Enchanting India
I really enjoy my visits to India.
The cities are chaotic and vibrant but the national parks are peaceful, beautifully presented and the attention to conversation is present everywhere.
This trip took me from Bangalore in the South to the far north-east of India (Assam). The diversity was incredible.
I began with a short visit to Bhadra. Bhadra is a few hours from Bangalore and I spent my time at the River Tern Jungle Lodge. It was basic but comfortable and the forest was far greener and more dense than I expected for this time of year. No tigers but the birdlife was plentiful and it was an ideal place to get my eye in before heading north.
From Bhadra I visited Kaziranga National Park in Assam. Kaziranga had been on my bucket list for some time and it didn’t disappoint - the forest was the most beautiful of anywhere I have been in India. The primary aim of this visit was to see the one-horn rhino. An animal endemic to the region, this is the best place to see them in the wild. Having seen rhinos in Africa I was expecting a similar animal but there were differences. For starters, the Indian rhino is bigger and it resembled a tank, with strong armour plating across its body. They were quite aggressive and didn’t hesitate to charge jeeps that were too close. On one memorable occasion a rhino surprised us deep in the forest and the call ‘brace for impact’ from the guide made me realize I haven’t paid enough attention to inflight safety videos. No impact but it was close. Aside from rhino, Kaziranga has incredible birdlife (notably the Great Hornbill), plenty of Hog Deer, Swamp Deer, elephant and water buffalo. Kaziranga is not somewhere to go if the focus is on tigers. Oh, they are there but the dense forest and long elephant grass make them much harder to find than other parks in India.
After departing Kaziranga I headed to Central India. Pugdundee Safaris organized this part of my trip and it couldn’t have been any smoother. My first stop was Satpura. I selected this one because it gave me the best chance to see Sloth bears and Leopard. However, things had changed in Satpura and with the increase in tiger numbers, leopards had been pushed deeper into the forest and were elusive. Sloth Bears were plentiful and I had some great encounters with them. The surprise was the number of tigers. Not expecting to see any, I had some of the best encounters I have had anywhere with these awesome predators. The lodge (Denwa Backwater Escape) and the staff (especially Rhea) made this a truly memorable stay.
Leaving Satpura I ventured to Pench and this was where I finally had an Indian Leopard experience. It posed perfectly in the tree and as often happens, one encounter turns into 2 and then 3 over consecutive days. I really enjoyed Peach and the Tree Lodge was a fabulous base.
Heading further north, I had back-to-back stays at Kanha Earth Lodge and Kings Lodge in Bandhavgarh. I anticipated great tiger sightings at both of these places and, while I did see tigers, perhaps my expectations were a little inflated. Quantity over quality is perhaps a good summary. For example, I saw 6 tigers at Bandhavgarh but only 1 encounter resulted in great pics and good quality time spent with the tiger. The highlight of both these parks was the male tigers. Especially in Bandhavgarh where I saw a massive male tiger. I didn’t know that Bengal tigers could get that big and the comparison with an adult female that I saw with it was extraordinary.
My last stop was Jim Corbett. Beautiful forest and some great sightings, especially elephants. I can now add elephant to the list of animals that have charged me (the jeep) on this trip.
Overall, a wonderful trip. Some final comments about safaris in India. Compared to Africa, the wildlife is harder to find and tigers are especially challenging. Of course, this makes encounters very rewarding and the experiences I have had with tigers will stay with me forever.