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TIGERS & BIRDS OF BANDHAVGARH

Birdquest's Tigers and Birds of Bandhavgarh birding and wildlife-watching tour is the perfect trip for anyone who yearns to see the magnificent Tiger in the wild, as well as many other characteristic mammals of India and a splendid variety of birds. We don't just visit Bandhavgarh, the best place in the world for Tigers, but also the Chambal River with its Indian Skimmers, crocodiles and Indo-Gangetic Dolphins and the wonderful Taj Mahal. A great trip for couples where one person is not exactly a hard-core birder!

Sunday 3rd February - Thursday 14th February 2013
(12 days)

Leader: Hannu Jännes

Group Size Limit: 11

Tour Category: Easy

The endangered and fast-disappearing Bengal Tiger is nowhere easier to observe than at Bandhavgarh National Park in central India (Mark Beaman)

It is not often that a Birdquest features a mammal as its raison d’être, but one has to make an exception for the Tiger, surely one of the most evocative creatures that still shares our crowded planet with us (but for how much longer?). Birders visiting Northern India or Nepal are sometimes lucky enough to see a Tiger on their travels, but usually views are brief and quite often there are no sightings at all.

To see Tigers well it is necessary to spend plenty of time and also to visit the very best places, and there is no finer and more reliable Tiger reserve than Bandhavgarh National Park in Madhya Pradesh. This huge and remote park, situated in the rocky Vindhya range of north-central India, protects a vast tract of largely deciduous forest which still holds many Tigers. For over 15 years Bandhavgarh has been recognized by wildlife enthusiasts and photographers as the very best place to go if one wants close and regular encounters with Tigers. Here you can expect, not just hope, to get within a few metres of these extraordinary and beautiful predators! Staring into the huge, cold eyes of a Tiger just a short distance away is an awesome experience, and Bandhavgarh is where it can happen.

We will explore the park by jeep and on elephant back, in traditional manner. Although the jeeps allow us to cover more ground, many of the closest encounters are from elephant back, as the Tigers seem unconcerned by their close proximity.

Bandhavgarh naturally holds good numbers of other large mammals, including Chital (or Axis or Spotted Deer), Sambar, Nilgai, Indian Gazelle, Wild Boar, Rhesus Macaque and Hanuman (or Grey) Langur, and is an excellent place for birding. The prime speciality is Mottled Wood Owl, but there is also a rich selection of other birds including Asian Openbill, Lesser Adjutant, Grey-headed Fish Eagle, Jungle Bush Quail, Painted Spurfowl, Red Junglefowl, Brown Fish Owl, Malabar Pied Hornbill, White-naped Woodpecker, Orange-headed Thrush and Tawny-bellied Babbler.

Bandhavgarh is of course the focus of this Indian journey, but our rich tapestry of experiences will be further enhanced by visiting Sultanpur Jheel near Delhi, a large lagoon which often harbours thousands of waterbirds during the winter months. The dry surroundings attract Indian Courser and the restricted-range Brook’s Leaf Warbler.

In addition, we will pause on our return from central India at Agra to visit the ethereal Taj Mahal, that pinnacle of human achievement, and also the wonderful National Chambal Sanctuary, a little-known reserve on the Chambal River that is home to Gangetic River Dolphins, two species of crocodile (including the long-snouted Gharial), Indian Skimmers, Small Pratincoles, Great Thick-knees and Black-bellied Terns.

Birdquest has operated tours to Bandhavgarh since 2004.

(Note: The above is a summary of the tour. For more information please download the detailed, day-by-day itinerary. The button is at the top right of the page.)

Accommodation & Road Transport: The hotels and lodges are of normal Birdquest standard (although at the simpler end of the scale at Bandhavgarh and the Chambal). Road transport in the Delhi/Agra region is by small coach, while at Bandhavgarh we use cars for transfers and open jeeps inside the sanctuary.

Walking: The walking effort is easy throughout.

Climate: Typically it will be cool to warm or hot, dry and sunny (although early mornings are sometimes quite cold). Although overcast weather is not infrequent, rain is uncommon at this season.

Bird/Mammal Photography: Opportunities are good.

Tour Price: (provisional): $4180 Delhi/Delhi. Price includes all transportation (including Delhi-Jabalpur-Delhi flights), all accommodations, all meals, bottled water, some drinks, all excursions, all entrance fees, all tips for local drivers/guides and for accommodations/restaurants, leader services.

Single Room Supplement: (provisional): $588.

Deposit: 10% of the tour price (excluding any single supplement).

Air Travel To & From The Tour: Our in-house IATA ticket agency can arrange your air travel in connection with the tour from a departure point anywhere in the world, or you may arrange your own air travel if you prefer. We can tailor-make your itinerary to your personal requirements, so if you would like to travel in advance of the tour (and spend a night in an hotel so you will feel fresh when the tour starts), or return later than the end of the tour, or make a side trip to some other destination, or travel business class rather than economy, we will be happy to assist. Please contact us about your air travel requirements.

In spite of its many visitors, the ethereal Taj Mahal still has a special magic. How many love stories are commemorated like this? (Mark Beaman)

View Map Download Detailed Itinerary 595kb

Report From February 2011 Report From January 2010/February 2010 Report From February 2012 65 photos View Gallery Photos From TIGERS & BIRDS OF BANDHAVGARH

It is extraordinary how close one can get to the Tigers of Bandhavgarh! (Mark Beaman)

Although this nervous cub seems some way off becoming King of the Jungle (Mark Beaman)

Dhole (or Indian Wild Dog) is another exciting inhabitant of the park (Mark Beaman)

There are some great birds at Bandhavgarh too, including the sought-after Mottled Wood Owl (Mark Beaman)

The impressive Brown Fish Owl (Mark Beaman)

The gorgeous Orange-headed Ground Thrush (Mark Beaman)

And the lovely Tickell's Blue Flycatcher (Mark Beaman)

Star avian attraction at the Chambal River is the rare and declining Indian Skimmer (Mark Beaman)

That strange 'carrot' of a bill is quite something! (Mark Beaman)

Great Thick-knees haunt the river islands (Mark Beaman)

As do fish-eating Gharial crocodiles (Mark Beaman)

While Bonelli's Eagles hunt the river margins

Throngs of handsome Bar-headed Geese are a feature of the Chambal (Mark Beaman)

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