kak113

we loved our time at MalaMala. Husband is a huge fan of tigers and so we were thinking of an Indian tiger safari hopefully in connection with a work trip. But I've read that you can go on a tiger safari and never see them, which makes sense but I'm wondering if all the cost is worth the chance. Does anyone have personal experience to share? Where is the best place to go in your opinion?

p.s. I have also posted this on the Africa board but it was suggested you here might also have experiences to share! thanks in advance.

Marija

We've been to Africa twice on safari and also went to look for tigers in Bandhvargarh when we went to India. You can find a report here:

http://www.fodors.com/community/afri...andhavgarh.cfm

We were lucky and saw three tigers in three days so we were pleased with our mini-safari, which was very different from a African safari in terms of the number of animals you see and the general atmosphere.

Cicerone

I have been on tiger safaris in Indian on several occasions, and have seen tiger on one drive out of probably a total of 15 drives over those trips. I made my first trip to South Africa this year (Phinda and Londolozi). I have read the resposes you have received here and on the Africa board and think that they have so far painted an accurate picture with which I agree. The experiences are so different. As long as you have the proper expectations, I think you would enjoy an Indian safari. However, you simply cannot expect to go out on a drive in India and see anything like the amount of wildlife that you saw at a place like Mala Mala. In addition, there are no night drives, you return from the afternoon drive at about sunset and so will not see the animals hunting at night. (I can see that this may change over the years if private concession arrangements are set up as they are in Africa, but currently night drives are not allowed in the national parks, as is the case in Africa where these only occur on the private concessions). There is lots of birdlife and there are a good number of other wildlife as well. The wildlife is a bit less unusual, let us say, then the giraffes, zebra and rhinoceros that you see roaming the land at Mala Mala. You also don’t see big herds of animals like you would in Africa.

If you <i>sole</i> goal is to see tiger, then I be a bit wary of suggesting a trip to India for this purpose alone; as I believe it could be disappointing to you. If you have no interest in Asia generally or Indian culture, history, food, religion, etc specfically, then I am not sure it is worth the time and money you would invest in a trip like this. India is one of my favourite places, and is a fantastic country with an enormous range of geography, climate, religion and culture; and as an added benefit, you can go to wildlife parks. If you are very lucky, you will see tiger. If not, you will have a great trip and will see and experience a very different place. But you have to have the right set of expectations or you will return with nothing but disappointment, IMO.

I will go back to India, and will undoubtedly include some time at a park at some point again, but I would not go to India specficially for the purpose of a tiger safari alone.

vp_singh

I have been visiting several of the National Parks in North & Central India for several years. Infact, the Easter holidays were nearly always spent at the Corbett.
Of the better managed parks, I would include the Corbett, Ranthambhore & Bandhavgarh, where you do still have a fairly good number of tigers. Other Parks like Sariska, Panna etc. merely state statistical data, as of today.
In the Corbett I have seen tigers at a very close quarters & on two occasions pairs of mating tigers. But those were the days when poaching & the chinese craving for approdisiacs, had not taken alarming proportions! The forest staff was lenient & would allow us into the tree machaans overlooking water holes, even give us ride on elephants on staff duty. These are no longer possible. The only chance you have is the two game drives every day, either from the back of an elephant or the jeep. Due to the dense foliage of lantana a tiger can hide himself very well & persue him as you may, you may not even see a tip of his tail, as we found on one occasion, way back in 1991! Some of the properties in the buffer zone are modelled after the African safari lodges. Inside the Corbett the accomodation is basic but clean.
The coutry in Ranthambhore is comparatively open, due to deciduous nature of the forests. You have a better chance of seeing him hunting or moving about on the gametracks, for the animal is soft padded & does not like to walk over thorn or sharp stones. I was in Ranthambhore shortly before Christmas, last year & had the satisfaction of seeing two young animals in hot persuit of sambhars.
The density of tiger population, per unit area is the highest in Bandhavgarh. You also have an excellant property the Taj Mahua Kothi in collaboration with CCA Africa. Because of this density the chances of spotting a tiger are that much higher in Bandhavgarh. Also once the tiger is spotted a message is flashed across & everyone rushes in on elephants, to pay homage to the lord of the jungle...I have seen even seasoned foresters losing composure, in the presence of a tiger, close at hand & if your driver shouts profanities at others of his ilk, just look the other way!!
I have not been to Africa, but I do recall the famous comparison made by Robert Ruark, “…a live tiger is the most exciting thing I have ever seen in my life, and I have shot a lion. A tiger in a hurry is the fastest thing I have ever seen in my life, and I have shot a leopard. A wounded tiger is the most frightening thing I have seen in my life, and I have shot a cape Buffalo…”.
Happy Hunting!

kak113

thanks all. We were thinking that we would plan to save up to visit Bandhavgarh and perhaps stay at the new CCAfrica resort. We would visit Delhi, Agra and perhaps a few other places and end the trip looking for the tiger - that way, if we don't see him, then we will at least have a relaxing wind down at a splurge hotel after what will likely be a lot of touring and soaking in India. It's good to manage expectations though.

lifebeyondbermuda

My husband and I visited Singita on our honeymoon several years ago and have great memories of the African safari experience, watching lions hunt at night and wading through herds of Cape buffalo!

Now we have 4 kids who we took to India in March and April. In the hope of seeing a tiger, we sprinkled visits to 3 parks into our itinerary. First stop (mid-March) was Pench, where we stayed at the Taj Safari lodge called Bhagvan--excellent rooms, staff, food and jeeps! We also had a great guide and felt that the whole experience was amazing. But we didn't see a tiger. Second we went to Ranthambore in early April. We loved our stay at the Aman tented resort, but access to the park is set up differently (too boring and complicated to explain here) and is less satisfying. Having said that, we did see 2 tigers--our first sighting was very exciting, if brief; the second sighting was amazing, as the tiger just walked through about a dozen jeeps full of shouting people and seemed to hardly notice (the photos were somewhat marred by the large black collar around its neck though). Finally, our third visit was to Bandhavgarh at the end of April, where we stayed at Mahua Kothi. Again, excellent accommodation, food, staff and jeeps, plus another fantastic guide. This time we had 11 tiger sightings in 4 days! That made the 5 hour drive from Khajuraho all worth it in the kids' opinion. We saw 2 tigers together in one sighting--they just hung out by the side of the road while we watched them and snapped photos for about an hour! On another occasion we saw a mother with 2 of her 3 cubs (nearly her size), as they left the water hole and wandered across the road.

Obviously there are no guarantees--we felt fortunate that the kids enjoyed the deer, monkeys and birds we managed to see at Pench, and weren't overly disappointed by the lack of a tiger spotting. We also plan to visit Africa with the kids next year, and I have to admit that we're glad to be doing it in this order so that we don't have to worry too much about managing expectations!

vp_singh

Thanks for sharing your visit to the three parks!
I have, over the years, noticed major differences in the behaviour displayed by tigers at the Corbett. While tigers in Ranthambhore & Bandhavgarh seem to be familiar with human presence, the tigers in Corbett react visibly, when chanced upon. I think it is again attributable to the nature of terrain / vegetation. You will see the look of surprise, on their face; crouching down or going up on the hind legs with full retracted claws; taking immediate evasive action & stepping aside into a bush. The sounds they produce too are fascinating differing in intensity from possibly a full throated roar when in rage (never heard it); to a sharp, deep throated warning 'oooagh' or a continuos broad sound very difficult to imitate, when indulging in amorous activity!
I doubt if it were now ever possible - for the tourist - to see a tiger actually feeding, for he removes his kill to a secluded spot away from prying eyes, as a big sambhar may last for several days. Live baiting has been discontinued in India.
To a lover of wildlife, leopards could be spotted at dusk in the revenue lands near Jawai Dam, a place about 40 miles from Ranakpur Jain Temples.