Unknown India - Tadoba & Satpura

Tour Code: IND41

A 12-day holiday in search of the birds and mammals of central India's lesser-known national parks and Tiger Reserves – Tadoba, Pench and Satpura – plus an optional extension to Kanha National Park.

12 days from
£4,195
Land only price from
£3,695
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Highlights

Summary

Summary

Tadoba-Andhari and Satpura Tiger Reserves attract few overseas visitors and yet are wildlife-rich, which qualifies them as true ‘little-known gems’! After a flight to Nagpur, our first destination on this holiday is Tadoba, home to as many as 60 Tigers, Sloth Bear and a wealth of other mammals and birds. After a 3-night stay at Tadoba we’ll drive to Pench National Park, one of the most reliable parks to see Tiger and in the region of India that inspired Kipling’s ‘Jungle Book’. Next we travel to Satpura Tiger Reserve, which we’ll explore by boat, Jeep and on foot hoping to encounter Malabar Hornbill and mammals such as Malabar Giant Squirrel, among many other species, before concluding our tour at Bhopal.

  • Avoid sprawling cities, crowds, long train journeys & domestic flights on this tour
  • Visit superb, yet little-known, wildlife parks where we may be the only tourists
  • A holiday designed to minimise travel times & maximise time within reserves
  • Tiger, Leopard, Gaur, Dhole, Striped Hyena, Jungle Cat & Chousingha at Tadoba
  • Visit Pench National Park, location for the BBC’s ‘Spy in the Jungle’ Tiger documentary
  • Barking Deer, Grey Langur, Asiatic Jackal, Nilgai & Dhole possible at Pench
  • Walking safari in Satpura to look for a wealth of birdlife, Sloth Bear & other wildlife
  • Visit the 10,000-year-old rock shelters at Bhopal
  • Led by expert local naturalist guides

Grading

This is a wildlife tour that includes walking safaris in the hilly terrain of Satpura.

These days, Tiger tourism in India is big business, and the numbers of overseas tourists visiting such well-known reserves as Bandhavgarh, Ranthambore and Kanha are unavoidably high. This exciting wildlife tour to central India, however, focuses on the lesser-known national parks and Project Tiger ‘Tiger reserves’, notably Satpura. On this tour you will also benefit from the ease and convenience of flying right into the heart of central India’s ‘Tiger country’, as we use the scheduled service of Qatar Airways from London to Nagpur, the capital of Maharashtra, via Doha. In so doing, we not only offer the wildlife enthusiast the ultimate luxury — a holiday to India that largely avoids sprawling cities, huge crowds, long train journeys, domestic flights, etc! — but we also minimise travelling times and maximise the time we may spend in these little-known reserves.

On our arrival in Nagpur we overnight in the city before taking a 3-hour drive to the relatively little-known Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve, situated in the Chandrapur District of Maharashtra. The reserve, spanning over 625 square kilometres, incorporates both Tadoba National Park (which became Maharashtra’s first national park in 1955) and Andhari Wildlife Sanctuary, and became one of India’s 28 Project Tiger reserves as recently as 1993. Its hills support a dense tropical dry deciduous forest, largely made up of Teak and bamboo, carved by the Andhari River. As many as 60 Tigers are reputed to survive here, plus a great many other mammals such as Leopard, Sloth Bear, Gaur, Dhole (Asian Wild Dog), Striped Hyena, Jungle Cat and Chousingha (the Four-horned Antelope), not to mention a rich birdlife. 

After three nights in Tadoba, a 5-hour drive brings us to Pench National Park. This previously little-known reserve was the setting for the popular BBC TV series ‘Tiger — Spy in the Jungle’, narrated by Sir David Attenborough. Designated as Project Tiger’s 19th Tiger Reserve in 1992, Pench today protects 758 square kilometres of prime Tiger habitat in the southern reaches of the Satpura Hills which lie in the Seoni and Chhindwara districts, the region which inspired Rudyard Kipling’s ‘Jungle Book’.  The pools along the seasonal Pench River and a large dam provide the primary watering holes for Tigers and all other wildlife. Elsewhere the terrain is rugged and the region’s hills are cloaked in both southern moist deciduous forest and extensive dry, deciduous forest, dominated by Teak. Gaur, Wild Boar and Grey Langurs are common here, as are Sambar, Spotted and Barking Deer. With luck we might also see Asiatic Jackal, Nilgai and Dhole, or even a Leopard which are generally seen in the peripheral areas of the park where they are able more easily to avoid Tigers.

Next we travel to Satpura Tiger Reserve, which we will not only explore by Jeep and boat, but also, most significantly, on foot — the walking safaris that we are able to do in Satpura not being possible in most of India’s other Tiger Reserves. Only on foot is it possible to observe, appreciate, learn about and interpret the finest details of the jungle and its natural history — the smells, sounds, signs and tracks of so thrilling an environment as the home of the Tiger and so many other species, where wildlife encounters on foot are among the most memorable. This is by far the best way to enjoy a wealth of birdlife (perhaps a Rufous-bellied Hawk Eagle or Malabar Pied Hornbill) and offers a chance of such smaller mammals such as Malabar Giant Squirrel, as well as many of the larger mammals that we will have seen in Tadoba and Pench.

After spending four memorable nights in Satpura we drive to Bhopal, the capital of Madhya Pradesh, visiting the 10,000-yearold rock shelters of Bhimbetka en route. We overnight in Bhopal before our return flight to London, via Mumbai. For those wishing to extend their stay in India, or wishing also to visit one of the mainstream Tiger Reserves, we recommend taking advantage of our optional extension to Kanha National Park, perhaps the best place in the world in which to see a Tiger, plus a wide range of other mammals and birds.

 

DETAILED INFORMATION
Itinerary

Outline Itinerary

Day 1
Depart London
Day 2/4
Arrive Nagpur; Tadoba National Park
Day 5/6
Pench National Park
Day 7/10
Satpura National Park
Day 11
Transfer Bhopal; fly Mumbai
Day 12
Fly London
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What's Included

What's Included?

  • Flights
  • Accommodation: Tourist hotels, Nagpur and Bhopal; comfortable lodges elsewhere. All rooms have private facilities.
  • Food: All included in the price.
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Extensions

Extensions

Kanha

5 days from £1,495
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Dates & Prices

Dates & Prices

2026

Departures Availability Cost
Wed 11th Nov – Sun 22nd Nov SPACES £4,195
Book Tour Show Details
Flights:
Most Naturetrek tours include flight costs ex-UK. If flights are not included, we indicate that here.
Flights are included in the tour cost
Regional Departures:
On certain tours it is possible to depart from a regional airport (rather than London). If a regional departure is possible, we indicate that here.
Regional Departures are available. Call 01962733051
Land only cost:
The "Land Only" cost is the tour price you will pay if you choose to arrange your own flights/transport.
£3,695
Room sharing options:
If a customer on this departure has already expressed an interest in sharing a room it will be flagged here. We will identify if there are sharing options for male, female or both.
Male sharing available
Single Room Supplement:
Single Room Supplement.
£995

2027

Departures Availability Cost
Wed 3rd Feb – Sun 14th Feb SPACES £4,195
Book Tour Show Details
Flights:
Most Naturetrek tours include flight costs ex-UK. If flights are not included, we indicate that here.
Flights are included in the tour cost
Regional Departures:
On certain tours it is possible to depart from a regional airport (rather than London). If a regional departure is possible, we indicate that here.
Regional Departures are available. Call 01962733051
Land only cost:
The "Land Only" cost is the tour price you will pay if you choose to arrange your own flights/transport.
£3,695
Single Room Supplement:
Single Room Supplement.
£995
Wed 10th Nov – Sun 21st Nov SPACES £4,195
Book Tour Show Details
Flights:
Most Naturetrek tours include flight costs ex-UK. If flights are not included, we indicate that here.
Flights are included in the tour cost
Regional Departures:
On certain tours it is possible to depart from a regional airport (rather than London). If a regional departure is possible, we indicate that here.
Regional Departures are available. Call 01962733051
Land only cost:
The "Land Only" cost is the tour price you will pay if you choose to arrange your own flights/transport.
£3,695
Single Room Supplement:
Single Room Supplement.
£995

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Prefer to Travel in a Private Group?

For any interested natural history club or society, we can arrange for a private departure of this tour.

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Why Naturetrek?

Why Naturetrek?

At Naturetrek we craft expertly-guided group and tailor-made wildlife holidays and cruises to all seven continents. On one of our holidays, you can be assured that our passionate team will enable you to experience and enjoy the best of the world's wildlife and natural spectacles in as comfortable and rewarding a manner as possible, caring as best we can for the environment in the process. We are proud to provide:

  • The widest choice of wildlife holidays worldwide
  • Tours managed and led by naturalists, for naturalists
  • Outstanding value and exceptional customer service

Furthermore, as a Naturetrek client, our office team are always to on hand to help you – so if you have any queries about your holiday, whether before or after you have booked, we will be delighted to answer them on the phone. Please just give our team a call!

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