Bandhavgarh National ParkMar 20, 2009
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Kings Lodge
Watch Tower at lodge
Pool at lodge
Bandhavgarh National Park is located deep in the heart of India in the state of Madyha Pradesh. It is a 10 hour train ride south from Agra (12hours south from Delhi) to Katni, then another 2 hour drive to the park. It consists of mountains, grasslands, and bamboo forest amid the Indian jungle. Here resides the most densely populated area in India for Royal Bengal Tiger and that is only reason I am here. I stayed in the King’s Lodge adjacent to the Park designated a Tiger Reserve in 1993. There are numerous Tiger Reserves in India, but every native Indian I spoke with agreed Bandhavgarh is the best. It is has been a lifetime dream of mine to see Bengal Tigers living in their natural habitat unrestrained by human borders. Upon leaving the park there is a sign that reads “Don’t be disappointed if you didn’t see me, because I certainly saw you” with a photo of a tiger. Tigers are living in the wild, so there is absolutely NO guarantee of seeing one. I heard several stories from guests that had visited other parks and seen zilch. The park closes during the monsoon season from June-September annually, making the jungle extrememly dense and sightings nearly impossible and would destroy the dirt roads otherwise. Also, this part of India plays host to some infamous poisnous snakes: vipers and cobras.
Day 1:
I arrived in Bandhavgarh at mid-day after an arduous overnight train. I was too late for morning safari, but met all the other guests as they arrived back to camp over lunch and listened to numerous stories and sights they had experienced. That afternoon we headed out with our Naturalist (guide) C.V. Singh in our safari jeep into the jungle. After an hour we came upon my first ever Bengal Tiger. We watched and photographed for a half hour why she laid there, then stood up turned around, yawned, and finally walked away. I was able to get a couple decent photos even though she was 75 meters away up in a cave through the jungle brush. We then searched for others the remainder of the afternoon, after finally spotting a group watching some cubs in open grassland, however the grass was very tall impeding anyone from getting a decent glimpse. After waiting patiently for an hour, one of the cubs stood and walked away giving me another great encounter with a Bengal Tiger cub (6 months old and half grown) in the wild. Later we found out some other guests were across the grassland watching the mother with no idea the cubs were in the vicinity. We headed back to camp for dinner drinks and stories. So 2 tigers my first day and trip into the jungle, not bad.
Day 2:
We left camp at 6am to visit the park (gate opens at 6:15am), in the morning the groups are designated different routes to minimize traffic and impact to the wildlife. We drew Route B and took off for an hour or so spotting many Sampa and Spotted Deer, Monkeys, a wild boar, Kingfisher birds, vultures, peacocks, and pea hens, but no tiger. Each morning the park sends out a couple elephants tracking tigers and if one is spotted guests are allowed to ride the elephant off road into the dense jungle and get a close encounter with the tiger. I lucked into this scenario, and climbed aboard my first elephant. We rode several minute before spotting the tiger dutifully laying in the shade for us to see her. She then stood on the top of the hill and walked off the backside where we were able to follow her for about 10 minutes getting great photos, before we lost her in a ravine the elephants are unable to traverse. Afterwards we went to where we had spotted a male tigers fresh tracks and waited and hoped to no avail before we had to leave the park at 10am. The park closes to allow the animals a reprieve from outsiders during mid-day everyday. Also, sightings are rare as the animals are usually bedded down in the shade during the heat of the day. We head back for breakfast and stories and a nap. Then regroup for lunch and back into the park at 3:15pm. Almost immediately another group as spotted a female tigress and we follow them and watch her for 15 minutes or so until she is tired of the attention and disappears deep into the jungle. We later ride to an area were 2 male cubs 2 years old are known to roam. We listen for warning calls from deer and monkeys as these are many times the best indication of a roaming tiger. We look for paw tracks. Wait…but never see them. Tigers are very territorial so even though the park is unfenced the tigers typically stay relatively close to a certain area. We had to leave the park at dusk 6:15pm when gates close. My tiger safari is over, but not before witnessing 4 different tigers and riding an elephant among beautiful terrain deep in the jungles of India. It was an experience of a lifetime and well worth the long difficult journey to get to these extremely remote park.
