'Tiger Express' to Bandhavgarh and Kanha

Indian Railways is planning to hit the popular tiger circuit of Bandhavgarh and Kanha in Madhya Pradesh with launch of its special train 'Tiger Express'. The services of the semi-luxury train  will commence from June 5, the World Environment Day, at Delhi’s Safdarjung railway station. This service is a collaboration between the Railways and Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC). Packages are available though IRCTC.

This is the first time that Indian Railways will operate a tour package on the wildlife circuit. Apart from luxury trains like Maharaja’s Express, the IRCTC also offers tours packages on the desert circuit, Buddhist circuit, Bharat Darshan , etc. 

The five-night-six-day tour will cover Bandhavgarh and Kanha national parks in Madhya Pradesh, apart from Dhuadhar Falls of Bhedaghat, Jabalpur. The “Tiger Express” will only have first and second AC accommodations, with fare starting from Rs.38,500. The parks in MP currently have the highset charges for safaris in the country. The fare includes train ticket, local AC transport, accommodation and food. “The tour will include two tiger safaris at Kanha national park and one at Bandhavgarh, apart from accommodation at three-star hotels. Our prices are affordable keeping in mind the services provided and there are no hidden charges,” said IRCTC spokesperson Sandip Dutta.

IRCTC Tiger Express package

Bandhavgarh Trip Report : April 2012

Let’s start with the stats of the trip - 12 tiger sightings and 1 leopard sighting in 4 safaris.

It was my second visit to the Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve in less than a year. I fell in love with the park on my first visit last year. Of the all parks I have visited, it provides the best possibility of seeing a tiger in wild. Despite the high possibility and a good tiger density, sighting of a tiger in wild is still a matter of luck. And if luck is with you, you are bound to see more than one tiger here. We saw 12 tigers in this trip. Two of my friends who were in a different gypsy saw 8 in 4 safaris. A minimum of 3 safaris is benchmark out of which at least 2 should be in Tala zone.

Despite large no of tiger sighting, the trip did not started off well for us. This time I took my mother to show her a tiger in the wild. Misfortune stuck us even before we landed at Umaria as my mother’s purse was stolen in the train (Jammu Tawi – Durg Express) where she lost her mobile and cash. With a bit of sadness we arrived at the Green Woods Resort. The resort is about 6 km from the Tala gate which turned out to be a bit too far for a small place like Tala. It is actually inside the Panpatha WLS. The other resort there was the Tiger Lagoon. These two resorts are the farthest located resort at Tala. For the 6am safari, you have to leave resort by 5:15am. If you leave by 5:30am, you are bound to get late. We had stayed there for we could bargain a nice package. Though located far away, its location is quite scenic.

We had planned and booked the safaris well in advance, in Feb itself. It is very important to get safaris for Tala booked in advance. Booking online is not easy as the web portal is problematic. After a couple of futile attempts to book tickets ourselves, we had got it booked through the resort and got the receipts mailed to be double sure that safaris are booked. On our arrival we had found that because of a long weekend, there was considerable rush at Bandhavgarh. So much so that even the Magadhi zone with 65 vehicles was also sold out. Under pressure, the resort staff did not handle the safaris well, even for other guests.

Magadhi madness

Our first safari was planned for Magadhi zone. It was on the afternoon of our arrival. Being a non-premium zone, a safari in this zone cost Rs.3100/-. There is only one area where you get to see tiger in this zone – the Mahaman dam. As it was quite early for tiger movement, we decided to take a round of that area. But finally returned to the Mahaman dam. There was lot activity those days around the dam with Mahaman female with 3 cubs and Mukunda male giving them company. But this being only point to have a tiger sighting, all of 65 vehicles would converge there creating a scene of chaos. Entire stretch of 100 meters or so was blocked by gypsies leaving no passage for tigers to cross. The result was that, in the late afternoon one tiger came out from the bushes and as there was no passage for it to move to the pond, it went back. Only a couple gypsies could see it, one of them being my friends. For my friend Sanjib, it was his first tiger sighting after 2 futile attempts at Corbett. He was the happiest man that night. The no of vehicles allowed – 65 had scared me even before I had booked a Magadhi trip. Even half that no would have been too much. This scare actually turned into a nightmare with 65 vehciles in that evening. It is always better to pay 1000 bucks more for a Tala trip. In fact this Mahaman dam area falls under A-C route of Tala. If you do 3-4 safaris in Tala, then you are bound to get at least one A-C route trip, which would mean you not only have access to Tala zone tigers, but also to the only tiger sighting point of Magadhi zone.

Next morning we set out for Tala. We had booked our both Tala trips in the morning half. Second half safaris are not good for photography as light falls off very fast once it is past 4:30pm or so. The resort staff created another mess by changing my gyspy. The driver had to revalidate the pass. We lost almost 20 min of prime morning time. Later I realized that we lost that time more for the driver then the resort staff. The driver had actually killed time at the counter. In order to save fuel, some drivers tend to waste time at every possible opportunity and uses short cuts in connivance with the guide. With such a driver in tow, I had another bad trip. Though the route was A-C, we did not see any tiger. My friends again saw a tiger that trip, that too in A-C.

While returning we had started to feel a bit depressed. Misfortune and bad luck was refusing to leave us. Before coming to Bandhavgarh, I had a feeling that one would not see a tiger here only if he carries extreme bad luck. Was that happening to us! I felt bad for my mother who at almost 63 had taken all the pain to come this far to see a tiger in wild. She wanted to go to Jaipur, instead I took her to Bandhavgarh. Even my wife and daughter had started showing signs of stress, despite having seen tigers earlier. During the noon break, we tried to keep us upbeat by shooting birds and butterflies at a stream flowing near our resort. I know that with 8 more safaris lined up in next two months at Ranthambhore and TATR, I will get to see tigers. But time was running out for my mother.

The safari that evening was for Khitauli zone. My friend and mentor Shivang Mehta who was leading a photo tour had told me previous evening that there is only one place in Khitauli to spot tiger – Damdama water hole. He saw a tigress there once out of five safaris he took. So he suggested waiting there. After entering Khitauli gate, we came across human settlement. It was more of a buffer zone then a core zone. We wondered as to how to how those village children were playing in an area which is frequented by Mukunda male. Given the human habitation around, the chance of seeing a tiger appeared further remote. But this time my both my driver and guide were good. God sent them to lighten our misery. The guide suggested that a new male is getting sighted regularly at Mazhargarh River. While most gypsies were seen returning for a wait at Damdama (which also helps them saves fuel) ours decided to press further. One need to make an entry at a gate at the end of the road, then cross the main road to Borohi to enter into the Mazargarh area. When we had reached Mazargarh, there was no tiger, but around 6-7 vehicles were waiting. Just imagine that out of 25-30 odd vehicles that had entered the zone that day, only 6-7 had come this deep. This is where the importance of a good driver and guide lies in a safari. Thought the spot looked ideal for tiger spotting, no tiger ventured out that evening. No luck. As was time was running out eventually all vehicles left, we being the penultimate ones. Only a gypsy with couple of photographers with bazookas stayed back. While returning there were no vehicles in sight for long. We were comfortably seated as not even a deer was in sight. Then the vehicle braked suddenly. A leopard had jumped onto the road barley 50 feet in front of us. The braking of the vehicle also startled it. What a moment. I had seen many tigers in wild, but not a leopard. Honestly speaking, I had told my wife before departing that I wanted to see a leopard this time. And it had just happened. By the time I pulled my camera out it leaped into the bushes. I got a couple of docu shots of my first leopard sighting. Being almost evening with very low light did not give me a good shot. But I was happy. So do all of us – my daughter, wife, and more importantly my mother. Even the guide and driver were ecstatic. They are used to tiger sighting, but leopard sighting is very rare and hence it was special even for them.

Surprisingly enough, my friends saw another tiger that evening. That too in Khitauli  zone. It was not one of the generally seen tiger there. This made 3 out of 3 for them. That evening everyone was happy. The moods have changed. So did our luck. The resort organized a folk dance program that night. Sipping beer we discussed events of the last two days. We decided to start off early next morning and try for route B-D.

Next morning, we set out for our final safari with elated mood. It was again Tala. By tipping the driver of last trip I had ensured that he remains with us for this final trip. While my friends got route B-D, we were again assigned route A-C. While misfortune followed us, everything was going right for them. My wife was not happy with it. She tried to get the route changed to B-D, but eventually gave up and resigned to fate. The drivers counseled her as it is not route, but luck which matters for tigers. However by starting early we could enter the park as soon as the gates opened. Every min of prime time in morning is very crucial. Losing 15-20 min might be a disaster.

Vijaya aka Kankati

Barely 10 min into our trip, we had our first tiger sighting. The Kankati female (Vijaya) was sitting majestically just 20-25 feet from the track. It was an ideal sighting. I mean the way one dreams of sighting a tiger. The next best is a tiger walking straight at you, as if looking into your camera. The elusive tiger had finally appeared in a grand way. There were just 6 vehicles. It is not a melee seen on Magadhi. Only 8 vehicles allowed into each route at Tala out of which 2 misfortunate vehicles went different way. Everyone had enjoyed those 20 min when Vijaya gave us a majestic darshan. She has 3 cubs around 6 months old which were playing at the hill nearby. After sometime she stood up and started walking towards the hill where cubs were playing. But then changed her track midway and vanished into the bushes. We decided to follow the cubs. Forest deptt elephants were chasing the cubs in the hills, probably to manage one of those notorious tiger shows. Forest deptt mahouts have become notorious to chase away tigers from areas closer to road, to deprive tourist from an easy and free sighting. If tiger remains inside bushes, then it is a tiger show, meaning lot of tips to the mahouts. Please for god shake; do not tip the mahouts after tiger shows. They are actually fleecing tourist. The cubs of Vijaya were running up and down the hills. They did not provide a good sighting.

The guide decided to move on and instructed the driver to go to Mahaman. The guide Tej Pratap aka TP turned out to be a jolly good fellow. His sense of humor kept us entertained. The collusion of driver and guide previous day had deprived us a take at Mahaman. On arrival at Mahaman, we found another melee. It was pure chaos. There were at least 3 tigers in the bushes about 100mtrs away. It was the Mahaman family. Vehicles have left no passage for them to come out. Later I came to know from Shivang that Mukunda male was also there, but it was chased away by the greedy mahouts. Though tigers were visible, it was not a good sighting. We decided to move on.

After arriving at centre point, we were offered the option of either trying to spot the Vijaya cubs or go for tiger show which was happening with Banbai (Wakeeta) family in route B-D. On enquiring I came to know that even majestic Bamera male (now Sashi) is also there. The thought of seeing Bamera again made me decide in favour of the tiger show. When we had arrived there was a queue of about 7-8 vehicles. We had to wait for about 20 min for our turn. The Banbai female with 3 sub-adult cubs were cooling off in the bushes by a stream. Bamera, the father of the cubs, were paying them a visit. A 2 day old sambhar kill had kept the family there. One of the cubs was seen trying to finish off whatever is left of the carcass. It was nice to see 5 tigers together up so close. It was my third sighting of majestic Bamera.

As it was well past 10am, we headed out of the park. We were more than happy. We were ecstatic. The count of tiger sighting of the trip that morning is 12. Unbelievable, but true! Luck had finally smiled on us. Thus we had 2 trips with no sighting, 1 trip had the leopard sighting, and 1 trip had 12 tiger sightings.

Bandhavgarh is rocking with so many cubs. Vijaya, Banbai (Wakeeta) and Mahaman – all are having 3 cubs each (as of April 2012). Now my friend Sanjib vouches that if there is any place which almost guarantees a tiger sighting, it is Bandhavgarh. I wish there was little less crowd. Next time I will plan my visit when there are no holidays around. I will certainly skip Magadhi and instead will do Tala and Khitauli.

Go Wild at Kanha and Bandhavgarh

Back from a fantastic trip to the Mowgli’s country. The twin trip to Kanha and Bnadhavgarh was part of a wildlife photography workshop by Nature Wanderers in association with Canon. Named ‘Canon Go Wild’, the workshop was conducted by ace wildlife photographer and naturalist Kahini Ghosh Mehta, Shivang Mehta and Udai Shringi.

In a long time I had undertaken a trip without having to do any planning. Normally I do the planning and research part for my trips, even for friends who had travelled with me. This time, I just paid the money and got tugged along wherever the group went. I was not even aware of the train I would be coming back till last day. All that was in mind for those 5 /6 days was just jungle and photography.

The trip started with an 18 hr train travel from Delhi to Jabbalpur. The 5 hours travel of 190 km to Mukki gate of Kanha was covered in comfortable AC vehicles. We were put up at the luxurious Infinity Resort at both Kanha and Bandhavgarh. Everything was arranged by Nature Wanderers nicely to let the participants concentrate only about photography and enjoying the trip. The tough part was getting up everyday at 4 am to get ready to leave by 5. Specially when every evening people would sit late discussing about photographs or events of the day or editing photographs. To do that continuously for 4 days was tough.

In all we had six safaris – 3 each at Kanha and Bandhavgarh. On two days we had spent almost the full days inside the jungle, only getting out for lunch breaks. Kanha allows you to be inside for longer duration – morning 5:45am to 11am and evening 3:45pm to 6:45pm. The timings for Bandhavgarh were shorter – morning 5:45am to 9:45am and evening 3:30pm to 6:30pm. Morning safaris at both places had been fantastic, but evening one mostly disappointing. Because of the rising mercury, even birds were hardly sighted in the afternoon safaris. In all 12 tigers were sighted by the group. My count is 6 – three each at Kanha and Bandhavgarh. That made my total sight count 8 in 2011. For three years I tried in vain at Corbett to get sight of the king. Now in just two months I met 8 of those majestic animals.

Kanha is difficult to access. Nearest railhead is Jabbalpur (140-190km depending on entry point you choose). Also because of its huge size of nearly 2000sqm, tiger sighting is lower. We saw wild dogs (dhol), Indian Bisons (Gaud) and Barashingas there apart from the normal spotted deer, sambhars and langurs. Bandhavgarh is easier to access. Nearest railheads are Umaria (34km) and Katni (95km). It probably provides the best opportunity to see wild tigers in India. The 9 tigers spotted by our team in 3 safaris is an indication of it. Not everyone was that lucky, but the worst count was 2. It is also excellent for birding as team was able to capture shots of serpent eagle with kill, king vulture in flight, etc.

The final morning saw everyone taking their best shots. The best being a tiger mating shot. Everyone returned happy from the trip. It was a fantastic learning opportunity for most of the participant. I had upgraded my equipment for the trip. I would sum up the 4 days as under –

Day 1 : I shoot monkeys and deer like most people with a camera do, but may be with better composition

Day 2 : I had stopped shooting monkeys and grazing deer

Day 3 : I had started understanding the importance of capturing moments and making photos like we do for normal photography

Day 4 : I had actually captured moments. I was proud of my shots on final day

To end it this is probably the best moment I had captured: