Of all the big animals you see on safari, the one I always wanted to see the most is the tiger
They’re big – they’re beautiful and when you think about it, they are one of the most popular animals in the world. They can easily bring down prey such as deer and can eat up to sixty pounds of meat in one night.
One of the best places to see Tigers is here in India
They have over 30 tiger preserves here and a handful of national parks that allow tourists to see the big cats, which are more than 2240 in numbers,
(70%of total tiger population in the world
At Ranthambore National park my trip started…..
First I started from Ranthambore National park. It’s one of the biggest Tiger Safari in India but at the Northern India.
Our guide is an expert tracker but he wasn’t sure that we will see a tiger. In this park, there are only 34 tigers and they live in an area that is over 151 square miles. The guides use two ways to track the freely wandering tigers in the jungle.
1) By reading their tracks or footprints
By the footprint, they were able to identify details about the predator.
whether the carnivorous mammal was a male or female,
or is there any cubs with them –
or which direction it is moving
2) By the warning sound
When the tiger moves, the other animals like Spotted deers, Sambar deer, monkeys, and some birds like peacocks – they start making sounds that are called warning sound – so by that, they can find the current location of the tiger in the open jungle.
What we explored was the female footprint which was fresh from early this morning or last night after the evening safari. Despite finding some promising tiger tracks, we could not locate any tiger during the safari till lunch.
Our Guide motivated us saying that we would have to try again after lunch and might get successful in tiger spotting. On my lunch when everyone was busy finishing their meal, I was still stuck with the thoughts of the royal beast.
I was wondering, why such large numbers of people serve their life in the jungle. Why there are so many Tigers reserve and parks in India. Why tiger safari is safe in India?
Our eggheaded guide replied to my queries by simply mentioning his name to us,” Sher Singh”, where Sher means Tiger in India. He said in India Tigers are not merely a carnivorous mammal, but the epitome of strength, bravery and courage. Parents usually name their kids, with a belief to have equally brave and courageous out of their toddler. Tiger is also a significant character of mythological saga religiously believed in India, hence people in India are passionate about this royal beast and won’t mind going the extra mile to save them from extinction.
The combined effects of humans moving into their habitat along with a worldwide desire for tiger skins and body parts have dramatically reduced their numbers recently, but the Indian government has been able to demotivate the trade practices on the cost of tiger lives by not only creating these reserves but also by creating a tiger tourism industry.
The 34 tigers in Ranthambore alone now support over 100 hotels, along with untold numbers of guides, drivers, and others. That way, everybody has a stake in keeping the tigers alive.
Later in the afternoon, we were joined by some other tourists
And were taken to the north zone of the park. We also caught sight of an eagle, some crocodiles, and this really odd creature called a blue bull or Nilgai. We also caught sight of an eagle, some crocodiles but, nobody wanted to go home without seeing a tiger,
We suddenly heard Sambar deer making the warning sound, We assume to be close to a tiger, but we didn’t actually see a tiger.
At a rest stop, our guide went off to talk to some of the soldiers that guard the park.
From them, he was able to get some solid information on the location of a tiger,” OK guys, let’s go. I got a hot tip….” he said.
We headed up the road to where the soldiers said we would find a tiger. But by the time we got there, it was obvious we weren’t the only ones who got the information and keen on spotting tiger, there were many of us already standing and waiting for the king of the jungle.
We all sat around staring at each other for a while.
Shhhhh..the silence around us was …wait, watch, they are here!!!!!
We could all see a wild tiger, It was one of the older females but was very impressive
She tried to move away, but with so many people intrigued to get a good picture… It was like an army of paparazzi stalking a movie celebrity. She came, she saw and she conquered! keeping us all standstill with our camera and a few flashes.
We were back in our luxurious room but I still couldn’t get rid of the goosebumps, I have recently experienced.
I was glad I was on my Unforgettable India safari trip and have got another location to spot the tiger the next day. I packed my bags and put an alarm. I need to leave for Pench National Park, after having early sight viewing of Ranthambore fort and other attractions around and then take a flight from Jaipur to Jabalpur.
Rudyard Kipling book Jungle book got its base from here!!!
I reached Pench National park this afternoon…
I was keen on visiting the backdrop of Internationally famous Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling and also the second encounter with the royal beast. They said it was high chances here to spot the tiger during the month of May. Even though we were sweating in the scorching heat, but our enthusiasm kept us moving during the safari.
From the time I reached Pench, I told the guide I wanted to see the Pitta bird, the beautiful rare colourful bird. Nine colours, ranging from red, blue, green, white, And if the sun
falls on the bird, the shine which comes is tantalizing. The bird is truly referred to as Navratna
Suddenly, our jeep and the rest of the group were in stopped, and our guide said ‘There’s pitta, There’s a pitta!’ and I was so excited that I’d finally get to see one. And then we saw one of the rarest and beautiful Indian birds which kept us spellbound for a few minutes.
As we move ahead, out of nowhere we were looking at the wild tiger. He was sitting in a water hole, just in front of our eyes. I could say I saw so many Happy faces after the wild tiger sighting after a long time of the day.
The stay at Tuli Tiger Corridor was excellent. Rooms were good. Service was good. The staff was very courteous. The good thing was, every day when we came back from the trip, the staff always welcomed us with a smiling face giving us a fresh drink and fresh towels.
It was a very refreshing experience even the food was also very nice.
We almost saw nine tigers so far including our stay in Ranthambore and Pench though I missed spotting the leopard, still, we had an encounter bear.,snakes during the safari which was amazing, and the way our guide spotted certain owls and also, managed for us also was incredible, Not one single moment of the entire four-day trip has been dull to us, Firstly, because we kept seeing some or other wildlife because of our agile and trained guide who had a keen eye to spot, whether it was birds, the leopard or even tigers. It was lovely.
The fact that the guides, the drivers and our company all of them were extremely knowledgeable, made it even more enjoyable, and comfortable because our every query was pretty well-answered.
I think that one of the most memorable moments was when we were driving, there was a langur in the tree, and it peed on two of our friends and it was just the funniest moment ever. That was an amazing visit to Pench Tiger Reserve.
We were happy but tired. Our next destination was Bandhavgarh National park which was 7 hours away
The reasons why we were keen to extend our tiger safari expedition to Bandhavgarh National Park were quite straightforward:
- A 7-hour beautiful ride from Pench National park to Bandhavgarh is not to be missed,
- And then my plan to stay with my extended family in Mumbai was convenient from there.
You cannot miss visualising some mesmerising and splendid inspiring sights En Route Bandhavgarh Park was our real motive to take a road trip. We visited
Dhuandhar Falls
When Narmada river limits the smooth flowing and looks for an adventurous dive an overwhelming fog which seems like smoke, consequently the name – Dhuan – smoke, Dhar – stream. The falls are capitative and cannot be missed fro fortune.
Bhedaghat
This is where the Narmada waterway clears its path through the wonderful and amazingly excellent marble rocks. These normally shaped immense marble rocks include horde shades of gold, yellow and orange amid dusk.
The Bollywood gossips and other local stories narrated by our boatman kept us engaged throughout our boat ride at Bhedaghat. We also got a chance to experience the unique ride in full moonlight on his recommendation and were astonished by looking at the stones shining like gems in the night.
There is an extraordinary assortment of rice called the Bhedaghat Chawal accessible here which are supposed to be among the finest quality to be conveyed back to home. I bought a few bags for my relatives too.
‘Bandhavgarh’, also means fortress of the sibling. (Bandhav – sibling, Garh – fortification). Legend says that the place was identified by Lord Rama for his dutiful Brother Lakshman, a perfect scaffolding to have sight of enemy country Lanka.
As we enter the street that initiates entrance into the park is a decent and agreeable drive welcoming by untamed life similarly as we achieved the edges of the recreation centre.
Once inside the reserve, a large portion of your experience is aggravated with expectation, energy and expectation. This park is well known for tigers and their offspring is intently trailed by untamed life devotees and nature enthusiast.
The entire day safari albeit costly, are friendly and lenient. You can enter the buffer Zone 15 minutes sooner and leave 15 minutes after the fact after the allocated time. Our safari began at 5.30 am in the midst of the chilling cool, diminish lights, overwhelming cameras, huge amounts of energy and with the desire for locating a tiger.
The park has 3 zones and every zone has its own diverse sections –
Tala Zone (Gate 1),
Magadhi (Gate – 2)
and Khitauli (Zone 3).
The park has exacting guidelines and one can’t change the designated Zone, with the exception of on the off chance that you have an entire day license.
Bite the big one Experience!
The Jungle looks unimaginably lovely amid dawn. The light that leaks during this time makes you feel serenely warm… The jungle has an abundance of other untamed life as well, however, most or the majority of the general population come here for the Tigers. The lovely creature deer was also frequently spotted on our safari, but spotting a tiger amidst all other wildlife is your chance of luck. Our guide was great, and the driver completed a praiseworthy activity. He likewise pursued the tracks and tips given by individual drivers. What’s more, before we knew it somebody yelled – TIGER!! At the point when our ways cross! Every one of the vehicles present on the spot adjusted themselves for a view, and the others lined up, picture takers went into a free for all and this went on for somewhat more than a couple of minutes, till the tiger vanished. I saw some mind-boggling view, of a mother tiger holding with her offspring, alongside three other individual tigers.
My family was gobbling over dinner and seem to be satisfied by making the most of this trip, By and large, a delightful and paramount occasion.
It is one of its kind experiences which cannot be compared to any other adventurous experience when you encounter this lofty animal face to face and cherish for a lifetime. So in the event that you have a tiger at the forefront of your thoughts, it’s India calling. Good Luck!
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Author’s Bio-
Nisha is an enthusiastic content curator in education, health and traveling domain. Reading and writing are not just a hobby for her! Follow her writeups here and comment what you feel about them!
