Bandhavgarh National Park (India)

This visit to Bandhavgarh was the second part of a one-week tour to Kanha and Bandhavgarh National Parks. This was also my second visit to this park, having been here once before in March 2013.  With about 60 tigers in a core reserve area of approximately 105 square kilometers, Bandhavgarh National Park is said to have the highest density of tigers in India, and enjoys a reputation among tourists as providing the best probabilities of spotting a tiger in the wild. Besides the tigers, there are many other species of animals to be seen and some very impressive vistas, such as the Tala Hills shown in the photo below.  But without question, the big attraction that draws visitors here is the chance to meet a tiger at close range.

Similar to Kanha, the Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve is divided into zones.  The three zones in Bandhavgarh are the Tala zone, Magadhi zone, and Khitauli zone.  And, also similar to Kanha, there is a limit on the number of vehicles allowed into the park each day.  According to what I could find on the internet, the current jeep limit for each of the three zones appears to be: Tala zone, 20 vehicles in the morning and 20 vehicles in the evening; Magadhi zone, 20 vehicles in the morning and 20 vehicles in the evening; and Khitauli zone, 16 vehicles in the morning and 15 vehicles in the evening.  Vehicles are assigned to a route in a single zone for each entry into the park, and going off-route or switching zones is not allowed.

In tourist circles, the Tala zone was long reputed to be the best for spotting tigers, and prices for safaris in this zone are higher than prices for the other two zones.  According to information on one homepage (information on different pages vary widely), present prices for entry (entry ticket and jeep fee) into Bandhavgarh National Park appear to be 7,400 rupees for foreigners and 5,000 rupees for Indian nationals for the premium Tala zone; and 5,000 rupees for foreigners and 3,800 rupees for Indian nationals for the Magadhi and Khitauli zones.  Like in Kanha, visitors should also be prepared to pay a fee for a park-assigned guide (300 rupees), and it is customary to tip both the driver and guide after each safari.

Ironically, although Tala is the “premium” zone, it appears that the larger number of tiger sightings this year are occurring in the other zones.  Staff at the hotel and guides in the park explained to us that there was a fight for territory going on between three male tigers, and that the female tigers resident in the Tala zone were hiding their young cubs from the adult males.  This occurs because male tigers will kill cubs conceived by other males in other to coax the females back into mating readiness.  The males apparently do this in order to leave more of their DNA in the next generation of tigers. 

Since the travel company had arranged for all four of our group’s safaris to be in the more expensive “premium” Tala zone in order to increase our chances of seeing tigers, under the current conditions this move had the opposite effect.  As a result, the members on our tour did not see any tigers at all in Bandhavgarh.

Although I was unable to see any tigers on this trip to Bandhavgarh, here are photos of the animals that I was able to spot.

Chital deer (Cervus axis)

A group of chital near a waterhole.

Indian gray mongoose

Rhesus macaque

Indian Roller

Crested serpent eagle

Hanuman Langur

Wild pig

Kingfisher

Indian Vultures

Jackal

Indian Nightjar

Gaur

Sadly, there are no remaining wild elephants in Bandhavgarh National Park.  All of the elephants that are in the park belong to mahouts who train the animals to serve as transportation for patrols and to do other work within the national park.  It was a little sad to see some young elephants with their legs chained to the older elephants in order to “train” them.

Sometimes the elephants were allowed to greet visitors.  For visitors who had failed to spot a tiger, this chance to engage with an elephant went a long way towards soothing the disappointment.

After two days and four safaris with no tigers, at least our guides were able to show us this beautiful sunset over the Bandhavgarh hills.

It was a gentle and beautiful way to end this one-week trip looking for tigers, but still, I somehow felt that something was incomplete.  I guess I will have to return again someday.
 

(Note: All photos taken in this post were taken during a visit from May 7 to May 8, 2015.  The comments in this post are based on observations made on those days.  Conditions may have since changed.  Please check it out for yourself!)

 

Kanha National Park (India)





I visited Kanha as the first half of a one-week tour to Kanha and Bandhavgarh National Parks, hoping to photograph Bengal tigers in the wild. Dedicated as a national park in 1955, Kanha was one of the first nine parks designated as a tiger reserve under India’s “Project Tiger” which was launched in 1973.  Kanha is often described as one of India’s most beautiful parks, and even in the summer heat of early May (about 41 degrees Celsius at mid-day), it was truly a beautiful place.  Kanha features dense forests of Sal trees, various deciduous trees, dense bamboo mixed with miscellaneous plants, and wide-open grasslands.

Kanha also features many bodies of water where you often see herds of Sambar deer, Chital deer, and Barasingha deer gathered to get a drink.  These animals are ever on the alert for an approaching tiger, and their constant state of tension adds to the atmosphere of excitement.

Visitors to Kanha usually enter the park in an open-backed jeep (often referred to as a “Gypsy”) on what is called a “jeep safari”.  There is a morning safari that runs about 4 hours and an afternoon safari of about 3 hours, with starting and ending times that vary according to the time of the year.  In order to minimize negative effects on the environment, the total number of jeeps allowed into the park each day is capped.  There are four zones in the park, and according to what I could find on the internet, the current jeep limit for each of the four zones appears to be: Kanha zone, 28 vehicles in the morning and 17 vehicles in the evening; Kisli zone, 12 vehicles in the morning, 8 vehicles in the evening; Mukki zone, 28 vehicles in the morning, 17 vehicles in the evening; and Sarhi zone, 15 vehicles in both morning and evening.   

Since the daily entry to the park is determined by the number of vehicles, not the number of people, when tourists purchase tickets to enter the park, they are, in effect, purchasing a ticket for the entire jeep.  Thus, a visitor who travels alone will bear the cost of the entire jeep by himself while a member of a tour group will be able to split the cost of the jeep with his fellow travelers.  Since my travel agent did not itemize the costs on my tour package, I do not know how much we paid for our jeep, but information on the internet (information varies on different homepages) indicates that present prices for entry (entry ticket and jeep fee) into Kanha National Park appear to be 5,400 rupees for foreigners and 3,600 rupees for Indian nationals for the Kanha zone; and 4,200 rupees for foreigners and 3,000 rupees for Indian nationals for the other three zones.  Visitors should also be prepared to pay a separate fee for a park-assigned guide (300 rupees).  (Check with your travel agent for the latest accurate costs.)  Additionally, it is customary to tip both the driver and guide after each safari.  I was told that the usual rate was 200 rupees to each the driver and guide (more if you spot a tiger).

 
The photo below shows the line of jeeps waiting for the afternoon entrance.  At this time, travelers sitting in the jeeps are usually excited and full of anticipation.  (A few hours later, it is very interesting to look again at people’s faces when they exit the park.  You can usually determine whether the passengers of each jeep have spotted a tiger.  The lucky ones are the ones who are smiling.)

Once inside the park, each jeep roams around looking for animals - especially the tigers.  Sometimes the drivers and visitors are too focused on looking for tigers, and it becomes a little difficult to enjoy spotting the other types of wildlife.

The vistas in the park are quite beautiful.

Despite it being the dry season, there were still many bodies of water.

Below are photos of some of the animals I saw at Kanha. 

Gaur (Bos gaurus)

Chital deer (Cervus axis)

Indian Roller (Coracias benghalensis)

Peacock (Pavo cristatus)

Male Barasingha deer (Cervus duvauceli branderi)

Female Barasingha

Hanuman Langur

Rhesus macaque

And finally, two photos of the only tiger I spotted on my four safari drives into Kanha.  This particular sighting lasted only about 10 seconds, and I barely had enough time to align my camera lens and press the shutter button.

By the time I pressed the shutter button a second time, the tiger’s head was no longer in view.

This tiger sighting occurred only one hour into the first of four safaris in Kanha.  Since this brief sighting occurred so early into our tour, I was convinced that I would see another tiger at Kanha.  Or, even if I didn’t see one at Kanha, I would surely see one at Bandhavgarh….or so I thought.  In the end, this 10-second glimpse would be the only tiger I would see during a total of eight safaris on this trip.  Unlike in a zoo, there is no guarantee that an animal will be where you want it to be.  I think that I will be visiting Kanha again - someday.

(Note: All photos taken in this post were taken during a visit from May 4 to 6, 2015.  The comments in this post are based on observations made on those days.  Conditions may have since changed.  Please check it out for yourself!)