Could you name the tiger reserve that has the most dense tiger population and has the highest probability of tiger sightings - Bandhavgarh in Madhya Pradesh (MP has 10 tiger reserves!). Yes, you read that right - its not Ranthambore, its not Kanha or not any other reserve that you may have heard of! I came to know of this when a friend of mine shared a picture of an in-flight magazine that had a cover story on Bandhavgarh and that's when I heard it for the first time. We decided that this should be our second trip, the first being Meghalaya (my first blog) - the criteria for the destination remained the same - none of us should have been to that place, the place needs exploration before taking the family along. This time we were four instead of the usual three - Krishna Arjun joined us.
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| Our first ever sighting in Bandhavgarh! |
Places visited: Jabalpur, Bandhavgarh
Duration: 5 days / 6 nights
Reason to visit in May:
While May is the peak summer season in MP, summers are the best time to have more chances of seeing tigers in the wild and hence we didn't mind the weather.
Overview:
Day 1 - Reach Jabalpur by air from Bengaluru (as tickets to and from Chennai cost significantly more then), sight seeing in Jabalpur, stay overnight
Day 2 - Depart to Umaria by afternoon train, take a cab to Bandhavgarh and check into resort
Day 3 - Morning safari, evening safari
Day 4 - Morning safari, evening safari
Day 5 - Depart to Jabalpur by cab and fly to Bengaluru
Day 1:
Visit to Bangalore is always nostalgic and we look forward to it as all of us studied / worked there a few years back and this time was no exception. All of us arrived in Bangalore early morning from our respective hometowns and met at a hotel that we booked for 3 hours through brevistay.com to refresh.
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At the Bangalore airport, just before boarding the flight
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At Jabalpur:- We were supposed to take the train from Jabalpur to Umaria afternoon (we always keep the option of public transport open in our trips wherever possible to keep the cost down) - we were greeted by the SMS by IRCTC that our train has been cancelled - and so we called up our organiser (whose details will be shared at the end of the article) - he arranged an Innova
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| Golu Dhaba, Kundam - on the way to Bandhavgarh |
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| Lip smacking typical dhaba style food - thanks to our driver who took us here. |
- Reached Bandhavgarh that evening and checked into Nature Heritage Resort (http://www.natureheritageresort.com/)
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| Well maintained spacious rooms |
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| Pool is open till late evening and the setting goes well with the nature |
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| Cottages are nestled among trees with many open sit-outs / patios |
- If there is one word to describe the resort and its customer service, it is 'impeccable' - all the staff go beyond their call of duty to make the guests comfortable
- You can choose this resort with your eyes closed if you ever plan to Bandhavgarh - the tariff is reasonable as well
A few pointers on safaris (applicable to most of the tiger reserves) before we go to the next part:
- Bandhavgarh forest is divided into different zones - core and buffer zones - the terrain, flora / fauna, weather, probability of sightings differ in every zone
- Upto us to decide and book what zone we want to have a safari in
- All the tigers have names - they are called cubs / sub adults till they grow after which they are named - guides identify the tigers by tigers' stripes pattern
- Most of the wild tigers have a routine just like how we do - they do not cross their territories, drink water from a particular water hole and almost at a particular time everyday
- Guides keep their eyes and ears open - they wtach out for pugmarks (they can even tell you if the marks are fresh or old), hear out for calls from deer, langurs indicate the presence of tiger in the vicinity
- Morning safaris begins at 5.30am and goes on till 11.30am
- Eveneing safaris are from 3.30pm to 6.45pm
- 15-20 jeeps are allowed per zone
- Drivers can be chosen by us and guides will be allotted by the department
- All the resorts pack breakfast for guests and food can be had in the designated area in the forest during morning safaris
- No one - not even guides / drivers are allowed to step down of the vehicle during safari except during the breakfast time - and they strictly follow this!
Day 3:
- Morning safari - Khitouli zone
- We were woken up at 4am and coffee / tea was ready at the restaurant - our breakfast (menu and the quantity were confirmed the previous night itself)
- At 4.45am sharp, our jeep (gypsy) arrived at the resort - our driver was Bahori bhai - we learnt he was on the best drivers around (arranged by our guide) - he told us he will be the driver for all the 4 safaris
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| With our driver Bahori bhai |
- As soon as we entered the gate after ID checking was done, Bahori took a different route while all the other jeeps took another - this is where the skill of the driver and the guide matters - they told us that we will go to a spot before other jeeps arrive
- In a safari, if you are the only jeep with a tiger in your view, you can have sighting as long as you want - once other jeeps arrive, tigers get disturbed and usually walk away / inside the woods - so sighting a tiger before others do matters a lot
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| Sightings of 2 cubs - one is just behind the bush near the other |
- We were the first to sight these 2 cubs - it was a moment that will stay with us forever - a bit scary as well as it looks at you eye-to-eye!
- Hardly 3-4 minutes after, another jeep arrived - and as expected, both the cubs slowly got up and at their own pace, started walking into the woods - truly majestic creatures!
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| Deer are everywhere in the forest - spotted and sambar deer |
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| So are the langurs - they climb up the tree as soon as they see the jeeps |
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| Peacock with its feathers spread is a common sight too |
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| Eating point |
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Simple but yummy breakfast that fills your stomach
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- We drove around the zone in pursuit of sighting other tigers but in vain
- The time was around 10.45 am and as we were riding, we saw a jeep that was halted - they told us that one of the cubs that we saw in the morning was resting under a tree a few metres away and that it will cross this path for sure to drink water from a water hole that was across the path
- We stayed put for at least 30 minutes by which time 3-4 other jeeps also halted - and then the tiger, at its own pace again, crossed the path to go to that water hole
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| On its way to the water hole |
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| Its regular drinking spot |
- We reached the room at 12 noon - we had 3 hours to refresh, take some rest, eat lunch and get ready for the net safari!
- Evening safari - Tala zone - this was the first zone of Bandhavgarh and known to have sheltered great tigers
- As soon as we entered the Tala, our guide played safe telling us that there are tigresses with cubs in this zone - Spotty and her cubs, Dotty and her cubs -he added that both the families are shy and its hard to spot them wandering around
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Tala - hilly terrain and has natural water resources
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| This beauty crossed the tracks twice - we spent almost 20 minutes with this one! |
- While the first half of the safari was spent on taking in beautiful views of the forest / hills, we were treated with the above sightings in the second half
Day 4:
- Both safaris were in Magidhi zone today - there are males in this zone (Bajrang and Mahaman) - we started the day with the hopes of seeing one
- Like the previous day, our driver and guide took a different route that none of the other jeeps did
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| Magidhi zone at dawn |
- Below was the moment our guide spotted the tiger and asked the driver to stop
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| There she was - resting at leisure and looking at us! |
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| A closer look at the tigress |
- We were the first to sight her - we stayed put for enough time till the other jeeps started arriving one by one - and yes, the tigress slowly got up and started moving into the deep forest
- Our guide for this safari had 17 years of experience - he was determined to show us one of the males - he was sure that Bajrang will cross a particular area for his morning drinking routine and our driver, more determined to take us before he goes out of sight
- We had a flat tyre - Bahori bhai changed the spare in less than 10 minutes - I haven't seen anyone do this quicker!
- And those 10 minutes were sufficient enough for us to miss Bajrang - by the time we reached the spot, he had made his way through - the forest ranger who was stationed there told us we had missed him by 5 minutes!
- Evening safari - this was our last safari and a final chance to see a male - but as luck would have it, we couldn't!
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| Just before we took our last ride |
- And that brought to us to the last night we would spend in Bandhavgarh - we were to check out the next morning, take a cab to Jabalpur and fly back to Bangalore from where we will part ways to our respective home towns
About our trip organizer:
- I found one Mr Mukesh Burman (9425344631) from TripAdvisor - Bandhavgarh forum when we planned our first trip (that was eventually cancelled because of pandemic) - he was the top reviewed guide in the forum and I didn't think twice to choose him for planning our trip
- He has been working as a guide for the safaris for more than 2 decades in Bhandavgarh
- He suggested us the itinerary and all the safaris, resort were booked through him - we left choosing the zoned to his discretion - we trusted him blindly and it paid off as well!
- Booking the safaris directly through the MP official site could have saved us some money - but it is worth spending extra to have one of the best drivers around, have someone experienced choose the zones and most importantly, someone who knows the place well, have contacts wherever required, given its a completely strange geography to all of us
- He has a WhatsApp group in which, along with his clients like myself, wildlife enthusiasts, photographers are a part of - you could get any information on any tiger reserve in India in that group and he has such a good reputation - why not!
Alert - tiger sighting is pure luck - while all of us want to see the big cats in the wild, we should also understand that sighting cannot be assured. We saw 5 different tigers in 4 safaris - while some people saw 8-10 different tigers in 3-4 safaris. There are people who took just one safari and didn't see any tigers at all while some saw 2-3 tigers in the same safari. A lot of factors come into play - skill of the allotted guide, chosen driver, our luck and most importantly - its their natural habitat!
Pro tips:
- Avoid these places in monsoon - Bandhavgarh is closed for 3 months and Jabalpur will have Narmada flowing at its full flow that boating is closed in Bedhaghat
- Winter is the ideal time to visit with family - Jabalpur will have pleasant weather, night boating from 8 pm - 11 pm is allowed - we were told it is an experience by itself - moonligt making marble rocks reflect on the water
- Forest in Bandhavgarh in winters will be lush green - again something that is magical to experience
- During safaris, make sure you have a cap / hat on, wear your coolers if you have one
- Binoculars, DSLR camera will be handy (Krishna Arjun carried both)
- We were also told that Satpura tiger reserve, also in MP, will be a perfect getaway for families - it has a waterfalls, boat ride, trekking - all inside the forest!
One trip in the wild - done and dusted! We couldn't have asked for more in terms of experiencing and learning wildlife. MP is a model state when it comes to wildlife conservation - hats off to the system in place!
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