www.naturetrek.co.uk Bandhavgarh National Park in the midst of the airy Vindhya hills of Madhya Pradesh is renowned as one of the best places in India to observe Tigers. Naturetrek offer a 9-day tour exploring the park on elephant-back and by 4wd Jeep in search of these elusive big cats and other Indian mammal speciality species. Next departing 9th and 16th February then 9th March 2007 with other dates also available.
Arrival in Delhi offers glimpses into Indian life and whets the appetite for the journey ahead. Next day, the overnight air-con sleeper, Kalinga Utkal Express, takes travellers from Delhi to Bandhavgarh and the heart of rural India.
Though Bandhavgarh is isolated, the long train journey is well worth the effort and provides a gentle but memorable introduction to India for Naturetrek’s amateur naturalists. Like many of India’s Tiger reserves Bandhavgarh was formerly a hunting reserve, in this case for the Maharaja of Rewa, though its inclusion in the epic Ramayana points to a much longer history pre-dating this.
A spectacular hilltop fort, still owned by the Maharaja, dominates the centre of the reserve from a height of 800m and provides an atmospheric backdrop. The park was first established in 1968 and later enlarged to include adjacent tracts of Sal Forest in 1988, finally being designated a Tiger Reserve under Project Tiger in 1993.
Though sightings can never be guaranteed, Tiger movements are well known to the mahouts whose intimate knowledge of the terrain will be relied upon. Estimates suggest that a healthy population of 22 Tigers are resident in the 105 square kilometres of the reserve open to tourists, equivalent to one for every 4.77 square kilometres.
Though Tigers are the likely star of the tour, many other mammals such as Spotted Dear, Wild Boar, Muntjac and Sambar together with such avian species as Greater Racket-tailed Drongo, Plum-headed Parakeet and Asian Paradise Flycatcher may be observe. With luck, rarer inhabitants such as Sloth Bear, Indian Fox, Wolf, Indian Pangolin and Jungle Cat may make brief appearances. On return to Delhi travellers choose between spending a final afternoon exploring the lively capital or alternatively a visit to the Yamuna River which flows through the city for a more sedate afternoon of birdwatching before the flight home.
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