covid-19 vaccine or Covid test that may be required before arrival into India
- Overweight or excessive luggage fees on domestic flights
- Overnight accommodations before the start of the tour or after the conclusion of the tour
- Any meal other than what is specified above or anything not mentioned in inclusion above.
- Any expenditure of personal nature like tabled drinks, camera fee, laundry, telephone calls, soft/ hard drinks.
This Tour will be followed by:
India's Wildlife: Tigers and More Photo Safari
About Your Leaders
My wife Mary Ann and I strive to provide the most comfortable and thorough safari you will experience. Both Mary and I are professional photographers, and I'd hope you've seen our credits. These included National Geographic, National Wildlife, Ranger Rick, Natural History, Living Bird, Birder's World, and most nature/wildlife calendars.
As a husband/wife team, Mary Ann and I have won more times in the prestigious BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition than any one. To date we have had 15 firsts, seconds, or thirds -- and we have not entered every year. Our trips are not about us, however, they are all for you, but credentials seem to matter, and we have them.
Mary has written twenty-nine (29) children's books, including Leopards, Grizzly Bears, Woodpeckers, Flying Squirrels, Sunflowers, Cobras, Jupiter, Boas, Garter Snakes, Pythons, Rattlesnakes, Ducks, Chickens, Horses, and Cows, and a coffee table book, Out of the Past, Amish Tradition and Faith.
I've written several how-to wildlife photography books -- A Practical Guide to Photographing American Wildlife, The Wildlife Photographer's Field Manual, The Complete Guide to Wildlife Photography, Designing Wildlife Photographs, Photographing on Safari, A Field Guide to Photographing in East Africa, and the New Complete Guide to Wildlife Photography, African Wildlife, Creatures of the Night, The World's Deadliest, and several ebooks. We have produced an instructional video, A Video Guide to Photographing on Safari with Joe and Mary Ann McDonald.
We are both editors for Nature Photographer magazine.
In addition to leading our trips to Tanzania, Mary and I personally lead photo safaris to Kenya, Brazil's Pantanal, Chile, Galapagos, Svalbard, India, Rwanda, Ecuador, Costa Rica,
the Falklands, South Texas, Yellowstone and some other spots, too!
As with any International trip, we strongly recommend you purchase trip cancellation insurance. Medical Evacuation Insurance is Mandatory for this trip.
Tigers of Bandhavgarh
Photo Tour
Dates: March 13-22, 2022
Price: $8395, single supplement available
Maximum: 6 participants
A Special Mini-Photo Tour for Photographers with limited time
including TWO Full Day Permits per person
For more great information on all our past Tiger trips, read
our past Trip Reports.
Bandhavgarh National Park and Tiger Reserve is one of the three or four best parks in India, and indeed the world, for finding Tigers. It may be the very best, and certainly is in our opinion. This special Photo Tour is designed to maximize your time and chances of seeing and photographing Tigers, especially for those participants who don't have a lot of vacation time or who would like to join us on our Tigers and the Wildlife of India Photo Tour that will follow. For some, this may give you two different times to be in Bandhavgarh! A great opportunity.
There are probably fewer than 3,200 wild Tigers still surviving in the wild, making it the most endangered of all the Big Cats. In contrast, the now endangered African Lion still numbers around 25,000 individuals, although that is down from 100,000 just thirty years ago. Sad and depressing facts.
Nonetheless, great Tiger photographic opportunities are available in the parks we visit, and for this special tour we're concentrating our time and your's in the best, Bandhavgarh. We'll be doing two game drives each day, at dawn and in the late afternoon, with only TWO PHOTOGRAPHERS per vehicle. The Gypsy Jeeps that are typically used on Indian game drives are small, yet many groups cram four, six, or even more people into these vehicles. You will have an entire row to yourself, and your vehicle, unlike virtually every other vehicle you'll see, will have side rails to accommodate resting a Molar Bag or similar bean bag support upon the rails.
Bandhavgarh is divided into three Tourist sections, called Jons, and we will be purchasing our entry permits long before the trip, dividing our time between the three sections in a fashion that reflects what, at the time of booking and via the best advice and estimation of our ground operators, are the best locations to spend our time. Additionally, we are including two All-Day Park Permits, that allows you to stay inside the park all day, and to enter earlier, to leave the park later, and to visit any Zone or Jon.
In addition to Tigers, Bandhavgarh has a wealth of other subjects to photograph. These include elk-like Sambar Deer, the common Spotted Deer or Chital, bison-like Gaur, Barking Deer, Asiatic Wild Hog, Langur and Rhesus Macaque Monkeys, and occasionally Sloth Bears and Asiatic Leopards. There are a variety of birds as well, including several species of Stork, White-eyed Buzzards, Crested Serpent Eagles, three species of Vultures, Rollers, Bee-eaters, Owls, Plovers, Nightjars, Bulbuls, and many more. We always encourage everyone to photograph all of the wildlife within the parks and not just pursue Tigers, and there are plenty of options in Bandhavgarh.
One of the truly special features of all of our Photo Safaris and Tours is our rotation policy. In contrast to many, we rotate all of our participants through the various jeeps to insure that everyone has a chance to benefit from the experiences of the professional drivers (the Park guides, in contrast, that accompany us are assigned by the Park and we have little control over who is assigned) and that everyone has an equal amount of time shooting with Mary and Joe. This last point is important to us, as we feel that we can give everyone the best guidance and help, and hopefully you'll make your best images when you are with either of us. You won't be stuck in one vehicle with the same people (another participant or the same driver), although at the time of registration for this tour, if two people are traveling together and wish to remain together we will accommodate that request.
To sum up, this special Mini-Photo Tour offers:
6 Game Drives in Bandhavgarh
not including the TWO All Day Permits.
Two Photographers per vehicle.
Side-braces for resting your Lenses.
Rotation of All photographers.
The Following is the Day-to-Day Itinerary for 2022
13th Mar Arrive Delhi
Meeting assistance on arrival and transfer to hotel
Rest of the day is at leisure.
Overnight at Radisson Blu Hotel
14th Mar Delhi – Jabalpur – Bandhavgarh (B, L & D)
After breakfast you will be transferred to the airport to board flight for Jabalpur
Arrive Jabalpur and transfer to the lodge (4 hr. drive) by passing through the villages and countryside of Madhya Pradesh
Upon arrival check in to the lodge
Dinner and rest of the evening is at leisure
Overnight at Bandhavgarh Jungle Lodge
Bandhavgarh National Park: Set amongst The Vindhya Hills in Madhya Pradesh, Bandhavgarh consists of 168 sq. miles of Sal & a mixed forest of bamboo, grassland, and a complex of deciduous forests. There are at least 150 species of birds in the park, along with other mammals such as Tigers, Sloth Bear, Langur Monkeys, Wild Boar, Mongoose, 3 Kinds Of Deer - Chital, Sambar And Barking, to name a few.
15th – 20th March Bandhavgarh (B, L & D)
Early morning wake-up call with a knock on your room door and Tea/Coffee.
You will wake up to misty mornings and sounds of birds calling, which will make an exciting start to your day. As soon as dawn breaks, leave for your Jungle Safari, accompanied by a resident naturalist and forest park guides in 4x 4 Jeeps. Lunch and afternoon safari by 4x4 jeep accompanied by resident naturalist and forest guide Return to lodge for evening tea and rest of time free to relax.
For the All Day Permits, you'll have the option of staying out all day with a packed lunch and drinks or returning to the lodge for a mid-day break.
18th March is Holi: The Festival of Color. The park is closed on this day. We will celebrate the festival with the lodge staff (this is so much fun). A small daytrip can be planned but we will decide that onsite.
Overnights at Bandhavgarh Jungle Lodge
21st March Bandhavgarh – Jabalpur - Delhi (B, L, D)
After breakfast drive to Jabalpur airport to board the flight for Delhi.
Upon arrival in Delhi, you will be transferred to the hotel for an overnight at the Radison Hotel.
22nd March - Delhi
You can fly out of IGIA early this morning (most international flights leave in the middle of the night such as 0330) or you can pay for an optional day room and fly out the evening of the 22nd/23rd.
Price: USD $8395.00, based on double occupancy
Maximum: 6 participants with a surcharge for fewer than 6
Single supplement: USD $550.00
The trip price includes:
- One group transfer to/from airport at the time of arrival and departure for the trip
- Meeting/assistance at the time of arrival and departure at airport and during check in/out of major hotels during the course of the trip
- Accommodation on double / twin sharing basis at hotels and lodges mentioned above
- All lodging beginning with the night of March 13 and concluding with an overnight on March 21
- 2 nights at the Radisson Blu (Superior Room)
- 7 nights at Bandhavgarh Jungle Lodge
- All meals beginning with breakfast on March 14 and ending with dinner on March 21 as indicated with B, L or D. This also includes morning and evening tea at Bandhavgarh Jungle Lodge.
- Services of air Conditioned Toyota Innovas for drives between Bandhavgarh-Jabalpur
- Round trip airfare from Delhi/Jabalpur and from Jabalpur/Delhi
The cost of the airfare is based on current airfare prices. A price increase is possible between now and the purchase of the group’s airfare.
- In Bandhavgarh NP: Jeep Safaris (sits 2 in a jeep) - as mentioned in itinerary inclusive of entry fee to park, resident English speaking guide/naturalist at park
- Still camera fee per person per day (Non-professional)**
- Two full day permits per person
- Mineral water during meals, game drives and available in vehicle during drives/sightseeing
- Gratuities for local guides, transfer personnel, park guides/drivers, park naturalists
3.50% Govt. Service Tax on Total Bill.
The trip price DOES NOT include:
- International airfare to India
- Trip cancellation insurance
Medical evacuation insurance: Mandatory for all international trips - Indian Visa
- Covid-19 vaccine or Covid test that may be required before arrival into India
- Overweight or excessive luggage fees on domestic flights
- Overnight accommodations before the start of the tour or after the conclusion of the tour
- Any meal other than what is specified above or anything not mentioned in inclusion above.
- Any expenditure of personal nature like tabled drinks, camera fee, laundry, telephone calls, soft/ hard drinks.
This Tour will be followed by:
India's Wildlife: Tigers and More Photo Safari
About Your Leaders
My wife Mary Ann and I strive to provide the most comfortable and thorough safari you will experience. Both Mary and I are professional photographers, and I'd hope you've seen our credits. These included National Geographic, National Wildlife, Ranger Rick, Natural History, Living Bird, Birder's World, and most nature/wildlife calendars.
As a husband/wife team, Mary Ann and I have won more times in the prestigious BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition than any one. To date we have had 15 firsts, seconds, or thirds -- and we have not entered every year. Our trips are not about us, however, they are all for you, but credentials seem to matter, and we have them.
Mary has written twenty-nine (29) children's books, including Leopards, Grizzly Bears, Woodpeckers, Flying Squirrels, Sunflowers, Cobras, Jupiter, Boas, Garter Snakes, Pythons, Rattlesnakes, Ducks, Chickens, Horses, and Cows, and a coffee table book, Out of the Past, Amish Tradition and Faith.
I've written several how-to wildlife photography books -- A Practical Guide to Photographing American Wildlife, The Wildlife Photographer's Field Manual, The Complete Guide to Wildlife Photography, Designing Wildlife Photographs, Photographing on Safari, A Field Guide to Photographing in East Africa, and the New Complete Guide to Wildlife Photography, African Wildlife, Creatures of the Night, The World's Deadliest, and several ebooks. We have produced an instructional video, A Video Guide to Photographing on Safari with Joe and Mary Ann McDonald.
We are both editors for Nature Photographer magazine.
In addition to leading our trips to Tanzania, Mary and I personally lead photo safaris to Kenya, Brazil's Pantanal, Chile, Galapagos, Svalbard, India, Rwanda, Ecuador, Costa Rica,
the Falklands, South Texas, Yellowstone and some other spots, too!
As with any International trip, we strongly recommend you purchase trip cancellation insurance. Medical Evacuation Insurance is Mandatory for this trip.
Contact us by e-mail:info@hoothollow.com
Phone us at 717-543-6423
