Just Tigers!

In this vast and varied country, where travel by any means is at best time-consuming, it is all too easy to spend too little time in one place. This holiday is designed specifically to allow ample time for the appreciation of the outstanding wildlife of Kanha, one of India’s finest and most remote Tiger Reserves. In April, whilst it will be hotter than the winter, the reduced water holes, shorter grass, and fallen leaves resulting from the dry Indian winter, provide the very best Tiger and mammal-watching conditions. Departures at other times of the year offer cooler weather though sometimes fewer Tigers.

Kanha lies in Madhya Pradesh, in the very centre of India. Here, in the days of the British Raj, endless hill forests, broken only by golden grasslands and well watered valleys, teemed with the subcontinent’s largest concentrations of game. Today, sadly, they have all but disappeared, except within Kanha’s 1,945 square kilometres, where the abundance of wild animals is as close a match to the spectacles of the east African plains as India can provide.

This beautiful reserve is situated on a plateau in the Maikal Range, and incorporates a crescent of hills, rising to 915 metres, that embraces broad, undulating grasslands speckled with clumps of bamboo and Sal. Mixed deciduous forest cloaks the hills and borders the meadows. Small pools, and a perennial lake, provide drinking holes for the animals year-round. The reserve is famous for its Swamp Deer— the only population of the hard-ground race in existence—for whose protection Kanha National Park was first established in 1955.

Once, these deer roamed central India in herds of many thousands. Today there are only 300 left, though this represents a good recovery since 1970 when just 70 individuals remained. However, since the launch of the initially successful Project Tiger in the early ’70s, Kanha has been one of the Project’s key Tiger Reserves and, because its wide meadows are so suited to successful Tiger-viewing, it has become one of the best places in the world in which to search for this king of beasts. In fact, continued poaching has made this elusive mammal harder than ever to see. However, it is the consolation of excellent all-round mammal-viewing that makes this tour so worthwhile.

If the Tigers prove difficult to see, you can be assured of a host of other mammals that should include plenty of Sambar, Spotted and Swamp Deer and Common Langurs. We should also see Gaur (the huge Asiatic bison), Wild Boar, Asiatic Jackal, and with luck, Leopard and Dhole (the Asian Wild Dog). Sloth Bear and two of India’s lowland antelopes — Chousingha and the beautiful Blackbuck — also occur and may be seen with patience and good fortune. Birds, too, will be amongst the attractions of this tour. We should see a good selection of birds of prey, including vultures, Black-winged Kite, Crested Serpent Eagle and White-eyed Buzzard. Open country birds, such as Painted Francolin, Indian Roller, Yellow- and Red-wattled Lapwings, and a variety of larks are common, whilst, in the forests, Malabar Pied Hornbill, Black-headed Oriole, and a selection of flycatchers, babblers and drongos may be found.

We begin this holiday with an overnight flight to Delhi, and will have a full day and night at leisure in the capital, prior to the long overland journey to Kanha, which is one of the country’s most remote reserves, being situated in the very heart of rural India, a long way from any of the great cities. First we will travel by air-conditioned sleeper on the overnight ‘express’s train to Jabalpur; from there we will drive by minibus to our comfortable forest lodge, situated on the edge of the reserve.

During our week at Kanha, we will explore the reserve fully by means of early morning, and evening jeep drives. By being in the reserve at the beginning and end of each day, when both mammals and birds are most active, we will maximise our chances of exciting sightings! Our birdwatching walks must take place outside the reserve, as walking is not permitted inside India’s Tiger Reserves, but should nonetheless be most rewarding.

On our return from Kanha to Delhi, we will break the journey for a full day in Agra; an opportunity to visit the Taj Mahal and Agra Fort before our return to London. We also offer a 4-day extension to the Chambal River (for Ganges River Dolphins) and Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary, one of the finest birding spots in the world, for those of you who cannot resist the opportunity! Alternatively, you might choose to visit the beautiful Ranthambore Tiger Reserve instead.