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The Tigers of Tadoba
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by HARSHA OGALE India Specialist
A langur
Harsha Ogale’s latest
research trip took him
back to the national parks
of central India. He had
been longing to visit
Tadoba Tiger Reserve,
mainly for the tiger
viewing opportunities it
offers, but also because it’s
in Maharashtra, a state
in the very centre of India,
and where he was born
and brought up.
Ihave been lucky enough to visit
many national parks but I really
think that Tadoba is the best
park in India. This might sound
biased because the park is in my
home state but it truly is the best
place to see a healthy population of
tigers and enjoy sightings almost to
yourself. The forest cover at Tadoba
is dominated by bamboo, teak and
Tendu (Indian ebony) and when I
visited in March it felt as if someone
had laid a brown carpet as the dry
deciduous trees had shed all their
leaves. However, I’m also told that
the park looks stunning just after
the monsoon rains when the forest
is lush, green and in full bloom.
This is one of the few parks that is
open all year round.
The final approach to Tadoba is an
hour-long drive on a single track
road that passes through villages
that make great photo stops. I was
welcomed to Tiger Trails, currently
Tadoba’s only lodge, by its owner,
and passionate wildlife enthusiast,
Amrut Dhanwatey. The lodge is
simple but you have everything
needed for a comfortable stay.
The seven rooms are spacious,
air-conditioned and have ensuite
facilities. The lodge is set in an
estate of 30 acres on the edge of
the national park. The rest is left as
natural forest with ponds, waterholes
and some farmland that is shared
by neighbouring tribal people.
The lodge’s ecocredentials include
solar energy for heating water and
powering lights, distilled water is
used in place of the bottled variety
while the waste water is used on the
banana and papaya plantations.
On a walk through the estate,
Amrut showed me how the
conservation of water resources and
the recharging of ground water has
kept the forest green, the waterholes
full and has in turn encouraged
wildlife return to the area. Tiger,
leopard and sloth bear pug marks

Left: A Bengal tiger in a grassland at
Tadoba Tiger Reserve india
Below: Four horned Antelope female
can be seen within 500 feet of the
lodge and carnivore kills are
frequently spotted in the
surrounding scrub. The estate has
machans (stilted observation huts)
overlooking the water holes, offering
undisturbed wildlife viewing.
After the walk we sat down for a
chilled beer and Amrut told me a
funny story about the machan we
saw earlier. He once spent the night
in it to observe and photograph
wildlife in the jungle but the machan
collapsed as he tried to photograph
a leopard in the waterhole beneath
him! He has since rebuilt the
machan with a strong metal frame!
Like other parks in India, Tadoba
offers morning and afternoon safaris.
These are arranged in private jeeps
and either Amrut or his son Aditya,
act as accompanying naturalist.
We entered the park at 6:30am and
I was astonished to see that ours was
the only jeep at the Khutwanda gate.
We drove down a tar road that runs
through the forest. It is lined with
imposing stone pillars, a remnant of
the reign of the Gond Kings from
the 12th to the 18th century.
Originally each pillar had a bell
attached and formed a means of
communicating to the surrounding
area that the King was travelling
through the forest and that the path
should be cleared.
Soon, in one of the side lanes our
observant driver Lahu spotted four
tiger cubs. It was only my first game
drive here and I had already seen
four healthy cubs! Wow! On my next
two game drives we saw four male
tigers, one female, four cubs, two
leopards, and a sloth bear as well as
numerous birds. At Tadoba you see
everything from butterflies to big
cats, a sign that the park has a very
healthy ecosystem. Due to the
consistent efforts of people like
Amrut, the Chichghat valley has
grown thicker and denser attracting
smaller wildlife like peafowl,
jungle fowl, monitor lizards, hares,
partridges and quails, which had
almost disappeared, but today can be
frequently spotted or at least heard.
The next day, Amrut took me on a
short walk through the farmland
adjoining his estate. I was really
happy to see the good relationship
he has formed with the local
villagers. Before he set up home here
the land was barren and deforested
but after establishing plant nurseries
with the help of the local people,
they replanted local forest species
and recreated the natural forest and
grasslands. Amrut continues to
support the farmers by providing
them with good quality seeds and
manure and then buying back the
vegetables they produce. The tribal
cooks offer an array of different
cuisines: dishes local to the area,
more mainstream Indian food and,
for those that crave it, a proper full
English breakfast!
The safari on my last day surpassed
each and every tiger sighting I have
previously had: I saw an adult male
tiger making a kill in one of the less
explored areas of the park. The tiger
growled several times as if he was
celebrating his victory. What an
experience! We were all awestruck.
As Amrut says ‘When it comes to
wildlife be extremely patient and
before you know, nature will do its
best to make your day’. More than
satisfied with this experience we
began our return to the lodge when
a leopard crossed in front of us. I
have seen leopards at Pench and
Sasan Gir National Parks but never
had such a clear sighting. This was
literally the icing on the cake. Amrut
couldn’t stop laughing as he couldn’t
believe our good luck. It was as if
nature was trying to show off.
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The Tigers of Tadoba
Other national parks in Central India
After having such an incredible experience at Tadoba, I continued
on my journey to revisit some of the more popular wildlife reserves
in Central India: Bandhavgarh, Kanha and Pench National Parks
along with the less well known Satpura.
Bandhavgarh National Park
There haven’t been any major changes at Bandhavgarh recently
and it still offers good tiger sightings. One drawback is that it can
be crowded at times but the new opportunity to combine two
routes on an afternoon safari increases your chances of seeing
wildlife as you are able to cover a much bigger area than before.
There are also a few new lodges which offer a greater variety of
accommodation choice too.
Kanha National Park
My next stop was Kanha which I thoroughly enjoyed. A few more
lodges have been established but they are small, rustic and very
much in keeping with their surroundings and the local architectural
style. Their setting is beautiful and the lodge owners seem to have
realised that quality is better than quantity, so the majority of the
new places have just four or six rooms.
Recently, a new zone called Sarhi has opened to visitors, and
although tiger sightings in this area are rare, the scenery is
outstanding and the terrain is very different to that in the other
zones so its well worth spending some time here to enjoy the
variety of other wildlife it offers.
Pench National Park
A beautiful Indian roller, Pench National Park
Although visitor numbers here haven’t increased much the park is
busy at weekends as it’s just two hours’ drive from Nagpur and
therefore attracts local visitors. The park still offers a good standard
of mid-range and luxury accommodation.
Satpura National Park
Finally, on the last leg of my journey I visited Satpura. This was
really exciting as I was able to go on a walking safari, an activity
which can’t be done in any other park in India. Although I wasn’t
as lucky with my sightings as some Dutch visitors who saw a
leopard and two cubs, it was still an excellent experience to be out
on foot in the jungle. It is also possible to take an elephant safari
which was simply amazing. We got off the jeep tracks and plunged
directly into the jungle, the mahout commanding the elephant to
clear his path as needed. A boat ride on the Tawa Reservoir, which
attracts a huge range of species, is a must for twitchers. There are
only two lodges at Satpura. Forsyth’s Lodge which has only been
open for just over a year has already received excellent feedback
from our clients and the newly opened Reni Pani which offers a
high standard accommodation. Spread across the Satpura Hills and
with its with numerous waterholes, ponds and lakes, this park is
truly beautiful and offers various activities that make it an
interesting and worthwhile addition to any wildlife tour.
Comfortable air conditioned rooms at Tiger Trails, Tadoba
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A adult male resting in a water, Tadoba National Park
Responsible Travel
Prakratik Society
In Ranthambhore National Park, we support the Prakratik Society
through our work with Friends of Conservation. They have
developed unusual methods of protecting tiger habitat by setting up
an artificial insemination programme for cattle. This aims to reduce
the number of cows roaming freely through the park, therefore
combatting the tension caused by tigers killing cattle. It has also
helped reduce the environmental damaged caused by grazing cattle,
whilst also supporting the farmers who benefit from increased milk
yields and healthier cattle.
TOFT
Tour Operators For Tigers is a scheme where travel companies
donate £15 per person towards tiger conservation in the National
Parks of India. We support this scheme and donate the money
collected on an annual basis.
FACTfile
■ A 12 day tour including return
international flights from London,
accommodation on full board
basis with game drives and
activities in Tadoba and
Bandhavgarh national parks costs
from £2,435 per person based
on two people sharing.
■ For details contact Harsha Ogale
on 01993 838 306.
www.audleytravel.com/india
A beautiful bee eater spotted at Kanha
WEBplus
Find out more about the
wildlife of India with our interactive
guide to the best parks and when to
go. Watch a video interview with one
of our Indian wildlife specialists.
www.audley.co.uk/traveller/summer2010
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